We've taken to carving our holidays up into mini-stays.. maximizing our ability to visit as many places as we can for the price of one international flight.
When planning our first jaunt to OZ (Dec 08/Jan 09), we were almost paralyzed by the possibilities offered by a country that is also a continent. We settled for a Christmas in Sydney followed by a few days near the GBR. It was perfect, and each place completely juxaposed. Urban vs Wild, Cultured vs. um, decidedly Un-cultured?, (ie. Classy "Bottle Shops" vs. Liquor Stores with drive-throughs!), the UV conscious vs. the Leather Skinned; High brow vs. laid back... you get the picture.
We were excited about our Perth trip because it seemed to offer again more of what Australia has on abundant offer... diversity. It's a smallish city (just over a million Aussies) that is geographically closer to Asian cities than other Australian ones. Perth has benefited from a unique blend of influences: Asian (in part because of their relative proximity to Singapore, Indonesia, and trading with China etc.) and British, not just because this giant island is part of the Commonwealth, but also because Perth's population has a high proportion of British-born persons.
We had only one night in Perth... enough time to arrange or van rental, take in a museum, visit the Botanical garden, and dine on that Aussie staple: fish and chips, alfresco at the garden at the on-sight restaurant .
We planned a road trip down to Margaret River. This coastal, region of wine country is about three hours south of Perth, on a double lane, divided high-way (It was a good way for Mr Johnson to start his acclimation to driving a right hand drive, full size, Korean-made, no-frills van with no umph.) We noted road signs reminding us to watch for kangaroos. Our rental vehicle carried reminders that only four wheel drive rentals had permission to leave "sealed roads." We should check "tyre" pressure daily. And.... avoid driving at dawn and dusk... times when native animals were most likely to be on the roads.
Margaret River did not disappoint, and neither did the Farm Stay we were somewhat unsure of when we booked it. We stopped at vineyards, dairies, and chocolate factories, sampling local wines, cheeses and chocolate. We stopped at beautiful, nearly empty, white sand beaches, where we unfurled our beach mats and reveled in the blue skies and summer warmth of February in Oz.
1 comment:
How awesome is our God who created such beauty AND is giving you opportunities to appreciate it as well to share it wish us!
Post a Comment