W…

April 27, 2016April 27, 2016 / Christina B / 20 Comments

W is for Western Australia. It occupies the entire western third of and is the largest state in Australia, and the second largest national region in the world. It measures 1500 kilometres from west to east and 2400 kilometres from north to south and has a coastline of 20 781 kilometres. A large part of the state is arid desert and the population is concentrated in the south west. Below is a map of Australia to try and give some perspective on the size of the country (France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Ecuador would roughly fit into Western Australia).

Some of the different regions in Western Australia

We have visited quite a few places mostly along the coast of WA. This post is taking you on a (shortened) virtual road trip through the parts of WA we’ve been to. Some of the photos will be familiar as I’ve used them before. Starting in Perth we’re heading south west to the winery region around Margaret River. The area is also famous for its forests, surfing beaches and caves.

Forest in south west Australia

Ngilgi Cave near Yallingup, south west Australia

Yallingup, near Margaret River in south west Australia

From there we head further south east to Denmark, Albany and Bremer Bay. Along the way we’re making a short detour via the Porongorup mountains and the Stirling Ranges.

View of Ocean Beach and the Wilson Inlet at Denmark

Green’s Pool, Denmark

Old lighthouse keeper’s house in Albany

Bluff Knoll, Stirling Ranges which we’ve hiked a few times (start of the path can be seen to the left at the bottom of the photo)

Beneath My Feet: A Skywalk, Granite Outcrop and West Australian Farmland

Bremer Bay

Bluff Knoll the following day

From Bremer Bay we head further east along the coast to Esperance – which is 800 kilometres from Perth via the most direct route – and past Esperance to Cape le Grande National Park, and also hopping over to Woody Island for a day trip. Woody Island is one of 105 islands that make up the Recherche Archipelago south of Esperance.

Twilight beach in Esperance, WA

Frenchman’s Peak

Hellfire Bay, Cape le Grande National Park where the sand is so fine and clean that it squeeks when you walk on it

Woody Island

Woody Island with view towards the mainland and Frenchman’s Peak

From Esperance we’ll head back towards Perth driving through some vastly beautiful wheat belt (farming) country past Wave Rock, stopping at a working farm to see a Kelpie (an Australian sheep dog) at work and detouring via Kalgoorlie – a gold mining town which is home to the Superpit – Australia’s largest open cut gold mine.

Wheat belt at sunset

Kelpie in action mustering sheep

Wave Rock, 14 metre high and about 110 metre long granite rock southeast of Perth, Western Australia

A section of the Superpit at Kalgoorlie (note the trucks driving along which are actually massive)

Back in Perth we’ll go to Rottnest Island (about 40 minutes away by ferry) for a day trip.

Rottnest Island taken from the west. The mainland can be seen in the background.

Thomsons Bay and the eastern tip of the island.

View over Longreach Bay towards Perth

The Basin, Rottnest Island

Salmon Bay, Rottnest Island

Then we’ll head north to the Coral coast, Ningaloo Reef and Coral Bay (about 1200 kilometres), stopping at the lookout to Shark Bay and Monkey Mia on the way. In Coral Bay we can snorkel and go on different glass bottom boat tours to see turtles and manta rays.

Shark Bay and Monkey Mia lookout, south of Carnarvon

View of Coral Bay, northwest Australia, with its turquoise waters

View towards the south of Coral Bay (and Paradise Beach).

Green sea turtle popping up for a look and then to take a breath. Taken on the glass bottom bout tour.

Cauliflower, staghorn, lavender and other coral taken on the glass bottom boat tour. The quality isn’t great due to the reflection of the glass.

From Coral Bay we’ll head another 1200 kilometres away north east up to Broome in the Kimberley region, known for its beautiful contrasting colours and red (pindan) sand. In Broome we’ll swim at Cable Beach, do a sunset camel ride and take a helicopter trip up to Willie Creek Pearl Farm.

The road north of Broome (not a great photo as it was taken out of a moving bus) showing the red discolouring of the road where vehicles have travelled after driving on the red sand

Broome, Western Australia

Camel rides on Cable Beach in Broome, WA

Going on a helicopter ride north of Broome

Helicopter ride north of Broome

North of Broome and the rest of the Kimberley is one area (of WA) our family hasn’t explored yet and are planning to do as soon as we’re able to. From Broome our virtual road trip will head back to Perth which will be a two day trip of driving 12 hours each day. Towards the end of the first day we’ll pass Karijini National Park and the Hamersley Ranges, another spot to visit on a different trip. There are beautiful gorges and rock pools there.

Edge of the Hamersley Ranges, Karijini National Park, north west Australia

Back in Perth we’ll stop to visit a local beach, see the sights and sounds and go to the city.

Fremantle Markets

View of Perth, the Swan river and Perth hills from Kings Park

Panorama of Perth and Elizabeth Quay

Swan River and South Perth taken from Kings Park

Waterman’s Beach north of Perth

A to Z Challenge: A

April 1, 2016April 2, 2016 / Christina B / 13 Comments

My first entry for the April A to Z Challenge. A is for Australia, the country we call home, and Africa, the continent of our birth. Also for Afrikaans, my mother tongue, Albany (a scenic town in the southwest of Australia), Australind (another town in southwest Australia, this one where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet), Anzacs (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps in WW1), Arabia, Abra (water taxi) and art.

Albany, Western Australia, with vintage car races held annually in June

Sunrise at Middleton Beach, Albany

Albany Half-Ironman triathlon start at Middleton Beach

ANZAC Memorial in Albany, Western Australia

Arabian art

Abras (water taxis) in the foreground on the Dubai Creek

Art by our kids

Vakansie in Denmark

February 3, 2016 / Christina B / 18 Comments

(Apologies to non-Afrikaans readers.)

Geskryf na aanleiding van Scrapydo2 se Toeka-Tokkel oor vakansie.

Ons vakansiebestemming hierdie somer was Denmark, ‘n klein dorpie in suidwes Australië, 420 kilometer suid van Perth. (Die dorpie is vernoem na dr Alexander Denmark en die naam het niks te doen met die land met dieselfde naam nie.) Dis gelëe op die Denmark rivier wat uitvloei in die Wilson “inlet”, ‘n 14 kilometer lang en 4 kilometer wye meer wat uitmond in die Suidelike Oseaan.

Uitsig oor Ocean Beach en die monding van die Wilson Inlet

Ons is lief daarvoor om te kamp en in die warmer maande verkies ons om suid te gaan en in die koeler maande gaan soek ons die warmer weer in die noorde. Daar’s ‘n paar karavaanparke in Denmark. Van hulle is in die dorp, ander is langs die rivier maar ons verkies die een wat buite die dorp langs die meer en naby die see is. Daar is baie gras en bome en lekker groot bome rondom die karavaanpark. Vroeg in die oggend hoor jy die voëls sing en die kookaburras lag.

Green’s Pool, ‘n pragtige beskutte strand naby Denmark

Daar is geweldig baie om te doen daar rond. Daar is talle strande met pragtige skoon, wit sand en helder blou water. Wanneer ‘n mens die dag nie lus is vir see toe gaan nie kan jy kano ry op die meer of die rivier. Die eeue oue woude in die omgewing bied ‘n groot verskeidenheid van uitstekende staproetes. Of as jy minder avontuurlustig voel kan jy deur die dorpie met sy interressante winkeltjies drentel en stop vir ‘n rustige koppie koffie in een van die koffiewinkels. Daar is ‘n paar “op shops” (winkels wat tweedehandse klere en huisraad verkoop) op die dorp en ‘n mens loop soms goeie winskopies in hierdie winkels raak. Tweedehandse winkels is deel van die Australiese kultuur en mense trek nie hulle neuse daarvoor op nie. ‘n Mens kan baie goeie klere teen ‘n fraksie van die prys hier kry as jy bereid is om ‘n bietjie te snuffel. Die “Valley of the Giants” (‘n vallei met massiewe ou “red tingle” bome) en die “Treetop Walk” (‘n staalkonstruksie waarop ‘n mens hoog bo die woudvloer loop vir omtrent 600 meter, en waarvan die hoogste punt omtrent 40 meter bo die grond is) is nie ver nie. Historiese Albany waar die eerste Britse nedersetting in Wes-Australië was en vanwaar die ANZAC troepe in 1914 gevaar het na die Eerste Wêreldoorlog, is so 65 kilometer na die ooste. En helaas, as nie een van hierdie jou belangstelling prikkel nie is daar wynplase en ‘n brouery nie ver daarvandaan nie.

Uitsig na Ocean Beach en die Wilson Inlet vanaf Monkey Rock waar ons gaan stap het

‘n Baie ou “Red Tingle” boom naby Denmark

‘n Deel van die “Treetop Walk”, geneem in 2005 tydens ons eerste besoek

As kind het ons soms in die somer by Knysna langs die meer gaan kamp. Brenton-on-Lake was die karavaanpark se naam. Ek weet nie of dit nog bestaan nie. Dit was in die dae voordat die area daar rondom ontwikkel is. In my geestesoog sien ek nog die brug oor die meer na Knysna en dan draai die pad na Brenton af kort voor die brug en maak so ‘n perdeskoendraai voor die pad verby Belvidere (met ‘n pragtige ou kerkie) loop vir die laaste paar kilometer na die karavaanpark.

Die Knysna-meer is waar ek leer waterski het en die somer toe ek die ligamente in my knie twee hartverskeurende weke voor die skoolvakansie geskeur het en waterski met krukke nie ‘n opsie was nie, die wonder van “paddle ski” ontdek het. Om alleen op die water te wees in die rustigheid van die vroëe oggend is iets wat ek altyd sal onthou. ‘n Paar jaar gelede toe my man wou weet wat ek wil hê vir my 40ste verjaarsdag het ek gesê: “’n kano”, en dit gee my eindelose vreugde. Daai somer het ons ook in Denmark gekamp en ek het baie gaan roei op die rivier en in die meer. Ek was vasberade om te roei van waar ons karavaanpark was tot by die dorp – 11 kilometer. Dit was ‘n koue, grys, winderige dag en die water was alles behalwe kalm. (Dis ‘n ander ding van Denmark – net soos Knysna – kan dit in die middel van die somer soms koel raak en rëen.) Ek het net aanhou roei in die basiese rigting van die riviermonding maar kon nie te veel of te ver sien nie want die wolke het laag oor die water gehang. Ek was vasbeslote en het dit uiteindelik gemaak, omtrent twee uitmergelende ure later (ek is nie roeifiks nie), en reg om ‘n warm, vars pastei by die bakkery te gaan verorber.

Hierdie jaar het ek weer op die meer gaan roei, en dit was weer bewolk en koel maar die water was lekker kalm. Ek het gewens ek het ‘n kamera by my gehad want daar was soveel watervoëls. In een swerm het ek 88 swart swane getel, en daar was verskeie swerms. Wanneer ek naby gekom het en hulle begin bang raak en probeer wegvlieg het was dit iets om te aanskou. Dit kan nie maklik wees om daai groot liggaam met die lang uitgestrekte nek uit die water uit in die lug te kry nie, en wanneer hulle wegtrek hoor jy iets klap-klap-klap-klap op die water. Toe ek nader aandag gee (ek het eers gedink dis die vlerke wat so klap op die water) sien ek hulle hardloop op die water totdat hulle voel hulle is hoog genoeg om hulle vlerke te vertrou om hulle in die lug te hou. Dis die pote wat so klap-klap op die water. Dit was kostelik. Die pelikane het iets soortgelyk gedoen maar dit het gelyk asof hulle met altwee pote tegelyk die water “skep” terwyl hulle in die lug probeer kom.

Pelikane op ‘n eilandjie in die Wilson Inlet

Ek dink soms dat hierdie omgewing sy eie klein mikroklimaat het, so ver suid met baie rëenval en omring deur woude. Die weer was redelik koel toe ons daar was terwyl dit 35 grade was in Perth. Vier jaar gelede toe ons in die somer daar gekamp het was dit eendag 37 grade en dit het niks afgekoel later in die dag nie. Ons het piekniek gehou langs die rivier onder die bome maar toe die son begin sak het ons skaduwee begin verdwyn. Nood leer bid en op die ou end het ons almal in ‘n ry voor een van die groot bome in die skaduwee van die boomstam gesit. Die volgende dag het dit gerëen. Toe ek hierdie keer die laaste aand in die tent lê en luister na die rëen wat saggies buite val het dit my weer teruggeneem na die dae in Knysna toe die rëen so op die karavaan se dak en tent geval het. Dis die mooiste geluid (as jy snoesig en droog is). Om ‘n nat tent op te pak is egter nie soveel pret nie, en dit verg weer uitpak by die huis sodat dit behoorlik kan uitdroog, maar ons is lief vir ons tenthuisie en al die wedervaringe en herrinneringe wat ons al saam met die tent meegemaak het en wat veilig in die tent se sak weggepak word om volgende keer weer uitgehaal en herleef te word.

Photo Challenge: Boundaries

October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 / Christina B / 4 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Boundaries.” This week the challenge is about being creative about limits, boundaries, borders and dividers of all types.

The walls of the Lighthouse Keeper’s house at Point King, Albany, Western Australia that kept the inhabitants safe from the ocean.

View from inside the Lighthouse Keeper’s House, Point King, Albany, Western Australia

Tropic of Capricorn, Namibia

Land and sea division, Chapman’s Peak, Cape Town, South Africa

Nelson Mandela’s old cell at Robben Island prison, Cape Town, South Africa

Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. First penal colony. Lots of boundaries that ruled access and movement of prisoners.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Western Australia

Photo Challenge: Monochromatic

September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 / Christina B / 8 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Monochromatic.”

This week’s photo challenge asks us to share our monochromatic images. I’ve put together a gallery with images from Namibia, Perth, Coral Bay, Albany and Dongara.

Buoys at the Boat Harbour, Coral Bay, WA

Frangipani in my garden

Seal sunning himself at Sorrento beach, Perth, WA

Spreetshoogte Pass, Namibia

Sand dunes between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, Namibia

Old jetty at Maud’s landing near Coral Bay, WA

Shell in the sea at Turquoise Bay, WA

Jetty at Middleton Beach, Albany, WA

Wisteria in my garden

Black Swans (native to WA) coming in to land near Dongara, WA

Black Swans with landing gear coming out

The last in my series of the Black Swans (probably my favourite series of photos of birds)

Wild Goose and Palm Cards Chase

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015 / Christina B / 1 Comment

The man of our house is good with directions, on most occasions. Really good. It’s very handy because he usually finds his way around without a problem and we get spoilt for it because we can rely on him to get us to places. He also loves exploring new places and going to events and a friend of ours has called him “Jacques Cousteau” for good reason, and he does it all with unconquerable enthusiasm and insuppressible energy. He keeps going and going like the Duracell bunny (while I’m the tired one bent over double catching my breath) which means that we don’t really do anything slowly. We’re forever moving at a fast pace but every now and then we do that whilst chasing a wild goose when Ironman’s usual steadfast aim and command desserts or fails him momentarily and since we don’t get that many opportunities to tease the one who loves teasing the rest of us relentlessly, we grab one when it presents itself.

Going to an event like the Caravan and Camping Show in Perth back in the days when the kids were little he strode off in a direction assuming that the rest of us will follow but without taking into account the fact that a show such as that is like a wonderland for young kids. There are so many different tents, caravans and camper trailers to discover and explore that all three kids kept going into different caravans at the same time while I’m trying to keep an eye on who’s where and where my husband is headed in the throng of people and I end up like a cross between a mother hen and a kelpie (trying to herd her young) whilst also watching my husband’s back disappear amongst the crowds. And it all seemed to happen in fast forward; there was no slow ambling through the displays to take it all in in a relaxed way. By the time we went home I was completely worn out from running around after the kids, couldn’t remember having seen anything worthwhile and didn’t achieve any objective other than assuring my kids all got back home safely afterwards. Suffice to say we didn’t go back for another ten years (and this time sans kids – much to their relief by that stage).

On another occasion we were in Albany (Southwest WA) for a long weekend and ended up watching the vintage car races in town on the Sunday afternoon, which was great fun. Most of the roads in the centre of town were closed due to the races and while we were watching Ironman and Child No 3 decided that it was a good idea to go and get a gelato. The only problem was that they had to take such a detour on their way back due to all the road closures that they went up and down roads just to find themselves at dead ends several times and eventually just about got lost despite a great sense of direction (temporary lost, I think) and a quick trip to buy ice cream became an extended and diverted wild goose trek.

The vintage car races in Albany

Vintage car races in Albany

Last year on our trip to Namibia we had a few hours to spare in Windhoek before our flight to Cape Town departed so we decided to stop at the craft market and we also had to refuel the vehicles. Driving around Windhoek with friends of ours following behind in their vehicle proved to have its own set of challenges (especially for our friends who were foreign to the city) as my normally determined husband changed his mind so many times about which way to go and each time it involved a split-second last-minute decision to change lanes or make a U-turn where there’s not enough room to turn a 4×4 around causing us (and our poor friends) to drive over kerbs and sidewalks and all the while they’re trying to keep our vehicle in sight otherwise they’d be lost when eventually I said that we were taking them off-road in the city of Windhoek. There was a fair bit of backwards and forwards chasing until at long last we found, firstly, parking outside the craft market and secondly the filling station on the way to the airport. It seemed such a crazy pursuit of something as innocuous as a craft market or filling station, but add to the picture pre-Easter weekend traffic, Windhoek road works and the fact the we don’t drive around Windhoek every day (more like once every five years) and it made for some interesting CBD off-road driving.

And then when The Giants visited Perth earlier this year I was reminded of our wild goose chase experiences in the past. We decided to set off for the city early on the Sunday morning to avoid the massive crowds we got stuck in the day before, the plan being to have breakfast in the city somewhere. We caught the train and arrived in the city bright and early. The thing we didn’t reckon with was that most of the malls in the city were still closed that early on a Sunday morning and we couldn’t walk through them to where we wanted to go and every time we got to a dead end Ironman would turn around and march off in a different direction without saying a word, and us slow bunnies with our inferior non-Duracell batteries scuttled behind trying to keep up until we got to the next dead end where he’d again suddenly change direction without warning. The other thing we didn’t take into account was that other people might have had the same plan as ours, also wanting to have breakfast in the city so it wasn’t all that easy to find an open café or restaurant with a free table either, and again at the last minute when Ironman saw a queue of people he’d turn around without a word and start walking in the opposite direction as fast as we’d come. We were still headed in one direction when he’d already turned around and passed us going the back the way we’d come. In the end we found a lovely breakfast spot though, had a delicious breaky, and then started the march again towards the area where we were hoping to see the Giants. It was all well worth it after we made it to the spot where we decided to wait (and subsequently waited for about two hours), because the show was spellbinding.

One of the Giants: The Pearl Diver

The Diver's Boots and the lilliputians or acrobats handling him

The Diver’s Boots and some of the lilliputians (or acrobats) handling him

In his defence, I have to add that my husband does willingly go on wild goose chases in search of some or other obscure thing someone in the family needs, usually at the most inconvenient of times. Whether it’s a specific rare type of cheese or sherry vinegar that I need, running shoes for the kids or in the latest instance, palm cards for Child No 3, he’ll be content driving from shop to shop to find the right thing. Last weekend when Child No 3 decided that she needed a multi-coloured pack of palm cards for her Science exam revision it was my husband who happily went to three different shops (which were miles apart) to find the right thing for her (study aids are important). When closing time drew near I ended up phoning the last shop to check if they had this very specific item in stock, which they did, and asked them to hold it while our hunter-and-sourcer-of-hard-to-find items-at-times-when-no-one-else-is-in-the-slightest-inclined-or-motivated-to-drive-from-shop-to-shop went along and bought it, brought the prized item home and saved the day.

10 Years in this Great Southern Land

January 23, 2015August 24, 2015 / Christina B / 9 Comments

10 Years ago we boarded a plane from Africa and landed at Perth airport about 9 ½ hours later, walked out the airport into the late January heat feeling quite insignificant. The realisation that we knew no-one made this family feel a bit lost and it hit home as we walked into the “Arrivals” hall amidst people being welcomed and greeted by family, friends or business associates, not knowing anyone and subduedly making our way out the door to find a taxi. Arriving at our short-term rented apartment in the city the exhausted and jet-lagged kids fell asleep sitting up in chairs in the middle of the day while Ironman went out to organise a rental car and so our first week went by in a blurr of organising all the logistics of settling down in a new place with my husband having started his new job and the kids and I driving from one possible rental house to the next looking for one that would meet our requirements. We’d timed our arrival so the kids would be able to start the new school year which left us with 10 days to find a suitable school as well as a house to rent in the same suburb which proved to be a challenge in the middle of a mining boom and accommodation shortage but we managed to sign the lease for a nice house on the Friday afternoon and on Monday morning the kids started school on the first day of the new school year together with all the other kids. Two big and very important boxes were ticked.

As we’d said our farewells to friends in South Africa they would jokingly talk about the “honeymoon period” of a move to a new country such as we were doing being about three months, but having moved to Dubai just under a year prior and absolutely loving the adventure of that I felt like the honeymoon period was over when our plane landed in Perth. Being uprooted twice in under 12 months to move continents, settle down, make friends, ensure the kids are happy and doing well at school, finding substitute products in the shops to the ones you were used to, finding a hairdresser who cut my hair the way I liked it and all the rest of it, didn’t come naturally for someone who loves being in their comfort zone but I knew that this move was best for my family so I was determined to make it work. During our visit here in August 2004 while I was still grappling with the idea of having to move away from Dubai where we’d just settled a few months prior and the exotic adventure of which we were thoroughly enjoying I was under so much pressure from my husband to like Perth that I broke down in tears one day telling him exactly that: “You’re putting too much pressure on me to like it” but walking down Hay Street, Perth, another day during that visit I realised that I would be able to live in this city and that I would be able to make it work and knowing that was enough for me at that stage. I knew that the lifestyle would be better for the kids and the whole family in the long run.

Looking back, the first year was definitely the hardest but we made good, lasting friends who became our “Perth family” over time. We found the people of Perth to be very friendly, welcoming and accepting with a great sense of humour and got used to driving on the left-hand side of the road once again, everyone driving strictly at 100km/h on the freeway (after the manic speeds on the roads of Dubai), the green of the Eucalyptus which was very different to the bright and lively green of the oaks and plane trees in Stellenbosch which was one of the things I missed at first, the idea of not knowing when exactly we’ll see our family again, hearing many different accents around you every day, total fires bans during summer because of the extreme bush fire risk, and Vegemite. I only made one illegal U-turn (in my defence, I didn’t know it was illegal) and got pulled over for it by the police – much to my absolute distress, being someone who likes to do the right thing – but they accepted my explanation that in Dubai U-turns are the order of the day and a very large part of the traffic system. Having given up a work-life of accounts, financial statements, various types of tax returns, payrolls, monthly financial reports, spreadsheets and intricate cash flow forecasts built on different variables to being a stay-at-home-mum in exciting Dubai where everything was new and interesting and something as simple as picking up the kids from school was an excursion because of the distance, traffic and some crazy road users to contend with, to being a stay-at-home mum in a quiet Perth suburb where everything worked in an orderly manner as it should, it quickly felt like my world had shrunk to a triangle of going from home to school to the supermarket and back home and repeating the same day after day, and it didn’t take me long to feel a bit claustrophobic but after a weekend away in beautiful Yallingup and Margaret River after about four months I felt like my horizons had expanded and I could breathe again. With all of Ironman’s travels for work he didn’t experience this problem but instead found interesting places of exquisite natural beauty for us to visit as a family which we started doing as soon as time and budget allowed and before I knew it I’d fallen in love with the splendour that the Western Australian coastline and bush offers. The beautiful, clean beaches; colour of the water whether it be the crisp, clear Southern Ocean around Esperance and Albany or the warm, turquoise waters of Broome; the unique charm, beauty and magnetism of Rottnest Island that makes you never want to leave there; the red pindan sand of the Kimberley, age-old forests of the South-West and the vast open spaces. I love being in the countryside and still have the need to get out of the city every now and then and breathe some fresh air and I’m lucky to have the opportunity of so many great places to visit and many more gems of places yet to see. I discovered that one could actually live anywhere as long as your family was safe and healthy. I also realised that I only missed certain things (other than family and friends of course) about our life in South Africa when I actually stopped to think about those particular things (which didn’t happen every day), but when I did a deep yearning for some of those things and places would overcome me and I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever visit a specific spot again and I’d miss the very distinct vibe that is so colourfully part and parcel of the rainbow nation and I learnt that a photo of an African dawn or sunset still pulls at the heartstrings like no other, but life keeps us busy and there was no time or point in longing for something that wasn’t a part of my daily life as it was at that point, dwell on it or mope about it. I have been very fortunate in that my family (near and far) are all in good health but we do miss them and have to remind ourselves that lots of people live far away from their families nowadays. We have so much to be grateful for living in a safe and beautiful place that offers the kind of freedom of amazing lifestyle that it does, and the privilege of so many opportunities. One cannot but love a country that offers you the opportunity to put on your shoes and head out for a safe morning walk on your own on a quiet country road you’ve never been on and to just follow the road to see where it takes you and to keep going to see what awaits around the next bend and then as a bonus to stumble upon views such as this:

View towards Yallingup, Cape Naturaliste Peninsula

A landmark moment in my memory was the first day of the kids’ second school year, one year after arriving. After having gone through so much change during the preceding 24 months and constantly feeling like I was doing something for the first time and still learning my way it hit me on that day and I thought: “I can do this. I’ve done it before.” Such a simple thing but it meant so much at that stage. After a while we started to feel like we’re not the newcomers anymore and that we really belonged here and embraced many things about the Aussie lifestyle such as gas barbeques (after having used coal for our braai all our lives) which meant that the barbeque was ready within minutes and also that I was able to cook something on the barbie without fuss when the man of the house was away; blower vacs (a blower and vacuum combo perfect for the garden); having a bread machine and making our own preservative free bread within two hours or less; the concept of “suck it up” (just get over it); driving for hours and then looking at the map and realising that we’ve only covered a small portion of this vast country, and to say “No worries” (no problem), to stop calling a traffic light a robot as well as lots of other descriptive sayings and acronyms. We wrote the citizenship test and became citizens on Australia Day in 2009; I’ve swallowed a fly – I think that should count for at least a 50% credit towards the citizenship test – and had many more near-misses like that; started a book club together with friends which has become a close knit group of us who treasures and looks forward to book club night on the calendar every month; I’ve given up the stay-at-home-mum status and took a part-time job in 2008; I now struggle to say phone numbers in Afrikaans which had been my first language for 30 odd years (I now feel like I have two first languages); come to appreciate the Freo doctor (cool sea breeze) on a warm summer’s arvo; we’ve enjoyed lots of sunset barbies at the beach with friends; have an annual “moving to Perth” anniversary dinner with friends who arrived within a week of us and whom we met at school on the first or second school day; done many a road-trip and love the vast beauty of this great southern land but I still catch myself sometimes as we drive home after a long trip away nearly saying we’re going back to the Cape (Cape Town) and not Perth, it must be so ingrained in me, and also discovered that it’s still heart-breaking when the Springboks lose a test match. Especially in Perth. I have a number of favourite places in WA though, from Denmark to Rottnest Island, Coral Bay and Broome, and love each one too much to choose it above another. After 10 years in Perth it’s fair to say that our experiences living in both South Africa and Australia (and throw in Dubai for good measure) have all shaped, formed and influenced us as people and I wouldn’t change it for a thing. This child of Africa will always have an unbreakable bond with Africa but is undeniably also Australian and loves living in Perth. Fair dinkum.