Written Mon 05th Apr, 1999 in Auckland, New Zealand
Western Australia is big, REALLY big. I mean, you may think its a long way down to the chemist, but that's just PEANUTS compared with Western Australia. For all you that now think I've completely lost all remaining sanity, that's an almost direct quote from the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Anyone who didn't realise this should be ashamed of their lack of knowledge of one of the literary classics of the late 20th century, and should go and read it immediately!!!! Its 420km from Geraldton, population 23000, where I was staying with my uncle, to Perth, the nearest city. In between is a road, about 3 petrol stations/cafes, and not a lot else except for the odd dead kangaroo, lots of bushes and a few trees. If you fall asleep and wake up an hour down the road, you wouldn't think you'd actually gone anywhere - it all looks the same. We did the trip twice - the supposed reasons were for my uncle to attend some meetings, and for his swimming club to enter a state competition. However, both visits seemed to be little more than an excuse for some more serious drinking (and why not?!) We found a pub in Geraldton which actually stayed open on St. Patricks night (most of them were shut, incredible!) and drank a few pints of Guinness to mark the occasion. Unfortunately this stuff was out of bottles, but we did manage to find at least two places in Perth that sell the real stuff, straight out of the pump. Last Friday I flew from Perth to Auckland, New Zealand, so I'm now about as far away from home as its possible to get without resorting to Space Travel. New Zealand weather is almost as variable as at home - on Sunday we had a glorious day, when we went to Waiheke Island for a Jazz Festival. It all got decidedly drunk and disorderly - at one stage there was a bit of a singing competition on the bus - a Welshman singing 'Men of Harlech' followed by me drowning out Ross's version of the All Blacks Haka with a sterling rendition of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'. For the un-initiated, that's more or less the Welsh, English and New Zealand rugby 'anthems'. The Mexican wave up and down the bus was going well until the driver tried to join in and nearly crashed the bus! Yesterday we had rain, lots of it, all day. I felt quite at home. Of course, as a pom, I got the blame for bringing the bad weather with me. The fact that it was only the second time I'd seen rain in about 3 months didn't seem to matter. There's a fairly major international pool tournament going on here at the moment. Ross and I are now 5-5 in matches, and I've just gone ahead 2-1 in the 11th match. Ross seems to manage to invent new swear words every time I win another frame. When people ask me what I saw of New Zealand, the answer will be not much more than the green baize of a pool table and the bottom of lots of beer bottles! Tomorrow I go on a trip to Waitomo Caves and Rotorua, where there are lots of hot springs and bubbling mud - apparently this is the cultural highlight of New Zealand! Next stop Rarotonga, Cook Islands, for sun, sea and snorkelling!
Western Australia is big, REALLY big. I mean, you may think its a long way down to the chemist, but that's just PEANUTS compared with Western Australia. For all you that now think I've completely lost all remaining sanity, that's an almost direct quote from the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Anyone who didn't realise this should be ashamed of their lack of knowledge of one of the literary classics of the late 20th century, and should go and read it immediately!!!! Its 420km from Geraldton, population 23000, where I was staying with my uncle, to Perth, the nearest city. In between is a road, about 3 petrol stations/cafes, and not a lot else except for the odd dead kangaroo, lots of bushes and a few trees. If you fall asleep and wake up an hour down the road, you wouldn't think you'd actually gone anywhere - it all looks the same. We did the trip twice - the supposed reasons were for my uncle to attend some meetings, and for his swimming club to enter a state competition. However, both visits seemed to be little more than an excuse for some more serious drinking (and why not?!) We found a pub in Geraldton which actually stayed open on St. Patricks night (most of them were shut, incredible!) and drank a few pints of Guinness to mark the occasion. Unfortunately this stuff was out of bottles, but we did manage to find at least two places in Perth that sell the real stuff, straight out of the pump. Last Friday I flew from Perth to Auckland, New Zealand, so I'm now about as far away from home as its possible to get without resorting to Space Travel. New Zealand weather is almost as variable as at home - on Sunday we had a glorious day, when we went to Waiheke Island for a Jazz Festival. It all got decidedly drunk and disorderly - at one stage there was a bit of a singing competition on the bus - a Welshman singing 'Men of Harlech' followed by me drowning out Ross's version of the All Blacks Haka with a sterling rendition of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'. For the un-initiated, that's more or less the Welsh, English and New Zealand rugby 'anthems'. The Mexican wave up and down the bus was going well until the driver tried to join in and nearly crashed the bus! Yesterday we had rain, lots of it, all day. I felt quite at home. Of course, as a pom, I got the blame for bringing the bad weather with me. The fact that it was only the second time I'd seen rain in about 3 months didn't seem to matter. There's a fairly major international pool tournament going on here at the moment. Ross and I are now 5-5 in matches, and I've just gone ahead 2-1 in the 11th match. Ross seems to manage to invent new swear words every time I win another frame. When people ask me what I saw of New Zealand, the answer will be not much more than the green baize of a pool table and the bottom of lots of beer bottles! Tomorrow I go on a trip to Waitomo Caves and Rotorua, where there are lots of hot springs and bubbling mud - apparently this is the cultural highlight of New Zealand! Next stop Rarotonga, Cook Islands, for sun, sea and snorkelling!