One of the things we really liked to do was go to the beach. We did a little swimming and a little body boarding. There were two main beaches where we went.
Cottesloe was the nicer of the two beaches, and the less touristy of the the two, although at the height of summer they were both very crowded. The train went to Cottesloe but not Scarborough so we went to Cottesloe most often. Tracie's near death experience also happened at the other beach so we tended to avoid that one for that reason as well.
We bought the body boards and wet suits right away when we got to Perth. Aside from a few surfers, we were pretty much the only ones at the beach until the end of September.
Cottesloe is a much prettier spot as well. Tons of people have wedding photos done there and there are a lot more trees and grass near the beach than at Scarborough beach. One other thing that Cottesloe has that the other one doesn't is a rock groyne going out into the ocean. This is a good thing because you can fish from it and it also affects the waves and makes them a little bigger as they approach the beach.
Scarborough has a few advantages to. It is a much longer beach. The waves are seem to be a little bigger and a little more consistent. I think Cottesloe is leeward of Rottenest Island. The other good thing about Scarborough is that there are a lot more restaurants near the beach and a giant hotel, although for some that is a drawback.
Two of the things that we did that are my favourites of my entire time here in Australia were going to see the Nambung pinnacle and the Wave Rock.
The pinnacle were much better than the wave rock. They are lime stone structures sticking out of the desert ground. It was one of the most interesting landscapes that I have ever seen. We took a lot of pictures. One picture got taken that I specifically requested not be taken. I had found a semi private bush to use and said to Tracie, "Don't take a picture of me peeing". Apparently in Girl world this means do take a picture of me peeing. At least my back was turned.
We drove around the loop twice. The dirt track they have as a road around the park is lined with rocks about the size of your head to mark the path and the loop is somewhat teardrop shaped. As we were beginning the second lap, Tracie was taking the corner a little wide. I thought to myself, "Tracie is might hit that rock. I won't say anything though because it really bugs her when I critique her driving and she must know it is there anyway."
Sure enough a scraping sound ensued. Luckily the rock was short enough that the paint transferred from the car to the top of the rock was from bottom of the car where it was not noticeable.
The Wave Rock trip was good because we got to see different parts of the Australian landscape. We got to see a much more farming oriented landscape vs a mostly desert scrub landscape on the way to the pinnacles.
The Wave Rock itself was significantly smaller than I expected it to be. But it was very interesting. The rock is used as a rain catcher and supplies the nearby town of about 3000 people with a huge proportion of their water. I saw a small snake almost catch a lizard which was the most exciting thing of all.
I guess the thing I like most about both those trips was that I had time to have long conversations with Tracie. That's one thing I love about road trips with her. That's something I haven't had enough of with Tracie since mid September. And it has been very hard on me. Tracie doesn't understand why I don't like flat mates much even though they are very nice and very good people and why I don't like travelling companions.
Another nice part of Perth is King's Park. The parking inspectors there are jerks but the park itself is very nice. Lots of people get wedding photos done there. King's Park is HUGE! There is a large area of natural fauna and a large area of manicured areas. The entire park over looks the Swan River and the Perth CBD. The view is very good and there are lots of walking paths to explore. It is a must see if you go to Perth.
Well, I guess more about Perth tomorrow. I guess I'm going to talk about the people I met there and maybe the Train ride to Melbourne.
-Gary Milner
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