How I Spent My Anzac Day

Since yesterday was a public holiday and the kids last day of break before the next term, we decided to go out and get acquainted with the area a little more.  One of the items that's been on our agenda for a while is the city of Mandurah.  It's about 45 minutes south of Perth and is actually the 2nd largest city in Western Australia.  However, the TransPerth commuter train goes to Mandurah so some people live there and commute to the city.  While it is a seperate city it's also considered, by some, a suberb of greater Perth.

 The road to Mandurah is Mandjoogoordap Drive.  Not kidding (above).

As we arrived in Mandurah we didn't really know what to expect. We read that the bayside portion of Mandurah is a very nice harbour area with restaurants, boating, crabbing and some local wildlife. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, and even before we were able to park, we spotted some dolphins swimming about 10 meters offshore from where we were. We thought that was pretty cool. However, as we discovered they are basically local residents and are there all the time.

 We decided to go on a 1 hour cruise (a 1 hour cruise) around the harbour.  The dolphins followed us out of the harbour and all the way to the ocean.  It took about 10 minutes and the whole time they were almost within our reach.  Above you can see Keva looking at the dolphins as we're going.  There were four of them: two moms and two babies, the youngest of which was only 3 weeks old. The dolphins use the boats wake to propel themselves through the water.  I don't know if they were playing, lazy or something else but it was a neat experience for all of us.  

After the dolphins hitched a ride with another boats wake we were toured around the local "community".   This community is like no other I've ever seen.  All of the streets are canals (like Venice) and all of the homes are enourmous.  The hundreds of homes in the area have both land and water access for cars and boats.  The average plot of land costs $1 million, although, one area was released for $300,000 per plot and sold out in 12 minutes.  The original community was owned by one family for several generations.  Several years ago they sold the land, minus the area where their home and barn stand, to a developer for $1.5 million dollars.  Needless to say, that develop has made their money back many, many times over.  The dolphins will occasionally even swim up the canals.  How's that for a backyard critter?

One of the other claims to fame of the area is crabbing.  Apparently, anyone can do it with no experience, you just need a crab net which is sold at the local store for $9.  Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go crabbing but maybe next time.  Regardless, we went to scout out the crabbing location.  On the way there we saw this:

 The name of the business in the strip mall is called "Just Cremations".  Their slogan is "Prepaid Funerals:  The best time to organize your funeral is when you're Alive and Well!"  Catchy.

 The crabbing area itself was quite picturesque.  Nearby we discovered a couple of walking trails.  One of the trails went around this lake (marsh/swamp/slew?)  The water was black and still and it was full of dead trees.  The lake and trees were covered with hundreds of ducks. 

 On the way home we stopped at the Fremantle port hoping to catch site of the USS Vinson (?), the US aircraft carrier that disposed of Osama Bin Laden's corpse in the Arabian Sea.  We didn't find it but we're hoping to this weekend.  What we did find is a whole bunch of people who either can't read or don't care- example above.

As we were leaving Fremantle we saw a bunch of other stuff like an old whaling station, the oldest building in Western Australia and the lighthouse (above).  

ANZAC Day

Every April 25 is Anzac Day in Australia, New Zealand the Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn, and Tonga. Yes, these are all real actual places.  It is no longer observed as a national holiday in Papua New Guinea or Samoa but was at one point.  It is a national (and somewhat international) day of remembrance to honour the members of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Galipoli against the Ottoman Empire during WWI.  It commemorates the first military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the first World War.

It is a big deal here.  It is considered a public holiday (yay! no work) in both Australia and New Zealand.  This is rare in that two sovereign nations share the same remembrance day and incorporate both their names in the official day.

When war broke out in Europe in 1914 Australia, New Zealand (and Canada and many others) joined the struggle as  dominions of the British Empire.  According to Wikipedia:

In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, according to a plan by Winston Churchill to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was an ally of Germany during the war. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). What had been planned as a bold strike to knock the Ottomans out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. The Allied casualties included 21,255 from the United Kingdom, an estimated 10,000 dead soldiers from France, 8,709 from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand, and 1,358 from British India. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
Though the Gallipoli campaign failed to achieve its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, the actions of the Australian and New Zealander troops during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This has shaped the way their citizens have viewed both their past and their understanding of the present.

Anzac Day was officially commemorated on April 25, 1916 (or 25 April, 1916 in Australian).  The soldiers of Australia and New Zealand have been honoured on April 25 ever since.

Australia, in particular, has a rich (if that's the proper word) military history.  It started, of course, 220 years ago with the frontier battles between the British and Aborigines.  I don't want to spoil the ending but suffice it to say I am not considered a visible minority in Australia.  During the 19th century, essentially any war that was fought by the British, and there were a few of them, were also fought to some extent by Australia.

As an independent nation Australia fought in the WWI and WWII, as well as in the wars in Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam during the Cold War. In the Post-Vietnam era Australian forces have been involved in numerous international peacekeeping missions, through the UN and other agencies, including in the Persian Gulf, Rwanda, Somolia, Soloman Islands and they were one of the primary peacekeeping forces during the genocide in East Timor (Indonesia).  More recently they have also fought as part of multi-lateral forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, nearly 103,000 Australians died during the course of these conflicts.

War and military service has been a major cultural definer in Australia.  It has helped shape the flavour of the nation to a large extent, particularly among the male population. It has also shaped the political ties of the nation.  Up until the Japanese attack on Australia in WWII, Australia had it's closest military alliance with Great Britain.  However, due to the US Pacific campaign those ties shifted during the second World War and continue to this day.  As a matter of fact, the US just announced about 4 months ago that they were building a major Navy base in Darwin (the northern tip of Australia).  Also, Australia is the only country in the world to join the USA in every war since WWII.  Not even Canada can claim that, not that we'd want to.  The US has essentially underwritten Australia security since 1942 and the Australians haven't forgotten it.

So, since we're in Australia now I just want to take a moment on this day to say thanks to all that served and sacrificed.  I hope that we can learn from past and that my children never have to endure what so many have endured in order to give us the opportunities that we have in life.  Here's hoping to a little peace.

 

Fat and Happy

Recently I read two seperate studies within a couple of weeks of each other.  Both are very subjective and both touch on quality of life. 

Australia is a happy place. The UN did a survey of the level of happiness of the worlds developed countries.  The results are below.  

1) Denmark
2) Finland
3) Norway
4) Netherlands
5) Canada
6) Switzerland
7) Sweden
8) New Zealand
9) Australia
10) Ireland

I've seen a few different lists from the same study so it appears that the results are somewhat fluid.  However, the same countries, more or less, tend to show up on most lists.  Some observations of the list:

-4 of the countries are Scandanavian.  Apparently there's something about cross-country skiing and sauna's that makes you happy.  I thought the frustration of trying to assemble Ikea furniture would have pushed Sweden off the list altogether.

-7 are in Europe if you count Ireland as part of Europe.  I guess the constant threat of living in default has the peculiar side-effect of giddiness.

-8 are considered cold climate regions, although it could be 9 if you consider New Zealand a cold climate.  I know that every winter day in Calgary I'd arrive home and be happy that I survived the roads.

-The USA just missed the top 10 by finishing 11th.  If you removed the city of Detroit from the country for the purposes of this study the USA probably would have finished top 5.

-Canada was on some top 10 lists but not on others.  I suppose it depends on the time of year that the survey took place.  If the survey was during hockey season and the respondents team had won that day it would result in a very different result than the boredom and gloom of the NHL off-season.  Also, if the survey took place just after last year's NHL playoff the residents of BC would have likely had a very negative response.  However, the rest of Canada would have been very happy.  Either way, it's a world top "happy country".

The other study looked at the fattest countries in the world.  The fattest developed nations in the world, according to the World Health Organization, are:

1) USA ("USA, USA, USA!!!")
2) Mexico
3) New Zealand
4) Chile
5) Australia
6) Canada
7) UK
8) Ireland
9) Luxembourg
10) Finland

Again, I've seen a few different versions of this list as well but they're all relatively consistent with each other.  (I've seen Australia listed as high as 2nd in this category.  Which is surprising considering that it's a sporty culture with lots of good opportunities to go outdoors and be active.  I blogged about our surprise at the Aussie waist line a couple months ago.)

Some interesting tidbits from the 'fat' list include:

-All 3 countries in North America are represented.  Canada, US and Mexico are among the fattest countries in the world and they all share the same land mass.  If I were a zombie in the upcoming zombie apocolypse I know the continent where I'd want to live.

-There is an even split between warm and cold climate nations.  Climate does not appear to be a factor in determining waistline.  So, global warming will not necessarily make us thinner.  Rush Limbaugh can now stop denying climate change is taking place.

-6 of the countries are english speaking (including Canada and if you consider the Irish as english speaking- just saying).  Considering the cuisine of many english speaking nations (burgers, steak, fish & chips, poutine, beer) this is shocking!

Some of the world's most powerful and populous developed nations are missing from both lists. Germany, France, Spain, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Italy and others are neither on the top 10 of the happy or fat lists. I'm not suggesting that they are skinny and miserable, the United Nations is suggesting that they are skinny and miserable...

When comparing the two lists some of the common countries that appear on both the happy and fat top 10 lists are:

Finland- 2nd happy, 10th fat
Canada- 5th happy, 6th fat
New Zealand- 8th happy, 3rd fat
Australia- 9th happy, 5th fat
Ireland- 10th happy, 8th fat
USA- 11th happy, 1st fat

In general there seems to be a correlation between fat and happy.  I suppose that this shouldn't come as a surprise since the citizens of nations that don't have to worry about starving to death tend to be a little more satisfied with their daily life than our starving, scrounging brethren around the world.
For the Klamer clan, it means that we've gone to a slightly less happy place (5th to 9th) and to a very slightly fatter place (5th to 6th).  Either way, it's really about the same for both measures.  So, we can be fat and jolly in either Canada or Australia.  However, we can be a lot warmer, fat and jolly in Australia than we can in Canada. In turn we can parade our fatness and jollyness at the beach on a regular occasion.  Maybe that's what's keeping the Australia happiness numbers lower than they should be?  Mystery solved.

We're Home-ish

Last night we arrived back 'home' to Perth after a holiday on the Gold Coast.  The Gold Coast is on the eastern coast of Australia about 1 hour south of Brisbane.  We flew out from Perth on Friday, April 6 and arrived back in Perth on Saturday, April 14.  Here's a brief daily run-down:

Saturday, April 7
After our journey on the red-eye we arrived at our hotel in Surfer's Paradise in the early morning.  After we all had a quick nap we got up and headed down to the beach.  Fortunately, our hotel was a short stroll to the beach and we had a great view of not only the beach but also the surfers catching waves.

 The view of Surfers Paradise from our balcony on the 19th floor.

Surfers Paradise is a little bit Miami Beach, a little bit Hawaii, and a little bit Las Vegas.  It is a tourist concrete jungle that essentially popped out of nowhere.  Most of the development of the area, which includes a skyline that rivals Manhattan, sprang up in the 80's and 90's and since then it has been used and abused extensively.  All of the buildings could use a fresh coat of paint.  The town itself is bustling with activity.  During the day the beaches are filled with swimmers and surfers.  During the night the city is a vibrant party town full of restaurants and clubs.  We stayed at the Mantra Legends resort thanks to a high school friend of Nadia's, also named Mike, that works for the company (more on that later).  He got us a great deal and a great room.

 The moon rising over the ocean.

 Perth is a lot like Calgary so we haven't really missed too many of the creature comforts from home.  However, two of the things that are not in Perth that we have missed dearly we managed to locate in Surfers.  One (on the left) is 7-11, or more specifically Slurpees from 7-11.  Unfortunately, they are just not as good as the one's back home.  Which is ridiculous considering the climate.  The second, and more important, is Starbucks (on the right).  We simply are unable to find a decent cup of brewed coffee in Perth.  Perth has plenty of coffee shops but no Starbucks.  All of the coffee shops tend to serve what they call "flat white" or "flat black".  This is a term for non-latte's with milk (white) or without (black).  However, to make them they use espresso coffee rather than regular brewed coffee.  In any case, we finally had a regular cup of coffee from Starbucks. 

Sunday, April 8

One of the attractions of the Gold Coast area, besides the party atmosphere of Surfers Paradise, is the plethora of theme parks in the area.  Within an hour of Surfers you can find Dreamworld, Movieworld, Wet 'N Wild, White Water World, Sea World, Australian Adventure and more.  If you go about 1/2 an hour further you can find the Australia Zoo which has been made famous by the deceased Steve Irwin, aka Crocodile Hunter.  Our first stop was Wet 'n Wild: the largest water park in the area.  We had a great day playing on the slides and in the giant wave pool.

 The kids in front of Wet 'n Wild.

Monday, April 9

The following day we went to Dreamworld, which is the largest of the theme parks and like a smaller version of Disney World.  We went on a lot of rides, including some very frightening ones.  Zaren wasn't feeling well so he didn't go on too many rides.

 At the entrance to Dream World.

Tuesday, April 10

The plan was to go to Sea World.  However, Zaren woke up at 4:30am with some severe stomach pains and a very high fever.  When the pain didn't subside I took him to the local hospital.  So, unfortunately he and I spent 8 hours in the Gold Coast hospital, him with a IV drip for about half the time.  At first we were concerned it might be his appendix but it turned out to be a particularly nasty flu virus.  He's fine now and none the worse for wear.

Wednesday, April 11

We dragged Zaren out to Sea World.  Sea World in Surfers has penguins, lots of dolphins, seals, sharks, fish, a polar bear and even a few rides.

 Bottom left: Keva, Nadia, Cyrus and Zaren at the Sea World entrance.

After Sea World we got a rental car and made our way south to an area near the town of Kingcliff right on the border between Queensland and New South Wales.  Nadia's friend Mike managed to get us a room at the Mantra Salt resort that he works in.  It is about 45 minutes south of Surfers Paradise but feels like an entire world away.  The Salt resort is tucked into a quiet area that is reminiscent of the Mexican Yucatan Penisula.  It is a beautiful, quiet, peaceful 4 1/2 star resort right on the beach surrounded by mangroves.

 Nadia on our balcony overlooking the Salt grounds and ocean.

Not only did Mike manage to get us rooms during the second busiest time of year in two of the best resorts in the area, and not only did he manage to get us a rental car when none were to be had, and not only did he manage to get us free breakfast every morning at Salt (worth $20 each) but he also spent a lot of his time with us showing us around the area.

Thursday, April 12

We drove to an area nearby called Byron Bay which is the most eastern point of Australia.  There is a big, old lighthouse there and what is essentially an old Australiana hippy/surfer town.  We basically did a little touring around the area, ate lunch and soaked up the atmosphere.  Later that night Mike took us to a local Thai restaurant that only the locals know about.  It was a really nice, quiet day.

The view from the lighthouse area looking at Byron Bay.

The view of the lighthouse from Byron Bay.

Friday, April 13 (Friday the 13th)

We were awoken at 4am with Cyrus getting sick on the carpet.  The nasty flu virus had claimed it's second victim.  At least this time we knew what it was and still had some of the medication that we gave Zaren.  We were supposed to go hiking up a local mountain and the first point in Australia that is touched by the Sun everyday.  However, due to Cyrus' illness we changed our plans and Mike toured us around the area, including a beautiful rainforest that leads to a volcanic cliff.  The area was gorgeous and a really good experience for all of us (except Cyrus who was sleeping the entire day back in our room).

 Zaren, Keva, (the other) Mike and Nadia.

Saturday, April 14

The next day Cyrus was feeling a little better but still quite sick.  Unfortunately, we couldn't let him sleep the whole day in the room again as we had to check-out.  Mike took us down to the local river to try our hand at paddle boarding.  That's where you stand up on a board similar to a surf board and you have a paddle to maneuvre around.  We boarded down the river for about an hour and saw plenty of birds, fish and mangroves.  It was a really peaceful experience, especially for Cyrus who slept in the rental van the entire time.

 Rolling on the river: Zaren left, me right.

After the river tour Mike took us to Coolangatta.  It is a little like Surfers Paradise but much more low key and not quite as abused.  Coolangatta is on the New South Wales side of the harbour and is touristy but not quite a trap.  We had lunch overlooking the beach, said our goodbyes to Mike and then went for a swim while Cyrus napped in the shade.

A view from the beach at Coolangatta.  In the background you can see the skyline of Surfers Paradise.  All of the buildings you can see are hotels and resorts.

All in all, we had a good trip.  We basically had two issues the entire trip neither of which we had any control over: 

1) Zaren and Cyrus getting ill.  Zaren essentially missed most of the first half of the trip and Cyrus missed most of the second.  Zaren is essentially 100% now while Cyrus is on the mend and over the worst.

2) The weather.  For the most part the weather was good, however, it was a little cool for the first few days.  The temperature was in the 23-25C range and it was often a little windy.  We even got rained on a couple times but nothing too bad.  All this meant was that we couldn't use the pools or beaches as much as we would have liked and we had to dress a little bit warmer.

The entire time we were away I was curious to see how we'd feel coming back to Perth.  Often the best part of a vacation is coming home.  It's like a huge sigh of relief to come back to the familiar.  So, when we did arrive I experienced mixed feelings.  On the one hand it is a relief to come back to the somewhat familiar but on the other hand the familiar is still not that familiar.  Basically, it feels like we've been on an extended working vacation for the last 5 months.  I've heard several ex-pats say that it takes about 6 months to adjust and get comfortable here.  We are closing in on that 6 month  milestone and as of today I still feel like this is not home.  But I also can feeling us inching closer and closer to a sense of comfort here.  This trip certainly demonstrated that we are getting more comfortable in Perth.  Keva summarized it on the flight to Perth last night: "we're going home-ish".

The Guest

The biggest problem with living in Australia (besides the Australians) is that we miss our friends and family a great deal.  Every family member that we are close to live in the Northern Hemisphere...except one.  And this past weekend that one 'Southie' paid us a visit.  Steven Conniff, Nadia's cousin, was coming to Perth for business.  He lives and works in Dubai, UAE with his wife Anca.  Unfortunately, Anca couldn't make it but Steven made enough of an impression for two people.  Steven flew in on Friday night on Emirates Air.  If you know Steven then you know that he knows people everywhere.  As he was settling in for his 10 hour flight from Dubai to Perth the planes Captain came on the intercom to give some flight details, as they are apt to do.  As it turns out, Steven knew the Captain.  So, he sent a note up to the cockpit and before he knew it, his friend Eric (the pilot) was sitting with him.  Eric is originally from Edmonton but now flies for Emirates out of Dubai.  He plays hockey with Steven in Dubai.  After landing Steven and Eric went out on the town in Perth.  We picked Steven up the next morning (although it was closer to afternoon) and he looked none the worse for wear.  He is a veteran of the scene, after all.  On Saturday, we basically just hung out at our place and then we went to the boys hockey game.  Eric ended up taking the train and bus and meeting us the arena.

 Steven (left) watching the game, Nadia and Eric (back) talking, Keva (right) on her iPod.  Shortly after the 2nd period started the boys team went down to 9 skaters due to an injury and they ended up losing a 1 goal game.  Otherwise, it was a good effort.  At one point, Zaren was on the ice for a 12 minute shift.  Every time he tried to go to the bench they told him to stay on.  After the game we all went back to our place for dinner.  Eric had a flight home on Sunday so we only got to spend a short time with him.  However, it sounds like he flies into Perth on occasion so hopefully we'll be seeing more of Eric.  He's a very nice guy even though he's from Edmonton and I'm hoping the pilot aura of 'cool' rubs off a little on me. 

 On Sunday,  Steven and the Klamers went for a little hike and then down to the beach.  The waves were far to large to go swimming on this day but it didn't stop Keva and Steven from trying to throw each other in.  The boys were offering both moral support but were secretly hoping that Steven would throw Keva in.

After the beach we drove down to Fremantle for dinner (or supper- can't quite get it straight here).  The food and wine was okay but the company was good.  Shortly thereafter we said our goodbyes until next time.  Hopefully, Steven will be able to visit again soon and bring Anca as well.  We're fairly certain that we won't be able to get to Dubai anytime soon.  Having Steven around was really nice but it certaintly reminded us of those that we miss.  We're always ready to welcome loved ones but that doesn't mean you can stay with us ;)

Winter in July

For the last two days in Perth it's been largely overcast with an occasional shower.  For over a month not only has it not rained but we've barely even seen any clouds.  So, now that we've had a little bit of rain it feels like a significant change even though the precipitation is barely noticeable.

We are currently in the Autumn season in Australia (they don't call it Fall) and heading towards Winter.  Winter in Perth is a lot like winter in some parts of the Mediterranean.  It's relatively warm (with an average high of around 18C and a low around 8C) and it's a little wet.  Winters are relatively cool and wet, with most of Perth's annual rainfall falling between May and September. The lowest temperature recorded in Perth was −0.7 °C on 17 June 2006.  The wettest day ever was on 9 February 1992 when 120.6 millimetres fell.  In general, the winters in Perth are getting dryer.  Here's a little chart with some climate figures (from Wikipedia):

[hide]Climate data for Perth, Western Australia (temperatures 1993–2010, extremes 1897–2010, rain data 1876–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	45.8 (114.4)	46.2 (115.2)	42.4 (108.3)	37.6 (99.7)	34.3 (93.7)	28.1 (82.6)	26.3 (79.3)	27.8 (82.0)	32.7 (90.9)	37.3 (99.1)	40.3 (104.5)	44.2 (111.6)	46.2 (115.2)
Average high °C (°F)	30.8 (87.4)	31.3 (88.3)	29.5 (85.1)	25.6 (78.1)	22.4 (72.3)	19.3 (66.7)	18.3 (64.9)	18.8 (65.8)	20.1 (68.2)	23.0 (73.4)	26.4 (79.5)	28.8 (83.8)	24.5 (76.1)
Average low °C (°F)	17.8 (64.0)	18.1 (64.6)	16.5 (61.7)	13.6 (56.5)	10.6 (51.1)	8.5 (47.3)	7.8 (46.0)	8.1 (46.6)	9.4 (48.9)	11.2 (52.2)	14.2 (57.6)	16.2 (61.2)	12.7 (54.9)
Record low °C (°F)	8.9 (48.0)	8.7 (47.7)	6.3 (43.3)	4.1 (39.4)	1.3 (34.3)	−0.7 (30.7)	0.0 (32.0)	1.3 (34.3)	1.0 (33.8)	2.2 (36.0)	5.0 (41.0)	7.9 (46.2)	−0.7 (30.7)
Rainfall mm (inches)	9.5 (0.374)	12.7 (0.5)	19.5 (0.768)	44.1 (1.736)	117.5 (4.626)	175.7 (6.917)	169.7 (6.681)	133.6 (5.26)	80.6 (3.173)	52.2 (2.055)	22.1 (0.87)	12.8 (0.504)	850.0 (33.465)
% humidity	39	38	40	46	50	56	57	54	53	47	44	40	47
Avg. precipitation days	2.1	2.2	4.4	6.6	11.5	15.1	17.3	15.6	15.3	8.8	6.0	3.9	108.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours	359.6	310.8	294.5	246	210.8	177	186	220.1	228	297.6	321	359.6	3,211