Back up and running!

Hey everyone, as many of you know our blog was postponed after our bad luck in Rockingham. With out our laptop it made updating the blog very difficult and expensive. So what we decided to do was wait until we could either buy another computer or had better access to internet. Well the latter has come true, as we are now staying with a family friend. In October of last year, Tennille stayed with my parents in Guelph for a week during her Rotary exchange. My parents really enjoyed hosting Tennille, and couldn’t say enough about her. They told us that we would have to meet her as we drove through Melbourne. Well as luck would have it, we weren’t able to find work in Adelaide so we continued on to Melbourne to better our chances. When we arrived into Melbourne, we decided it would be best to find work for 3 months or so. When we met Tennille, and her partner Jace and their 10 year old boy, Kobe, we were blown away that they wanted us to spend our 3 month stay with them. So with access to the internet, a warm place to stay and bed to sleep in, we’re extremely grateful of Tennille and Jace’s hospitality. We are now able to update the blog and bring all of you up to speed on our travels through out Oz. Unfortunately there won’t be any of our pictures from our travels North of Perth, but with the help of some of our friends we are able to show you, through their eyes what it looked like. From now on the entries will be directly from Jenny’s journal that she has used to remember our trip. We have been working on it together since we stopped updating the blog, in order to include both of our perspectives and share our experiences with you. Hope you enjoy!!

Hey everyone for now the blog is on hold because as most of you know, if not all of you, we no longer have a computer. We are in the process of researching our options, but for now internet is very scarce. We apologize to all of you who have enjoyed following us along and we will hopefully be up and running soon! Hope everyone is well and are warming up in the spring weather. We are doing well otherwise and are in the most beautiful place in the world, at least in our eyes.

Miss you all,

Jenny and Ross
xoxo

We're alive!

Hey guys, sorry it's been so long since our last entry. I'm sure you're getting frustrated checking the blog when there is not entry but don't fret because we are working on it. December and January in Perth were relatively boring, just working working and working. But now we are on the road and have more opportunity to update the blog. Blogger.com is giving some problems but we think we have them worked out. We are having an amazing time travelling up the West coast and have already seen so much! So stay tuned and check in in a few days and we promise you, you won't be dissapointed. Miss you all

JR

Rottnest Island

Pristine beaches, hundreds of bikes, quokkas, peacocks and a lifestyle that exudes relaxation. This is Rottnest Island, an island about a 40 minute ferry ride from Perth. Rottnest Island is a popular getaway destination for Perthites and residents of WA. There are no civilian vehicles on the island, so the first thing visitors do when they arrive is rent a bike. Jenny and I both had a few days off together and the weather looked great. Unfortunately it’s not cheap to get to Rotto, $72 per person one way, so we thought it would be best if we bought a package that includes one nights accommodation, bike hire and the ferry ride. This was the best option because of the size of the island, approximately 11km long and 3 km wide, there is just too much to see in one day.
When we decided to go to Rotto on Saturday afternoon we knew that our Sunday afternoon was going to be busy looking for snorkeling equipment. Jenny and I both wanted to purchase our own equipment instead of always renting it so we set a reasonable budget and went shopping. We found a local dive shop at the Hillary’s boat harbor, which is where we will be picking up the ferry the next morning. The dive shop had a great beginner’s package which included a mask, fins, snorkel and reef boots, so we got fitted and each bought one. We were so excited and surprised on the ease of finding equipment the first try that suits our budget and fits well. So with snorkeling equipment checked off the list all we had to do was buy our accommodation package. Our trip started early Monday morning when the rest of Perth was rushing to get to work, Jenny and I were getting excited to spend two days relaxing, sun tanning at the beach and of course try our new snorkeling equipment. We arrived at Hillary’s 30 minutes before departure which gave us time to pick our bikes at the harbor and put them on the ferry. Jenny and I were anxiously awaiting for the weather to improve so we could spend a day or two on Rottnest, and with the forecast calling for high 28 degrees on Monday and then 31 degrees on Tuesday withe sunny skies, we figured it was the perfect time to venture out to Rotto. So when we boarded the ferry at around 8 AM it was already about 20 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. It was really turning out to be an excellent two days, but as we pulled away from the jetty and hit the sea, I realized an old problem I have was rearing its ugly head. With the combination of the hot sun beating down on me and the motion of the rough swell I quickly remembered the torturous feeling of motion sickness. Rendered helpless, I told Jenny that I wasn’t feeling too well, so we moved out of the sun. I laid on her lap which is when the show began. For those of you that know me well, you know that in certain undesirable situations like being hung over or feeling motion sick my body feels that it’s necessary to sweat, A LOT! It’s an awkward and embarrassing symptom of a pissed off stomach but obviously helps to cool my body down. Poor Jenny was forced to hold me as I sweated all over her lap, but the feeling subsided slowly and before I knew it we were arriving to the main jetty on Rottnest Island.
Our first impression was, wow! We couldn’t believe that we were only a short boats ride to Perth, it felt like we were on a secluded tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. As we left the ferry and stepped onto the jetty we were amazed by the number of bikes we saw. The primary way to get around the island is on bike, and everyone had one. Because we already booked our accommodation at the Lodge which is one of the islands hotels, we didn’t need to pick up our bags and bring them ourselves, as they had their own service that would do that for us. In retrospect we should have just picked up our back pack ourselves as we walked passed it on the Jetty. When we arrived to our hotel room we were told that it shouldn’t take long for our bags to arrive and that they will be brought directly to our room when they had them. Well we arrived to our room at around 9 and didn’t get our bags until after 11. We weren’t very impressed as the weather was gorgeous and the beaches were calling our names. Someone that we met who is actually from Ottawa told us to go to a little beach that’s in a bay and secluded from the breaking waves because there is excellent snorkeling there. After finding Little Salmon Bay on the map and grabbing our snorkeling gear and bikes we were off. The bike ride was harder than anticipated, rolling hill after rolling hill and over 5kms long, we were pleasantly surprised when we turned a corner to see a picturesque view of Little Salmon Bay. Turquoise water, a small private beach and the sound of crashing waves awaited us. We spent the whole day relaxing on the beach and trying out our snorkeling gear, but unfortunately the wind was blowing directly into us and the water was cool. We had a great day soaking up the rays and luckily we were smart enough to bring some food and drinks as the nearest store was 5km away. When we headed back to our room we were starving and craving some fish‘n chips so we headed to the Quokka Arms, the only pub on the island. What we thought would be a very ordinary meal turned out to be a very cool and new wild life experience for us. We ate with peacocks and quokkas and enjoyed a spectacular view of the ocean as the sun slowly set. At one point during dinner Jenny felt something furry on her foot and had a little freak out session. When she looked down to see what it was, she saw a little quokka minding its own business looking for food. Quokkas are the reason why Rottnest is the name of the island. The Dutch discovered the island and when they arrived they were greeted by hundreds of these cute little animals and actually thought they were rats, and subsequently named the island Ratsnest Island. Quokkas are nocturnal animals that are covered in a brown soft looking fur and have a thick rat like tail. The best time to see the famous quokka is at sunrise or sundown but more often than not you can see one or two hopping around without a care in the world.

The second day was much like the first, we found a beautiful beach which was apparently awarded the title of Australia’s best beach. The beach was appropriately called The Basin, an area on the island that has fine white beautiful sand, with an amazing never ending view of the ocean. The reason why it’s called The Basin is because of the large flat rocks under the surface of the water that create a shallow swimming area with large deep open areas perfect for swimming and snorkeling in and amongst them. It was another great day at the beach, and the nice thing about The Basin is that it’s only a 10 minute walk from the Lodge. We left the beach around 3 as we had to be at the ferry for 4:30, so we hiked back to the Lodge grabbed our bags and then headed to the main jetty. As a precaution Jenny and I both took some gravol type pills in hopes that we wouldn’t have another episode like last time. The ocean turned out to be much smoother and was the perfect way to end our holiday in a holiday.

Tony Sadler's newest storeman

As some of you know I’m no longer tree lopping. Mal and I decided it was best that we go our separate ways. It was the best thing that could have happened to me. I had already been looking for another job because I was just so frustrated working with Mal. Anyways, Chris the same guy that got me my first job called me and told me on Monday night that I could work at a furniture store called Tony Sadlers the next morning, which happened to my birthday. So I told him no problem and I’ll be there in the morning. I work from 9-5:30 Tuesday to Saturday, which is the only down side to the job. It would be better if I worked Monday to Friday as Jenny has been getting weekends off but pickers can’t be choosers. The job is great, I work with one other guy, Jimmy and my boss, a fun loving kid at heart type guy named Lockey. My position is a storemen and we are responsible for unloading the freight containers into the store or warehouses, as well as help customers with carry outs. Tony Sadler's (www.tonysadlers.com.au) carries mostly wooden furniture, like coffee tables, end tables, kitchen tables and fine cabinets, but we also carry lounges (what we call couches), mattresses, office furniture and curtains for all budgets. It’s really the people that work there that make the job what it is, everyone is very laid back and fun but with that being said we are still busy the whole day. The nice thing is I’m outside 70% of the day so I can still get sun and work on my farmers tan.

The Swan Valley, Out & About Tours

The Swan Valley is an area just 25 minutes North of Perth, renowned for it’s excellent wine. Jenny and I went on a cruise and wine tour on Saturday. The day started at 9:30 AM as we left our house to walk down to the Barrack Street Jetty. We quickly realized we were cutting it a little too close and after a very brisk jaunt, we arrived and boarded the river cruise. Upon boarding we received a tea/coffee with a muffin, and then not even 10 minutes later we were enjoying award winning wines from the Swan Valley, as we moved up river. The cruise itself was only about 20 minutes but after about 4 or 5 small glasses of wine we were ready to begin the real wine tasting. The cruise boat holds around 100 people and about 10 of us got off while the others continued up river to enjoy a day of tasting wines on the boat. We met our tour guide, Claude a very enthusiastic, knowledgeable extrovert who had an uncanny ability to remember 16 of our names on his first try. Shortly after meeting everyone we hopped onto the tour bus and were off to visit our first winery. In total we visited 4 boutique wineries which were small and family operated but don’t let that mislead you. We enjoyed some excellent wines, and then some not so excellent wines. Jenny and I aren’t exactly winos but we are interested in learning more about wine and seeing which wines suit our palettes and which ones don’t. Throughout the day we tasted, white and red wines, rose’s, ports and dessert wines. After sampling about 20 different wines, Jenny and I discovered that we prefer white wines over red. We ended up purchasing a Chenin Blanc from the Lancaster Winery and a bottle of Autumn Harvest (White) and Autumn Red from the Windy Creek Winery. The Windy Creek Winery has the least expensive wines of any of the other wineries that are in the Swan Valley, only $10 per bottle, beats me how they stay afloat. Although the wine was much cheaper we found their white wines to be sweeter with hints of tropical fruit like passionfruit, strawberries and mango, an excellent choice for a hot day here in Oz. We had lunch at Sitello’s the third winery, and enjoyed a garden salad, with Turkish bread and dips, sliced deli meats, fruit and cheese and of course our choice of red or white wine. We spent about an hour in total there and then were off to the last winery which Jenny and I didn’t really enjoy, it was crowded and they had more samples of red wines then whites and ports which we just find too sweet. We then went to the Margaret River Chocolate factory and battled hungry chocolate loving crowds and enjoyed free spoonfuls of white, dark and milk chocolate chips and a truffle of choice. The chocolate factory specializes in truffles and had lots of different kinds, I had a cookies’n cream truffle and Jenny had a hazel nut truffle. Believe it or not but Jenny and I didn’t really feel like chocolate so we bought a chocolate milk and then the group went next door to a micro brewery. We were each allowed a small glass of beer, I chose a wheat beer and Jenny got their light beer, I ended up finishing both. All in all, we learned lots about the Swan Valley and their wines and now feel more confident ordering a glass of wine, which was the goal. We arrived home feeling good and with lots of wine in our blood stream an evening nap was exactly what the doctor ordered.

The Red Bull Air Race

Last weekend Jenny and I had the pleasure of experiencing the finale of the Red Bull Air Race right here in Perth. The Air Race has a series of gates which are inflated cones about 50 feet high and it’s flown over the Swan River. The race is timed and the pilots fly individually and obviously the one that flies the course in the shortest amount of time wins. Well with that being said, some of the planes are flying over 300 kph, just when they turn! In one part of the course the pilot has to fly through a gate and then immediately pulling up towards the sky and performing a loop (which now puts him upside down) and then flipping over to fly through the gate experiencing around 12 G’s. 12 G’s would make the pilot feel like they weigh 12 times more than their weight. You can imagine the exhilarating feeling you get when watching these planes perform these maneuvers a mere 100 feet in front of you.
The first day that we went to see the race we stayed on the side closest to Perth. The temporary runway for the pilots to land and take off was put there, so the spectators could enjoy watching the race, as well as see the planes land and take off. It was pretty cool watching the pilots land their planes 50 feet above your head narrowly missing the palm trees and telephone wires. We got some great pics of some of these planes as they side slipped into the runway. We noticed that there were also thousands of people on the other side of the river which is where the actual race took place. The grand stands were located on the other side of the river so naturally the race would be too. We looked into getting tickets for the next and final day but were thoroughly disappointed when we saw that they were charging $100 a ticket. On Sunday we decided to venture over to the other side of the river, so after a 5 minute shuttle ride on a TransPerth bus we were among the thousands of free loading spectators just like us. This was definitely a better spot to watch the race, you could see and hear everything much more. We had a great day and were treated with an awesome show from the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes which is a team of 5 Pilatus PC9’s that performed about 5 minutes worth of acrobatic maneuvers while in formation. Than to top it off an FA-18 fighter jet made a few passes over the Swan testing the tolerance of our ear drums and concluding what was an awesome weekend together.