The flights from Tokyo to Perth (via Sydney) were excellent with possibly the best in flight food and entertainment we have had all year. The flight was with Australian airline Qantas, and it was the first time in 5 months that we had been in an enviroment where English was the first language. It was quite a culture shock.

While we were in Perth we stayed with Rachel (a former colleague of Charlene's) and her family. Richie (Rachel's husband) picked us up from the airport and took us to their lovely home in South Perth. It was so nice to be in a normal house after spending the previous 5 months in hostels. Rachel and Richie were so welcoming and made us feel at home immediately. We spent the afternoon catching up and were introduced to Rachel and Richie's 10 week old baby, Oscar. He was very cute. We then we went for a short wander around the local area. We walked about 5 minutes from their home to the Swan River and got a fantastic view of Perth. On our side of the river was beautiful green parkland in perfect condition, on the other side was a nice looking city which was not too big (like the ones in China and Japan), but still had a few skyscrapers. In the park people were jogging, playing sports, chilling out and having barbeques. It looked like the perfect place to live. We walked down along the river and then returned home, where Rachel and Richie had made us dinner. They were amazing hosts!

The following day we headed across the Swan River by ferry and explorer central Perth. The first thing you see when you cross the river is the Bell Tower. It's a tall, glass, cone shaped structure that you can pay to go inside. In the tower you can see bells, and even ring some bells. We didn't go in. We made our way up the hill to the city centre and came across a road called London Court. At each end was a gate decorated with knights and other such traditional English things. Walking down the street we saw that a lot of the shops names were written in an old English style. Even though it was an English theme, most of the shops weren't English and instead sold Ye Olde Australian Ugg boots, or Ye Olde Australian Souveniers. There was one shop that sold all sorts of English snacks and food. We treated ourselves to two outrageously overpriced English chocolate bars (a Drifter and a Toffee Crisp). We then checked out some malls and made our way to the museum for a quick look round. It was great being in a city where everyone spoke English, however it did take a bit of getting use to. We still felt a bit of trepidation when we went to order things, wondering if the person would understand us. Ridiculous I know. That evening we had a good old fashioned Aussie barbeque, and Richie cooked us up the nicest lamb I've tasted.

The next day we walked to Herrison Island which is a small island on the Swan River connected by two bridges. The island is home to grey kangaroos. We walked about three quarters of the way around and saw nothing apart from a few birds. I was very disappointed. On the edge of giving up I looked over into the trees and finally saw a kangaroo eating. I got closer to get a good photo, and then Charlene saw two more. Being wild, we kept a good distance, but we got quite a few good photos. We then got the bus from the island to Kings Park. All the buses in central Perth are free - it's great. Kings Park is on a hill and from there we got a great view of Perth and the Swan River. We looked round the botanical gardens, the wildflower gardens, and the water garden which had a pond with huge jets of water squirting up into the air. It was all very pretty.

Richie recommended that we visited Rottnest Island, or "Rotto" as the Aussies call it. We got the boat from Perth to get there and the journey took a couple of hours over some very choppy water. Lots of sick bags were handed out. The island is quite small and has two settlements that are close together. These settlements contain a few shops and restaurants, holiday chalets and a hotel. No cars are allowed on the island so people either get a bus or hire a bicycle to travel around to see the various bays, beaches and cliffs. We hired a couple of bikes and we had a fantastic day. The island is home to a species called the quokka. A quokka looks like a cross between a mini kangaroo and a giant rat. They were cute to look at on the island but I would run a mile if I saw one by my bins at night. The views on the island were amazing with so many seculuded beaches. The weather was perfect. It was so much fun riding around! To top it all off we finished our ride at a restaurant called 'Quokka Joes' where I had my first pie for about 5 months, and it was lovely.

The last trip we did from Perth was a whale watching cruise. We got the boat to a town south of Perth called Fremantle (a.k.a. Freo) and from there got on the whale watching ship. The water again was very choppy and one Indian family in particular were sick for the majority of the journey. I think they went through quite a few sick bags. The guide on our tour was very informative and she told us pretty much everything you could ever possibly want to know about whales. We were lucky to be visiting Western Australia at a time when the whales were migrating north, so there were lots around. We saw quite a few whales on our voyage but it was practically impossible to get a photo of them (although that didn't stop people trying!) We saw the whales squirting up water, surfacing and diving, smashing down their tails, and then at the end we saw one breach (jump out then dive back into the water.) It was amazing to see, especially because they are so big and there were so many of them. After our voyage we went back to Fremantle for a few hours. It's a very nice small town, and unlike Perth has many old features still remaining. A lot of buildings in the town centre had French style balconies that reminded me of New Orleans. We went to a lovely little cafe for lunch, looked around the shops and the old Roundhouse, then it was time to head back to Perth.

Rachel and Richie recommended that we visited an area south of Perth called Margaret River and they very kindly lent us their car for our trip down there. Margaret River is about 300 km from Perth and it took about 4 hours to get there. We stayed at a hostel in a place called Prevelly which is just outside of Margaret River town, and it was very popular for surfers. Margaret River is three things: the name of the town, the name of the region, and of course the name of the river that goes through the region. The region is just over 100 km from top to bottom, with the town practically in the middle, and the river passing east to west though the town and out to sea. Margaret River is a lot like Devon and has some beautiful countryside and an amazing coastline of cliffs and perfect beaches. It is a major wine producing region and is full of independent vineyards. In addition to the vineyards, there are many breweries, chocolate producers and gourmet food produce. You could easily do your weekly shop by going from estate to estate. The produce of the region is fantastic.

On the first full day in Margaret (Maggie) River we went North to visit a lighthouse and to go on a walk along the coast. From the coast we saw several whales off in the distance. We then visited Meelup beach and passed though several small settlements. It would have been impossible to get around without a car as there is no public transport in the area. We then returned to Margaret River town (the only town for a 100 km), looked around the nice shops and booked a tour for the following day. So many of the tours went to the vineyards and other estates, each tour seemed to be trying to outdo the next. The first would give you 20 wine tastings, the next 25, the next 30, the next would be 30 plus beer tastings, the next would be 30 wine, plus beer, plus chocolate tasting. It was crazy and they sounded like they would be such a rush and really low quality. You were basically herded round in a minibus from place to place. We told the lady the sort of tour we wanted - quality not quantity, and no rushing around.

The tour was called the Margaret River Discovery Tour. We were picked up at about 10.30am by our guide Sean in his 4 x 4 along with an older couple from England and a lady from Margaret River who works in tourism. Sean briefed us on what the tour was about: understanding the Margaret River - the history, the geology, the geography, the wildlife and the produce. We left our hostel in the 4 x 4, and immediately had to stop. A huge 2 metre snake was slithering across right in front of us. Apparently if it bit you you would be in a lot of trouble. Sean seemed pretty amazed by it, so it must have been quite rare. We started the tour proper with 'optional' canoeing down the river. Sean put on his tour info 'optional' to avoid putting people off, but it wasn't really optional. We were in two man canoes and rowed up the river in perfect conditions. It was warm and fairly still. Although neither of us had canoed before, we picked it up very quickly. The same couldn't be said for the other couple who went round in circles and got stuck several times. At one stage Sean towed them along, however as soon as he left them for the final 100m the lady lost her hat in the water and they ended up getting stuck again. Sean and Charlene had to go out and rescue them. It was hilarious, and they took it in good part. After a tea stop we went out into the bush for a short walk to visit a waterfall which was an old Aboriginal site. We were told a little bit of the story about the place (all that was permitted) which was basically like Romeo and Juliet. We then got the chance to try three different types of honey from three trees in the local area. We liked the Jarra one best. Our next stop on the tour was the Fraser Gallop vineyard, to which we had exclusive access. The vineyard was relatively new, and was built and owned by a dot com millionaire from America. Apparently he made $150 million and decided to build the vineyard with the best equipment and best people. The wine won best red wine in the world a few years ago. The man in charge of wine production was named best wine maker in Australia. We met him and had a photo taken with him. He was a nice bloke. The grounds of the vineyard were perfect - very OCD, and there was a huge mansion which was the owner's home. We saw all the equipment and were then treated to a gourmet lunch of local produce along with wine tasting of course. The wine was very nice and the five of us finished a few bottles. I also found that I now like olives. After the meal we were taken to the Wilyabrup cliffs where we saw beautiful coast line, lots of flowers and a very big monitor lizard. It was a fantastic and very memorable day.

For our last day in Margaret River we headed south to a lighthouse at the south-western point of Australia, apparently where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. We also visited the Jewel Cave which was actually big network of natural underground caves full of stalagtites and and stalagmites. We stopped for afternoon tea and scones at the Voyager vineyard and then finished off the day by visiting the Natural Olive Oil Soap Factory, where they sold lots of products (which Charlene loved) and food and condiments such as olive oils, olives, cheeses and sauces. There were lots of free samples available. You could see all the products being made and packaged in the factory. We bought several things from there.

The next day we journeyed back up north to Perth, but stopped at a Chocolate Factory along the way. We only had two more full days in Perth, and spent that time chilling out and preparing for our trek at our next destination, Uluru. We loved our time in Western Australia. Thanks Rachel and Richie for making our time in Perth so wonderful.

D