As I continue my great library crawl I visit suburban libraries in vastly different places – from Morley to Peppermint Grove. I even find the library in Parliament House, and one named after one of WA’s fave rocker’s mothers!
Library #5 to #8 in my Great Library Crawl begins in Peppermint Grove.
Peppermint Grove Library
Peppermint Grove, where no one has to put out their bins (so I am told) is one of Perth’s well-to-do suburbs. Even well-to-do suburbs have libraries and anyone can visit them. Does this make libraries the great equalisers?
Anyway, the Peppermint Grove Library, or ‘The Grove’ was very much like any library and had everything a library visitor could wish for – spacious and welcoming with a bustling kids zone and a brilliant collection of travel mags for me to browse through and come up with another pitch.
The cafe wafted caffeine my way but I was already sated so I didn’t try their wares. A library cafe is such a great addition to a library – Book cafe on steriods!
I do have a memory of Peppermint Grove Library from my teaching years. I attended an award presentation when one of my students was presented with a literary award.
Morley Public Library
A trip to one of my least favourite places, the indoor shopping centre at Morley Galleria (fondly renamed ‘gonorrhea’ by my teens) had me fleeing for a haven of peace and quiet. In a nondescript building within walking distance of Galleria is the Morley Public Library.
A brilliant mural makes this 80s brick bunker with no windows, somewhat funky. The library delivered, with many quiet nooks and computer spaces and of course a great collection of books!
Ruth Faulkner Library & Museum – Belmont
Ok so this library is pretty specky! Ruth Faulkner is Dave Faulkner’s (of Hoodoo Guru fame) mother and the museum has some of Perth’s best rock n roll memorabilia. Of course there’s Hoodoo Gurus displays along with other well known (to Perth locals) band merch. An upright piano sits invitingly asking to be played and music snippets take you back to the good ol’ days of live music in P Town.
Ruth Falkner Library itself has this state of the art book return system that looks like it has been designed by Rube Goldberg . Talk about machines taking over the world!
And yes, it has books and mags and even a section where you can purchase items. Ticks all the boxes.
Parliament House Library – Perth
My great library crawl has taken me places I wouldn’t normally go to seek peace and quiet. The Parliament House Library, or ‘The Parliamentary Library’ was not on my list but when I chanced upon it following a work lunch in the Parliament House dining room (yes, I know!) I had to make mention.
I was not allowed to take pics but let me tell you it was very grand. All the books neatly lined up with matching covers and the most comprehensive collection of newspapers I have ever come across.
We also met and chatted with some Hansard reporters who were inbetween jobs. They were wandering around with a notepad counting swans! Yes, you heard right! The WA symbol, the black swan, is everywhere once you start looking. I am unsure of the final result, but I counted at least 30 on my way out. When you know you know!
To be continued…
I have slowed down somewhat on my library crawl because I now have my home restored – but there are still some beauties to come, a country town library and one of Perth’s jewels in the crown. Fear not, the crawl will continue albeit in a slower fashion.
When family came to stay libraries were my friend. So begins my Great Library Crawl!
The beginning – Libraries No. 1 to No. 4
You don’t fully appreciate what it’s like to know peace and have a quiet place to be until you don’t (for an extended time). I only have time to document this now because I have come out the other end and my sanctuary is restored!
What was this time of disturbance you ask?Recently my family (son, daughter-in-law and two littlies) arrived home to find the Niagra Falls inside their rental. Well, it was me who discovered the horror when I dropped by to deliver groceries before driving to pick them up from the airport. And there’s nothing harder than telling a travel-weary family their home is uninhabitable at 2:00 am. Lucky for them, we had room at the inn!
Guess what? As I have now discovered and been informed burst pipes under your bathroom sink are more common then you think. TURN OFF YOUR MAINS BEFORE GOING AWAY PEOPLE!
Anyway, I digress because what does this have to do with libraries?
There’s nothing like a full house and no room to escape to start me looking out for quiet and somewhere to breathe! Don’t get me wrong I love my family very much. But libraries have been my saviour this past several months.
The State Library of Western Australia
I started with the ‘mother ship’ – The State Library of Western Australia – the font of all historic records and local history exhibits, the Disrupted Festival hub and the place to go for some peace and quiet.
The State Library is capacious and she really is the true ‘mother ship’ of Western Australian libraries. Like a mother swan she encompasses all libraries beneath her Western Australian wings!
She lets you in and shelters you under her high ceilings while impressing you with her multitude of floors. And how about that glass elevator!
City of Fremantle Library
From one major library to the next – I found myself in Fremantle with some time to kill before a lunch meeting with some freelance writers so I did the writerly thing and went to hang at the library!
The Fremantle Library is a thing of beauty and I have attended workshops here in the past – the meeting rooms are comfortable and versatile. The great thing about this library is that it is open on a Sunday. The library has a ‘maker space’ for 3D printing and making stuff – seems to be a feature of most libraries now.
I love that this library is right in the busy hub of Fremantle. While I am there football is playing in the bar next door and waves of cheering can be heard when the glass doors open and close. Local history meets local flavour.
Guildford Library
Next up, is the tiny Guildford Library – which I discovered on my way home from a stand up paddle boarding venture. Not wishing to go straight home I decided to prolongue the peace for a further hour.
Small in stature but still managed to pack in a 3D Printing space and a buzzing children’s library. I have driven past this libary many times and this is the first time I have stopped. Well worth it! The story chair was pretty cool.
Town of Vincent Library
My local library – the Town of Vincent Library is an old haunt for me. When my kids were little we lived there – not in the current location but in the same building. Spacious and welcoming at the same time. Desks for sitting and nooks for tucking yourself into a corner. Women played Mahjong in the community room their tiles click clacking away.
As I continue my library crawl I find myself in country libraries while adventuring in the southwest and libraries near shopping centres I wouldn’t normally consider. There is even a sneaky visit to a library of high importance! Stay tuned for another library crawl installment – coming soon!
Mt Cooke Summit Hike WA – an out and back hike in winter to enjoy the Western Australian bush at it’s finest.
A Sunday morning in June, we woke before daylight to the intrusion of an ugent alarm. Setting off as dawn showed her sleepy face. The roads were quiet and mist lay low over the highway – parting as we approached. Currowongs littered the road side foraging for early morning roadside snacks – I have never seen so many before.
We needed maps to find the entrance to the hike off the Albany Highway about 50 minutes from Perth. No sign posts, just a sandy track through plantation pines and scrubland.
Cars in a row marked the beginning of the hike. A quick check of the AllTrails app confirmed we were indeed in the right spot. The sun peeked through the trees and I knew we were in for a treat!
The hike started gently with a narrow trail, damp with last night’s dew and covered in boot prints meandering through grass trees, jarrah and rocky outcrops. The climb to the ridge was steep and sometimes slippery. Rocks glistened in the morning sun with water and sodden moss – green and lush.
The bush in this part of the scarp seems to have suffered less from the recent drought than bushland in Kalamunda. Some sapling had died back in the understory but the mature plants appear unscathed.
The trail led across the ridge where 360 degree views of the forest and surrounding lands took our breaths away. When we reached the summit a low mist was still hanging over treetops – we felt like we in the clouds.
The summit to Mt Cooke, the highest point on the Darling Scarp, is marked by a pile of rocks. A skull shaped boulder greeted us as we turned the corner. 582 metres above sea level. We continued on for another 5oo metres finding a clearing for a rest and a drink.
Some of the biggest Xanthorrhoea grass trees I have ever seen, towered over us. Their trunks blackened by a recent fire. The river beds were dry aside from some small pools of shallow water from recent rain. Enough to keep wild life sated.
The sun warmed us as the clouds and mist lifted slowly revealing the lands and trees below. We really had chosen the perfect time of day and weather for this 2 hour hike. Fellow hikers were few and far between despite several cars at the base.
A short rest and some snacks at the top before we turned back the way we had come. The way down was a bit treachourous and slippery, but we reached the car quickly while enjoying the views all over again on the way down.
An extremely beautiful and moderate hike! I will definitely be back to travel further and to complete an overnight hike in the area in the future.
What’s the skinny?
The Mt Cooke Summit hike is a 80km drive from Perth on the Albany Highway
He’s behind you! My paddle buddies shouted as I frantically retrieved my phone from a dry bag on top of my paddleboard!
It was that time again. The day standup paddlers decide it’s not too cold, not to windy and that the sea is not too swelly. Beginning of spring, tail end of the Noongar season Djilba. The sun had started to get a bit of a bite and the easterly was showing its face.
Photo thanks to @kellygriffen
Time to paddle on the ocean after paddling in the sheltered river for the past few months. Or alternatively, some may choose to remain in the shelter of their homes until the weather is stinking hot before they emerge with their boards and paddles. You know who you are! Each to their own.
Me, I like to paddle all year round and I can usually be found puttering around up river with the pelicans and darters. I sometimes paddle alone and sometimes with a group. So this Sunday the weather was all that and the conditions perfect for our first ocean adventure.
We selected Coogee Beach where the ocean is usually flat and most importantly, it has a banging cafe for coffee afterwards. The easterly was puffing and the ocean dead flat – perfect. We paddled up to the Omeo wreck and did a circuit and then headed back towards Coogee Surf Lifesaving. The wind had picked up a bit but as long as we stuck to the shore all was good.
It was around now that we noticed what I originally thought was a swimmer and someone else suspected the “S” word motoring along not far from the shore in the opposite direction to us. It was indeed an “S” word but not the scary one. It was a sealion! A big fat sealion cruising the bay popping up every now and then for a breath before diving deep.
Great excitement ensued and I decided this was a photo opp so I paddled like mad towards the last place I had sighted the big fella. Nothing. Then “He’s behind you!” screeched one of the girls. I scrabbled for my phone (dry bags never open quickly in an emergency) and spun around to see him or her motoring towards me – up and down went his whiskered head and flippers.
I clicked away (yeah I know iPhones don’t make clicks) and got some shots before I realised he wasn’t going to slow down or stop before he got to my board. Thud! his shoulder and back slid under my board shifting me sideways. I think I screamed and then he was gone – diving so deep.
I decided he couldn’t have seen me, he was having such a whale of a time he got carried away and when his body made contact he was just as startled as I, causing him to dive to safety. But I got the shots (and that’s the main thing right?) We were all so excited. He emerged further on and we sat and watched him frolic in the shallows before turning and leading our paddle party back to the beach.
It was also time to have a swim. The water was cold but so refreshing and the feeling you get after a swim in cold water, especially the ocean – is the best. So, here’s to more days on the ocean, more encounters with nature and more paddling with friends!
What’s the skinny?
Coogee Beach is about 30 minutes drive from Perth city
The Omeo Wreck is popular with snorkellers and divers
The Australian sealion is a playful and curious ‘dog of the sea’ – they live on nearby Carnac Island
A hot air balloon flight over Northam in the Western Australian wheatbelt has me hooked. Ballooning is like flying in a dream.
Hooked on a Feeling (or the most fun you can have while being dangled beneath a sheet of nylon and a roaring flame – 4000ft in the air)
May 2023
“We’ll be landing next to the cemetary, but hopefully not as a convenience!” Pilot Nick quipped as we ascended to 4000 ft.
Pilot Nick wasn’t flying a plane but the biggest hotair balloon I have ever seen. To be honest it was the only hot air balloon I have ever encountered, up close. We were here because I had purchased balloon flights for Anthony’s birthday. A great gift for someone who has professed to a fear of heights!
We were up at 4:30am to meet our pilots (yes they are actually called pilots) Dan and Nick. It was pitch black outside and just a bit chilly. After our brief we were piled onto a bus and a troop carrier, towing a massive wicker basket, to go find our take-off destination.
Not your usual trip to the airport. We headed out of the town of Northam towards open fields. Much chatter over the two way radio and we found a barely concealed entrance and a gate (the first of many). Riding rough shod over fields and a small creek, pausing to ensure the basket was going to fit under low hanging trees, we finally reached our destination – the top paddock. Sorry sheep.
Liberty Balloons has two massive balloons and they quickly set about unfurling the nylon ‘envelope’ (that’s the official term for a balloon) and unloading the massive baskets. I noted with relief that the baskets were divided into four sections to prevent an imbalance.
We had been informed during our briefing that ballooning is a hands-on experience and it would be all hands on deck to get everyone up in the air. Volunteers from our party helped unfold the nylon fabric and get it ready for inflation. While this was happening another balloon company arrived with two big balloons and a private ballooner with a single basket.
Top paddock was beginning to look very surreal. The sheep were nowhere to be seen and mushrooms of intense colour slowly emerged from the golden grass and inflated around us. The first part of the inflation process involves fans of incredible power. Once there is enough air, heat is introduced – horizontal flames powered by liquid propane shoot into the opening of the envelope.
As the balloon lifted and became vertical it was time for us to clamber into the basket. Twenty people in each – five in each section and the pilot in the middle. The basket feels very substantial and nicely padded. “Practice your landing position!” shouts Nick. Landing position entails bending your knees to absorb any impact on landing and bracing yourself against the back of the basket. While Anthony was worried about being up in the sky, landing was probably my worst fear, to be honest.
The sun appeared, glowing orange highliting the wet grass. We can see where we are now. A padock not far from the main road, surrounded by trees. Smoke from nearby burn-offs hangs in the air, mixing with early morning mist.
Finally it is time and Nick sends a blast of flame into our envelope. The basket shifts slightly before the tethering rope is released and we lift off and move across the field, narrowly avoiding trees. It is now that I have a flash of memory – Ian MacEwan’s “Enduring Love” where a man is caught by his leg to the rope secured to the balloon as it takes to the air. I hazzard a peek over the side, no one dangling from the rope. I shake that memory loose as we lift higher under the power of propane and barely perceptible wind currents.
Ears pop as we reach 4000 ft and the gas is switched off. So silent, so still – no one says a word. As we peer over the edge and gaze down on Ballardong Noongar booja at the natural and person made lines, Aboriginal paintings come to mind.
I feel the same as I do when I fly in a dream – sublime! The current changes as we rise to catch it and we are now above the other balloons. That’s a photo I never thought I would take! A balloon from above.
We take a right turn and cruise down the mighty Avon River following its path into town. The CBH silos look like Lego land from afar and parts of the low lying land are swathed in mist. Tiny houses and even smaller cars. I count swimming pools in back yards and feel like I am in a dream.
Before we know it, its time to find somewhere to land. The ballooners have an agreement with local land owners about landing and taking off from their paddocks. One never lands in the spot where you take off and one also never really knows where one is going to land! Consequently there is communication happening the whole time between balloons and the ground crew who are ready to drive to where ever we land and pick us up.
The cemetary was to our right and so too was a vast paddock inhabitated by sheep. That was our final destination. “We will land somewhere here” claims our intrepid pilot before reminding us of our landing stance. The ground was suddenly moving very fast below us, “Brace yourself!” The basket caught the earth and dragged across the ground, almost tipping over. Collective “oohs” and nervous laughter as we ground to a halt.
It’s hard not to jump out but we all remembered the warning “You are all ballast! If you jump out everyone else floats away!” so we wait as the ground crew secure the balloon. The second balloon hot on our tails swoops into the paddock herding a flock of sheep before it and disappears over the rise and lands not unlike our balloon. We laugh at their plight, not unkindly, but knowingly.
Now its time to earn our breakfast. The balloon has to be folded and put back into the box it arrived in. As a seasoned camper I know how these things go. When does any piece of camping equipment ever fit back in its bag?
The crew rally us to complete this final chore before we can get on the bus and head back to breakfast. Lift, push, fold, carry and repeat – suddenly its gone. The object of such incredible joy is a damp piece of nylon stuffed into a crate. I wouldnt fancy the job of taking it out and airing it . Does that happen? I wonder.
The life of a balloon pilot sure would keep you on your toes. Thanks for putting me back down safely on my toes. In the words of our pilot Nick “A balloon flight one walks away from is, indeed, a good one!”
What’s the skinny?
Northam is one hour + 20 mins (96 km) from Perth City
If you are hot air ballooning you must book in advance
Ballooning only takes place from April – October
Stay overnight at one of the hotels or camp grounds as you must be up at 4:30 am to go ballooning!
Numbat stalking in the Dryandra Woodland National Park in the Western Australian Wheatbelt
April 2023
Is there anything more delicious than a service station egg sandwich? The white bread fresh and sinfully soft with egg mixed through with mayonnaise, so creamy and so right. Pop the packet and reach for the sandwich with one hand while guiding the car with the other.
Damn you, egg sandwich, I missed the turn. Glance in the rearview mirror and slow down to savour the eggy goodness of a service station sandwich. Then back on track covered in crumbs.
I am on my way to the WA Wheatbelt for a couple of nights of numbat spotting and woyley watching with my friend Elaine. Numbats are diurnal so it will be numbats by day and woylies through the night.
Arrive at camp and brush off the crumbs before making my home for the next two days. Spend the afternoon chatting and relaxing – the sun is shining.
Burn-off smoke hangs low and obscures the sun turning it red – the same red as the breast of the Scarlett-capped robin I sighted earlier. The robin had flitted into view tantalisingly close but not close enough to get with my big lens.
Ash falls like snowflakes onto our tents and rests on our sleeves before moving onto the next surface. The burn-off season is here. Ravens cry far off, and parrots squabble in the trees behind. The air is thick, so thick it tickles your throat. Still no numbats and no sign of echidnas. Do they really exist in WA?
A generator bursts into life, cutting through the silence like a message from home. Lawnmowers on a Sunday afternoon?
Day Two
Numbat safari – driving at snail’s pace, eyes scanning the bush on either side of the gravel road. Foot hovering over the brake pedal. Not sure what I am looking for, but I will know it when I see it. “There’s one!” I press the brake and glide to a halt. 5 km/hour, hardly the stuff of screeching halts.
I fumble for my camera – lens cap off, turn on the camera. Numbat, small, striped and oh so delicate. I was expecting them to be bigger, but there it is, 20cm in length, mouth filled with leaf litter. She stops on top of a fallen log and looks around before scampering into the bush. My only photo shows a whisp of tail disappearing from view.
The second numbat and I am ready. Camera is on, lens cap is off and my finger is ready to focus and shoot. I capture her twice. Again, this one has leaves stuffed into her mouth and she poses for the camera and turns tail, stopping a short way away for a second shot, perfect camouflage.
Satisfied we complete the remaining 10 km of the 23km circuit slowly but not as slowly as the first half.
Back at camp, hail falls as the clouds charge overhead, black and looming, carrying fresh ice and fresh wind across the treetops and over the campsite below – our temporary home with plastic for walls and foldable furniture inside. Camping lacks substance but is substantially satisfying.
Another layer of clothing to warm against the impending weather. Will my tent leak?
Campers arrive and set up their temporary homes. Click clack, ladders up to houses atop cars. Chairs released from their bags, ready to receive bodies tired from travelling. Most people keep to themselves.
So still, now the storm has passed, and the local birds emerge to peck at the bark and retrieve grubs. Small birds, flittery and fast. Stop still while I press the shutter – click whir – got you, little one.
Camp food – always the simplest ingredients that taste the best. Salad and roast veg – leftovers from last night’s cook-up on the coals. Pumpkin sliced and placed on freshly warmed wraps. Cheese, pickled onion, salad and Japanese mayonnaise. A sprinkle of sea salt with pepper berry from Tasmania and a scattering of fine black pepper – Saxa. Balsamic glaze to finish off this fine meal. I could live on wraps (and service station sandwiches).
Still no echidna despite my scanning the land for the tell-tale round forms moving back and forth. Waddling awkwardly on clawed feet that extend sideways from prickly, furry bodies with a strange bill not unlike a bird’s beak. They freeze when discovered and bury their beaks into the earth not unlike a 3-year-old child hiding behind her hands “I can’t see you!” Echidna where are you?
A nocturnal tour of Barna Mia. Red torches so as not to harm their eyes. Small hopping marsupials, some that no longer exist in the wild, surround us. Cheeky possums (hardly endangered) join in and feast on chopped fruit. Families of restless children surround the animals preventing the shy Bilby from appearing. A glimpse of her from behind, big ears and a fluffy tail – like the Easter bunny – elusive. Then gasps as travelling “stars” appeared to cross the nightsky in a row. False alarm it was only Elon Musk.
The next morning is so cold it’s hard to get out of bed. Birds everywhere – the sudden appearance of the Rufus tree-creeper – a menacing name but they look so fluffy and sweet-natured. Little fat feathery bodies topped with small sharp beaks and soft brown eyes. They sit on damp logs absorbing the sun and occasionally pecking at bugs. They creep up the tree trunks just like their name suggests.
Pardalotes, Scarlett capped Robins, Djidi Djidis, Wattle birds and Shelduck swoop through camp posing left right and behind – cheeky glances over their shoulders.
Packing up under the threat of a looming shower. Neatly folded chairs, tables and tents slide into spaces and bags not made for the return of their occupants. Doors slam and hold everything in for the trip home. Fire extinguished to prevent the spread and firewood abandoned for the next inhabitants.
A fulfilling two days. Now, where is the closest service station?
A version of this post has been published on the We Are Explorers website.
What’s the skinny?
Egg sandwiches are best when made with soft white bread and lots of mayonaise (imho)
My top 5 things to do in the water include floating on an air mattress, snorkeling and drinking cocktails.
Updated January 2025
Once a month, Stand Up Paddle WA (SUPWA) holds a Paddle Loop on a quiet stretch of the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) about 20 km from the city centre. A Paddle Loop is a self-motivated paddle where you nominate the time you think it will take to paddle either 2km or 4 km – the aim, is to get as close to your nominated time as possible. I like to do it because it pushes me to paddle faster than I would if left to my own devices, tootling along gazing at wildlife, and I get to catch up with paddlers from other parts of Perth.
Last Sunday the water was flat as flat and the breeze non existent AND I was on my new you-beaut board so I should have been faster than I was. It was one of those days and where energy reserves were low and a bit of a sore back held me back. The first prize is a pineapple, and yesterday I won the pineapple for the 4km – certainly not because I was the fastest in the field. Lucky I love pineapples!
In the beginning
Standup paddle boarding has been at the core of my life for about five years. See what I did there?
I love the water, be it fresh, salty, or in between. Being in and around the water is my happy place, and I worked my way through the whole gamut of floating and paddling devices before settling on my current ride, the stand up paddle board.
Lay Low on a Lilo
It all started with a lilo. Those people not from Tasmania might wonder what the heck I am on about. The lilo was what we slept on when we went camping and then floated in the dam or creek when we weren’t sleeping. An air mattress – to the uninitiated. They were always dark blue and red in colour and the pillow was a separate chamber. We never had fancy foot pumps when we were kids; the lilo was blown up with your mouth with pauses for the dizziness to pass when you had blown out one too many times without inhaling.
The smell of a lilo was the smell of rubber and canvas – such a nostalgic stench. I remember standing on the banks of a river with the lilo firmly gripped in my fists, holding the plugs in place. Then taking a deep breath because I knew it was going to be bloody cold and slamming my stomach into the soft air cushion. “Phwoomp” and the mattress would partially submerge causing a sharp intake of breath and the inevitable squeal. The plugs, if you didn’t hold them in would sometimes expel with the force of the water, and down you would go.
Floating on a lilo is still on my list of top 5 things to do in the water. These days I use one of those flocked air mattresses that display a warning “This is not to be used as a floatation device.” Why not? It floats, and it’s comfortable.
The lilo was proceeded by several homemade structures we called rafts as kids. Sticks, floating containers, and a shit load of string. Most got us out into the middle of a dam or a creek and then slowly started to submerge.
Photo credit: Jill Birt 2023
Canoeing and surfing (in the wind and not)
I tried Canadian canoes – hired for a weekend of river exploration in my 20s. Bulky and hard to manage, but a good ride nonetheless.
I dabbled in windsurfing – only to find that getting it up was one thing, keeping it up and moving forward was another. Seeing as I learned to windsurf in Darwin Harbour, the thought of being taken and rolled by a saltwater croc kept me firmly glued to the board. Not to mention the box jellyfish that could seriously zap you during the wet season.
The only other water sport I attempted in the top end was a pumped up inner tube cast into the tumbling waters of the creek nicknamed “Tumbling Waters” about 40 km down the track from Darwin. The whole of Darwin converged on the creek at the beginning of the wet season when waters were high. Highly dangerous but so much fun!
My arrival in Perth some years later had me hankering to surf. My newfound friends all surfed, and “How hard could it be?” Super hard, it turned out. My attempts at body surfing ended with some hard knocks and a lot of sand in my knickers. Big waves were not for me. Riding a board on top of big waves proved too much for this Tassie girl from the bush.
I’d rather be sailing
I made some different friends – Uni students who lived in a share house in Nedlands. One of the guys had a Hobie cat that we would take out on the river on Sundays, next to the old brewery before it became swanky apartments and expensive dining establishments. The Cat had a trapeze and we would get up to speed before hanging ourselves off the side – I loved those days. Floundering around in the water avoiding the brown Swan River jellyfish and having absolutely no knowledge that bull sharks even existed!
Row row row your boat
Rowing found me (or I found it) when my own kids were teenagers. I answered an ad for “learn to row in 8 sessions” at the local rowing club, where we were taught how to scull and received a lot of shouted instructions from the shore. Six months in, and I was the fittest I had ever been. Up at 4:30 am three mornings a week. A gruelling training timetable that included running, cycling, and rowing in order to compete at a state level. Strangely, the shouting never stopped. I loved it while I was doing it, and it took me all around the state but one can only handle being shouted at and living the life of an (elite?) athlete for so long.
Kayaking (or birdwatching)
I left rowing and took up kayaking – the dark side (according to my rowing buddies). Kayaking was a more leisurely pursuit when I could take my camera and do bird-watching. I found kayaks hard to load by myself, and the seats were not good for my lower back, so I slowly stopped carting the bulky craft to the river. They occasionally came camping with us to Lane Pool – a lot of work for 30 minutes of paddling.
Standup Paddleboarding
I was without flotation devices for some time, and at the end of my long-distance running obsession that ended following a back injury that just wouldn’t go away, when a friend talked me into going standup paddling with her. She had a spare board, and I am always game for anything. A couple of sessions and I was hooked. The boards were easy to load on my own, reasonably priced, and standing to paddle did my lower back a world of good. Not to mention the core that everyone needs to mention when you say you are going SUP-ing.
I enrolled in some classes, and before too long, I was doing some fancy footwork and hardly falling in. I have now just acquired my third (or is it my fourth board? – a Red Equipment 13’2″ Voyager inflatable touring board. I love that I can cruise quietly along the river and still watch birds, or I can go fast and compete with other paddlers in the growing number of events available to standup paddlers. And my core? Well, let’s just say I can crack walnuts.
My top 5 things to do in water (in no order)
1. Float in the ocean sans device
2. Float on a lilo – in any type of water
3. Paddleboard
4. Drink cocktails
5. Snorkel
What’s the skinny?
Standup Paddleboarding is very popular in Perth. There are many suitable locations and groups to join.
Standup Paddle WA hold a paddle loop every month at Ascot Kayak Club – see page for details.
When bookclub decided to go bush we didn’t expect to be treated to Mother Nature at her most rock n roll.
March 2023
All in a Day #6 could be more aptly titled “All in a Night” but to maintain continuity the title remains!
“It’s not going to rain much,” – were the words I heard just before I rolled over to go to sleep on night two of our bookclub camping trip.
The day had been idyllic. We woke that morning to the sounds of Currawongs, Ravens, Kookaburras and black cockatoos, while the soft rays of sunshine filtered through the Jarrah forest onto our tents at Charlies Flat in Lane Pool Reserve. After a hearty cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs (the best Doci had ever had!) mushrooms and tomatoes washed down with lashings of coffee and tea, we decided on a walk and a swim.
Doci and I set off to walk to Island Pool while the others opted to drive. Island Pool, about 1.5 km from our camp spot at Charlies Flat, is the widest expanse of water in the currently still Murray River. It is a popular swimming spot with deep clear water and rocks for basking upon. There is a small island of rocks in the centre, hence the name.
Doci and I first heard the rumbles of far-off thunder while walking and decided that it didn’t seem close enough to be of concern. The clouds had cleared and there seemed to enough blue sky for us to assume that all was going to be well weather-wise, that and Doci’s bones said it was not going to rain. Little did we know that Mother Nature was merely sound-checking for the main event!
We floated in the not too cold waters of Island Pool for about half an hour – waiting for our fingers and toes to take on wrinkled “granny hands” and for the peaceful surroundings to sooth our bones and minds. Water is certainly the great healer.
The remainder of the day was punctuated by rumblings and we had the occasional discussion that rain might ensue, but not enough to stop us from heading for another welcome dip closer to camp after lunch and a small glass of bubbly! The five of us set off for the river with pool toys and a blow up mattress and slipped into the cool waters for a second swim. Our swimming souls sated we headed back for more snacks and further alcoholic offerings – after all being outdoors makes you ravenous (and thirsty)!
Snack time merged into dinner time where we all ate our body weight in cheese and nibblies and enjoyed the sounds of the evening. The sounds we had heard the night before and thought to be recalitrant birds was actually microbats – so we recorded their high pitched sounds for future reference.
It was starting to get dark when we decided the rumblings were closer and the sky looked slightly more ominous than before. We had a discussion about whether or not we should batten down the hatches or not worry too much. It was Elaine who said “Imagine how we would feel if we did nothing and the storms took us by surprise” .” So we sprang into action. It should be mentioned at this point that we had no phone coverage so we were very much relying on Doci’s bones and the general vibe of the atmosphere to accurately predict the weather.
Doci’s bones were still communicating with her and she assured us that she didn’t think anything major was going to occur weather-wise. We decided to err on the side of caution and scurried about putting things away and making sure that everything was out of the weather.
The thunder and now lightning was circling ever closer as we played a game of Bananagrams and had final drinks before bed. A spot and then another spot gave us reason to congratulate ourselves on our timely battening down of hatches. I was the first to go and tuck myself into my tent and I listened to the drops increase to a pattering and the voices of the others still discussing the likelihood of us being washed away.
Doci’s words “It’s not going to rain much” were still ringing in my ears when I woke to what can only be described as a surround sound vortex of continuous rumbling circling above our camp site punctuated by lightning flashes and, by this stage, torrential rain.
To say I felt vulnerable is an understatement – protected by a couple of millimetres of tent fabric and the massive trees looming above me, I asked that Mother Nature at least be kind and if I were to be struck by lightning, make it fast and painless. Needing to pee added to the anxiety – nothing like the sound of flowing water to make that thought never leave your head!
I hoped everyone else was faring ok – Jill in her swag, Nat in her newly purchased Aldi tent, Doci snug in her Getz and Lainey up in her roof top tent (closer than all of us to the elements). I lay there watching the lightning and made up my mind that it was sheet lightning and not the dangerous forked variety. I am not sure if that made me feel better, or if sheet lightning is indeed the safer version of its cousin, forked but I did eventually drift off to sleep only to start dreaming about forked lightning, and once again woke with a start!
I don’t think I have ever experienced such a storm like that before. The rumbling didn’t stop. I can only liken it to a surround sound speaker system where the sound moved from left to right. Nature at its finest and most awesome (in the true sense of the word).
Needless to say we all survived the night – everyone emerged from their respective accomodations with wonder and awe in their voices and a different perspective and personal experience. Everyone’s tents held up under the heavy rain and our battening down of hatches was welcomed as most of our belonging were dry and protected during the night.
We returned to the city where it still appeared to be dry and storms had not happened with the same magnitude that we we expereinced. When describing the night to my family that night I realised that you really had to be there to even fathom what it felt like to be an insignificant dot in the universe while nature raged and rumbled above.
The five of us will never forget the night nature turned it on.
What’s the skinny?
Lane Poole Reserve is in Dwellingup – One hour + 20 minutes (114 Km) from Perth.
Camping must be booked ahead of time for most camp areas.
There are 50 000 acres to explore – for hiking, mountain biking, horse riding or kayaking.
Take everything you need including potable water.
Always check before lighting a fire – fire restrictions apply.
Mobile coverage is hit and miss. Download maps before leaving Perth.
Muesli the axolotl is survived by Napolean (her daughter) and hundreds of babies (location unknown)
“Hello, do you have any axolotls?” It was my fifth phone call to one of many petshops in Perth and this one bore fruit!
“Yes, we have an albino and she has only just come in” replied the petshop attendant.
“I will take her!” I screamed, “Can I pay by credit card?”
Muesli Aristotl the albino axolotl moved into the Year 5 classroom at Quintilian Primary school on the 23 February, 2015. Her pink fins and translucent flesh endeared her to most and disgusted some. She was named by the children – a double barrel name because we couldn’t just settle on one! We were not sure of her age or origin but guessed that she could have been anywhere from 3- 5 years old.
Arrival 23 February, 2015Living her best life
Over the years Muesli followed me from class to class. In each class the children would learn how to clean the tank and take turns to feed her. We would produce axolotl fact sheets in writing and kids would draw pictures of her for art classes. Every school holidays she would come home with me to dwell in peace for a few weeks. Occasionally she would go to someone’s house when I went away.
One school holidays in 2017 I decided she needed a friend and Hahn the male axolotl arrived to wreak havoc – babies were produced in their hundreds – You can read the story of Hahn and Muesli in Readers Digest “A Whole Lotl Love” – published in 2022. The axolotl story was also told at Barefaced Stories in Perth a couple of years before (see link on my website).
SpawnYoung lotlsA true romance
When I left the primary school there was no option but to take her with me – no one was keen to take on axolotl parenting. Muesli and Napolean (Muesli’s daughter who was taken on by another teacher before she left to sail around Australia) have spent the last couple of years living in luxury – befitting of a grand dame of the axolotl family. A massive tank and all the frozen shrimp she wanted.
I noted that she hadn’t been eating very well over the past few weeks and her previously beautiful fins had become short and stumpy. I figured she is probably eleven plus years old and was drawing to the end of her days. This morning I scooped her from the tank and I swear she had a smile on her face!
Napoleon now has full range of the huge tank and will probably go on to live a ripe old age. Thanks Muesli Aristotle the Albino Axolotl for all the stories you spawned (and the babies!) and for the joy you brought to many!
When festivals all but ground to a halt in 2021 and 2022 there was a part of me that wondered if we would ever return to normal. 2023 has rolled around and festivals are back!
Nannup Music Festival 2023 – Festivals are back! March 2023
Festival companions: Anthony, Elaine, Leanne & Helen
Nannup Music Festival is an annual tradition – the music festival falls on the long weekend in March at the start of Autumn. It’s that time of the year when the sun keeps shining, and the humidity is hanging around, making everything and every one slightly sweaty.
I have been going to Nannup Music Festival for many years with a group of friends who camp together on the banks of the basking Blackwood River, just a short walk to the heart of the festival. We usually volunteer (well, some of us do) and get free entry to the festival. The last time I volunteered it was as the bus driver – I circled Nannup in a mini bus until the late night hours!
This year was the first festival to be held in two years. Last year the festival was cancelled due to Covid restrictions, but we went and camped sans music. But in 2023, it was back on, and we were pretty excited to be there!
Nannup is a beautiful town set in the forest about 3.5 hours from Perth. The town hosts the music festival like a well-oiled machine. The pub is open to everyone, even if you don’t have a ticket. The other venues require you to have a festival ticket.
You can wander at will and enter any venue with the volunteer or ticket wristband. The locals turn it on for the 4000 festival goers as they churn out marron pies from the bakery, beers, and counter meals at the pub, and even hold a Saturday morning market at the local chapel.
This year we volunteered behind the bar. We had applied for our RSAs (Responsible Serving of Alcohol) online the year before, so we were ready to pour beer and make idle conversation with punters. The bars are situated in most venues inside a gated area. The drinks selection is simple and easy to serve – no fancy cocktails or difficult requests.
So, let’s start at the beginning… Saturday
We had arrived the evening before (some of us a night before that) and set up tents, pop-top sleepers, chairs, and camping paraphernalia. The banks of the Blackwood in March are still lush, and the water throws up reflections of trees.
One tree, in particular, sits opposite our site – its roots cling tenuously to the bank. Every year there seems to be more soil washed out. The teens love to swing from the rope attached to a high branch. The more daring climb to the top and bommie down into the water – depth unknown. While we sit on the bank, peering through fingers not wanting to watch.
We awoke to the sound of cackling Kookaburras at dawn. So first up, put on the coffee pot and the kettle for tea. We slowly rose, groaned, and stretched as we waited for coffee or toast to cook. It was Leanne’s 60th birthday, so we had planned to give her a surprise lunch at midday.
We checked our programs for the music we would like to see/hear, and Anthony, Leanne and I set out for an early show while others lingered to set up the table with tasty treats and cake. We started our Saturday music feast with a band at the Amphitheater – a lovely way to ease ourselves into the festival.
Coffees in hand, we sat in the shade close to the stage. Once the band finished, we meandered back to the camp browsing the stalls for trinkets and clothing we didn’t require. I stopped and booked a reflexology session with a good friend set up in the trees. Sunday 10:00 am for a relaxing foot massage –I will need one by then!
Back at camp, the others have put out boards with a delicious selection of cheeses and dips, fresh tomatoes from the markets, and a cake purchased in Perth. We popped a Prosecco and settled in for a feast, conscious that we had a bar shift looming at 2:30 pm. Birthday gifts were exchanged, and birthday songs were sung before we decided to rest briefly before our shift started. Chairs, akimbo, and mattresses aloft, we surrendered to the location.
Much discussion was generated around the colour of this year’s volunteer attire. The shirt was an insipid cream colour that we decided was oatmeal (after photographing it and using Google Lens). The last time we volunteered, the shirts were black – way more rock and roll!
2:15 rolled around quicker than we expected, so we quickly donned our oatmeal and set off for volunteer central to sign on for our shifts and pick up our lanyards. I had never volunteered behind the bar – despite being a bar chick in my 20s for many years. Just like riding a bike, I decided. I had a shift at the Tigerville bar while Leanne and Elaine headed for the Amphitheater.
The shift was fun, with some great bands backgrounding the session. Taking money, popping cans, and chatting to happy festivalgoers was easy. Most people came and thanked us for volunteering, and the locals were very appreciative. Before I knew it, my first shift was over, and we headed back to camp for a cold beer and feet up before dinner.
Everyone converged on camp simultaneously, where we shared our various afternoon experiences. Those who didn’t volunteer had been out seeing bands, while the bar tenders had tales of beer cans and bluster. Everyone was hungry and ready for dinner from the food trucks on the festival grounds. We ripped off the oatmeal shirts and dressed in warmer clothing as the weather had cooled considerably since the afternoon.
We had dinner of Nasi Goreng from the Indonesian truck and consulted our band schedules as we made plans to enjoy a couple of hours of music and entertainment. Most of us were tired, but we stayed up until 10:00 pm (not a bad effort!)
Helen wanted to linger and see Liz Stringer at 10:30, but we decided it was too late, so we left her to see Liz alone and made our way back under the bridge to our campsite. There was laughter and banter as we slipped and tripped on the gravel path, trudged through the clean river sand, and tramped across the boardwalk.
A final glass of wine back at camp, as a nightcap, had us falling into our tents. As I jammed my earplugs in and drifted off to the muted sounds of music and laughing campmates, I was filled with anticipation for the following day. Nannup never disappoints.
and a poem to end…
Raising the Bar – a bar vollies lot.
JUICY is my pale ale can I have two on card please? I bought some Harry Angus merch Can you help me find my CD s? Sparkling wine and bundy rum Can I have a stubby holder for free ? Give me a can of your crappiest beer It’s for my mate, not me! SSB by the bottle and keep cups filmed with dust I want some bottled water please Security guards look nonplussed Managers are AWOL Can i take your all your fifties? Open the till hand over cash Just press down one of the shift keys Before we know it the bar is closed Wine and beer to pack and stack Off with the oatmeal vollie shirt Next year we’ll be back!
The camping grounds for the festival are situated on the town golf course
Riverbend Caravan Park (where we camp) requires a booking 12 months ahead
The Blackwood River is usually very still at this time of the year.
The nearby Barrabup pool is a forest pool not far from Nannup and the perfect place to cool down in Summer.
Volunteers can register interest from October each year. There are many roles you can apply for including bar work, set up, rubbish collection and ticketing.
All in a Day Adventures 