The Aussie Life

The backyard

Rich showing the kids how to do it

This is the life... cool nights and early mornings to get active... retreat from the midday heat to Air Conditioned indoors... then dinner on the patio in the cool evening air. I has been particularly hot while we've been here; a midsummer heat-wave up to 45' C. I'm told that in the winter it can get quite cold, but in between the temperature is just about perfect!

So where's the fly in the ointment? Not so much flies, which can be a pest, but spiders of all sizes, although I've only seen smallish ones so far. Because all the doors and windows have sliding mesh fly-screens, not much gets into the house although Rich caught a huntsman spider, the size of his palm, and took it outside before I saw it! However, that's not a dangerous one; the ones to fear are really small! 

Another danger when it's so hot and dry in this forested area are bush fires. There was a fire just a week before we arrived, but it was quickly dealt with.  Part of the natural cycle of these forests is to burn, which generates new growth and the seeds of some trees only germinate after fire.  People who choose to live here accept the danger, taking whatever precautions they can, but people do die occasionally! 

We decided to go snorkeling this afternoon, but after a trip to the Perth Aquarium, which was really good, we were having second thoughts about descending into such dangerous waters that contain things sharp and poisonous, and that's not counting the sharks!!  However, we did go to the beach, but as this part of the coast was rather rocky and the waves were pretty fierce, Sandra and I didn't join the boys snorkeling. 

Waking as the sun dawns to the strange calls of unfamiliar birds, the piney scent of surrounding forest permeating the cool air coming through my fly-screened open window, is a wonderful experience. I could get used to that! No wonder the family love it here. They love the outdoor life and there are so many opportunities for sports, with off-road cycling right here and swimming less than an hour away. Beats Milton Keynes!

Some pics of our day out. Rachel tackling a monster thing! 

At the Aquarium we were conveyed underwater through the plexiglass tunnel with huge turtles, big sharks and massive manta rays gliding past and overhead. The commentary on what we were seeing then mentioned that the curved plexiglass has the effect of making them appear 30% smaller, when I would have expected it to be the opposite, making them appear bigger than they really are.  That's impressive!!