Schanzenfeld Sausage

The weather in Perth for July was still very fine, and we took advantage of it. We really love going to King's Park in downtown Perth, an oasis in the urban landscape, and it sits high on an escarpment which allows for panoramas of the whole region. Greg is pictured with a magpie behind him; these birds are not actual magpies that we are familiar with in NA and Europe, but when the settlers saw them with their black and white colours, they decided they must be the same. The ones at King's Park are practically tame, but we would later find out these birds can be dangerous dive-bombers when it comes to protecting their nests...

This trip has been a bit different for us for a few reasons; Greg has been on his own in preparing the earth station for the missions he came out for, which means more work and stress. As well, we found out we're pregnant only days after arriving! (We decided not to post a picture of us with the pee stick; some folks might think that's too much information...) Initially this news had just meant that driving for longer periods (or even short ones) augmented my feelings of nausea (yeah pregnancy sickness!), so we didn't go very far. This thankfully only lasted until about weeks 9-10, and we still got out to see what we could.

Perth has an ancient line of hills that sprouts out of the countryside to the east of the city, called the Darling range. They're similar to the Gatineau Hills (the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains) just north of Ottawa in Quebec in that they used to be a huge mountain range a few million years ago. Hard to imagine; safer to climb these days though! There are a good number of nature reserves to visit and walk in, so we try to make a habit of packing a lunch and heading for the hills on the weekends. The vistas are wonderful. Greg is standing next to a grass tree in this pic. They were also referred to as 'black boys' in the day, a somewhat derogatory term (which is still common, not suprisingly). These trees were used by the aboriginees for all sorts of things; the stem of the flower spike (the black thing sticking out the top) was used for spear shafts, the plant's resin was used as a powerful glue, and the nectar from the flower is a high-energy food. That's good bushtukah! (ie bush tucker/food).

I've been hitting the gym here 3 days a week, back in with the gang there; I met them last year when I joined, and have kept in touch via email, and was going again when we were here in March. Some of them frown at my continued physical activity (you know, being pregnant and all) but it's really the only social contact I have, (we go for coffee at this fancy coffee shop called "The Dome" which sits on the Indian Ocean, and occasionally we'll check out a movie) and that makes it really important! My body doesn't seem to mind either... Oh, and I've already gotten advice to not do exercises with my arms above my head...(where do these old wives tales come from?)

Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore...Oz!

On July 4th, we started out once again for Australia. We decided to go the route Greg had done last year in November, when he went solo; instead of Hawaii - Sydney, we did the 14 hrs straight to Hong Kong! Thankfully we had a chance to visit with Kathryn and Meghan in Vancouver, and see their new digs on West 16th Ave., and eat some fantastic burritos - a Meghan specialty! They were still awaiting Kathryn's furniture from Montreal, but we had all the essentials; what else is needed but a stocked kitchen and a table to eat around and a bed to sleep in?! On the 5th, we were ready for the big flight. Thankfully we lucked out and got to use upgrade certificates and sat in the luxury of executive class the whole way (which meant I watched more movies than can really be good for anyone...)

There wasn't much to photograph of Hong Kong but the airport, and the hotel which was attached to the airport. We mostly just slept in the hotel, sat in the airport, and were bombarded by all the adverts in the world... At this stage, we were in the same time zone as Perth, so all our catching up started here.

The flight to Singapore was a shorter 3hr flight (thank goodness!), where we caught a taxi to our hotel that we'd booked on "the internets" from Ottawa. Singapore is known as the Lion City, and there are a million hotels to choose from; after some debate, we decided NOT to stay at the famous Raffles Hotel, but I think we did pretty well otherwise! Our hotel was right on Orchard road, essentially the shopping strip of the city, pretty close to most things, but what isn't in this tiny city-state. We were still pooched from the day before, and the weather was so humid we thought maybe we needed goggles and swim trunks, but we made the most of it. One thing I wanted to for sure see was the Singapore zoo, mainly because I'd heard so much about it from the folks in Perth, and also I'd seen a show on toilets of the world, in which those at the zoo were featured. (Yeah, a bit crazy, but...just look at the pic! It goes straight outside! The next best thing to poo'ing in the woods!)

Zoo's are interesting places; it's so fascinating to see these creatures that we'd never otherwise get so close to, yet they are so far from their natural environment that it's really sad. And many zoo's argue that they are the only safe haven for these animals anymore, as the environment is eaten up by humans, and that is even more sad. I think Steve Irwin had it right when he decided that the best thing to do is to buy up the land for reserve, and leave it for the creatures, as habitat loss is the biggest problem. Hopefully his family and organizations will keep that up. If I had a million dollars...

At least a zoo also gives the opportunity to see some of the flora in its natural state. Greg walking next to this enormous stand of bamboo was so cool. Despite having aircon shacks to cool off in, we were roasted, and took the bus back downtown for some respite in our hotel room...
The shops are all blasting with AC as well, even little kiosks on the street, which seems rather wasteful, but perhaps it helps to attract customers.

There were many parts of the city that we didn't get a chance to see, but we were only there for 2 nights, so we did what we could. Would be neat to go again for a bit longer and maybe get out of the city a bit more...another time.

Eating a big bowl of noodle soup.

Walking the quieter morning sidewalk of Orchard Rd. So tropical! So clean! (Chewing gum is no longer illegal here, but don't spit it out onto the street, whatever you do!)

On the 9th of July, we finally arrived in Perth, and drove the usual route to our apartment in Scarborough. Greg is already an expert at driving on the wrong side of the road, so we have no worries with that! (I have driven a bit, but mostly I walk everywhere; but that's just what I do, no matter where I am). July and August are the winter months here on the other side of the world, so once again we arrived to shorter days, and cooler weather with lots of rain and wind off the ocean. But I'll take that any day over a Manitoba or Ontario winter, for sure! It's good to be back in Perth. Greg's been here 4 times now in the last 12 months, and I've been here 3, so it's starting to feel a bit like home already.

Soph's Post for June

Greg left for work in Calgary just 3 short days after his return from Halifax, and so happened to be there for his 30th birthday. Aunt Helen & Uncle Jerry got right onto it and organized a party for him with the whole gang. It's been so great to be able to spend time with them, and Greg was especially happy to spend such a significant birthday with his amazing family! That was really special.

While Greg was in Calgary, my friend Cathy came to Ottawa from Winnipeg. We had spent the last month planning a canoe trip on the Coulonge River in Quebec, which we figured would take a little over a week. We rented a canoe in Ottawa, I got the food together, and Cathy brought a bunch of her camping gear with her, and we arranged for Marc (and Lori and Keelin) to drive us up to our drop-off point. Unfortunately that was the only part we hadn't planned too well; we didn't realize it would be about a 4hr drive - one way! (and it was raining, and the traffic was heavy...) We were safely dropped off, and got on our way, and spent the next 8 days meandering through lakes and portages, until we got onto the Coulonge, where we shot lots of rapids and communed with the black flies! There were moose and ducks and geese among the wildlife... it was really amazing to step out of the city world for those days and experience the natural world again! It's so awesome to have a friend like Cathy who nudges me out of my comfort zone.

Greg picked us up in Fort Coulonge, relieved we were in one piece! (He didn't like not hearing from us for those 8 days...) He had a chance to tour Chutes Coulonge, the falls where our trip ended rather abruptly; we knew it was coming, but it was hard to tell where exactly the river was going to drop off! (as you can see in the pic). There is a great chasm on the other side (pic), which we couldn't portage down, and we got some great help from a local who drove us and our canoe into town! Great hospitality... This area was set up as the end of the log drive which was part of this communities culture until just recently. The Chutes have been turned into a provincial park with a museum and the history of the log drive. Cathy and I were a bit stinky (although we couldn't tell, but Greg had to drive us the 2 hrs back to Ottawa!), but happy for our adventure, and glad that Greg could see a bit of what we'd experienced.


Cathy had slotted a good long trip out east, so we had lots of fun exploring Ottawa together, on bikes and walking. There was enough room in our little apartment, but she also had planned a bike trip from Ottawa to Montreal, and was off on that adventure for a few days before I went to join her in Montreal for St. Jean Baptiste day. This is a huge celebration in Quebec, the weekend before Canada day (their Canada day pales in comparison apparently). It's their chance to revel in their unique culture... and they're glad to share the festivities with whoever comes down! We camped near the city (and IN the city one night, in a dog park), so we could get the full experience, and on the Sunday morning headed to the Mont Royal for the Tam Tam (drumming circle). If you're ever in Montreal on a Sunday, don't miss it; it's a wild gathering of every which sort, with drums and dancing and so much more... We just set up a blanket and watched the show. (all those pics are on Cathy's camera...) It was awesome to have Cathy come to Ottawa to visit, and we definitely made the most of it.

Cathy left on the train for Toronto the next week, while Greg made it home late that same night from a 100+ hour work week in Allan Park. Greg and I finally had a chance to celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa, which was pretty wild. There were a million people (give or take), as well as a whole caravan of protesting farmers on their tractors, street performers (including a skate demo), a diving show, and several concerts around downtown, among other things. The day was muggy and warm, and it rained a bit in the evening, but we had our umbrella and were prepared, and enjoyed the show none-the-less (as did most). Then we got to see the great fireworks display exploding behind the parliament and Peace tower, which was especially cool! We had some pretty good seats on the parliament green. Greg's highlight came during a concert by "stars" in which the lead singer, Torq, took off his shirt to reveal "Harper's Bizarre" painted on his chest. A Canada Day in our nations capital is quite an experience...