Leaving Home Away from Home

Earlier this week we said goodbye to Cyrus as he departed our home away from home for a home away from home away from home.  Cyrus flew to Auckland, New Zealand.  He is planning to stay in Auckland with his girlfriend for a few days and then do some work and backpack around the country.  His NZ visa is good for 1 year so there is a possibility we won't see him until June 2015 but we're guessing he'll run out of money well before that.

In any case, we're very proud of him that chose to embark on an adventure on his own.  Going backpacking in another country would be intimidating for anyone, never mind an 18 year old who's never really had any significant travel experiences alone.  We're a little nervous for him as his guardians, proud of him as parents and jealous of him as people.  Cyrus has already been in contact with us and he's doing fine. I can't wait to see him again already.

We don't exactly know when we'll be seeing Cyrus but we're pretty sure that we won't see him again until we're in Canada.  Recently, we made the decision to return to Calgary, likely in August 2014.  There are a number of reasons for our decision:

• we have 1 year left on our visa and we don't know if it will be renewed or extended
• we do not want to become Australian residents mostly for financial (Superannuation, cost of applying) and emotional (we are NOT Australian and don't want to be) reasons
• if Zaren and Cyrus choose to go for post-secondary education the cost to do so in Australia is very restrictive for non-residents (almost the same cost as going to Harvard)
• we want Keva to be able to finish high school in Canada
• we miss home and all the things that come with being there (including most of the people reading this)

Because we want to return for Keva to complete grade 11 and 12 we are planning to be back in time for the start of the school year in September.  However, we could leave sooner if:

1. I can get a job in Calgary
2. the home we're currently renting is leased to someone else quickly
3. we can tie up all the loose ends here and prepare for life in Calgary

1. The company that employs me was recently bought by a large US company that has a big office in Calgary.  I've already approached them about a transfer but there is no guarantee that there is a spot available for me.  If not, I will have to either quit outright or request a redundancy.  If I get a job with them in Calgary I'll have to negotiate the terms of my move (costs, timing, rates, etc.).  If I get a redundancy my employer will have to fly us all back to Calgary (except Cyrus), provide sea freight and possibly provide some temporary accommodation.  If I quit they'll have to pay for our flights home (except Cyrus).  So, there is a lot of decisions and activities that are dependent on what happens with my work.

2. Our home lease expires in November.  Since we're leaving before it expires it's considered a "break lease".  What that means is that we are responsible for paying the advertising to rent it, we are responsible for showing the home (open house) and we're responsible for paying the rent on the home either until our lease expires in November or someone else rents it before that.  So, we're preparing to list the house this week and home an open house next weekend.  If the home is leased quickly we could return to Calgary before August depending on the situation at work.

3. We have a car to sell and a bunch of electrical stuff (lamps, TV, heater, fans, exercise bike, etc.) that we need to sell since we can't use them in Canada.  We've already finished registering Keva in highschool in Calgary.  And we've already begun looking for a house to buy- we've narrowed down the neighborhoods to 3 with 1 clear frontrunner.  We have a tentative mortgage with the bank, however, if I had a job in Calgary to return to it would make the mortgage terms much better for us.

So, little by little we are getting closer to our return to Canada.  There are obviously a couple of large hurdles to overcome but we're confident that things will work out.  In the meantime, we are going to go back to Bali at the end of June as a going away gift to ourselves before we leave our home away from home and return home.

Our Great Northwestern Australia Adventure- Part 2

Part 2- Karijini to Exmouth and beyond

April 19-
We were sad to leave the Karijini. Although, the time we spent there was just enough. There is no fuel, no food stores, little water and rare facilities so unless you are very prepared for a long stay three days is enough to do just about everything there.

 We had a long day of driving ahead of us as we were leaving fields, hills and gorges of the Karijini and entering into a landscape that would make Mad Max feel at home. The scenery changed from the pale blue, rich green and deep reds to a washed-out, lonely, desolate place. Even though we drove a very long way from Perth to the Karijini and we were usually at least 100 km from civilization, the drive northward always felt safe. Almost as soon as we left the gas station at Tom Price, for the first time it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

 We finally arrived in Exmouth at around sunset. We stayed at the Lighthouse Caravan Park which was aptly named as it was located directly at the bottom of a hill beneath a lighthouse. The campground was very busy and very crowded but it had electrical power, a water connection, toilets, showers, a store and even a swimming pool! It was a far cry from the primitive and charming conditions of the Karijini but it was nice to have some human comforts.

April 20-
Our first full day in Exmouth.

Exmouth is a holiday resort town at the north west corner of Western Australia (and by virtue all of Australia). The primary activities in Exmouth are swimming, lounging at the beaches, snorkelling, diving, fishing, boating and wildlife watching. Exmouth is located at the northern end of Ningaloo Reef. This is Australia's largest fringing coral reef (close to shore) and the second largest reef in Australia after the Great Barrier Reef. The biggest differences between Ningaloo Reef and TGBR is that the latter is much larger, however, you have to take a boat to access it while much of Ningaloo can be reached by walking into the water.

Our plan for our first day was to discover some of the world class snorkelling in Ningaloo. Fortunately, we were able to get an early start as the kids in the campsite next to us were kind enough to scream, cry, play, laugh and fight starting at around 5:30 am. We made the relatively short drive to our first snorkelling destination called Lakeside. Lakeside is one of the three main snorkelling beaches in Exmouth and was the closest to our campsite. The reef was beautiful although not particularly colourful and the fish were many. It was probably among the best snorkelling that we had done... at the time.

 Nadia swimming over the coral at Lakeside.

 At Lakeside we swam over the huge Stingray that buried itself in the sand.  It had to be at least 6 feet long.

 After Lakeside we made our way to the next nearest of the three beaches called Turquoise Bay. The reason they gave this particular beach the name of Turquoise Bay is because it's located in a bay and the water is turquoise.  The snorkeling at Turquoise Bay is similar to Lakeside.  However, there is one cool feature: there is a really strong current that goes from south to north.  So, you get in the water on the south side of the bay and the current takes you over the coral to the north side of the bay.  You do need to be a little careful to make sure you get out when you're supposed to and not get swept out into the ocean.

The conditions were a little windy and the water was a little choppy but the snorkeling was quite good.  Swimming at Turquoise Bay is also really good as it's sheltered by the reef and quite shallow so the water is generally pretty calm.

A panoramic view of Turquoise Bay.

April 21-

The following day we went out to a snorkeling area known as Oyster Stacks.  It's a huge clump of the reef system right off the beach with coral all over the place, shallow water and the most fish I've ever encountered.  We ended up spending almost 4 hours at Oyster Stacks and it was our favorite snorkeling spot on the trip.  I think I ended up taking a picture of every fish in the ocean while there.

Just a few of the fish that we photographed: A school hiding under a coral ledge at Oyster Stacks.

Zaren is pretty casual when he snorkels.

April 22-

Today was the only activity that we booked on our entire trip and it was a big one...literally.

We were picked up at our campground at 7:45 am and the bus took us out to a harbour where we took a dingy out to a larger boat.  That boat was going to take us, 15 other people and 5 crew members outside the reef into the deep water to swim with the largest shark (and fish) on Earth: the Whale Shark.

Once we got out of the reef the crew first took us to do some snorkeling on the ocean side of the reef.  The water was a little deeper and the fish were a little bigger.

In this photo (taken by a professional) Nadia can be seen swimming in the bottom left.  She was basically chasing a White Tip Reef Shark (center right).  We actually saw three of them in this little reef along with plenty of other fish.

But swimming with the little sharks was just the warm up.  After we snorkeled and got accustomed to our gear we got back on the boat and waited for the planes overhead to find the big sharks.  It wasn't long before the first one was spotted.

When the planes do spot a shark they radio the coordinates to the boat right away and the boat races to the scene.  Once the boat crew spots the shark they position the boat about 30 meters in front of the shark and tell you to jump in the water.  It is illegal to approach a Whale Shark, however, it is legal for them to approach you.  So, the boat puts the swimmers in the path of the shark.

When you jump off the boat into what is deep, dark, open water it is a little surreal and unnerving.  You're floating in an unending darkness in the direct path of a huge shark eagerly awaiting for it to arrive.  This is the kind of thing most people generally try to avoid.  Even though these are the largest sharks in the world they are harmless.  They eat krill, plankton and, the reason they come to Ningaloo, coral blooms (corals releasing their eggs during the full moon).  Once you're in the water you can't really seen anything except for the people beside you, the blackness below you and the streaks of sunlight filtering into the abyss.  Then, all of a sudden, a giant animal is right beside you.  You don't really see it coming because of the lack of visibility.  It's just there before you know it.  The first shark we saw actually came up almost from directly beneath us and we didn't see it until we were very close to it.  We expected it to swim by in front of us but apparently it didn't get the memo.  We actually had to get out of it's way.  This first shark was actually very fast and we couldn't keep up with him.

This is the first Whale Shark we spotted as it came up from directly below where we were waiting.

We continued to try to swim with this monster for a little while but he was apparently in a hurry to be somewhere else so we moved on to the next spotted giant.  This one was a little more casual in his manner and was much easier to keep up with.

Cyrus giving the thumbs up in front of the shark.

Keva swimming next to the shark.

Me and the shark.

In total we spent about 5 hours chasing these sharks around the ocean.  It was exhausting and exhilarating and certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

April 23- 

We left Exmouth and made the 1.5 hour drive south to Coral Bay.  We arrived in the morning, had lunch and went snorkeling.  There weren't a lot of fish but there was a great deal of coral.  The beach was great too.  Unfortunately, the campground was a little like a refugee camp for hippies and bogans.

One of the draws of Coral Bay is that it's a nursing ground for some species of young sharks.  Unfortunately, when we were there it was out of season so we didn't see any sharks.  But we did spot several rays very close to the beach.

 Swimming among the coral in Coral Bay.

One of the many rays we spotted.

April 24- 

At 8:30 am we departed Coral Bay and made our way to the town of Denham in the World Heritage listed area of Shark Bay.  The evening before it rained for the first time on our trip.  It never rains at this time of year but the clouds were locked in.  We were driving in the desert under a flat, grey sky.  It washes out the red and green and makes the landscape seem more bleak, stark and desolate.

Between Coral Bay and Denham is what's called the "World Heritage Drive".  It's a guided tour of the world listed region.

The first stop on the World Heritage Drive is to see the Stromatolites.  While these clumps in the water look like rocks they are actually complex colonies of bacteria which is the oldest form of life on the planet: 3 billion years old!

We also stopped at a lookout called "Eagle Bluff" which is an elevated area over a sheltered bay.  What is special about this particular bay is that it is shelter for many different kinds of animals including dolphins, turtles, sharks and dugongs.  On this particular day we saw the Dugong (a cousin to the Manatee or Sea Cow) pictured above along with many little sharks.

April 25-

We left bright and early (7:30 am) to visit the world famous dolphins at Monkey Mia.  This is an area where since the 1960's a pod of dolphins have been coming into the shore to get breakfast and do a little socializing.  This particular morning was cold and wet.  IT NEVER RAINS HERE!  Literally, it can go 18 months without rain in this part of the world but not on the day we were there.  Even so, it was a pretty cool experience. 

Keva was one of the lucky people to get to hand feed a dolphin.  We also saw a turtle hanging out close by.

One of the dolphins sneaking a peak at us as we're watching her.

Our plan was to book a boat tour that afternoon where we could go wildlife watching, go out for dinner, pack up and leave the next morning.  However, the weather was so miserable (relatively speaking) we decided to leave that day.  We went for an artesan spa (natural hot spring), packed up and drove for home.  We managed to arrive at 8:30 that night.  One of the dangers of driving in Western Australia is that the Kangaroos (and some other wildlife) come out primarily at night and there are lots of them that get killed on the roads.  Fortunately, we didn't have any issues with the roos.  When we arrived home we were tired and needed to unpack the trailer as quickly as possible.  As a result, we ended up breaking the trailer.  It did manage to get fixed though and we and it were none the worse for wear.

This was very likely our last big trip in Australia.  Since we've been to the Karijini we don't feel the need to go to the Kimberly (and the crocs).  Trying to get to Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a real chore and expensive.  We still haven't been to Sydney but we may make a weekend trip out of it.  Otherwise, this was our last real Australian excursion and it's safe to say we went out on a high note.  It was a totally unique, totally unforgettable trip and it may be hard to top...but we'll keep trying.

Our Great Northwestern Australia Adventure- Part 1

13 days

3500 km

5 Klamers

1 (really small) tent trailer

2 equatorial regions

1 tent

0 roadkill

These are the vital statistics for our recently completed great northwestern Australia adventure.  Many months ago we decided that we would try our hand at Australian camping.  We also agreed that we wanted to visit the Karijini and Ningaloo regions.  We killed two- or three- birds with one stone (despite the birds having never wronged us in any way) and went camping for two weeks primarily in Karijini and Ningaloo.  We managed to cram in a lot of stuff into a relatively small period of time so this will be broken up into two posts.

Part 1- The Karijini

April 12-

We officially began our journey when we picked up our rented tent trailer on April 12.  We've done a lot of camping over the years but all of it has been in a tent.  Unfortunately, our vehicle towing capacity isn't particularly robust so we were confined to getting the Jayco Finch: a compact little trailer with a fridge, sink, kitchen and, in theory, enough beds to sleep five people.  In order to sleep five, however, Zaren and Cyrus would have to share a small bed and Keva would be sleeping on the kitchen table so we all agreed that it would be best for the boys to sleep in a tent.

The night before we started driving we were preparing some last moment items for our trip including our Jerry Can of extra fuel.  Unfortunately, one of the nozzles of the fuel can wasn't completely closed and in the short 2 minute drive from the fuel station to our home we spilled enough gasoline in our car to make it smell like an un-kept refinery.  We scrambled to buy some kitty litter and other stuff to clean as much as we could and to absorb the odor.

April 13-

Planned time of departure: 8:30 am

Actual time of departure: 10:45 am

Unfortunately, our voyage was delayed as we tried to clean the gasoline out of the car.  Our efforts were mostly futile and we did the best we could to contain the odor.  

The first travelling portion of our journey began on the Great Northern Highway.  That's a very bold name for a road but it is more or less accurate.  Not because the road is in great or even good or even fair shape; it's anything but.  But rather because the road leads you to the northern section of Western Australia which truly is great.  The road itself is narrow, single lane, too fast (110 km limit), too busy with industrial traffic and not maintained particularly well.

***WARNING***

The next section may disturb some.  It contains a mild description of some graphic images that may be disturbing to those that have never left their house. If so, please skip over the italicized portion below.

The drive along the Great Northern Highway is actually quite picturesque.  There are areas of forest, desert, scrub, woodland and waterways.  However, the most frequent scene along the road from Perth to the Karijini is the roadkill.  At first, the dead animals on the side of the road are mostly kangaroos.  As you drive on you see lizards, foxes, birds, goats, sheep, snakes, feral cats, what we think might have been a dingo at some point and...cows.  Yes, cows.  There were great big cows that have been plowed into and killed by the huge trucks and road trains.  Apparently, the animals that are killed on the roadside are not moved or collected at any point in time, but rather are left to rot at the side of the road.  We saw former animals from accidents that were as recent as the dearly day-old departed to those old enough to be nothing left but skull and bones on the highway.  The freshly plowed cows were particularly revolting as they would plump up like a balloon, with their legs sticking skyward.  One had the impression that if one lightly stuck one of these behemoths with a pin that they would explode like a grotesque, giant water balloon.

Besides roadkill, the most constant companion we had was that of the 'roadtrains'.  These are trucks that are carrying more than one trailer, and often are carrying up to three.  The Karijini is in a heavy iron ore mining district- one of the most productive on the planet- and as such there is a great deal of commercial traffic.  Most of the trucks going by aren't much of a problem, despite the narrow, single lanes.  However, occasionally you run into a very wide load.

There were times where we had to pull over on the shoulder because this road wasn't big enough for the two of us.

 There are many rest stops along the way.  Some have overnight camping, toilets and even showers.  Others are simply a place to momentarily rest and to deposit your litter and these places clearly do not have toilets as the sticker above alludes to:  "If you're going to take a dump take a bloody shovel".  Translation: if you're going to poop here please bury it away, friend.  Australians have a unique charm that is all their own.

About 700 km later we arrived in the town of Cue where we managed to find a campsite to sleep overnight.

April 14-

Even in the middle of nowhere there are roosters crowing at 5:30 am.  Unfortunately, we never saw any of them on the highway but the town of Cue is tiny but still big enough that we had the opportunity to run over a pedestrian if we wanted.  We didn't.  The townspeople of Cue were safe, the rooster lives on and the car stinks of gasoline and kitty litter.
 
We left Cue bright and early and started making our way north towards the mining town of Newman where we planned to spend the evening.  I've actually been to Newman once before on business. I flew in in the morning and flew back in the evening and that was more than enough to see what there is to see in Newman.

It's a long, monotonous 600 km drive from Cue to Newman and really the only thing to do is get lost in the landscape and your own thoughts.  As a result, driving in the Australian outback can be a somewhat strange experience.  The sky is a massive pale blue dome that seems to smother the deep red of the rocks and the rich green of the shrubs.  It is sometimes overwhelming to the senses and in the same moment dull.  It seems like a different world but also somewhat reminiscent. It can appear desolate and rich all at once.  At times I caught myself in a moment of realization, "wow, I can't believe I'm here!" It may seem odd that I should have that sort of experience since we've lived here for two and a half years and we've seen the outback on several occasions.  But being out on the open road with just the road trains, exploding cows and the scenery really sunk into me.  The drive was almost just as much of a memorable experience as the places we visited... or I could have just been high from the gasoline fumes.

Dotting much of the landscape are many red monoliths.  In some fields there are thousands of them.  In fact, these are termite mounds.  The ones we saw varied in size from knee high to maybe 3 meters tall.  Above, Keva is standing beside an averaged sized termite nest.

One of the issues that one faces when driving over 3500 km and towing a trailer is that there is an almost constant need for fuel.  This isn't lost on the local entrepreneurs who are littered about the towns and roadhouses (a place to rest, eat, sleep, fuel) along the highway.  One roadhouse in particular called Kumarina Roadhouse just happened to be situated in any area that was far away enough from the next two fueling points that they had a monopoly on the fuel for traffic travelling the Perth-Karijini route as well as the traffic coming from or going to Newman, Port Hedland, Broome and the various mine sites dotting the country side.  They certainly took advantage of it.

 The fuel at Kumarina Roadhouse was 202.5 cents per liter!  That is about 60-70 cents more than in Perth, about 30 cents more than we paid in most other parts of our journey and easily the most we've ever paid anywhere.  

As mentioned, we were going to stop in Newman for the night but the travel was so easy (despite the cost) and we were making such good time that we decided to go right through to Karijini National Park.  We arrived just in time to get a spot and set up before it got dark.

April 15-

We survived our first night in Karijini despite the nighttime temperatures getting a little on the cool side.  Karijini is basically a red desert that is covered with beige grass, stumpy shrubs and the occasional hardy tree.   The days are hot. The nights are cool.  The car stinks of petroleum waste.  The campsite itself is very raw: there is no power and no water.  There are pit toilets and the showers are available, for a price, at the visitor center nearby.

  

 Our initial set-up in our spot in the Karijini in Dale's Gorge campground.

What the Karijini is really known for are it's numerous gorges and water features.  Driving through the area you'd never suspect that there are a handful of deep gorges that cut through the landscape and create unique, beautiful and bountiful environments.  Our campsite was located within a 10 minute walk of Dale's Gorge.  So that is where we spent our first day.

 After a short walk from our campground and a steep decline into the gorge, we found Fern Pool.  This is a natural pool with a waterfall.  It even has fish in it.  This is considered a sacred site by the traditional owners of the land.  You are allowed to swim here but out of respect for the area you are not to splash or dive.  In the picture above Keva is in the foreground while me, Zaren and Cyrus are sitting under the waterfall.

 A short walk from Fern Pool is Fortescue Falls.  This is a slightly larger waterfall just downstream of Fern Pool.  Above, Nadia and I are sitting at the base of the falls.

 Further down the gorge is Circular Pool.  It is located basically right at the end of the gorge and is surrounded by high, steep, red walls.  The pool almost never gets any sun and is colder than the other pools.  The waterfall at the top right of the photo comes directly out of the rock of the canyon and is quite warm.

The Karijini is located in an area where there is almost no development.  There is one building within miles (the visitor center) and the only other light is from campers flashlights and lanterns.  The Karijini also almost never has clouds or rain.  As a result, the views of the stars are unbelievable.  The first night we had a full moon early in the evening so it was difficult to see many stars but in subsequent nights the moon rose later at night.  I have never seen the galaxy so clearly with my naked eye.  Nadia and I even saw two shooting stars within a couple minutes of each other.  Unfortunately, our camera couldn't quite capture the sky as it deserved to be.

April 16-

The next must-see stop in the Karijini was the Weano Gorge.  Unfortunately, this gorge was about a 60 km drive away and only a very small portion of it was paved.  Most of the 1 hour drive took place along the red, rough corduroy road of Bunjima Drive.

 An iconic red Australian road.  Not bad if you have a 4 wheel drive, but a little bumpy in our case.  The bouncy road did nothing to diminish the smell of gasoline.

When we finally arrived at Weano Gorge we were shaken but unstirred.  Our first destination was an offshoot of Weano called Hancock Gorge.  It was a long, sometimes narrow, sometimes wet journey along the canyon floor.

 Above, the kids are traversing the side of the gorge above the water.

 Above, Keva is in the water while Zaren takes the high road.

 Keva and Nadia are at the narrowest portion of the gorge called the "Spider Walk" where you have to, um, spider walk to get through.

 Finally, we arrived at Kermit Pool.  Nadia and Keva are swimming while Zaren and Cyrus are watching from the wall.  This was probably my favorite spot in all of the gorges.

We spent a lovely morning at Kermit Pool bathing and sunning until we were covered in shadow.  Then we made our way to Weano Gorge and hiked down to Handrail Pool.

 Handrail pool above.  In the center is a waterfall with Keva sitting at the base of it.  Cyrus and Zaren are sitting center-right and Nadia is just right of that.  To get to this pool you literally need to use the installed handrail to descend from the top of the waterfall.

April 17-

We were starting to run a little low on fuel and we still had two days left in the Karijini.  The nearest fuel from the Karijini is 80 km away and that's back the way we came.  It's over 100 km to get fuel in the direction we'll be travelling.  There is no fuel in the park itself.  So, planning your top-ups is essential.  On this particular morning, I got up and drove the 80 km to the nearest gas station at the Munjina Roadhouse to make sure we had enough gas for the next two days.  I fueled up, changed the cars kitty litter for a fresh batch, got some miscellaneous supplies and drove back to start our day at Knox Gorge. 

Knox Gorge is a deep, long gorge with a gentle stream running like an artery to it's heart.  There were many areas to possibly stop to swim, sunbathe, relax and take it all in but we went to the end of the gorge which turned out to be the best spot.

 At the end of Knox Gorge.  Under the shear red cliffs in the center of the picture you can see Cyrus, Zaren, Keva and Nadia.

18 April-

Our last day in the Karijini.  We decided to go back to the Dales Gorge because it was close by and we enjoyed it so much the first time.

 We spent the morning at Circular Pool along with our little friend in the bottom left corner.  It's known as a  guana and is the largest lizard in Australia.  It is basically the same as African Monitor Lizards and is a relative of the Komodo Dragon.  They are curious, harmless and actually have some personality.  Their were several other visitors to the pool in the morning of the human variety and unusually almost none of them were Australian.  For whatever reason most of the tourists were German.

In the afternoon we went back to Fern Pool and then Fortescue Falls.  Some European backpackers apparently missed the whole "sacred" thing and were jumping and diving in the water.  The whole family managed to get in a picture together at Fortescue Falls above. 

After a great deal of patience we managed to spot and capture an elusive Karijini cloud on film!

We really enjoyed the Karijini.  It was a totally unique and surreal experience for all of us and something that I'll personally never forget.  The Karijini is a little bit like a life giving oasis in the middle of a death valley.  It is a place of contrasts: hot and cold, dry and wet, hard and soft, beautiful and unforgiving, devoid of anything and teeming with life.  If this were to be the end of our trip we would have been satisfied.  But this was only the first half.  Part 2 coming soon...

Albany

Last weekend Nadia and I had a parents only trip to Albany, a town located about 400km SE of Perth on the Southern Ocean.  Albany and the surrounding area are known for beautiful cliffs, wonderful beaches, lush forests (by WA standards), spectacular scenery and amazing wildlife.  We had 3 days in Albany and area and we certainly made the most of it.

The Albany Highway provides a straight 4 1/2 hour drive from Perth to Albany.  You can also choose to drive the long way along the coast, via Busselton and Margaret River.  Since we've been in that area a few times now we chose the direct route and we were pleasantly surprised that it was a relatively scenic drive, despite going through farmland and some desert.

 The "Gap" is not just an overpriced clothing store.  It is also a geological formation near Albany.  Above, Nadia is standing on a platform on the top right overlooking "The Gap": a deep crevasse where the ocean surges powerfully between the cliffs.  The Southern Ocean is often unpredictable and several people have died in the area from rogue wave sweeping them out to sea.  So even from 10 meters above the water, one must be vigilant in this area.  The power of the swells hitting the cliffs was really unbelievable.

 The ocean is so powerful and relentless that it is able to carve to coastline.  A few steps away from the "Gap" is the "Bridge".  This is a natural formation where the ocean swell has eviscerated part of the limestone, leaving a natural bridge in it's place.  It is dangerous to walk on this particular bridge, not because the rock itself is unstable but because a sudden swell could sweep you into the Southern Ocean.  Not far from this area is a phenomenon known as the "Blow Holes".  The ocean surge has eroded the very bottom of the cliffs over the millenia.  So, the swell now goes under the cliffs in some places.  In a couple of those places there are small openings on the surface of the cliff.  So, when the water surges under the cliff it forces air and water up through the openings and it has the effect of a little geyser.  Also, it makes the rocks sound like a whale exhaling.  It's a pretty cool experience.

 Albany is really lovely in the Summer, which is now in the Southern Hemisphere.  Because it is south of Perth and on the coast it is a little cooler that Perth making it a very comfortable place to visit in the summer.  In the winter, it is not quite as pleasant as the average high is around 16C with Antarctic winds and wetter conditions.  However, for several months over the winter this makes Albany a perfect spot for several whale species to migrate and hang out.  Albany is considered one of the best whale watching areas in the world and was originally a whaling station.  You can still see the remnants of the whaling industry in Albany which shut down only recently in 1978.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales but we did see the usual wildlife like kangaroos, birds and lizards.  Also, we almost ran over a tiger snake on the way home.  But our most interesting encounter was when we were walking through town and something scuttled across our path.  When we got it in the light it turned out to be the biggest spider I have ever scene outside of a pet store. I'm not 100% sure but I believe that it was a Huntsman spider which look nasty but are relatively harmless to people.

Albany has some rugged coastline but it also has some amazing natural beaches.  One of them, known as "Little Beach" (above) is considered one of the top 5 beaches in Australia.  It was a little difficult to get to due to the high tide but when we did it was absolutely spectacular.

 The beaches are beautiful, the sand is white and the water is clear...and cold!  Perth is on the Indian Ocean which is relatively warm.  Albany is located on the Southern Ocean which it shares with places like Antarctica.  So, the water was certainly a little cooler to be in.  Even so, it was really nice to experience.  Apparently, in the winter whales often rest in the spot where Nadia is swimming even though it's very shallow.

 About 45 minutes west of Albany is the town of Denmark.  It's a lot like Albany except a little smaller and more quaint.  The best natural attraction in Denmark is called "Greens Pool" which is a bay surrounded by boulders which act as a natural sea break.  As a result, the bay has become a large, calm pool where you can swim and snorkel.  We arrived as the weather was starting to cool so we didn't spend too much time in the water but we hope to come back and explore the bay with our snorkel gear.

                              

To the north of Albany is a small national park called Porongurup.  From the indigenous language this translates into "let's see them try to pronounce this" (not really).  It's a tiny little "mountainous" (by Australian standards) forested park surrounded by farmland and full of great hiking trails.  The hiking trail we chose was short but challenging.  When we were there it was overcast which gave the place a bit of a spooky vibe.  The animal skull and bleeding trees added to the overall charm of the place.

In fact, the place was quite lovely and the view from the top was spectacular.  It even had decent data reception.

We hope to go back to Albany and area again.  We definitely want to go back to see the whales and we may go back again in the summer to explore some other areas.  But now we feel like we've now explored all of Western Australia except for the northwest portion...coming to a blog near you in early May.

Steven Sealberg

Last week our favorite Perth beach was invaded and temporarily taken over by a 2000 kg sub-adult Elephant Seal.  These behemoths are typically found in Antarctic waters but occasionally they will venture north to Australia.  Even so, it's very unusual for Elephant Seals to loiter on urban beaches in Western Australia.  He created quite a stir in the city to the point where the local wildlife enforcement people had to put up a fence around him.  He even got his own Twitter account at https://twitter.com/sorrentoseal.

Steven was with us for about a week, although, he had the occasional break from the beach, the crowds and the hot temperatures when he disappeared back into the Indian Ocean.  Since Sorrento Beach is only a few minutes away, we took some time to visit Steven.

 Keva and Nadia standing behind the fence along with dozens of others watching Steven's every non-move.  Elephant Seals are really lazy.  This one was a teenager so double the laziness factor.  There was a lot of scratching, sleeping and belching involved.  Did I mention he's like a teenager?

A closer look at Steven.  Normally Elephant Seals haul up on the beach to rest (like Steven) or to breed or to give birth.  Unfortunately for Steven he's only 2000 kg and therefore still about 1 metric tonne shy of being able to compete for prime beach real estate with the big boys.  But he had our favorite beach all to himself.

Hopefully Steven comes back.  There was an Elephant Seal that went to the Exmouth area (where we're visiting in April) and stayed for 3 months.  So, perhaps if we're lucky Steven will decide to make Perth his crash pad until he's old enough to move in somewhere a little more respectful.

Phuket, We're Going to Thailand!

In late January the Klamers of Oz took a one week long family vacation to Phuket, Thailand.  Phuket is a small island on the south west of Thailand surrounded by the Andaman Sea.  One of the advantages of living in Perth is that places like Phuket, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Hong Kong all have direct flights from Perth.  Also, the time zone is either the same or 1-2 hours off.  So, it makes travelling from Perth to SE Asia very accessible and relatively cheap.

Although there is some political turmoil in Bangkok at the moment, there are very few signs of it in Phuket.  It is an area that caters to tourists and the locals do their best to insulate travelers from any political troubles.  So life in Phuket right now is basically 'life as usual'.  What that means is lots of sun, sand, water, food, Ladyboys and *insert dramatic music* Russians!  We saw plenty of Ladyboys (more on this later) and it was basically what we expected.  It was entertaining and somewhat fascinating, if nothing else.  However, what we did not expect were the Russians.  The island was crawling with them.  Phuket used to be a vacation destination primarily for Australian and Scandinavian tourists.  However, a few years ago some inspired Russian businessmen set up direct flights from Moscow to Phuket.  They also rented out several hotels in their entirety for a couple of years at a discount and then resold the rooms as part of a vacation package back in Russia.  The result is that, by my estimation, at least 80% of the tourists in Phuket are Russians.  The knock-on effect is that many of the shop signs are in Thai, English and Russian and most of the vendors can speak all three languages.  Unfortunately, most of the Russians travelling to Phuket are "New Money Russians", which essentially means they came into a lot of money but they didn't come into any sense of appropriate behavior.  But they didn't bother us much and I was able to eavesdrop whenever I felt like it.  Sadly, none of the overheard conversations were even remotely interesting.

The only complaint we had was that Phuket (and Thailand) is somewhat dirty.  In just about every area outside of the beach, water and resorts there is a large amount of litter.  Combined with the heat and humidity, the trash stinks up most of the island although some places are worse than others.  It also attracts a lot of stray dogs.  Even so, this was a minor irritation on what was a very nice trip. 

Anyways, the following is a visual representation of our trip to Phuket along with the usual commentary.

The first thing we did upon arriving in Phuket, after marveling at our beautiful hotel, was to hit the beach.  There are several 'main' beaches in Phuket and they are all beautiful.  There are businesses set up on the beach that charge the equivalent of $1 for the use of 1 lounge chair and associated umbrella for an entire day.  Above from left to right: Cyrus (with a coconut), Keva, Nadia, Zaren.

Not only were the beaches beautiful but the water and the scenery were outstanding.  The ocean is crystal clear and calm and the beach is surrounded by the iconic little Phuket islands.

Being underwater is great too.  The only problem with the water in Phuket is the abundance of Sea Lice.  When we were in the water we would be continually bitten by the Sea Lice.  It wasn't painful but it was irritating.  As soon as you leave the water they die and even in the water they are harmless.

 One of the best things about Phuket (and Thailand in general) is the Thai food.  There was no shortage of really good, cheap restaurants near the beach, on the main strip or on the mountains that top the island.

 The main method of transportation (on land) in Phuket is motorized scooters.  They probably outnumber cars about 20 to 1.   In Thailand people drive as you probably expect they drive: without much concern for safety.  During our trip we saw a couple of people who had clearly been in scooter accidents: they had road rash.  The local term for this is a "Thai Tattoo".  Even so, we decided to live a little dangerously and we rented three scooters to drive around the island.  In the photo above, Nadia is at the head of the gang followed closely by the Zaren/Cyrus scooter, with Keva and I assuming the anchor position.  We were quite careful on the road so we didn't have any trouble and we managed to travel around a good portion of the island we otherwise wouldn't have been able to without engaging the local Taxi Mafia.

 The towns and beaches in Phuket are nice but the real draw are the islands and coves that dot the coastline around Phuket.  We booked two separate ocean tours.  On the first we took a speed boat to Pnang Nga which is an area with many lagoons, islands, coves, etc.  Above, we are in one of the coves at the front of the boat.

 On that same trip we were able to do a little snorkelling.  Above, Nadia is feeding some of the locals a little banana.

 Also on the tour we were taken to a rainforest which contained one of the biggest trees on the island.

 We were taken Sea Kayaking through a series of coves and caves.  Above, Zaren and Cyrus are enjoying someone else doing all the work.  We were taken to several coves on the tour, one of them being the location of the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio.

 The tour also included a fly-by of James Bond Island aka Khao Phing Kan.  It was featured in the the movie The Man With the Golden Gun.  Since then it has become a full on tourist trap.  We didn't land on the island as there were hundreds of people and dozens of boats.

 One of the islands we did visit is Koh Panyee.  It is a small fishing village complete with a mosque and a floating soccer field.  We explored the village and had lunch at a really nice restaurant.

Here's a little video about the story of the village it's famous soccer field:

 We also did a little cave trekking.  Fortunately, at the time we were there the tide was low.  Even so, we had to wade through water up to our knees.  At high tide it would have been inaccessible.

 This is what was on the other side of the cave.

There are a few islands which now are home to wild Macaque monkeys.  They were initially brought to the islands for research but quickly went wild and now have strong populations in the area.  They are all still wild animals but are quite used to humans.   Above, Keva offers one of them a banana.

On the second tour we did more snorkeling than the first.  It included snorkeling in a beautiful lagoon that had a cave and plenty of fish.  At this point we were really getting the hang of snorkeling. Unfortunately, at this point I hadn't yet mastered the art of underwater filming, so enjoy my thumb.

 There are lots of bustling streets around Phuket.  These places offer shopping, eating and plenty of people watching.  When walking around in the evening we would encounter a good deal of Ladyboys (men who are dressed and act like women).  Some of them are involved in cabaret shows that feature only Ladyboys while some work as servers in restaurants and bars.  Those that work in the bars are generally there to try to entice tourists to come and spend their money in that establishment.  Zaren and Cyrus were particularly popular among the Ladyboys that we passed at these bars.  Frankly, I was a little insulted.  Yes, I may be fat, bald and hairy but I want to be objectified too dammit!

 We were in Phuket during Keva's 16th birthday.  One of the things she wanted to do was to take a tuk-tuk (above).  The taxi situation is Phuket is a little dicey.  There is, what is referred to as, a "taxi mafia" which tries to take advantage of tourists by overcharging, "getting lost" and making unrequested stops at their cousins jewelry store.  We didn't have any of those issues fortunately.

 On January 29th we decided to split up for half the day.  Zaren and Nadia wanted to take a Thai cooking course...

...while the rest of us went for a tour of an elephant park...

...and a ride on one of the bigger ones.

Phuket was a beautiful area and we were all quite pleased with the trip.  Nobody got sick and we really didn't have any trouble throughout our journey.  We found that a lot of the locals weren't particularly friendly (and you wouldn't be either if you were surrounded by Russians all day) but it wasn't too bad.  The biggest issue we had was that almost all of the street hawkers that were trying to get us to buy stuff thought that we were Australian.  So, that was a little insulting but it was a nice change not being mistaken for Americans.