Parallel Universe

When we lived in London we both worked with a lot of Aussies, one of our favourites was Hannah, from Perth, who Genevieve worked with in Putney. Perth is pretty far out of the way and given the length of our trip we probably would've skipped it had Hannah not moved back as well. Luckily we didn't because I had an amazing time.

I landed about 5 hours before Gen so after writing the last blog I saw that the Swan River that runs through Perth was only a couple km's away so I figured I'd carry all my belongings down there in 35 degrees. While I was sitting at the edge with my feet in the water I noticed a dorsal fin about 30 feet away. Being that I've never seen a dolphin or a shark, and I was about 40km up river, I was pretty startled. Luckily it was a beautiful bottle nosed dolphin that ended up coming within about 10 feet of me. I've always wanted to see a dolphin and that was completely unexpected. 

Gen was sick for a while before getting here and the flights only made it worse so she's had a rough go to start this trip.

She did manage to tough it out for a trip to Rottnest Island, about 20km off the coast. The weather was perfect and we cycled around the island to a few incredible beaches for some snorkelling. It was so good to get back in the water and look at the fishes, I can't wait to do more. The other highlight of Rottnest is the Quokkas, small marsupials with funny little faces that are all over the island. We also saw a pod of Dolphins at the mouth of the river from the ferry back. 

Hannah was an amazing host, her parents welcomed us into their home and it was so nice to meet them and hear their stories. She took us to the port town of Fremantle where we wandered the beaches and city before meeting up with her siblings and friends for a night out. We went to a quiz night hosted by a cross dressing friend of theirs that was a hilarious good time that you could only find yourself at with locals. Nights like those with friends in new places are the fucking best. 

Gen and I spent the better part of a day in Kings Park overlooking the city. There are so many common birds there that are so exotic to me and I just love it. All of Perth was like that. Hannah and Toby met us there with beers for sunset which is always a treat. 

One thing that really stood out about Perth was how much it reminded me of Canada. The mining industry is most prominent in West Australia and by listening to Hannah and Toby describe their city and people they knew, as well  as seeing the expensive utes (SUVs) and the sprawling suburbia I couldn't help but see similarities. Australia makes me think of Canada in a parallel universe where everything is completely different and exactly the same all at once. 

On our last night Hannah invited us down south to Yallingup Beach near Margaret River on a camping trip with a bunch of her friends. It was really cool to see a little more of WA. The bit we saw really made me wish we had time to do more. The beaches and reef and tropical northern parts of the state will have to wait for the next trip. 

It was so great to see Hannah and Toby, and meet her friends and family. I liked Perth and the area around it more than I expected and hope to get back for sure.