Perth

Friday, May 20

The Manila airport was, per usual, terrible. There was about a thousand checkpoints and an over abundance of security checks where the metal detectors didn’t appear to be on and the staff were looking at their phones instead of the X-ray screen. What annoys me most about security checkpoints in Manila (including to get into the mall) is the mandatory separation of men and women, as if to protect the women from short, convenient lines where only half the population carries a purse.

The funniest inconvenience was deciding to sit next to our gate for the 2.5 hour wait before take off. We went downstairs to a separate room and had to get our boarding passes checked and scribbled on. To leave this room (which was necessary to get food, water, and use the bathroom) you had to leave your boarding pass with the staff at the gate room (why? Don’t ask). This made for an interesting interaction at the NEXT security check point (needed to get to the food area) because you didn’t have a boarding pass at all. But the staff would shrug and waive you by, completely nullifying the whole security process.

In the Singapore airport we experienced one of the biggest culture shocks of our lives. It was a reverse culture shock. When we got off the plane we found the airport to be clean and quiet. Our assigned gate for our next flight was literally the gate next to the one we had used to get off the last plane. It was such a smooth international transfer that I didn’t believe it. I looked for the catch, where we would need to sign in again or something but it really was that straight forward.

We found some surprisingly good chicken rice bowls while we waited to board. At boarding time the staff announced that families with children could board. No one stirred. Then they said rows 1, 2, 12, and 13 could board. They asked everyone else to remain seated. At ANY other airport this would be the cue for EVERYONE to immediately stand up and shove toward the gate. Instead, in the Singapore airport, everyone remained seated and quiet (except for me, edging toward the gate ready to board first). I honestly thought I’d lost my hearing. It was silent as we waited for them to call the next boarding group.

We landed in Perth at about 945pm and had the smoothest entry process of my life. Transferring in the US from Sint Maarten to Colombia had required more time and effort. A machine scanned our boarding pass and a very nice lady took our customs card, and then we were officially in Australia. There was even a bin of free COVID tests at the door!

After getting an Uber with the smallest, most ancient driver in the world, we arrived to Martin’s house at about 10:30pm. Martin is Karen’s cousin from her mother’s side and although she hadn’t seen him in over 10 years he kindly offered for all three of us to stay at his house, rent free, for the week.

All the stores were closed so we showed up to Martin’s hungry, tired, and nothing in the way of a host gift. But he had prepared for us. He had several 6-packs of chilled IPAs in the fridge and he had cheese and crackers out on the table. We all stayed up late, talking and catching up. As we ate a cracker, Martin would spread cheese on another and put it out, to create an endless buffet for us.

Saturday, May 21

After our day of travel and late night we needed a good sleep in. As we all started to wake up we realized the weather forecast was predicted to be beautiful and sunny all day on Saturday and turn to cold, rain, wind, and thunderstorms starting Sunday and getting very bad on Monday. So our plan of taking a ferry to Rottnest island to see the Quokkas needed to happen ASAP if it was going to happen at all.

Miraculously, we hustled and got ourselves to the ferry dock with 7 minutes to buy the ticket and board. Unfortunately, they had available tickets for the noon ferry out to the island but they had no more availability for ferry tickets to bring us back to the mainland. So we could get out there, but then we’d be stranded. So we decided to stay on the mainland and enjoy the neighborhood of Fremantle.

A short walk from the ferry offices we found a brewery (Gage Road) that was in a historic wharf shed and had a huge outdoor seating area. We decided to try out the beer, soak up some sun, and catch up with Karen. The beer was pretty good and the sunshine with a cool breeze was even better. This is where we noticed that every place in Australia offers free sunscreen – just bottles hanging out- more common than hand sanitizer! How cool! Also no one was wearing masks anywhere, which made us uncomfortable after so many months of wearing them (and wearing them even outside in Manila).

We experienced a bit of a sticker shock as all of a sudden we were buying restaurant food in the first world again. Everything was very expensive. The Australian dollar is worth about .7 US dollars which made everything seem even more expensive than it really was, once converted. Even then, two beers at this brewery cost 25 AUS, or $17.75 US (nearly $9 each!!)

Then we walked over to the Roundhouse. This twelve sided building was once used as a jail for residents. Immediately we were overwhelmed with the number of signs that were written in clear, accurate English. We couldn’t even read the signs though, because a tour guide (Karen) came up and started telling us all about the place. She was so nice and had such a cute accent but she did go on and on and we started to wonder if we were being detained and her lectures were our secret punishment.

As we looked into the waters of the Roundhouse well a boy came over and interrupted Tour Guide Karen to ask her whether prisoners tried to escape through the well. She looked confused and said “no, they didn’t” while Irish Friend Karen whispered “I had the same question…” The boy seemed satisfied with the answer and ran off as quickly as he came. Flustered, Tour Guide Karen turned back to us and said “We’ll that’s alright then” and she kept talking about the well. Her accent and phrasing was so cute and such a change from the broken English tours we’ve had for the last four months that we were enthralled.

Finally Tour Guide Karen released us and we meandered over to a ring a big bell. Tour Guide John came over to tell us about the bell (a curfew bell) and then show us the stocks. He also told us a lot about himself- including that he swims in the ocean everyday and has family in the Pacific Northwest. Again, Carl and I were happy listening to him because it was fun to hear English in such a cute accent (and he was an adorable old man) but Irish Friend Karen was obviously over it, so we thanked him and moved on.

Next we walked a little inland to the Fremantle Market. The market is a big indoor marketplace with loads of different types of stalls selling things like food, coffees, flowers, jewelry, t-shirts, toys, etc. We couldn’t resist getting a few bites to eat. Carl and I split some Kimbap (Korean sushi) and a huge, fresh donut. Karen got an egg sandwich that looked and smelled like the best thing ever.

We walked back to the waterfront to another brewery which Martin had recommended called Little Creatures brewery. It was huge. We found a spot outside in the sunshine near an adorable pug, who apparently is a local and frequent customer. The brewery offered free bikes for hire but as we contemplated this plan we realized it was already nearly 5pm and the sun would set at 5:30.

Instead we took some pictures of the beautiful sunset before we walked south along a path that skirted a wetland, toward South Fremantle. We met up with Martin and some of his friends at The South Beach Hotel. We learned that there are MANY restaurant/bars in Perth that used to be hotels and still call themselves ‘something hotel’ even though they are no longer hotels, but restaurants.

We got some beers and a kangaroo brisket sandwich which, regrettably, tasted great. We talked with Martin and his friends, Joe and Ben, until we were near the last people in the place.

At one point, whilst waiting in line for the bathroom, I got a notification on my phone about the results of the Australia election. Before we arrived we knew this election would happen while we were visiting, but we had forgotten about it. As I read the results that the Labor party won after nearly a decade of the conservation coalition being in power I looked around the bar. Not a soul was talking about the election. The TVs were filled with rugby matches (and something called Footy). When I got back to the table I asked if anyone knew or cared about the election results. The one Perthian shrugged.

Carl and I were shocked. If this was the US, people would be glued to the TV, booing or cheering. If it was the Philippines, there’d be riots either way. The Irish thought it was hilarious that Carl and I were the only ones aware of the election results and that we were shocked that no one else cared. We conceded that Americans are more passionate about politics but that life must be pretty good for Australians and Irish if they cared so little about who was in charge of their country.

Finally we got an Uber home and watched the Irish show, Father Ted, before going to sleep.

Sunday, May 22

Martin had the day off so he offered to drive us in his car out to “the bush”. First he drove us out to the Mundaring Dam. The place has an interesting history. The engineer envisioned and designed the dam system to convey fresh, potable water from Perth to the very inland, gold mining region of Kalgoolrie. It took a few days longer than planned for the water to get pumped all the way to Kalgoolrie and the engineer killed himself – thinking his master plan had totally failed- only to have the water successfully reach Kalgoolrie two days later.

Then we drove into the bush. Martin is big into dirt bikes (motorbikes not bicycles) and off-roading in his big wheeled truck, so he knew just the spot to take us to. He took a turn to drive just under a power line and we found that we were in for a wild ride.

We bounded along an unpacked dirt road – laughing at first as we were tossed about and then nervous laughing as we drove over huge boulders and questioning whether we’d make it out of there alive. We drove up a steep hill, under the power lines, past other big wheeled trucks.

At one point we seemed to be a little stuck. Martin got out and demonstrated that only three wheels were still touching the ground by waiving his foot under the back left wheel (under where I was sitting). He chuckled, got back in the car, backed up a bit and tried it again. As we were jostled about, we enjoyed the red dirt and tall eucalyptus of the wild bush around us.

A couple hail mary’s later we were out of the worst of it and Martin pulled onto a smoother dirt road (i.e., a normal road in Australia). We got out at one point to walk around a bit and then Martin said he wanted to take us to a nearby pub for food and beers.

As we drove toward it, we passed through a national park entrance and I was surprised the pub was located inside the park. Martin explained that the pub’s lease was expiring soon and the park plans to demolish the pub and put in campsites. Because of this imminent closure, the place was very busy. We pulled into a parking lot full of cars. As we got out of the car I heard Carl and Karen say, “OMG!” There, at the entrance as if to welcome us and hand us menus, was a kangaroo. Then we noticed that on the side of the restaurant was a whole mob of Roos.

All the kangaroos were facing the same direction, crouching, and staying still. It was sprinkling lightly and they looked as if they were trying to pretend that it wasn’t. They all looked a little annoyed, but made no moves to seek shelter.

We went inside and decided just to get beers because of the long wait time for food. As we stood and sipped a massive Kangaroo came into the patio area. One of the staff made an announcement that the older male Kangaroo was a little blind so any kids wanting to pet him should approach from the front and pet him lightly. We then watched as tons of kids – many of them shorter than the kangaroo – went up to pet them as their parents sat by sipping their beers and eating fries (chips).

We began wondering out loud why parents would let their kids so close to wild animals when two more kangaroos appeared inside the patio area. Then a green parrot joined them and they all ate out of a dog food bowl on the ground as if they were just somebody’s dogs at a brewery. Karen and I edged close enough to pet one and it felt like a wet sweatshirt. It was pretty cool to hang out with this pack of exotic animals as we sipped beers in the rain.

Our next stop Martin took us to get some food. He drove us to another restaurant ‘hotel’, a historic building that is now a pub. Carl and I split a brisket sandwich and it was soo good. We also had some nice beers.

Satisfied physically and emotionally, we assumed the day tour was over. But Martin surprised us with one more stop. He drove us to Kings Park, a huge, manicured parkway that sits above the city and overlooks Perth and it’s waterways. We walked along the trails and admired the native plants including a huge old Giant Boab tree that had been transplanted over 3,200 km from a place up the coast that was uprooting trees for mining.

We admired the colors of the sky above the city as the sun set behind us. Then we drove along the coast, back to Martin’s house. We watched some TV for a bit until we were hungry again. We decided to pick up some Turkish food from the nearby takeaway place. It happened to be next to a bar so we stopped in for one more pint.

Karen ordered an Apple Splash apple juice and she confused the bartender who asked, “is that just like normal apple juice?” and then handed her the teeny tiny box of juice as if it was her treat after nap time at the kindergarten. We finished our drinks (Karen faster than the rest of us, the lush), picked up the kebabs, and drove home to watch more Father Ted before going to sleep.

Monday, May 23

The weather forecast predicted 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms from about 10am to 4pm. We’d been monitoring the weather forecasts for the last few days and found them to be pretty accurate so we conceded to have a rainy day inside.

We caught up on some travel tasks like blog writing and trip planning. Around 3pm it seemed like there would be a break in the weather so we used that time to run to the nearby grocery store. We got groceries to restock Martin’s gracious supplies and picked up some ingredients for dinner. Walking back to the house we tempted fate and tried to make it, pausing under big trees whenever the rain picked up.

That night we made spaghetti, garlic bread, and ceasar salad. It was nice being able to cook for ourselves for once and we enjoyed the rest of staying in all day.

Tuesday, May 24

Even though it was more expensive than we had hoped, we decided to rent a car to have for a day in Perth and to take us down to Margaret River for a few days. We picked up the car at about noon and drove up to the Caversham Wildlife Park.

We got there at about 1:30pm and were immediately enthralled with all the weird animals. We spotted some Kookaburras and they even gave us a little laugh as we approached. We saw tons of beautiful birds including parrots, parakeets, owls, hawks, etc. Then we walked by the Cossaway enclosure. Cossaways are like ostrich but with a big hard crown on their heads. It was very social and came right up to the fence, looking at us. It was like looking into the eyes of a dinosaur and freaked me out.

We headed over to the Wombat exhibit and on the way saw flying foxes, a python, an adorable possum, a blue tongued lizard and a bobtailed lizard, and more beautiful birds. The staff person held the wombat on her lap with its belly up and it looked like it was totally asleep. She let us pet its bristly little knees as it chopped its teeth in its sleep. It was cute but I was jealous we didn’t get to hold it.

Next we went over to the Kangaroo feeding. On the way we saw penguins, a black swan, some pretty ducks, and some sort of huge pelican. The kangaroo area is a large open area in the middle of the park. Visitors can fill their pockets with kangaroo food pellets from a bin near the front and then roam around feeding Roos for as long as they please.

We first came upon a wallaby and as it burrowed its face in my palm to get some pellets I could feel it’s soft little furry chin. I reached up and pet his back leg area, which wasn’t quite as soft, but he didn’t seem to mind me petting as long as I kept the pellets flowing. Next I fed some kangaroos and found their coats to be luxuriously soft. Like those thick decorative blankets they sell at target.

Most of the kangaroos were sleeping when we came in but a couple sensed it was snack time and came over for some nibbles. We spotted a few joeys in pouches too!

Next it was koala photo time. They put a small koala named junior on a pedestal with some eucalyptus snack and let people come up and pet his hind legs and take photos. He was cute, but I wish I could’ve held him too.

The park was closing early because of COVID but we were able to see the dingos and some hilarious parrots just before we left. We heard the parrots say “hello?!” in an Australian accent and we couldn’t stop laughing about it.

Driving back to the house, we took advantage of having a car to stop by the grocery again to pick up ingredients to make pizza for dinner. We had some issues figuring out how to work Martin’s oven- some pizzas were nearly burned on the top but raw underneath- but eventually we figured it out. We watched a movie and went to sleep early, prepping for our road trip the next day.