Sunday 27th

We spent the day in the tiny airport as our flight to Perth was delayed by 6 hours.After flying for more than three hours above the red earth and virtually nothing else, we could eventually see light in the distance.As we descended in to Perth we realised just how remote this city is.

Perth - Monday 28th

It is a public holiday, so the streets were quite empty and as we walked around the city to find our accommodation for the next few nights we thought that there was nothing much in the city centre to excite us.We sat by the quay and made a few phone calls to book some accommodation in Fremantle, which is a small historical port and town 20 km south of Perth.We took the train south 20kms south and found that our accommodation was modern and stylish with our own washing machine and small kitchen.We walked into town and found this to be a much more relaxed and bohemian place with a good sparkling buzz and a range of good bars and eateries. We sat in a busy lively restaurant for lunch and later tried to find a grocery store for the week's essentials. However, due to the public holiday the grocery shops were closed and, as we found out later that evening, most of the restaurants were closed also. So we had to make do with dinner at the Little Creatures Brewery, which is a working micro-brewery that happens to make one of our favourite Ozzie beers!

Fremantle - Tuesday 29th

We walked around the harbour to the maritime museum with a submarine in the dry dock. The museum's prime exhibit is the yacht, Australia 2, which won the America's Cup in the 1980s (the first time the Yanks had been beaten for 150 years. The day after our visit the yacht's flag was ceremoniously returned to the museum having been in a New York pub for the last 20 years - obviously the Ozzy crew misplaced it in the post-race celebrations!). We had a tour by an old sub-mariner round the cramped insides of the sub.We tried not to imagine the stench described of 40-plus men spending day after day in the heat and only being allowed to shower once a week and were amazed that there was only one case he ever remembered of anyone suffering with claustrophobia (although by the time he made it to terra-firma he had lost the plot completely).Most alarming was the fact that they were only allowed five sheets of toilet roll per day!After picking up groceries we enjoyed cooking at home for a change in the apartment. Five sheets!

Wednesday 30th

Went back in to Perth to take a walk around the city to see if our first impressions might change and there is more buzz during the week and some smart and pleasant areas.The botanical gardens were stunning with so many exotic wild flowers, walkways and sculptures.There is a great view over the city, the SwanRiver and out to the suburbs.We walked down and along the esplanade to the ferry terminal, dodging the many cyclists and joggers only to find that we had missed the last ferry back to Freemantle. So we got the train back to Fremantle with the other merry commuters.

Thursday 1st October

Went on our own walking tour of Fremantle and strolled along the coast and round to the harbour.A beautifully sunny day, so we headed for the park between the harbour and the town.The park houses a small memorial containing a plaque to honour three white settlers that had been attacked and killed by a gang of wild Aboriginals. However, beneath and erected some years after, was another contradictory plaque, telling the story of how the 3 same white guys had massacred the Aboriginal families in the first place. Funny how different groups record the same historical event. Also, near the park is a small statue of Bon Scott (late singer of ACDC, rock fans), who grew-up in Fremantle. (Although some people might have remembered him as a big bloke, he was quite short - we know we've seen the statue, so there's probably no need for a 2nd plaque on this one).Later, in preparation for our trip to SE Asia, we had found out that we could not get malaria tablets over the counter. The pharmacist suggested we go to the 'after hours' clinic at the hospital.So we sat in the dreary NHS-styled waiting room, wary that we might be catching something worse by sitting there. After an hour we were seen by the doctor, who was not happy that we were there for a malaria prescription, as the after hours clinic was really for emergency only. She then spent the next 30 minutes discussing various points of interest in Vietnam and how to ensure our safety while we were there.Every now and then she would argue with herself about how many tablets we needed, then suggest different books and films we could watch about Vietnam.We were all the time very conscious that there was a room full of needy and weakening patients, coughing and wheezing right outside the door that were undoubtedly there for some emergency or other. We think she might have been prescribing herself something that you can't get over the counter.Oh well, if we haven't got enough malaria tablets the super-typhoon heading towards Vietnam might get us instead!

Friday 2nd October

It is a beautiful sunny day for our trip to RottnestIsland, which is a 30 minute ferry ride from the harbour at Freemantle.As the island is vehicle-free we hired some bikes out and although slightly hilly it was a fantastic circuit around the 24km route of the island.We stopped off at a number of lookout points above the ocean and we could make out the various reefs under the turquoise sea.We found a bay to sit our saddle sore bums down on to have a picnic and a rest and could have stayed there for hours if it wasn't for the return on the ferry.In the evening we headed out to Fremantle Prison, because we like our prisons. However, this time it was a different kind of prison trip called the Torchlight Tour.There were about twenty of us all armed with our torches being guided through the various parts of the old prison, mostly built in the mid- Nineteenth Century.We were taken through the pitch-black cell blocks, solitary confinement cells (where some poor actor had to sit and wait for us to turn up, so that he could come flying out of the cell and attempt to scare the daylights out of us).We were also taken through the theatre area, where spiritual orbs are often seen, and then on to the gallows, where at least 30 murderers had been hung.Throughout the tour there were stories of the spirits that haunt the prison and spooky incidents that have made grown men resign from their positions as night guides.In the darkness, of course, this all seemed quite scary and made the hair stand up on the back of your neck.We were taking photos of the darkness, as sometimes you can catch an orb or spirit that can't be seen by the naked eye.Stephen would not believe that faint white orbs on some of our photo's were spirits and, to make himself feel better, he pretended they were smudges on the camera (but why not on every photo?) After more out-of-work actors jumping out from blackened corners, we finished the tour in the morgue that had an odd kind of aroma about it - or was that just Stephen giving off the odd aroma?

Saturday 3rd

Had a leisurely day walking around the markets at the harbour-side and also in town and listened to some lunch time live music in a busy pub garden.As we have found a really cheap way to phone home we made phone calls for the rest of the afternoon to our families.

Sunday 4th

Even more leisurely day as the most exciting thing was to sit in the park to read the papers.

Monday 5th

Went out to have our hair cut in the morning and then made our way to pick up the hire car.Drove out to LakeBibra and had a walk by the lake and then went on to the Lone Ranger Shooting Gallery.In our quest to find something a bit different to do we spent the next hour or so shooting a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and the crème de la crème Smith and Wesson 357, as shot by the Hawaiian shirt wearing, smooth talking, moustachioed cop of the early 80's - none other than Magnum PI.After a quick lesson on safety tips and how to load the bullets we were sent off to a small booth, where we were locked in and with safety goggles and earphones on, we were left to our own devices.Although secured by safety wires, the guns were really heavy and the pull from the gun and the explosion that fires off between your hands was an amazing experience.Magnum PI Steve was buzzing and loving every minute and even more so as his target was being drawn back on the pulley to show a few good shots in the bulls-eye.Magnum Caramel got a few too, but couldn't remember in the excitement if she had fired 5 shots or 6 and unfortunately lost the shoot out competition to a happy husband.We are now worrying about any traces of gunpowder that might have got onto our ruck-sack, as everything gets scanned at the airport for explosives!

Tuesday 6th

We drove north to Desert Pinnacles, which although not far on the map (!) ended up as an eight-hour round trip.Fortunately, the red earth against the blue sky and the colours of the spring flowers that are starting to bloom made it not seem too painful.The Pinnacles themselves, although unusual were not quite as dramatic as they sounded in the brochure, while the sand here is a bright golden colour.A little unfortunate too was the busload of people wandering around them and quite a few cars on the circular route amongst them.We drove on to a few other lookout points down the red earth roads and bounced our way through the potholes to find nothing at the end.However, there was a snake coiled up in the middle of the road that was all quite exciting, until we slowly drove back to have a closer look to find that it was dead.Oh well, at least we've seen a snake!!