dolphin encounter

Although we had watched the dolphins from our balcony at the resort, and at other times in the water when they were fishing amongst the sea grass, we went to see them one morning on cue.

The dolphins at Monkey Mia swim up and down the beach, but some come in to the shore at a regular time to be fed by DEC staff.

The recent close encounter with the Monkey Mia dolphins heightened my sensitivity to reading about the wildlife in the area of the West Atlas oil rig spill.

“There were times when we were literally in a sea of oil from left to right and as far as we could see ahead of us – it was heavily oiled water and it was sickening because in this we were seeing dolphins surfacing,” — Dr Gilly Llewellyn, Conservation Manager, WWF-Australia on ABC Online.

The oil spill is 200 kilometres off the Kimberley coast. Would more people stand up and take notice if the oil slick came into the shore?

Lining up to view the dolphins.

from the air

A real treat was to take a 30 minute air charter with Margaret of Shark Bay Air over Denham and Francois Peron National Park.

Denham has a wind farm, so I had to have a picture of that. Interestingly, the resort at Monkey Mia does not get power from this, but from a huge noisy generator that also runs the desalination plant.

The contrast of the red dirt and cliffs with the blue of the sea and lagoons is breathtaking.

The gypsum claypans or birridas were once land-locked saline lakes. There are a lot of them and quite intriguing. Some look like scars on the landscape, and others look very regularly shaped as if they were carefully planned and built.

Little Lagoon and Big Lagoon are two flooded birridas. Again, the contrast of the colours was amazing, white, aqua, and red.

We didn’t spot any wildlife, but they would have to be pretty big to be able to spot from the plane anyway.

Thirty minutes is not a long time in the air, and we were soon on the way back to the airport over the historic Peron Homestead.

pelican

We have pelicans in South Perth, but I went all the way to Monkey Mia, Western Autralia to take a picture of this one.

I was supposed to notice the dolphins, but I didn’t feel part of the ‘Dolphin Interaction Area’ that morning and sat off to the side on the beach.

Like the dolphins, the pelicans keep to the schedule such that the DEC have to have a pelican decoy. It was quite humorous seeing the patient birds line up in a very orderly fashion for the bucket handler. Actually, they were much more polite than the line up for our own breakfast at the Boughshed Resturant after the dolphin feeding finished.

Suprisingly, people left the ‘Dolphin Interaction Area’ as soon as the DEC people finished their formalities. The dolphins were much more visible without the line of people on the shore.

not bad for a paper Aussie

Bold is been there and done that.

1. Heard a kookaburra in person. Visit the Somerville Theatre during the festival. Not only will you hear one, you’re more likely to get your picnic swooped out of your hands.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Seen a koala. These are not cuddly, really!
4. Visited Melbourne
5. Watched a summer thunderstorm
6. Worn a pair of thongs. Current pair are blue with white spots.
7. Been to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock). Walked round once, and climbed twice.
8. Visited Cape York. Would have except the cyclone made the roads a bit wet for our car that was not insured for ‘off-road’.
9. Held a snake. I think it was a Carpet Python. Was told not to pick up the Brown Snake.
10. Sang along with Khe Sanh. It’s what you did when Cold Chisel played in the pub.
11. Drank VB. Prefer Coopers these days.
12. Visited Sydney
13. Have seen a shark. In Dongara on a field trip, got one caught in our net – twice. Only a little Grey Nurse. Just a bit longer than the broom stick I was told to hold to keep it at a distance.
14. Have used Aussie slang naturally in a conversation
15. Had an actual conversation with an indigenous Australian (Aboriginal).
16. Eaten hot chips from the bag at the beach
17. Walked/climbed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Got out the car to stand at one end and have a look, that’s all.
18. Used an outside dunny, and checked under the seat before sitting down. Didn’t have a seat.
19. Seen Chloe in Young & Jackson’s.
20. Slept on an overnight train or bus
21. Been to Sydney’s Mardi Gras
22. Have gone bush-bashing. It is how I learnt to drive.
23. Taken a sickie
24. Been to see a game of Aussie Rules football. ‘East Perth’ came to Newman.
25. Have seen wild camels
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Had a Tim Tam Slam
28. Ridden in a tram in Melbourne
29. Been at an ANZAC day Dawn Service. Prefer to think of all that stuff on the 11th November.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Held a wombat. And worried that it was going to piss all over me.
32. Been on a roadtrip of 800km or more
33. Seen the Great Australian Bight in person
34. Had a really bad sunburn
35. Visited an Aboriginal community
36. Seen a redback spider. I think they are really pretty. Only squash them if I think the cats are going to be near.
37. Have watched Paul Hogan
38. Seen Blue Polls in person
39. Wandered barefoot in the bush/outback
40. Eaten Vegemite
41. Thrown a boomerang
42. Seen the Kimberlies (used to seeing it as the Kimberleys).
43. Given a hitch-hiker a lift. I’m not usually the one driving.
44. Been to Perth
45. Have tried Lemon, Lime and Bitters. Used to be my drink of choice if didn’t like the house wine or not drinking beer.
46. Tried playing a didgeridoo
47. Seen dinosaur footprints. Went looking for them in Broome, but didn’t see them.
48. Eaten Tim Tams
49. Been to Darwin. Before Cyclone Tracy.
50. Touched a kangaroo. Dead and alive.
51. Visited the Great Barrier Reef. It was here that I decided to give skindiving a go, and decided it wasn’t for me.
52. Listened to Kevin Bloody Wilson
53. Killed a Cane Toad. The ones we could step on, but the big ones we grabbed by the hind legs simply tossed out the pool. They were better swimmers than we were.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre. Most memorable film at the drive-in was ‘Jaws’. It took me a long time before I would go open swimming.
55. Have read and own books by Australian authors. Tim Winton is my current favourite.
56. Visited Adelaide
57. Know the story behind “Eternity”
58. Been camping
59. Visited Brisbane
60. Been in an outback pub. Is there anything else in the outback?
61. Know what the term “Waltzing Matilda” actually means
62. Gone whale watching. Being so close you can eye each other is a pretty amazing experience.
63. Listened to Slim Dusty. Inadvertently.
64. Own five or more Australian movies or TV series. I go out to the theatre or borrow DVDs from the library.
65. Sang along to Down Under
66. Have stopped specifically to look at an historic marker by the side of the road.
67. Eaten a 4′n’20 pie
68. Surfed at Bondi. Haven’t surfed at any beaches. Surfing is in the same list as water skiing and skindiving.
69. Watched the cricket on Boxing Day. There is usually nothing else on the telly, but I usually get books for Christmas anyway.
70. Visited Hobart
71. Eaten kangaroo. Tending to do it more frequently.
72. Seen a quokka
73. Visited Canberra
74. Visited rainforests
75 Used a Victa lawnmower.
76. Travelled on a tram in Adelaide
77. Watch canefields burning. Only smelt them.
78. Used a Hills hoist
79. Visited the Olgas
80. Used native Australian plants in cooking.
81. Visited the snow. Not in Australia.
82. Chosen a side in Holden VS Ford. Holden
83. Visited the desert. Lived on the edge.
84. Been water skiing. Need strong knees.
85. Read The Phantom. Wasn’t aware that this was a particularly Australian thing, but yeah, one of the few comics that came into the newsagent in Newman.
86. Visited Parliament House. Old and new.
87. Gone spotlighting or pig-shooting. Bunnies and roos.
88. Crossed the Nullarbor. When it was dirt.
89. Avoided swimming in areas because of crocodiles. I don’t want to get close enough to tell the difference between a saltwater or a freshwater crocodile. But I remember swimming in Katherine Gorge with crocodiles, but I was not convinced it was ok.
90. Listened to AC/DC. Still have the cassettes.
91. Called someone a dag
92. Voted in a Federal Election
93. Have been swimming and stayed between the flags. Also make sure that there are people further out than me.
94. Had a possum in your roof
95. Visited the outback
96. Travelled over corrugated roads. Even been on what is called Corrugation Road.
97. Hit a kangaroo while driving. Don’t drive at hoppy time.
98. Been well outside any mobile phone coverage. If I had one, I’d leave it at home.
99. Seen an emu.
100. Have woken to the smell of bushfires

From dalekboy via Planet UCC.

in transit

Today I found out from Under Mouse Arrest that Perth is to be the first Australian city to be included in Google Transit, a trip planning service offered by Google.

Recently, I used the Transperth website to plan trips to Perth International Arts Festival events. It mostly worked. I knew at what time to catch the bus and where, and even found out that if I got off on St Georges Tce a few stops early the fare was $1.50 (2 Sections) instead of $2.20 (1 Zone).

Trip planning was always done ahead of time as the Transperth web site is slow, and it does take a while to navigate around the maps and suggested routes.

I have previously used Google Maps to find routes from Perth, for example, to Koorda or Bremer Bay. But being able to do this around the city would be terrific, particularly if the Google service speeded the task up and included the public transport data.

Somewhat related, Uncle C started to send coordinates via SailMail. Then stopped due to technical difficulties. But hopefully when he starts again I will be able to use Google Maps to chart his progress across the Pacific.

not parking

I very rarely use the car to get to uni, and today I was reminded why. It’s because you can’t get $^%&* parked.

Yes, it is only the second week of first semester, but I don’t feel that parking on Tuesdays is going to become any less congested. Tuesdays means lots happening in the Guild Courtyard, on the Oak Lawn, and with DJs in the Tav why would anyone leave campus for the day once you were there?

Similarly, when I then drove to the local post office as I was already in the car – I could not get parked. Well, I could, in the Coles Supermarket car park. There were a lot of spaces.

I peeked into Coles on the way past to the post office and there were queues at each checkout. I just wish those that shopped at Coles parked at Coles, so the rest of us can get on with enjoying the local shopping precinct while continuing to ignore them.

The problem that I have with parking at Coles is that the supermarket will be able to claim that they are providing the required car parking, when their shoppers are not actually parking in the car park that they have provided. I wonder if anyone has done any research into the number of Coles shoppers that have 4WDs and or cannot successfully park in the tight parking spaces provided by Coles.

Hint for South Perth shoppers: There is always car parking at the Coles Supermarket. If you are not shopping at Coles, then the only drawback is having to hold your nose while you go down the stairs (or in the lift) until you get past the ‘roast chickens’. Ugh!

WA on Show

Lots to see and not see at WA on Show.

There were a lot of displays suggesting that regions of Western Australia are places to go with things to do. For example, the Mandurah Crabfest is on next weekend. I thought it may be a good idea if you were looking for a reason to try out the new bit of train track. The reason I noticed the display is because they had a light blue/beige scooter which is a prize for a competition during the Crabfest. I thought it would be just right for popping to the shops when I couldn’t be bothered getting into clothes suitable for riding my bicycle.

I thought that the Main Roads Department’s static display of historical posters was the most interesting. For example, there was a great photo of a Volkswagen Beetle going through a very rocky river bed. Made me wonder why we needed all these slick bitumen roads for the increasing number of 4WDs.

Although I was resisting collecting pamphlets and show give-aways, when we stopped to ask questions or fill in a competition entry (bikes and weekends away being the most popular), we were plied with the ’stuff’.

Some of the stuff was quite useful, such as the sachets of sunscreen, pens, and travel tags. But we were on our way to the Music Box with plans to dance and didn’t want to be carting stuff around. So I found a phone booth on the walk up St Georges Tce, and left the show bag there thinking that anyone that went to use the phone would have more time to fossick through the bag and take anything they found useful.

second best

1.1 billion dollars is the projected cost of a 60,000 seat sports stadium to be developed at Kitchener Park, Subiaco that will enable Perth, Western Australia to bid for the 2018 Soccer World Cup.

“The Government says it will seek funding from the Commonwealth, business and the sporting codes to help build the stadium.” — Subiaco wins race for new 60,000 seat stadium, ABC News

The Hon Alan Carpenter is the Western Australian Premier; and Minister for Federal-State Relations; Trade; Innovation; Public Sector Management; and Science announced today.

I say, always read the last paragraph of news stories. In closing, the ABC article about the sports stadium also mentions a new museum.

“The other site considered for the project, the old East Perth power station, was deemed unsuitable because of transport difficulties.

That site will be used to build the new WA Museum.”

The current museum in Perth could do with a revamp, more space and resources. But to send it out to East Perth appears a bit odd.

The WA Museum is right next to the State Library and Art Gallery, and on the Perth CAT route. What about the visitor numbers for the museum? Why does it cost only half-a-billion dollars for a museum infrastructure project compared to that of a $1.1 billion new outdoor stadium?

peninunsula lights

The forecast for Boxing Day was 40 deg C, but reached 43.3 deg C at 1230, and was 38.7 deg C when we set out for the Somerville. It was a warm ride, but easier than the previous week due to not having to ride directly into the wind.

After the film, the ride home alongside the Swan River was lovely. The wind had dropped as had the temperature, and we just about had the bicycle path to ourselves.

The full moon was a couple of nights ago, but the moon still looked impressive above the South Perth peninunsula and the lights on the tree near the Old Mill.

talking about the weather

The weather is usually a stand-by topic for those awkward moments or small talk, but this Christmas the weather really is news.

Before I turn my computer off for the holidays, I just checked the weather forecast, and the news is that 39 deg C is forecast for Christmas Day, and 40 deg C for Boxing Day. Together with Christmas Eve, if these maximums are reached, then “it will be the hottest three day period since 1915″ for Perth, Western Australia.

In the state of NSW, the town of Coonamble is preparing for worsening floods with the expectation that the town will be cut off. And in the US and Canada snowstorms are causing chaos.

The weather is usually such a ’safe’ topic.