The Lords are the Flies

Today we made our first trip outside of the city of Perth.  We headed East into what is commonly called the "Perth Hills" but has another 'real' name.  We drove into a very nice small town and then explored the area a little bit.  We managed to see some real Australian wilderness today and a few new creatures that call it home.  But make no mistake, the ruler in these parts are the flies.  They are smaller than the flies in Canada and they don't buzz until they're in your ear.  They are also relentless and the only reprieve is to go indoors and have a good cry about it.  Fortunately, they are only really a problem in the summer or when a wind from the East comes through.  However, every afternoon in the summer the Fremantle Doctor wind from the West blows them back inland.  Since we went inland today we found the motherload.  In between running from our car to a place and back to our car we managed to see a few sights:

 The view of the bush just east of Perth in the hills.  It's our first real glimpse of the Australian wilderness even though it's pretty tame.

On our way to the town and park.  On the right, behind the fence is a horse eating grass.  On the left outside the fence is a kangaroo eating grass.  One is wild, one is not.  They are both hungry.  That is all.

 

Picnicing in the bush.  We didn't want to stay still for too long to give the flies an opportunity to plan our kidnapping.

 Another of the parrots that live in the area.  I love parrots.  These particular parrots were all over this area looking for picnic left-overs.

 We finally saw a Kookaburra.  It was directly over us at our picnic table and looked to be checking out our lunch.  They are famous for their call but this one wasn't talking.

 Some of the local flora in the area.  As it's early summer here many of the plants are no longer flowering but some are.  One of them that is really amazing and currently flowering is the local lilac.  The lilacs here are trees rather than bushes and they are huge and they look like an explosion of purple and they smell just as nice as the lilacs in Canada

 Here we are following in the footsteps of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia:  After a tough day in the bush we headed to the local french cafe for crepes, coffee & milkshakes.

 This is a view of the city from the hills.  It was a little smoky today due to a fire south of the city.  The fire was actually a prescribed burn that went out of control and destroyed several homes in the Margaret River area about two hours south.

Here you'll find Nadia scheming about our future forrest home in the hills.  Some of the homes in this area were huge and had an amazing view of the city.  The only downside is that they are about 40 minutes away from the CBD and nowhere near the beach.  But there is a lake nearby and in this part of Australia there is nothing that likes to eat you in the lakes. 

While we were enjoying the view of the city this eagle was watching for food.  This picture doesn't really do it justice as it was very large with a huge wingspan.

Tomorrow we are going into 3 homes.  If we don't find anything we are in trouble as we need to be out of our apartment on December 3.  So, basically we are almost forced to pick one of the three.  That being said, we are hopeful that one of them will be okay.  If not, we may have to see if we can get a 6 month lease rather than a 1 year lease and then find another home at a better time of year for the market.  This is literally the worst time of year to try to find rental property because of the holiday season.  One month from now there will be plenty on the market but it will be too late for us by then.  Anyways, fingers crossed and hopefully I'll have good news to report shortly.