Kyle in Australia

Irish Music

2005-04-22T10:09:00.000+08:00

Who knew in April I would be in an Irish pub in Australia listening to a band with fake Irish accents singing a Christmas song?

Kalgoorlie on the train

2005-04-02T15:59:00.000+08:00

We have just returned from Kalgorlie after a return trip there on the Prospector - the Perth - Kalgoorlie train service.

Kalgoorlie itself is the second largest town in Western Australia, but for all that it only has a population of 30,000. We had booked a room at the York Hotel, one of the oldest in the town, but unfortunately its facilities showed its age - our room had no windows, and was really very hot, no air-conditioning to boot. The tourist office found us a nice self-contained unit, we unpacked and made our way back to the town. We got a taxi to Kalgoorlie's Super Pit - Kal is a gold-mining town - it certainly is a great big hole in the ground! We took pictures and made our way to the museum, had a look at their large, rather unexpected, Masonic regalia display and then had dinner.

Kalgoorlie, with its workforce mostly miners who do not live permanently in the town, has a number of large brothels, one of these has a nightly tour which unfortunately we missed - but it costs AU$60 for the tour, I can only assume that for that price the tour includes a demonstration!

The train journey, at 6-7 hours, is very comfortable, the seats are well spaced, and all faced forward. For the return journey we were even upgraded to first class - which means leather antimacassars on the standard seats, a free newspaper and as much food and drink as we liked. I had planned on booking first class both ways anyway, but as it turns out it would not have been worth paying twice as much.

All in a good way to travel, and a nice place to go to.

The family have arrived.

2005-03-29T22:16:00.000+08:00

This morning at half eight I picked up my Aunt and my Grandmother from Perth International Airport, and then we dropped off their bags and made our way to Perth where we had a coffee, and walked round, and went to the Western Australian Museum and then had lunch and wandered through Kings Park, and then made our way back to Guildford where they were checked into their hotel, and then it was dinner time. A packed day of not very much, but it was as if I was seeing things for the first time, mainly because I was - my Grandmother asked me many time what certain buildings were, each time they were not ones I had ever noticed before.

Whiteman Park Classic Car Show

2005-03-26T22:25:00.000+08:00

Went to the Whiteman Park Classic Car Show the other weekend, it was quite interesting. A lot of old army vehicles, lots and lots of Minis, and random Australian and American stuff I didn't know. There was even a A-reg Ford Excort XR3i, clearly a classic.

The first picture I took was of a Reliant Kitten, and a Reliant Rialto. Sad, but true.

I didn't take many pictures, becuse shiney and nice to look at the cars were, there was nothing amazingly rare.

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/carShow

Sculpture by the Sea

2005-03-26T22:05:00.000+08:00

At Cottesloe there has been a Sculpture by the Sea exhibition for the past week, I have finally got round to taking some pictures of the exhibits:

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/sculpture/

One month left

2005-03-24T23:59:00.000+08:00

My trip has gone by fast, I have seen a lot, scootered nearly 7,000km, taken over 900 photos (many of which are up on my pictures pages) and have generally had a blimmin' great holiday.

The last month may well be my busiest, as I have my family over and we are heading to Kalgoorlie on the Prospector train, and then we are hiring a 4x4 and driving down south to Margaret River, the Gloucester Tree, the Tree-top Walk, and many other places. If we have time I will take them up north too, visiting some of the spots I went to on my Monkey Mia tour.

Yet more pictures

2005-03-21T00:02:00.000+08:00

Yet more pictures

Another photo album from Perth to add to the many, many photos I have already put up.

Epic Scooter Journeys III, IV, V and VII

2005-03-10T15:03:00.000+08:00

I've now exhausted all the worthwhile places that are comfortably scooterable from Perth.

On 11 February I went to Lancelin [map], which took about 3.5 hours. Lancelin is a big of roading and sandboarding centre, but as I went on a weekday it was dead. Never mind, it was a nice journey with some good stops on the way, and on the way back. Ledge Point, where the Moore river meets the sea, is about 20 km back towards Perth from Lancelin, and is actually bigger, and has more to see, yet I cannot find much about the place on the interweb.

Some photos from the trip are here:

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/lancelin

After my trip to Monkey Mia, I went to New Norcia [map], Australia's only Monastic town. The museum was one of the best I've been to with its art collection being unique in that is was the first time I have ever been to a gallery where I would happily house everything on display. The hotel served a great fish and chips. Oddly the only people I saw in the town were builders, those working in the museum and hotel and a couple of other tourists. Also in a town of about 50 buildings, there are 7 public toilets - I used them all.

Some photos here:

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/newNorcia

For some reason galerie is insisting on putting one of the later pictures first.

I decided to have a shorter trip a couple of days later, so I went to Rockingham [map], of which the best feature was Point Peron, which took about an hour to explore, and then I was done with Rockingham, so I checked my map and decided to head further south to Mandurah [map], which unfortunately provided even less to see. I still managed to take a few pictures, though.

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/rockingham

Yesterday I went on my last trip, to Brookton, along some great, quiet roads lined with wonderful trees. It was a good journey. However when I arrived I found the tourist info had just closed, but to compensate I had a great home made quiche from the deli, sat and read my book and then came home. Not very eventful, but a thoroughly pleasant journey.

Epic Scooter Journey VI was Northam.

Northam

2005-02-28T23:25:00.000+08:00

There's not much in Northam [map], it's just another pleasant, 1800's Western Australian town of about 7,000 people. There are a few nice old buildings, some churches, an amazing number of hairdressers (one pun: Shear Extravagance), and an old railway station/museum that was closed for refurbishment. I only took one photo. I sat outside a café watching the locals, many of whom waved to each other. It was all, simply, quite nice.
It was a 6-hour round trip, but I will probably be going back next week, simply because I had the nicest meal I have had in a long time at Café Yasou, a Greek/Cypriot restaurant.

Postcard from Perth

2005-02-23T09:50:00.000+08:00

Here is you very own personal postcard from Australia:

23 Feb.
Hello, all is going well here, I have been having fun getting out and about on my scooter and on a coach trip up north, but thought it was time that I sat down and wrote some postcards. Western Australia is great, there is a lot to see and do, although I do not like going more than 150 km in either direction on my scooter, as it makes my bum a bit sore! There is so much variety here too, but it is so spread out that a lot of driving would be needed to see much. Luckily my grandmother and aunt are coming over in a month, so my last month here will be a grand tour with them, and then my time here will be over and it is back to the UK in May! Take care, ktx.

Aussie Outback Safaris - Monkey Mia

2005-02-20T18:23:00.000+08:00

Last week I spent 4 days in the company of 14 other Europeans with Aussie Outback Safaris as we made our way up to Monkey Mia via a few other places.

We left Perth [map] at 7.30 am on Tuesday, and made our way northwards to our first stop the Nambung National park, [map] home of the Pinnacles, thousands of huge limestone pillars rising from the shifting yellow sands, resembling a landscape from a science fiction movie. From here it was a short journey to Hangover Beach [map], for a swim and lunch, and then on on Greenough Wildlife Park [map], for some Kangaroo feeding, and snake handling. The evening found us in Hutt River Province, [map] an independent state within Western Australia formed in 1970. Here we stayed the night, ate a good meal and got to know one another, finally sleeping under the stars in swags.

Day two saw us rise at 6 am, eat breakfast, break camp and leave before 7 am, after which we headed to Kalbarri National Park and Pot Alley, next to Red Bluff where two of the Batavia mutineers were marooned. From Here to the Kalbarri Gorges, abseiling the Z-bend Gorge, and taking photos at the Loop one, including Nature's Window. [map]. From Kalbarri we went to Shell Beach, a beach made up of millions of tiny shells, over 90 km long. [map], and then to Monkey Mia [map] after a quick stop in Denham, Australia's most westernly town [map] for a bit of tyre maintenance, as it was spotted earlier in the day that we had a slow puncture in our truck! After tyre pumping we made our camp in Monkey Mia, and then after dinner had a stroll along the beach, a quick beer and then to bed.

I found a nice dark shaded spot for my swag, and set myself up for the night, and about 12.30 it started raining... until I looked around and realised the reticulation (automated sprinkler system) had come on, so I dragged my swag elsewhere and resumed my sleep. In the morning 2 of my fellow travellers were sleeping where I had been the previous night, and complained of the rain - it turns out they set up bed exactly where I had just moved from, and the retic had started up again at some point in the night.

Day three was a less hectic start, with breakfast and then a short walk to the beach to see the first wave of dolphins, which were smaller than I had thought they would be, and then on board the Aristocat 2, for a tour out to try and see some more wildlife, but strangely there was none. Still it didn't matter, the boat ride was fun, and the boom netting memorable - if only because my swimming trunks came off! From Monkey Mia we moved on to Ocean Park [map], where they keep many species of shark, and some cute turtles. From here we continued to Eagle Bluff [map], which I really think does look like an eagle. Also of all these map links I am providing, it is the only map in which you can see all the aspects I have photographed! Our last stop of the day was Hamelin Pool [map], home of the most accessible living stromatolites in the world. Stromatolites are an oxygen-producing bacteria, partially responsible for turning the Precambrian carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere into the 20% oxygen atmosphere we know today. Another couple of hours driving found us at Eurardy Station [map], our farm-stay for the night, and also provider of our evening entertainment: Spot-lit kangaroo spotting. You really had to stop and think about how you were in the middle of nowhere, on a farm the size of your average British county, driving around late a night watching kangaroos. Ripper, as the man said. After a bit of a didgeridoo session, a spot of damper, we toasted marshmallows, and then to bed.

"Wake up", were the words to greet me at 6 am on the fourth and final day of the tour, and within an our we had breakfasted and packed up ready for the final day. First thing we made our way to Geraldton [map] to HMAS Sydney II, a memorial to HMAS Sydney lost in 1941. This wasn't part of the tour, but was just an extra hour's morning tea while we waited for the truck to have 2 new tyres fitted! After this we made it further back south, stopping off for a bit of sandboarding, and then lunch at Leeman for lunch by the sea, and finally back to Perth in the evening.

The highlight of my holiday so far. 78 pictures of all the above can been seen here: http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/monkeyMia/

Epic Scooter Journeys, Parts I and II

2005-02-09T18:25:00.000+08:00

Well, 200km in a day is epic when you are riding a 50cc scooter, and you cannot tell my bum otherwise.

On Monday, on the spur of the moment I decided to go to York, Western Australia's first inland settlement, after I finger measured it on the map and decided it would take about 2 hours to get there.

2.5 hours, a cup of tea and some chips later I arrived, wandered over a steel-rope suspension bridge, found the gaol to be closed until March and so just had a wander round, went through the old flour mills, visited some churches and went up a very steep hill - the scooter could only manage 10km/hr - to Mount Brown lookout, and then came home. All in a not very eventful, but thoroughly enjoyable day, I even made it home in time for tea.

Some pictures: http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/york-wa/

Today I went to Toodyay, another 1800's era inland settlement, but a bit nearer - only 75km (or 2 hours) either way. This time I had lunch at the town's Coca-Cola themed diner, and then wandered up the high street admiring old buildings, and then onto the gaol which was open (I was the day's only visitor), and finally to Toodyay's working flour mill, and then back home again.

Some pictures : http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/toodyay/

I have decided the thing I like best about heading out to the quite bits on my scooter - the smell. The heat makes the eucalypts smell great, and the slowness of the journey (rarely over 50km/hr) and the quietness of the roads means I can look about and take in the scenery. I think next I might tackle Lancelin, which might be more of the 3-3.5 hour journey, but if I get going early enough on Friday, I might just do it. I might look for a cushion for my bum before I go, though.

Leighton Battery

2005-02-06T16:49:00.000+08:00

It is nice to get out an about on the weekend, m'friend Rita and I have just returned from Leighton Battery coastal defence tunnels at Buckland Hill, near to Freemantle, and together with the rest of Perth defences they covered a 30km range of the area.

I do like going down tunnels, which is the main reason I wanted to go, but the history of the installation was interesting too, follow the above link for more information and photos than I can provide.

I did not take many photos, as it was all pretty cramped and underground, however there are some photos here : http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozatwar/bucklandhill.htm

Outback tour booked.

2005-02-04T13:53:00.000+08:00

Just booked a tour with Aussie Outback Safaris, a 4 day trip up to the Pinnacles and Monkey Mia, all sounds like fun, it'll be nice to get a bit further afield than the scooter can take me!

Big Waves at Cottesloe

2005-01-15T08:40:00.000+08:00

Went to Cottesloe again yesterday for a swim, nearly got blown off my
scooter on the way, and when I got there I was greeted by the
Freemantle Doctor, and some big waves:

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/cottesloe

Great fun, check out the 10MB movie if you can.

Visitors

2005-01-05T22:53:00.000+08:00

Got an email from the Grandmother and Aunt today - they are coming over
to visit Australia in April, I have a bit of a camper van, and long
train journey planned, should be good.

More pictures...

2005-01-03T21:14:00.000+08:00

More pictures from perth:

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/perth2

Windsurfing

2005-01-03T20:19:00.000+08:00

Tried to go windsurfing this morning. Failed.

I got on, fell off, got on, fell off ad nauseum. Until I cut my heel on
a rock.

Bah. No patience for things I am no good at.

Christmas in Australia

2004-12-25T19:41:00.000+08:00

So Christmas in Australia is just as good, if not better than Christmas Eve.

Swimming once more in the Indian Ocean, with added beer, followed by a great lunch and more beer, and then a paddle in an inflatable swimming pool and even more beer.

I gave everyone one of those clip-on Koalas, or Kangaroos, as I am broke but I thought it was a nice touch!

We've just got home for Frangelica shots with lime and sugar which taste just like pancakes, and now we're thinking of playing Monopoly - with added beer!

Australia's great.

Christmas Eve in Australia

2004-12-24T23:15:00.000+08:00

Just returned from a very nice picnic in Kings Park with magnificent night-time views of Perth. Also managed to take some possibly very nice arty/wierd night-time pics which may, or may not, appear in my next batch of pictures, depending on how they look!
With swimming in the Indian Ocean at Cottesloe this morning, it turned out to be a very different Christmas Eve for this British person!

Rottnest Island

2004-12-22T02:06:00.000+08:00

Yesterday we went on a boat trip to Rottnest Island, not one to do things the usual way, rather than a boozy tourist thing, we got up at 5 am, and went and picked up our hired 7 m fishing boat, and headed off on slightly choppy waves arriving just over an hour after we set off.

We then proceeded to find 3 very nice beaches, the first, at just after 8.30, was nice and quiet, as a bonus we swam with dolphins! Well, nearly!

no-where was over touristed, the beaches were fine-sanded and clean, and my new underwater housing for my camera worked well.

Highly recommended as a destination, and a way to get there, even if the wind did pick up and I felt a bit rough on the way home!

Photos here: http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/rottnest

50's lass

2004-12-18T16:29:00.000+08:00

Tonight I went to m'freind Michelle's sister's boyfriend's band's
single launch part, it was a good night out, good music, good friends,
good beer.

As a highlight I met Kylie (easy to remember name) a girl who was
dressed in the most amazing 50's outfit. I had to ask to take a photo,
so she took me round the corner to take a picture. It really was a
great outfit - I thought it was probably original, but it turned out
that she was a fashion student who had made the outfit as part of her
exams.

Wedding

2004-12-17T09:10:00.000+08:00

Wedding is done and dusted, has been over a week now, but it has been so nice to relax and not have to worry about speeches, or organising anything that I have not done anything since.

Some photos are on-line here: Matt & Michelle's Wedding

A good day, all in, bride & bridesmaids looked great (and us boys weren't too dusty) my speech went quite well, a bit of a boogie in the evening. Sadly iCal calling iTunes failed to work to start the music, but something had to go wrong.

Pictures of Perth

2004-12-07T16:43:00.000+08:00

The first 21 of a to-be regular series of picture of Australia are now
on-line:

http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/perth1/

Mostly centring round Perth, some nice shots of King's Park.

Many more to follow, see http://kylet.co.uk/pictures/ or see
announcements here.

I am here

2004-11-30T08:54:00.000+08:00

After a day and a half of being awake, I have arrived in Perth, after a quick change of plane (and clothes - that shower was the best £5 I have ever spent) in Singapore, I am finally here! So far today I have avoided going to sleep, have had a second shower, scooted round the neighbourhood on my friend's Vespa, and have now been for a nice big
dinner.
Being fitted for the morning dress in, er, the morning and then some wedding plans. I suppose I should get on with that speech! Finally, I am now going to bed, going shoe, and scooter, shopping in the morning.