Australia!

Last year our good friends Tyson and Karis moved to Western Australia (Perth). We immediately looked into the cost of visiting them, but unfortunately for us, it was just way too expensive to fly there from the US. Then, as you know, our life took an exciting turn and we found ourselves living in Singapore. Throughout our first week in town, Karis called me several times to see how I was adjusting to life in another country. Having been in my same position just 10 months earlier, she knew exactly how I was feeling :-) During one of our conversations, we talked about how much we wished her time in Australia would have overlapped more with our time in Singapore since she is due to move back to the states in just a couple of weeks. If we had more time, we surely could have visited each other. However, after we hung up the phone, it occured to me that nothing was stopping me from visiting her before she moves back home. So after a quick discussion with Matt and a few exciting phone calls with Karis, we put the plan into action and I booked a ticket to Perth! The flight from Singapore to Perth is only 5 hours long and the cost of a ticket was insanely cheap in comparison to flying there from TX. I would have been crazy to pass up the opportunity to visit her! Perth was an absolutely beautiful place! From the stunning parks to the ocean and its many gorgeous beaches, the quaint shopping areas and the Australian wildlife, I simply can't think of a better place to have visited! We spent my first afternoon in town walking through King's Park. There were so many great picnic areas and views of the city and rivers. I saw so many trees and birds that I'd never seen before - things that just reminded me that I was definitely in Australia! We spent my second day driving up the coast checking out several amazing beaches - each one offering slightly different scenery than the one before. We drove to Hilary's Boat Harbor for lunch and shopping, then spent the afternoon in the CBD (Perth's central business district) checking out more fun shops. On my third day, we ventured out to Caversham Wildlife Park - I saw all the animals you think of when you think about Australia! The kangaroos were WAY too much fun to pet and feed, seriously, I could have stayed there ALL afternoon! Once we left Caversham, we drove over to the Pinnaroo Cemetery to find wild kangaroos - and boy did we! There were at least 25 kangaroos just feeding on the grass in the field. We tried to get close, but they just hopped away (or maybe that was because Karis actually chased them away!). On my final day in Perth, we drove to Fremantle and ate along "Cappuccino Strip", then no surprise, we did some more shopping! ;-) The trip went by WAY too fast, but I cherished every minute of the time I got to spend with sweet friends in an absolutely beautiful setting!

Gorgeous sunset over the Indian Ocean

Hilary's Boat Harbor, where we had a delicious lunch at Dome.

This is a charming little shopping strip called "London Court" - I've never been to London, but it seemed authentic enough ;-)

Dinner at one of Karis' favorite restaurants, Pronto. The gnocchi was to die for!

My wonderful hostess and host - Karis and Tyson :-)

Check out the black swans behind me. I didn't even know black swans existed, but apparently there are tons of them in Perth!

You certainly don't see crossing signs like these back in the US!

Here I am at the park - ready to see all kinds of Australian animals!

This was the first time I've ever seen an owl up close like this and it was SO cool! The eyes are amazing!

A wombat! I have to admit, I really didn't know what a wombat looked like until I actually saw one. It wasn't exactly what I'd imagined...but it was cute in its own special way ;-)

I loved how the kangaroos would just reach up and hold our hands while they were eating. It was so cute...but it made me miss Rocket and Coal...they do the same thing :-)

This face just cracks me up!

You know how you always see cartoons of boxing kangaroos? I'm pretty sure this guy is the reason why - look at those biceps!

A tasmanian devil! I was waiting for it to twirl like a tornado like "Taz" does, but for some reason this one didn't do that ;-) He did, however, stop and pose for a picture.

Some say dingo, I say dog. We couldn't get too close because there was an electric fence. I guess dingos aren't all that friendly...

Sweet koala just sleeping the day away

At the Pinnaroo Cemetery checking out the wild kangaroos!

The beautiful view from Applecross (which is apparently where Heath Ledger's family lives).

Matt says that Rocket and Coal (our dogs) will be upset if they see this video because I don't like to feed them right out of my hand, yet I let a strange kangaroo do it ;-)

Keep an eye on the kangaroo's pouch. You can see a joey moving in there!

Wild kangaroos at Pinnaroo Cemetery. We tried to get close to them, but they weren't having it!