The flight was very smooth, despite our misgivings. No sudden turbulence, nosedives or anything out of the ordinary. On arrival at the airport we were immediately confronted with a duty free alcohol shop in which you could buy two bottles of Remy Martin in a free backpack! I justified my purchase with the backpack, so now I can walk around like a free advert for Remy Martin with the logo emblazened across my back!
After this there was a huge queue through quarantine - no fruits, nuts, berries, wood, etc, etc. I didn't realise how picky the Australians were about what was allowed to enter the country - things have obviously changed!
Met up with Sue's cousins on Saturday morning and they took us to the Swan Valley Spring Festival. This is a celebration of the vineyards. All the wineries put on entertainment and everyone drinks large quantities of wine. Driving through Swan valley was like driving through a bachanalian fest - crowds of young people in various states of fancy dress (and undress) most of them apparently slightly inebriated. Eventually we found a respectable looking winery and spent the afternoon sipping wine and listening to a very good band.
Today we went to Kings Park - a beautiful setting on a hill overlooking the city and Swan River. A glorious day. We went on a bush wild flower walk and toured the botanical gardens - exciting stuff! The most striking thing is that all the the plants - flowers, trees, shrubs are new to us - no famliarity at all. I've never been to a place where everything seems so different!
We're off up to Geraldton tomorrow - about 250 miles north - on the way to Monkey Mia. I'll post some more photos when I can connect up with my laptop. I'm writing this on the hotel's coin-in-the-slot internet machine.
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