Great fish life and Rupan's scary hair.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Phil & Roy's Visit
What a busy two weeks. We have had two friends pay us a visit, Roy Lowther who is currently "backpacking" around New Zealand, Fiji, Australia and South East Asia (see our links page for his blog) and Philippa Fogarty who is working for the BBC in Singapore and fancied a holiday in WA.
Before Phil arrived we took Roy to the annual Chilli Festival where we tried many of the chilli sauces. Roy was rendered speechless for once after trying the Insanely Hot sauce!
We advised on what was good to see locally - sending them off to Fremantle Prison, Rottnest Island and the submarine at the Maritime Museum. Steve also drove "the kids" up to Yanchep National Park to see the Koalas and Kangaroos. Also no trip to Freo would be complete without a visit to a few of our local drinking haunts; Little Creatures, The Monk, Mrs Browns, The Clancy and The Sail and Anchor.
Phil was a bit more organised than Roy having pre booked a tour up north, but we soon had Roy organised and off down south to Margaret River, Albany and a kayaking trip to Penguin Island.
We did manage to squeeze in a days diving on Rottnest. We were a bit disappointed with the diving, I guess we were spoilt at Green Head. Video to follow.
The following weekend we were again off to Rottnest. Rupan's friend Helga had invited us to stay overnight at the doctors quarters, whilst she was on call there for several days. We arrived in time for lunch and had a pie at the Bakery with Helga's friend Susan before cycling over to Little Salmon Bay for a snorkel. After a couple of hours we jumped back on the bikes and cycled up to Cape Vlamingh, the most westerly point. After a busy day snorkeling and cycling we needed food and a drink. We headed to Quokka Joe's with Helga and Susan where we were entertained by a drunken brawl, before we went to bed we stood under the stars at Bathhurst Lighthouse. Next day we headed for a snorkel at Little Armstrong Bay and Little Parakeet Bay before it was time to get the ferry home.
Before Phil left for Singapore we managed to catch a movie and a picnic at the Kings Park outdoor cinema, a trip to Swan Valley where we visited a number of wineries and a chocolate factory and finally a restful day on Port Beach.
Before Phil arrived we took Roy to the annual Chilli Festival where we tried many of the chilli sauces. Roy was rendered speechless for once after trying the Insanely Hot sauce!
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| Fremantle Chilli Festival |
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| Essex Boys |
Phil was a bit more organised than Roy having pre booked a tour up north, but we soon had Roy organised and off down south to Margaret River, Albany and a kayaking trip to Penguin Island.
We did manage to squeeze in a days diving on Rottnest. We were a bit disappointed with the diving, I guess we were spoilt at Green Head. Video to follow.
The following weekend we were again off to Rottnest. Rupan's friend Helga had invited us to stay overnight at the doctors quarters, whilst she was on call there for several days. We arrived in time for lunch and had a pie at the Bakery with Helga's friend Susan before cycling over to Little Salmon Bay for a snorkel. After a couple of hours we jumped back on the bikes and cycled up to Cape Vlamingh, the most westerly point. After a busy day snorkeling and cycling we needed food and a drink. We headed to Quokka Joe's with Helga and Susan where we were entertained by a drunken brawl, before we went to bed we stood under the stars at Bathhurst Lighthouse. Next day we headed for a snorkel at Little Armstrong Bay and Little Parakeet Bay before it was time to get the ferry home.
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| Cape Vlamingh |
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| Wadjemup Lighthouse |
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| Waters Edge Winery |
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| Sampling the vino at Heaford Glen Winery |
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| Last day at Port Beach |
Friday 9 March 2012
Beach Sculptures & Sealions on Labour Day Weekend
Saturday morning - time for some art. We jumped on our bikes and headed along the coast to Cottesloe, where the annual Sculpture by the Sea Exhibition was being held. The seventy or so sculptures were arranged along the beach and gardens around the Indiana Tea House - a great setting. You could pick up a couple of two meter granite screws for $28,000 or if that's not your thing then maybe three mosaic glass, ceramic and fibreglass heads on a boat for $145,000. The winner was a squished yellow dumpster truck made of EVA foam mats. Sadly there was nothing in our budget.
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| Screwing by the Sea |
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| Ship of Fools |
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| Dump |
That afternoon we set off to Green Head for the Labour day weekend. We had stayed there on Boxing Day last year and the owner of the B&B, Edith had arranged for us to dive with her son Andrew. Before we reached Green Head we stopped at the Pinnacles. Rupan has captured some fantastic images of the sun setting behind the limestone rock formations.
On the Sunday we set off to the lagoon by Fisherman's Islands with Edith and Andrew and spent the morning diving. The lagoon is very shallow and there was quite a lot of current and surge. The area is not well known and so the hard corals healthy and there are plenty of fish. Andrew managed to catch 11 crayfish for our dinner that night!
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| Yummy Crays |
In the Afternoon, Edith recommended that we take a look at Stockyard Gully Caves, so armed with some borrowed torches we set off in Bluey on a remote 4WD track. We thought that we were in the middle of no-where but when we arrived at the caves it was a struggle to park as there were so many visitors for the bank holiday weekend!
Monday's morning dive was much more calm and enjoyable and to top it all off the last 20 minutes of the dive was spent with a very friendly and inquisitive sealion. She was playing with our bubbles, nibbling Rupan's hair and exploring all the camera equipment - amazing!
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| Tasty! |
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| That's an unusual hat! |
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| I can blow bubbles too! |
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| Hermit Crab |
Monday 5 March 2012
Good Food,the Maritime Museum & another Trip Up North for Rupan
Friday 25th February
In the afternoon we headed to Little Creatures to meet Rupan's friend Clare Sixsmith, who was over from the UK. That night Steve fancied a curry so we headed to the Maya on Market Street. The goat curry was very tasty.
On Saturday we headed into Freo to the Maritime Museum. The high lights were Immerse: Exploring the Deep exhibition - where Rupan piloted an underwater ROV and the tour of Oberon class submarine HMAS Ovens.
Saturday night we had Japanese at Tsunami, the Teppanyaki Wagyu and Scallop cooked on the lava rock was yummy. While we were having dinner it started to rain which was not ideal as after dinner we had tickets for the outdoor cinema in Mosman Park. Thankfully the rain stopped and we had an enjoyable night under the stars watching George Cloony's film The Decendants.
On Sunday Steve took Rupan to the airport as she was flying up to Kununurra in the Kimberley for the week. The week was hard work as expected with 2 days of clinics and 2 days of operating at Kununurra Hospital. We also had a midweek trip to Halls Creek for clinic, but some very quick sightseeing after work was managed!
In the afternoon we headed to Little Creatures to meet Rupan's friend Clare Sixsmith, who was over from the UK. That night Steve fancied a curry so we headed to the Maya on Market Street. The goat curry was very tasty.
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| The Maritime Muesum |
On Saturday we headed into Freo to the Maritime Museum. The high lights were Immerse: Exploring the Deep exhibition - where Rupan piloted an underwater ROV and the tour of Oberon class submarine HMAS Ovens.
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| HMAS Ovens |
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| Going Down Below |
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| The Engine Room |
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| Wagyu & Scallop Teppanyaki |
On Sunday Steve took Rupan to the airport as she was flying up to Kununurra in the Kimberley for the week. The week was hard work as expected with 2 days of clinics and 2 days of operating at Kununurra Hospital. We also had a midweek trip to Halls Creek for clinic, but some very quick sightseeing after work was managed!
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| Dinner at the Pump house |
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| Halls Creek airport - even funnier than Derby! |
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| On the way to work |
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