What a Rotto time!!!

And here it is, the last Australian blog! How time flys when you're having fun. It doesn't really feel like it but our year in Oz is nearly up. We've got a couple more adventures to share and some of them even include visitors from Brum! Before we get on to our escapades on Rottnest with Smurf and Claire we have to mention our brush with some whales and even a celebrity!!

A celebrity you say? Well he is kind of a celebrity; a famous scientist would be more fitting. Here's a clue. He was the keyboard wielding star of hit 90s band D-Ream and now the current face of BBC science. Yes it's the one and only............Dr Brian Cox!!!

What is a physicist based at Manchester university doing all the way over in Australia I here you ask? Well apparently being a massive nerd has money making potential and dear old Brian boosts his income with a stage tour. "An Evening of Wonders" is basically just Brian doing what he does best, explaining really complicated stuff in a very simple way. The brush with Brian though came just before the show. Being the diligent and well-organized people we are, we turned up to the Perth Convention centre about 45 minutes earlier than everyone else.................Including Brian!!!

Having arrived early we decided to go the bar and have a few drinks. It was at this point that good old Brian turned up with his geeky entourage and said "Hello". Star struck we grinned to each other. "Are you here for the show?" "Yeah" we said nodding. "I hope you enjoy it". Then off he went. 12 little words that made the night that little bit more special. The show itself was really good; Brian is quite the comedian when he gets going. He blended all the physicsy stuff with a 'getting to know Brian' segment and a Q and A to finish it off, all delivered with Brian's trademark pearly whites beaming into the crowd.

Now onto our whale experience!! A month or so ago the humpback whale migration started up north in Broome. Forty thousand whales make their way down south to Antarctica to start their summer feeding season. A few weeks ago tours from Perth started to go out into the big blue to see if any could be spotted. We were on one such trip with our friends Lisa and Gaz. Now bearing in mind the previous night we had a BBQ at their house, washed down with quite a large amount of drink, we weren't feeling too fresh. Feeling slightly fragile we turned up at the lovely Hillarys boat harbour and found ourselves sitting in a jet boat!

The jet boat travels at about 75 kilometres an hour and after coasting out of the harbour the captain really hit the throttle. We shot off from the harbour watching dolphins jumping through the wash. After accelerating for about a minute we settled into the boats top speed and literally hung on for dear life for 20 minutes. We couldn't talk to each other because of the wind and spray but we knew that this jaunt was not what anyone's stomach could handle. Luckily every so often the boat would leave the water entirely and come crashing back down, to everyone's amusement (not). These jumps along with the sudden and unexpected turns made Melanie intensify her grip on Declan's arm. He is now sporting a mysterious hand shaped bruise on his forearm.

Thankfully the boat stopped when the Captain heard a ping from a whale beacon. As it slowed to a stop we regained the ability to speak and Mel let go of Declan's arm. Now we were out in the middle of the ocean hoping for the chance to see something. Suddenly out the side of the boat a female whale breached quickly followed by her smaller calf. Two big spouts of water shot into the air and we were all very happy. The whale then decided to follow up with a little jump out the water, much to everyone's delight. The captain explained that they do this for a few reasons; the main one being to get rid of bacteria and barnacles from their underbellies and the other is to let the boat know that the whale is there! Which is quite clever and a bonus for people doing whale watching tours. After her appearance the mother didn't really show herself again, she is obviously bigger and can hold her breath for longer, her little calf however breached a few more times as we slowly followed behind.

"Dec move!!!!" was then heard during this lovely experience and Melanie frantically tried to swap positions and be closer to the side. "chug, bluergh, chug!!" 16 heads swivel round from watching the whales to watch Melanie blow chunks all over the side of the boat!!!! Lovely!

After getting it out of her system, the Captain fired up the engines and we went off to find a few more whales. Once we stopped Melanie did the honours of feeding the whales again, and this actually worked as another mother and calf breached literally right next to the boat. The second set of whales were more active than the first and could be heard 'mooing' at each other under the water. The calf swam right under the boat and popped out the other side with a friendly water burst to say hello. Sadly after about half an hour finding whales we had to jet boat back to the harbour. Off we go again leaping through the water. This was a tense time for all those sitting behind Melanie as no one knew if she'd spew again. Luckily she didn't and when we finally got back on terra firma she despondently had to wave goodbye to her beloved denim jacket.

Now on to Rotto, or Rottnest as it's actually called. Rottnest is a lovely little island about 20kms off the coast of Perth that the locals seem to loath but everyone else loves. As we fall into the category of everyone else, we decided to go. However we decided to go when we had a little bit of company in the form of David 'Smurf' Delaney and his lovely girlfriend Claire. Dave and Claire were fresh from their travels of the east coast and we were all very happy to be meeting up to have a lil tour of the West!

After they arrived in Perth we took a few days off and went and met them down in Mandurah at Claire's aunt's house. During their time over on the East they had became engaged and we were looking forward to having a big piss up to celebrate. However their engagement was not the only news they had to share. It was during the train ride back to Perth while Declan was busy trying to organise how drunk we were all going to get that the visitors were being a tad coy. "So what we getting from the bottle-o? (aussie term for the off license)" Declan proclaimed. "Ermmm, erm, hmm, well..............................Claire's Pregnant!!!!!!" The news was met with elation and even more grandiose plans for getting drunk (this time omitting Claire).

The following morning we woke early and set off on our way to Freo port to catch a ferry over to Rotto. Once again we decided to arrive far too early and had a lengthy wait in the cafe. It was in this cafe, at 8am, that we were offered a range of beverages from a jolly old man behind the counter. Claire and Mel being sensible, opted for a cuppa, while the boys deliberated over milkshakes or pop. When he chimed in with "you can have a beer if you want" we threw caution to the wind and happily obliged. Six or seven beers later we had arrived on Rotto and went off looking for the 'general store/bottle-o' to replenish our stocks. After ordering all our food and drinks (that get delivered to our chalet) we went off for a walk around the island in search of the famed Quokka, a small kangaroo/rat hybrid thing that you either find cute or repulsive. On our travels round we found quite a few of these things and they weren't anywhere near as impressive as people had made out.

The drinks kept flowing on our walk and we'd like to think we brought a little bit of 'Chavy A.G.-ness' to the lovely island of Rotto. When it finally came time to check in to our beachfront chalet, we'd near enough ran out of drink, Declan and Smurf took themselves off towards the store to get some more while the Claire and Melanie were awarded some lovely boyfriend free time after a month and over a year respectively with just their company.

The walk to the store was about 2km and we made it there in record time. We acquired some exquisite vodka pop drinks and set about returning to the chalet for an afternoon dip in the big blue. Let's just say the walk back wasn't anywhere near as quick as we'd hoped. To cut a long story short, we got lost, we ended up waiting at a shuttle stop for 40 minutes only to realise we had missed the last bus, we were quietly advised by the police that we shouldn't be drinking out in public and to make matters worse, when we finally did arrive back, some 3 hours later, the girls weren't anywhere near as bothered as we would have expected them to have been. Seriously it was nearly dark, we could have died or been attacked by Quokkas and they weren't even fussed. The rest of the night was spent eating, drinking and arguing over card games. All in all a good day, even if Melanie did burn the BBQ!

The morning after the night before. Fresh as daisies, is a term that shouldn't be bandied around lightly, but considering the sheer amount of alcohol consumed we were all fine. Getting a quick bite to eat down at 'The Dome' was welcomed, especially after the char grilled dinner we had eaten the previous evening. After getting a bellyful we headed off to the world famous 18 hole crazy golf course. It was a close affair for the first 9 holes but obviously Mel, Declan and Claire had previously arranged to let Smurf win so he didn't throw his toys out the pram, or have us play multiple times until he was crowned the winner. Well done Smurf a truly awe inspiring win!!!

With it being winter a small shower rolled in, in the afternoon so we retired to the chalet for a little midday nap. The afternoon brought the sun and we headed down to the beach for a bit of beach footy and a dip in the ocean. It later transpired that there had been a 8 foot great white spotted lurching round Rotto but that didn't stop, mainly because we didn't know. The sea was freezing but still warm enough for "two too go down and only one come back" which mainly involved Dec and Smurf pushing each other about until Declan once again let him win.

That evening we reined in the drinking a tad and took ourselves off into town to the hotel for a slap up dinner. We strolled home dodging Quokkas and taking in the clear star filled sky.

On our last day on Rotto we decided to catch the shuttle bus for a mini tour of the island. The bus journeyed around the tiny island for about an hour showing us all the random little sights Rottnest had to offer. Who knew it was used in WW2 to defend Perth's ports from Japanese attack? Well we do now. As with all our adventures in Australia, at some point we ended up a lighthouse!!! Seriously that's like 5 lighthouses we've climbed up. This one though is the biggest. Before we set off up the 100 or so stairs our rotund tour guide asked us if we had any health problems and whether we'd all be fine with the climb. By the top there was only one person out of breath and that was good old Barry the tour guide. To be fair to him he knew loads about the island and the lighthouse and he was a volunteer which made him all the sweeter. Did you know the steel in the Rottnest lighthouse comes from the one and only, Birmingham!!!! Built by a pair of brothers called the Chance Brothers. Wow, the things you learn eh!!!

The next few days were spent chilling out and recuperating, Smurf and Claire were on holiday after all. After a few meals out and a bit of souvenir shopping we spent the last night at the casino. Crown Perth is the biggest casino complex in the Southern hemisphere and a place you could easily lose alot of money in a very short time. Mel and Claire got themselves settled into 'spin the wheel' while Declan and Smurf hit the roulette tables. That sounds lot more suave than it was, Declan watched while Smurf gambled about $20. He did however return to the tables a few times and the grand total of his loses was never fully revealed!!! The girls got lucky then gambled it all away again on the wheel; however they were up for quite a while and played the game for easily over an hour or so. So it would seem that everyone came away down on this particular evening.....or maybe not. A certain someone had remained coy the entire evening and eventually disclosed he had won $80 on a slot machine and kept it all firmly in his pocket!! It doesn't take a genius to work out who that was. After an emotional goodbye at the airport, we bid farewell to our visitors.

And that your lot folks. Our last few days have been spent getting drunk with friends and saying goodbyes all over again. One particular evening needs mentioning as it was spent at a swanky restaurant at the top of one of the tallest buildings in Perth. The 'C- Restaurant in the Sky' is 33 floors up and rotates, offering 360° views of Perth as far as the eye can see. Being a swanky restaurant, Melanie was in her element and Declan was baffled by the menu. A raw beef starter had him particularly perplexed but he managed to go home full despite the fancy-schmancy offerings. Gaz and Lisa joined us for a sunset dinner in the sky complete with cocktails. Being able to see our home for the last 10 months at sunset and then light up at night time was really stunning and a special way to end our trip.

Now that really is the end. Thanks Perth you've been great, we'll miss you but promise to return.