Warning, this post is a bit long!

For the past few days I have been exploring Perth on my own, which has been easier since Anne-Marie lent me her car. Everything about driving here is the same as in the UK, apart from just one small difference which A-M forgot to mention to me: the indicators are on the right-hand stalk… and the windscreen wipers on the left. Hence much frantic windscreen wiping the first few times I turned left – a dead giveaway that I’m a Pom I reckon!

After a serious shopping trip in central Perth on Monday, I thought I ought to do something a bit more “gap year”, so booked to go on a boat trip to go swimming with wild dolphins off the coast at Rockingham, just south of Perth, on Tuesday. The trip was great apart from:
a) I forgot to bring my camera
b) I forgot that I get seasick
c) My snorkel kept leaking resulting in inhaling water every few breaths.
However the dolphins were amazing! We saw two separate pods – around 20 dolphins in total. The guides knew some of them from previous visits and recognised them by their individual calls and whistles.

This morning I walked over from Cottesloe to the neighbouring suburb on the Swan river side: Peppermint Grove. The difference between the coast and the riverside is quite marked: the flat, glittering dark blue expanse of river is a stark contrast to the turquoise waters and perpetually crashing waves of the ocean. Freshwater Bay yacht club is surrounding by ranks of sparkling white yachts moored up against its jetties and anchored in the coves of Peppermint Grove or Mosman Bay.

Spring has definitely sprung in Perth and there were blossoms everywhere; the air was thick with scent and every garden was a riot of colour. The houses in opulent Peppermint Grove vary from old-fashioned low-roofed colonial style villas edged with balustraded verandas, to grander, more-American style mansions with colonnaded facades surrounded by immaculate lawns. Every time I saw a house and thought: “That is officially my dream house!” I would turn the corner and see another equally exquisite one!

The beach has been calling every afternoon too – but I won’t bore you with that.
Well done, that’s all for now!
B x
ps the e-mail link isn't working I don't think, but you can write comments if you like!