October School Holidays

Term 3, a ten week term, finished up September 27. On Sunday I had the good fortune to be invited out on Jenny Jan's boat with her husband Dave and two of their friends. We headed to Malus Island where we met up with two more of their friends and their three children. We had the beach almost all to ourselves (there was one other family quite a ways down from us) and it was a beautiful day. We hiked up the dunes on some very hot sand, avoiding the spinifex, and took in the views from the top. After lunch the three men, Jenny and I headed back out on the boat to go snorkelling. There was some coral and quite a few fish. One of the guys caught two rainbow crayfish, which were beautiful! We had to return to Dampier by mid afternoon as I had a plane to catch to Perth. Thanks Jenny and Dave for kicking my holidays off in style! I love being out on the open water and the islands are beautiful~ hopefully I can get out there at least once more before leaving.

The view from the top of the sand dune. 

Those are turtle tracks on the left of the beach. 

I stayed in Perth to catch up with a couple of friends before heading off on my road trip of the southwest corner, which I had never visited before. Felicity and I took in the Royal Show (like Edmonton's K-Days or the Calgary Stampede) although I avoided the rides (can't handle them anymore since my concussions). The Shire of Roebourne, where I am currently living, was the guest town, which was rather ironic. The exhibit was well done and definitely showcased the region. I picked up a stress ball in the form of a Rio Tinto hardhat, my souvenir of the area. As it's an agricultural show, they also had exhibits from each region in Western Australia. The Pibara (where Karratha is located) and the Kimberley (where Broome and the Bungle Bungles are found) were grouped together. It was a magnificent display of the Kimberley, which is probably my favourite region in WA, and the Pilbara was represented by this table:

It's all about the iron ore and the salt. Comparisons could

 be made to Alberta's oil and gas industry and I think Karratha

 is probably similar to Fort MacMurray, although never having 

been to Fort Mac I could be wrong. 

The next day Katherine, the Scottish exchange teacher who swam with the whale sharks with me, and I went for a walk along the Canning River, which reminded me of Edmonton's beautiful river valley. I miss going for walks or runs along the river and it was good to catch up with Katherine while putting in 10km or so. Her experience had been much different than mine and I wonder what it would have been like for me if I had been based in Perth rather than Karratha. She's had such a positive experience she wants to stay, and I have to admit I'm a little jealous. When I initially came out in January, I thought I would be looking for ways to stay as I fell in love with Australia four years ago. I will be back, as I still do really love this country, and I still have the idea in the back of my mind that I would like to live here one day, but for now I suppose I'm happy enough to head home, at least for awhile. 

On Wednesday Katherine dropped me off at the airport and I hired a car for my solo road trip. I had decided to visit Albany as I hadn't been before and the photos I had seen of the beaches along the south coast were beautiful. After driving 400km, I arrived in Albany around 4pm, checked into my hostel, and headed out to the wind farm, which I had been told had the best sunset views. It was quite windy and cool for someone who was used to Karratha's heat and I was thankful for my hoody and jacket. I did the walk around the wind farm, which had information boards detailing different aspects of Indigenous culture, and then I joined the Bibbulmun Track and went down to the rocky beach to catch the sun setting into the Southern Ocean. I walked back up the 520 steps (it was a long stair case and I counted each step on the way up) to the main path back to the car park. It was time to find dinner and figure out what I was going to do on day 2.

Albany's wind farm.

A long way to the bottom (and, consequently, a long way back up).

The next day had the best weather of my holiday, with the temperature reaching 27 degrees and no rain in the forecast. I was off to climb Bluff Knoll, the second highest peak in Western Australia at 1, 095 metres. It is part of the Stirling Ranges, which are 80 kilometres north of Albany. I enjoyed the climb to the top~ there was lots of spring wildflowers along the way and good viewpoints where I could catch my breath.

 The road to Bluff Knoll.

Road sign on the way to Bluff Knoll.

 Pretty cool, eh?

 On the way up.

 The view from the top.

 The view of Bluff Knoll from the parking lot.

The next day I headed north of Albany again to do the Castle Rock Trail to Balancing Rock in Porongurup National Park. At the end of the trail they have recently built a 38 metre granite skywalk from where you can view the marri, karri and yate forests. On the way up three kangaroos bounded past me (I wasn't quick enough with my camera) and there were lots of wildflowers along the sides of the trail.

 A panorama from the the top.

 The Granite Skywalk~ I was lucky, no one else was on it when I was up there.

Going down the ladder.

Balancing Rock

I then headed south of Albany to Torndirrup National Park. I would have liked to have hiked Bald Head along the Flinders Peninsula, but it's 16 kilometres return and I just didn't have the time. Instead I checked out Misery Beach (a misnomer if there ever was one), Salmon Holes, Frenchman Bay, Jimmy Newhills Harbour and the Blowholes, all of which were beautiful. I had Misery Beach to myself and if it had been warmer I would have loved to have gone for a swim (it was springtime in the Southern (Antarctic) Ocean~ a little too chilly for me). After eating lunch, I headed out to the Gap and Natural Bridge, two natural phenomena that Torndirrup is known for. 

 Frenchman Bay

 Misery Beach

 Misery Beach

 Pretty flowers and Salmon Holes in the background

Natural Bridge

The next day I headed west to check out Denmark, Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks. Unfortunately, the weather had turned and it was drizzly by the time I arrived. I got down to Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks and took some photos, but there was no sunshine and everything looked grey and dreary. Good thing I had to go back this way the next day on my way to Augusta. The difference was amazing and I'm glad I took the time to stop a second time. On the way back to Albany I took a detour into West Cape Howe National Park to visit Shelley Beach, a beautiful crescent shaped beach. The sun had come out by this time and the beach was mostly empty~ gorgeous. 

 Greens Pool on a rainy day.

 Shelley Beach from the lookout.
One of my favourite spots on my holiday.

Shelley Beach

Pretty wildflowers

The next day I said goodbye to Albany and headed back along the same road I had taken the day before. It was sunny but cool and I made quick stops at Greens Pool and Elephant Rocks to take some better photos. The south coast is a beautiful area and I could have explored some more, but I wanted to revisit some spots in the Margaret River area before returning to Perth. On the way to Augusta I stopped at the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk near Walpole, Conspicuous Cliffs (where it started to rain again) and Pemberton (where I worked for three weeks in July 2009). The drive through the forests  was lovely, the trees are amazing and the wildflowers were out in full bloom. 

 Greens Pool, much nicer on a sunny day.

Elephant Rocks

 The Treetop Walk. These walkways are 40 metres above ground
and the red tingle trees can tower up to 70 metres.

Some of the biggest trees in the world reside in the southwest corner of WA.

I pulled into Augusta just before 5pm. It wasn't my first choice, but it was a reasonably priced bed in an old manor house and I had stayed further up the coast last time I had visited the Margaret River region. I went for a walk along the river to stretch my legs (while it had rained most of the day, it had cleared up by late afternoon) and then headed back to my room to plan what I was going to do for the next couple of days. When I housesat in Perth four years ago, the woman I was housesitting for, Emma, and some of her friends and I had visited some of the wineries and gone kayaking. This time around I wanted to do some of the Cape to Cape Track and hopefully see some whales in Geographe Bay, as that's where they come from September to December. I headed to Dunsborough the next morning, making a brief stop in Margaret River for breakfast (reminded me a bit of Banff). Dunsborough is where I stayed last time I was here and it was very familiar as soon as I drove up. I went for a windy walk on the beach and then headed up to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse where there are many walking trails, including the start (or finish) of the Cape to Cape Track. I took a trail to a whale watching lookout, but unfortunately did not see any whales frolicking in the ocean. I had booked a whale watching cruise for later that week, but it was cancelled, so I wouldn't be seeing any whales this time around. The track was beautiful though and it was a lovely way to spend a warm afternoon. I also took the Cape to Cape Track to Sugar Loaf Rock and back. Driving back to Dunsborough I stopped at Eagle Bay and Castle Rock, beautiful beaches with great surf.

 Interesting fact!

No whales for me.

 Eek! After snapping its photo, it slithered off into the bush.

 Sugar Loaf Rock

Calla lily!

They were everywhere!

If you look closely, you can see a mob of kangaroos! 

There were around 20 of them, but my camera doesn't 

zoom very far, so this is the best shot I got. It was 

awesome to see this many so close.

The next day was very windy and rainy, but I headed out to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse anyway. Cape Leeuwin is by Augusta, where I was staying, on the south end of the Margaret River region. I had been here before with Emma on a much nicer day, but I wanted to see where the Indian and Southern Oceans met again. I then went to one of the caves found along Caves Road, but as it was rainy it was a very popular excursion for the day and the tours were full up for the morning. I continued on to Dunsborough as I wanted to do another walk, this time from Castle Rock to Eagle Bay. The rain had stopped by lunch and it had warmed up a bit, so the hike was good with views of the ocean most of the way. Unfortunately my camera began acting up and a lot of my shots are too dark or too light. I had to rely on my iPhone for the last few days of my holiday.

I saw a couple of these on my walks around Cape Naturaliste. 

Looks a bit like a blue tongue lizard, but I'm no expert.

The next day was my last day in the southwest. I drove up Caves Road one last time, stopping at Hamelin Bay (beautiful beach) before continuing on to Busselton to see its famous jetty. At 1.8km, it is the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. You can even take a train down the jetty to the end and visit the Underwater Observatory, but I chose to walk down the jetty instead. It was pretty windy! 

 Driving along Caves Road. The trees are pretty amazing!

 Looking down the jetty, from about the halfway point. It's that long!

The Interpretive Centre at the Busselton Jetty.

It was time to head back to Perth to catch up with some other exchange teachers. I was staying with Katherine for two more nights, then with Dale, who's from Calgary and on exchange in Perth. Deb and Richard (also from Calgary) were also staying with Dale. They're on exchange in Pemberton, where I had worked four years ago for the winter. We had all met before, at the orientation in Edmonton in October before we left on our big adventures, and it was great to catch up and swap stories. The five of us plus Sandy (who had given me surf lessons in April and had been on exchange to Edmonton in 2011) met at Houghton Winery in the Swan Valley on Friday for lunch. The following day the Canadians went to Fremantle for the markets and then to AQWA, which is the Aquarium of Western Australia. I had never been, but it is really well done and we all enjoyed it. 

 Shark!

 This turtle was huge!

Jellyfish

I met up with Katherine again Sunday morning and we joined a Meet-Up group for a walk along the river. Afterwards we headed to Fremantle to check out a market and have something to eat. It was then time to say goodbye as my flight back to Karratha was shortly after lunch. It had been a great two weeks and now it was time to think about the upcoming ten weeks of my last term, which I was sure would pass quickly. I have two weeks off before starting back at work in Edmonton (everyone here will have their six week summer holiday, boo!). I have only just decided to spend Christmas here in Karratha and then I'm in Perth for a day to meet up with Katherine and hopefully Emma (my exchange partner). Then it's off to Sydney to catch The Lion King (yay!) and New Year's Eve fireworks (double yay!). That's definitely finishing the year off with a bang!

April School Holidays, Part I

One of the big differences between schooling in Alberta and schooling in Western Australia is the school year itself. In most schools in Alberta, we start school in late August/early September, we teach until Christmas break, which is two weeks long, then we teach again until the end of March, when we get one week off for Spring Break. Three more months of teaching follow, with school ending the last week of June, and then we get almost two months of holidays before beginning another school year. In WA, the school year starts at the beginning of February, we teach for 11 weeks, then we get a two week holiday in April. That's followed by a 9 week term and another two week holiday in July. Term 3 lasts until the end of September with another two week break, and the final term goes until Christmas, or December 20th this year. This is why I was able to enjoy four weeks in New Zealand before starting Term 1 and why I just returned from holidays prior to starting Term 2 last week. At this stage, I'm enjoying Australia's school year better, but ask me in August, when I'll be teaching and all of my Canadian colleagues will be on holiday and I might have a different opinion!

For April school holidays, I knew before I arrived in Karratha that I wanted to visit Cape Leveque, which is 200km north of Broome. When I was in WA before, I participated in an Australian Conservation Volunteers program in the Bungle Bungles. Our program leader had led a volunteer group in Cape Leveque and had shared photos with us of the experience. Its stunning beauty really stuck in my head and when I knew I would be living in Karratha, I couldn't not go. Once that was organized, I decided to spend the time before and after the tour in Broome and the week prior to the tour in Perth. Check out the map to find Karratha, Broome, Cape Leveque and Perth.

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I flew out of Karratha Friday night and arrived in Perth around 9:30pm. I took a taxi from the domestic airport to Claremont, where Emma's parents, Georgi and Simon, live. I would be staying with them for my week in Perth. Emma is my exchange partner. She is living in my condo in Edmonton and teaching my former grade 4 students at Esther Starkman School. I had met Emma's parents when I had arrived from Auckland and had one night with them before departing for Karratha. They were very kind and welcoming and I was excited to see them again. I knew I would have a fantastic week in Perth. 

My first day with Georgi and Simon was very educational~ I learned all about AFL, or the Australian Football League. Georgi cheers for the Fremantle Dockers and Simon cheers for the West Coast Eagles, and there was a double header that day, so we watched both games. It's a very fast moving game, with lots of action. While I'm still unsure of all the rules, I did enjoy watching the games (the men aren't bad to look at either!) and I hope I get the opportunity to watch one live at some point this year. Check out this Youtube clip for highlights from a Dockers and Eagles game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogOeSWcaijQ

On Sunday, after a lovely breakfast with Georgi and Simon's friends, Rob and Sheryl, I took the train to Fremantle. South of Perth, Freo is an artsy, heritage district with some of WA's oldest buildings. I had been before, but it was good to go again and I was looking forward to visiting the markets. After lunch at Gino's, I walked to the Round House, the oldest surviving building in WA. Built in 1831, the 12 sided stone prison was the site of the colony's first hangings. I also went to the Maritime Museum, where I saw the Australia II, the yacht that won the America's Cup in 1983 (a huge deal because it broke America's 132 year winning streak), and Megamouth, a species of shark with a very big mouth (hence the name!) of which only five have been found. 

The next day I took the train into Perth's CBD and walked up to Northbridge to visit the Art Gallery of Western Australia. They had an exhibit from the Museum of Modern Art in New York titled Picturing New York. It was a collection of black and white photographs by artists like Walker Evans, Alfred Stieglitz and Weegee, and it was excellent. The Year 12 Perspectives was also worthwhile with some very interesting pieces. Following lunch, I took a walk through the CBD to the Esplanade and then walked to Kings Park, one of my favourite places in Perth. Walking around the city brought back memories of when I housesat and worked in Subiaco. I remembered how much I loved Perth, how beautiful the parks, rivers and ocean are. I couldn't help thinking what my exchange experience would be like if I were placed in Perth, where the majority of the other exchange teachers in WA are. It would have been different, that's for sure, for lots of different reasons.

The view of Perth from Kings Park

Tuesday I met up with Sandy, a teacher who had done an exchange to Edmonton in 2011 to my old high school, Harry Ainlay, of all places. She had offered surfing lessons to the current group of exchange teachers in WA back in March, but because I'm up in Karratha I couldn't join them. I contacted her and explained my situation and she very kindly offered to teach me when I came down to Perth over April school holidays. We drove to Trigg Beach, put on wetsuits (the water is much cooler down south than it is up around Karratha) and jumped in. Two hours later, I still hadn't stood up, but I had a ton of fun. Paddling, riding the waves in, getting to my knees~ it was all part of the experience. I came close and maybe next time I try it I'll be successful. Sandy was a great teacher and had lots of pointers, I just wasn't coordinated enough to put it all together. Afterwards, we went for lunch and then drove to Hillarys Boat Harbour. We talked about our exchanges and how tough it can be to settle in to our new lives while on exchange. In so many ways you feel like a first year teacher again. There's a steep learning curve at the beginning and while it does get easier, it's still an uphill battle. It was reassuring to hear that her experience was similar to mine, that I wasn't the only one who feels a bit lost at times. It was awesome to talk to someone who had been through an exchange before, it really helped me put things into perspective.

Rottnest Island is 18km from Perth and I had not been before, so on Wednesday I took the 7:15 ferry and hired a bicycle to ride the 24km around the island. There are 63 beaches and 20 bays on Rottnest, which makes it a great getaway from the city, especially on a beautiful day like I had. I started in Thomson Bay, where the ferry arrived just after 8am, had a little walk around the settlement and hired my bike. I stopped at the Kingstown Barracks, then make my way to Parker Point and Little Salmon Bay. Both are known for their snorkelling, but I hadn't brought my gear with me as I thought the water might be too cold (it was, after all, autumn). I continued riding, heading to Cape Vlamingh, the western most point of the island. It was gorgeous! After taking some photos, I hopped back on my bike and went on to Ricey Beach, where I stopped to have a rest, a read and soak up the atmosphere. There were only two other families on the beach, so it was almost like having your own private place to relax. I was getting hungry so I rode on to Geordie Bay, the other settlement on the island. After a delicious lunch at the cafe, I backtracked to Parakeet Bay, where I braved the cold water and went for a swim. It was very refreshing! I make one last stop at Pinky Beach and the Bathurst Lighthouse before biking back to Thomson Bay to drop off my bike. I missed going into the museum, which explains Rottnest's history as a prison for Aboriginal boys and men in the 1800's, and as an internment camp for German, Austrian and Italian men during World War I and World War II. Walking around Rottnest is a treat. There are no cars, just a bus that makes its way around the island for those who don't like to cycle. All the buildings, including the cottages, are historic and you feel like you stepped back in time when you debark the ferry. I can understand why many Perth families escape to Rotto for the weekend.

 A map of the island

One of the beautiful bays

A quokka, a small marsupial found on Rottnest 

(hard to tell from the photo, but they're about the size of a cat)

My last day in Perth was ANZAC Day. ANZAC is the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps and every year on April 25th, Australians and New Zealanders remember those that fought and died in war. April 25th is the day the ANZAC soldiers landed in Gallipoli, in present day Turkey, and met with fierce resistance from the Ottoman Empire. Thousands died in the eight month campaign and and every year since there has been in ANZAC dawn service to commemorate the Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Island soldiers who died in battle. ANZAC Day seems to hold more importance then Remembrance Day, although I found the two holidays very similar. We had a service at school and the students made wreaths with poppies, just like we do for Remembrance Day in Canada. There was a service at Kings Park in Perth that was very well attended, but I had a lazy morning and slept in, so I didn't make it. I had been to the war memorial there on Monday, it was beautiful.

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In the afternoon, I visited the Millpoint Caffe Bookshop (http://www.millpointbookcaffe.com.au/millpointcafe/Home.htm) in South Perth, managed by Adam, Rob and Sheryl's son. It was a cozy place with a really good vibe and I was quite happy to browse the shelves for a long while. Adam shared a couple of publisher copies of books so that I would have something to read on Cable Beach, which was very kind of him. They were both entertaining reads and well worth the space they took up in my backpack. At Georgi and Simon's that evening we had another delicious meal~ Simon really knows how to cook and had impressed me each night with something different and delicious. My dad could take lessons, especially now that he is retired! I'm going to miss his cooking; I haven't eaten that well since leaving home in December.

I left Perth the next morning for Broome, but those adventures are for another entry. Back in Karratha now and there's definitely been a weather change. Today it rained all day and the temperature was actually below 20 degrees Celsius (I didn't think it got that cold up here, but apparently it does). All the kids were wearing jumpers (hoodies) and complaining about the cold. I couldn't help but laugh as the kids back home would shed their jackets at the same temperature. I'm enjoying the cooler weather though, my run this morning was awesome! I don't think it's going to stick around long, but it's nice to have a change for awhile.