As we are all aware, Luckie is about to do a (what we call) "geographical" and while I am certain she has studied up on her destination I thought it might be nice if some local info is put here.
So to start.....
My land is old; so very old. Most of it is desert and uninhabitable. There is a small 100 km wide margin around the perifery that generally speaking houses something like 22.6 million people. In this area we have most of our industry and living space.
Western Australia has something like 2.475 million people. This is a very small number by anyone's imagination. Perth is very much liken to a "big country town" and here we operate on what is known as "tradies time". Which is to say that the majority of the population are awake at some ungodly hour (say 04:00) and on the job by 06:00. It is very hot in the summer here and since everyone is up so early there is no point in having this Daylight Saving/ Summertime that the Eastern states have. This does create an issue as any business that must be conducted with any eastern state has to be completed by 14:00 because of the three hour time difference.
So, what else can I tell you? No, our country isn't as pretty as many of the Northern Hemisphere countries. It is a dry land. Rainfall is infrequent or it is too much. I am still trying to get my head around the various systems that affect our climate and weather. But for all that, it is a country of wide open spaces, of a population that really does believe in a "Fair go". There are many places that just take your breath away in their scope and rugged beauty, many are just so nurturing and reminiscent of pockets of Europe et al.
Here in Perth, it is sand all the way down to the Yilgarn craton pretty much. There is no soil that an east coaster or northern Hemispherian can identify unless you go south to the Margaret River region and Albany and the South West. This does make the establishment of a garden a bit of a challenge. But for all that we have many gardens, public parks and bushland within the Perth Metro area.
Of course one can not come to Perth and not experience the beaches here. They are very clean and well patrolled and funnily enough not crowded as some of the east coast beaches are. Yes we have an abundance of marine life and the sharks are numerous but for all that, a "day at the beach" is quite safe. If you remember to bring water with you and sunscreen.
Which reminds me....NEVER go anywhere in Australia without adequate water! So many visitors come here and neglect this maxim to their peril. Again I remind you that this is the driest continent on the planet.
What else....? Our politics are just as silly as any other country on the planet but I would like to think that here we never take our "pollies" seriously and have a very healthy scepticism towards any authority. In fact, don't come here expecting "special" treatment. There are some pollies that like to think that we do this but the reality is the majority of the population don't care if you are of a particular religious organisation. It really depends on you, how you work, how you try to assimilate while still maintaining your uniqueness, how thick skinned you are.
Aussies love a joke and will rib you unmercifully, case in point is the "Drop Bears". Yes there are these seemingly cute things called Koalas... They really aren't that cute or cuddly hence "Drop Bears" vicious creatures that will shit, scratch and leave you with an awful infection. Which bring me to our fauna. Please be aware that... "Everything in this country is out to kill you" no seriously! Don't think for one minute you can go off traipsing in the bush just for fun...that is how many a search and rescue starts. However, around the cities life is a little more tame and the only thing you really have to worry about are insects. We have a grass here in WA called Spinefex. Nasty stuff it is too, useful but nasty a bit like stinging nettles only worse, and found mostly in the Pilbara/ Kimberly regions and eastwards.
So what have I missed? To live here is expensive or at the very best, on par with anywhere else. The best thing about Perth is that it is very easy to get around and is only about one hour to anywhere else in the Perth Metro area. Four hours out of Perth will bring you to Albany and the area known as "The Great Southern" lots of granite here and good soil but very much cooler than Perth year round and it rains rather regularly. To be in Albany on a sunny day with clear skies is a bit of a novelty, but I do love the area.
Winter, around June to September is when we get most of our rain here in Perth. A lovely time with very mild temps not going down much below 10C. Yes we get winter storms when a low pressure system seems to be dragging air right off the Antarctic centre, but I do enjoy this time of year. Even when the wind is gale force it is so much less than what I understand the Northern Hemisphere experiences. UGG boots can be comfortably worn most days and heating isn't an issue until nightfall most days. The wind is an issue here. It seldom stops but then in the summer you don't want it to, in the winter you wish it would! So....
Bring plenty of moisturiser, sunscreen, and be prepared to never go out the door without water and ...
Welcome to Australia; beautiful one day, trying to kill you the next.
So to start.....
My land is old; so very old. Most of it is desert and uninhabitable. There is a small 100 km wide margin around the perifery that generally speaking houses something like 22.6 million people. In this area we have most of our industry and living space.
Western Australia has something like 2.475 million people. This is a very small number by anyone's imagination. Perth is very much liken to a "big country town" and here we operate on what is known as "tradies time". Which is to say that the majority of the population are awake at some ungodly hour (say 04:00) and on the job by 06:00. It is very hot in the summer here and since everyone is up so early there is no point in having this Daylight Saving/ Summertime that the Eastern states have. This does create an issue as any business that must be conducted with any eastern state has to be completed by 14:00 because of the three hour time difference.
So, what else can I tell you? No, our country isn't as pretty as many of the Northern Hemisphere countries. It is a dry land. Rainfall is infrequent or it is too much. I am still trying to get my head around the various systems that affect our climate and weather. But for all that, it is a country of wide open spaces, of a population that really does believe in a "Fair go". There are many places that just take your breath away in their scope and rugged beauty, many are just so nurturing and reminiscent of pockets of Europe et al.
Here in Perth, it is sand all the way down to the Yilgarn craton pretty much. There is no soil that an east coaster or northern Hemispherian can identify unless you go south to the Margaret River region and Albany and the South West. This does make the establishment of a garden a bit of a challenge. But for all that we have many gardens, public parks and bushland within the Perth Metro area.
Of course one can not come to Perth and not experience the beaches here. They are very clean and well patrolled and funnily enough not crowded as some of the east coast beaches are. Yes we have an abundance of marine life and the sharks are numerous but for all that, a "day at the beach" is quite safe. If you remember to bring water with you and sunscreen.
Which reminds me....NEVER go anywhere in Australia without adequate water! So many visitors come here and neglect this maxim to their peril. Again I remind you that this is the driest continent on the planet.
What else....? Our politics are just as silly as any other country on the planet but I would like to think that here we never take our "pollies" seriously and have a very healthy scepticism towards any authority. In fact, don't come here expecting "special" treatment. There are some pollies that like to think that we do this but the reality is the majority of the population don't care if you are of a particular religious organisation. It really depends on you, how you work, how you try to assimilate while still maintaining your uniqueness, how thick skinned you are.
Aussies love a joke and will rib you unmercifully, case in point is the "Drop Bears". Yes there are these seemingly cute things called Koalas... They really aren't that cute or cuddly hence "Drop Bears" vicious creatures that will shit, scratch and leave you with an awful infection. Which bring me to our fauna. Please be aware that... "Everything in this country is out to kill you" no seriously! Don't think for one minute you can go off traipsing in the bush just for fun...that is how many a search and rescue starts. However, around the cities life is a little more tame and the only thing you really have to worry about are insects. We have a grass here in WA called Spinefex. Nasty stuff it is too, useful but nasty a bit like stinging nettles only worse, and found mostly in the Pilbara/ Kimberly regions and eastwards.
So what have I missed? To live here is expensive or at the very best, on par with anywhere else. The best thing about Perth is that it is very easy to get around and is only about one hour to anywhere else in the Perth Metro area. Four hours out of Perth will bring you to Albany and the area known as "The Great Southern" lots of granite here and good soil but very much cooler than Perth year round and it rains rather regularly. To be in Albany on a sunny day with clear skies is a bit of a novelty, but I do love the area.
Winter, around June to September is when we get most of our rain here in Perth. A lovely time with very mild temps not going down much below 10C. Yes we get winter storms when a low pressure system seems to be dragging air right off the Antarctic centre, but I do enjoy this time of year. Even when the wind is gale force it is so much less than what I understand the Northern Hemisphere experiences. UGG boots can be comfortably worn most days and heating isn't an issue until nightfall most days. The wind is an issue here. It seldom stops but then in the summer you don't want it to, in the winter you wish it would! So....
Bring plenty of moisturiser, sunscreen, and be prepared to never go out the door without water and ...
Welcome to Australia; beautiful one day, trying to kill you the next.
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
