An expat for 10 years – part 3

I had visited Australia before – I have old friends that have lived in Perth for years, as well as other friends scattered across this huge country. I also have many Australian friends who I have made either though work or diving, so I had a very good insight into what the country had to offer. With enthusiastic optimism, high expectations and general excitement about a new stage in my personal life, in late November 2012, I packed up two bags and my bike and headed to Perth.

Perth

Perth is a gorgeous city and one of the world’s best kept secrets. This is probably due to its isolated position both in relation to the rest of the world and within Australia. Perth is of course famous for mile upon mile of stunning beaches and a vibrant economy, driven by the mining and the oil and gas sector booms, as well as more steady economic drivers such as agriculture. I had done enough research and advance ground work to evaluate there were opportunities and a market for my skills. Plus there were of course other reasons that drew me to Perth.

Truly professional campers.

I camped as a girl guide and of course during basic Naval training, but after a couple of days on Dartmoor in the middle of winter I was put off spending time under canvass.  A few years after my Dartmoor experience, I was briefly reintroduced to camping when I camped at Brothers Water in the Lake District with my friends, the Darnell family.  Some reading this blog may associate camping British style from this 1970’s movie “Carry on Camping”…

Chained up for a few weeks

Apart from a brief two days on the saddle exploring the Canal du Midi  on holiday in the Southern French province of Languedoc, I hadn’t really done any cycling since childhood until I bought my Planet X racing bike in 2011.  Here is my cat Joey inspecting it the day I brought it home…

…Joey is a big cat and it is a small framed bike…

The reason I bought my bike was primarily to enter the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, but also to improve my general fitness.  By my own admission, my bike has been under used since, due to a combination of factors; my relocation to Muscat and their poor quality roads, the generally poor driving skills on the roads of Muscat, my work routine and the fact I switched to do more SCUBA diving as it was on my doorstep.  All of this meant my bike got occasional weekend use. This has just changed though.

Lifetime ambition – a walk in the park

I am back in Perth, drying out after all that Jakarta rain.  Australia is of course very famous for its indigenous wildlife and I remember back in 2009 being very excited at seeing my first kangaroo and emu near Exmouth in Western Australia, both within minutes of each other on the drive to join a dive boat.  High on my list of “must see” has been koalas, sometimes (incorrectly) known as koala bears.   In fact, they have been high on this list since falling in love with koalas during a school project a few years back…..