Vic-Views - The Life & Times of Sheila & Norm

We are at the half way point in our house sit - it’s hard to believe that we still have two months here including 3 days in Singapore on the way home, at the same time, we find it hard to accept that we have been here for almost two months already! Looking forward the glass is half full, looking back the glass is half empty?

Routines are well established now - there are the ongoing activities associated with maintaining the garden and pool as well as meal planning and shopping, laundry, house cleaning etc. Because we are familiar with our environs,  we pretty well know where we have to go for shopping. The Bunbury Farmers Market is a regular destination. for fruit, veg, meat, fish, dairy [best cheese selection in the SouthWest!!].

Getting to the gym 3 times a week has been a priority, but so has been making sure that we visit some of our favourite haunts at least once per week, plus regular walks on the beach.

Aussies rely on drying the laundry outdoors - instructions on clothing purchased in Australia are different than in Canada. This is a common symbol in Australia garments - what do you think it means? We have to time the laundry so that we don’t put the clothes on the line when the sprinklers come on!!

While we have the opportunity to barbeque that is the default cooking method, interspersed with pan fried prawns!! With the appropriate robust Aussie wine to accompany the local food.

Over the last two months, we have enjoyed a typical WA summer - blue skies, only the occasional, very occasional sprinkle of rain with temperatures in the high 20’s to mid 30’s. Over in eastern Australia, it has been a different story. In north east Queensland, there has been disastrous flooding, while drought conditions continue in the west of the state. In much of NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, bush fires have caused significant damage. Since we arrived on January 9, there have been no dramatic fires. But bush fires are never far away in Australia. The most recent fire being one at Nannup about 100km to the south east of here. The fire started in a pine plantation and spread from there. The only impact on us was that we experienced a couple of days where we could see and smell the smoke. There was no loss of human life, but some livestock were lost as well as some out buildings. There are bushfires somewhere across the State every day with various levels of alerts - as you would expect there is a website which is constantly updated - and ABC radio carries all fire alerts. And an update. since this page was prepared. There are 3 tenacious fires in WA at the moment, one just to the north and east of Perth, one near Kalgoorlie and another in the south east of the State near Esperance.

The social calendar has been very active both being hosted and playing host. At one barbeque we met another couple who have the same visa as us - the 410 Retirement Visa. They had learned that while our visas would never lead to permanent residency, the Australian government had now created a pathway to permanent residency if we applied for a different visa. Only one problem - it costs $50K per person, it doesn’t come into effect for another 3 years, and may take up to 25 years to process!! Needless to say, we will not be applying for this visa!!

We have also re-visiting some of our most favourite haunts - e.g. having coffee at the Goose Cafe in Busselton, or Bunker Bay Cafe. Both locations are right on the water which is a magnificent shade of blue.

Bird life in Australia is fascinating - especially the bird calls. Most famous is perhaps the Kookaburra which is not native to Western Australia - it is an “introduced species” which has a negative impact in other members of the bird family. We waken up most mornings to the warbles of the Magpie - a truly magical sound. If you haven’t heard it, check out this video clip. There are of course a huge range of cockatoos. Jackie &. Puru’s home in the Perth Hills is a great spot to take in several species of cockatoos - best heard early in the morning before it gets too hot. Then there is the cute Willy Wag Tail which can be incredibly tame as the photos illustrate. To find out more about the Willy Wag Tall [or the djiidi djidi in the Noongar language] - click here

Each year Perth hosts the Perth International Arts Festival, aka PIAF, which kicks off with what in French would be called “un grand spectacle”. In 2015  they had giant, and I do mean giant puppets parade through the centre of Perth. In 2017 they had a fabulous sound and light show that was so popular they have brought it back for this year. In 2017, we arrived just after “le grand spectacle”, but heard all about it. This year our timing was better!! We arranged to go up to Perth where Jackie and Puru hosted us for the weekend. The exhibit is held in Kings Park which is a huge park in the centre of the city overlooking the Swan River. It is one of the most important attractions in the city - it has some exquisite biodiversity, bush land, park land, outdoor theatre, as well as being home to the major Anzac Memorial in the city. We attended Boorna Waanginy [it means The Trees Speak in the local Noongar language] on a perfect warm Saturday evening. There were thousands and thousands of attendees. One takes in the huge exhibit by following a 1.5 km walking trail. The trees act as a huge screen for the film to be projected on. There are also speakers along the way providing a commentary to the film along with music. The photographs help convey some of the magic, but to fully appreciate it, “you had to be there”!

The state capitals of Australia each have a major sports stadium, or more than one. Perhaps the most famous is the MCG - the Melbourne Cricket Ground which plays hosts to cricket and other sports. Perth had a number of smaller stadiums, but lacked one that it could boast about. The state government spent $1.6 billion on the new Perth Stadium, with little outcry from the public. It is a magnificent facility on the banks of the Swan River. As you can see from the photos and video, it is an oval - ideal for cricket and Aussie Rules, not so good for “rectangular” sports - rugby, soccer. But in WA, only a small minority care about those!! In addition to sports, the venue also hosts big names in entertainment for example  an Adele concert was the first event at the stadium. When in Perth, we walked around the parkland of the stadium, and they have done a fabulous job of landscaping the grounds with lots of picnic space, playgrounds etc. Originally it was to be called Perth Stadium, but the government saw that they could raise some revenue by selling the naming rights, so now it is called Optus Stadium. However, Aussies, especially West Australians love giving nick names to places. It didn’t take long for the locals to christen it as the Cray Pot - since it is reminiscent of a cray pot - lobsters are called crays here in the West! 

After a very enjoyable lunch at the Café in the Stadium, we headed off for Elizabeth Quay on the Swan River. The precinct is better known to the locals as Betty’s Jetty!! The development has caused some controversy - building high-rise on the banks of the river does not meet with universal approval!

Canada and Australia are often seen as being very similar - Commonwealth Cousins if you like. Indeed there are many commonalities. But living here, rather than being a tourist, means that you have to change your thinking or conditioning on a number of fronts.

One obvious example is that you have to adjust to driving on the other side of the road - and not to turn on the windshield washer instead of the turn signal!! When it comes to driving, you have to be familiar with roundabout etiquette. There is also an adjustment to the vocabulary - hood/bonnet, trunk/boot. Aussies of course are quite unfamiliar with snow tires and lock de-icers! When at the petrol/gas station, the fuel comes out of the bowser!! When paying for the fuel, you will be asked if you have a discount docket/coupon from the supermarket [a common practice here], as well as if you have fly bys Another “reversal” is that when parking your car, you look for a covered spot so that when you return, your vehicle is not unbearably hot. Canadians, on the other hand look for a covered parking spot so that they don’t have to scrape snow and ice off the car when they return!! Cars reign supreme over pedestrians in Australia - we having to make major adjustments both as pedestrians [remembering that cars will not stop or slow down] and as motorists [if we slow down to let a pedestrian cross, we are likely to be rammed from behind!!!]