Greetings from Perth

Greetings from the most isolated capital city in the world, Perth. For those unaware of where this might be, Perth lies towards the southern end of Western Australia along the Indian Ocean. It boasts great weather, but we've yet to see any of it. I'm not complaining, but torrential downpours are not exactly the best sight-seeing weather. I can deal with rain. I enjoy rain. But not the kind that makes you feel like you're wearing a soggy box of kleenex instead of a raincoat and has you soaked within seconds. I only enjoy this type of rain if I'm watching from indoors and I have nothing better to see or do. Luckily, we've managed and have mostly avoided the extreme conditions by ducking into cafes, under gazebos and various other shelters at just the right moments. We've toured the city and I'm pretty sure Ken and Anne would agree that the city park, King's Park, has been our favorite spot here. It had a cool platform walk through the treetops and plenty of native plants to lose yourself in the botanic gardens.

(Perth skyline from Jacob's Ladder, near King's Park)

Before Perth, we were in the Blue Mountains a few hours outside of Sydney. We did an awesome hike along Federal Pass through eucalyptus forests. The sky was blue and the birds were singing. Too bad we didn't get to see many of them! Unfortunately for us, they stay very well hidden. On our second day in the Blue Mountains, we hiked out to Wentworth Falls. The trail followed a meandering creek through thick bush. The creek met its end where the bush opened up and we were suddenly standing at the edge of a plateau. The view was spectacular. It felt like I was the first to lay eyes on the great expanse of forests, valleys and canyons below me. The downside of being at the edge of this plateau was the wind! I'm not sure how fast it was blowing, but the meandering creek never made it to the valley below. The falls were ripped apart into mist and millions of water droplets and blown up into dissipation. We found a rocky outcrop sheltered from the wind and water where we nibbled on cheese and crackers, hummus and pita bread and guacamole and chips. We also sipped on some leftover red wine from the night before which gave us all an extra layer of warmth. Sydney wasn't as adventurous, but it was fun in its own way. I managed to see a lot of things I missed last time such as Darling Harbour, Sydney Aquarium and The Rocks.

(The Rocks)

We also did a coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee beaches which was my favorite part of Sydney. I kept having to remind myself that we were still in the city.

Today, we pick up our campervan and will spend the next 3 weeks driving up the west coast. Anne, Ken and I are very excited. I think we're all secretly looking forward to something to call home, even if it is confined to a vehicle. I'm ready to get out of the cities and into nature. We have stops planned in many National Parks and hopes of warmer weather and scenery we've been teased with in various guide books and websites.

Touch Down!

The moon was full and bright as the plane abruptly touched down and reconnected with the earth at Nadi International Airport. Ten hours into our flight to Sydney, we were told we'd be diverting to the small island nation of Fiji. What was to be a fourteen hour and 40 minute non-stop flight turned into an eighteen hour flight with one stopover. Apparently, fog covered the eastern coast of Australia. Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney had visibility below what was acceptable to land and we needed refueling.

I have my own suspicions. Our flight was packed. In fact, it was overbooked. There was a large group of 50+ students belonging to some sort of marching band or orchestra, each traveling with a pack for clothes and a large box containing their musical instrument of choice. If you ask me, the plane was too heavy to make it on one tank to Sydney, especially since we were flying against the jet stream. My suspicions were later confirmed when I asked our taxi driver and the women working reception at our hostel if there was fog in the morning. Both said the weather was "fine." But, that is just my theory. I suppose an unusually large blanket of fog could have covered the equivalent of the entire Pacific west coast...

We spent just over an hour on Fijian soil to refuel and fill out documentation. We departed just before the first sign of sun over the south Pacific. The morning light cast dark shadows on the jagged hills, but I knew they were beautiful nonetheless. What a tease! I guess I'll have to make the journey back to Fiji of my own free will. For now, my Australian adventure has begun, to say the very least!!!