Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Rottnest island in photos.

We visited Rottnest island last weekend, 20 km off the coast from Perth. Let the photos do the talking! (copyright my boyfriend)

Crazy red plants by salt lakes.

We hired a tandem bike and cycled around the 4x11 km island.

The little Lion and little Tiger enjoyed the beautiful bays, the Little Salmon Bay here.

Boyfriend braved the Indian ocean and snorkelled for an hour a day, but I found it too cold! During my quick swim I was able to spot a variety of beautiful flora and fauna... I guess I have to go again when next summer rolls around!

One of the many wind-sculpted trees.

A quokka, the animal after which Rottnest (rat's nest) was named by the Dutch. These lovely creatures are roughly cat-sized, move like kangaroos and ultimately resemble tame rats. They come out at dusk, and there are a LOT of them.

Little Armstrong Bay, which we had for only two of us for the Saturday afternoon.

The Pink Lake, due to red algal growth.

Australian raven, the one with the crazy sheep-baby-baaahs.

Very fractal pines.

Salmon Bay.

Monday, 9 May 2011

Daily routines.

The life in Perth has stabilized into normal work-day rhythm. Wake up, shower, breakfast if time, pack lunch, run to bus stop, one hour on busses, into the office by nine, work, leave to go home at six, go grocery shopping on the way home, get home, cook and eat dinner, watch Big Bang Theory and MasterChef, feel tired, go to bed early. Nothing very exciting in the repetition of the same, but it actually all of it except the commute is enjoyable. Work has been really interesting, but this week seems to be a lot of waiting before I can actually get started in the lab!

During the past weekends we've learned the extreme price levels of beer, movie tickets, dinners and haircuts. We've met a lot of people in contexts that are not too travellery but your normal, "we live in this town and do the stuff we'd do at home" context. We've been having discussions about buying a car and doing weekend trips outside Perth, but I keep thinking a rental car would be easier. Next weekend we might do a trip to Rottnest Island, just to get out of the city and again to the beach. I bet the three months in Perth will be over as soon as I blink my eyes, and we're running out of time to do all the things we wanted!