Perth

G`day

Finally we have arrived somewhere that feels relatively normal. Straight away we were shocked to see cars driving sensibly and crossing the road is no longer a death defying experience. We are spending our 10 days in Perth staying with friends from Guernsey who emigrated here, so we got to enjoy some familiar company and some decent, homely, free accomodation. Our first meal was barbecued kangaroo kebabs, would definitely recommend, good luck finding it though.

Our 10 days was spent doing lots of walking, exploring the beaches, a wine tour, an aquarium, a penguin island and generally relaxing with our friends. 3 months in Asia does drain the system, so our stay in Perth was like a mid-trip break before tackling South America. Having access to a kitchen, a kettle and a washing machine has been a real treat.

Our laziness was also justified when taking into account the price of everything here. A beer costs £7, despite this we did more drinking here than we have done all trip and enjoyed many local wines on a wine appreciation tour.

Perth is a very new city and very clean. It feels quite American, with many shops being inside air conditionned malls. The suburbs are sparse and full of well manicured parks and picnic areas. The houses all seem fairly new, as do all the buildings, so it lacks the cultural amd historical edge that is the norm in Europe. However, it is set up for convenience and walking/cycling paths are everywhere. Living here it would be hard not to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle. The weather here has been amazing, sunny every day and about 22 degs, not bad considering its almost winter.

Sydney

Our flight to South America was leaving from here, so it would be rude not to drop in for a few days. We had amazing weather here too which is a change from last time we came. We did the usual touristy things, ie opera house, darling harbour etc.

Did an amazing walk from spit bridge (should belong in India) to Manly. This coastline was incredible and we couldnt help but resent the rich locals who get to enjoy this scenery on the doorsteps of their gazillion dollar mansions. Perhaps if we win the national lottery several times over we could afford to buy a shoebox here to live in. The coast is lined with lush greenery, clear water, large boats and of course lots of guys probably called "Toadfish" wearing hats with dangling corks, holding a tinny of fosters saying "streuth mate, don't be a sheila and chuck another shrimp on the barbie". Manly was as stunning as we remember it. We have both said that if we could live anywhere in the world it would be here, there`s even a Shelly beach. The place was packed with people snorkelling, surfing, sunbathing, having BBQs on the beach in the sun and generally enjoying the perfect lifestyle.

We did a free walking tour of the centre and got to learn all about how the city became populated 200 years ago by convicts. It hardly seems like a harsh sentence, perhaps they never considered sending them to New Delhi. We got to see a spectacular light show at the circular quay as part of an annual festival. Unfortunately, the insanely high price of food restricted us to a diet of macdonalds and packed lunches. Forget 5 a day, our new benchmark became 5 a week.

Had a fantastic couple of weeks down under. A massive thank you to Chris and Leona for putting us up and putting up with us. Their hosting skills were superb, will definitely recommend them on Trip Advisor. Onwards to South America.