In search of a 'real' beach ...

Had to move out of our Airbnb as the rental period was up ... yet to find a long term rental ... that is worrying.

Anyway, the kids liked Shelley Beach but in all honesty, while it was nice, it wasn't much of a beach ... so today, we set out to find a 'real' beach.

Stopped by Fremantle for breakfast

Ran into some artwork

Proceeded to Fremantle Beach after some nosying around the Fremantle markets.

It's supposed to be summer when the beaches are crowded but I thought Fremantle Beach was relatively empty/ Maybe there are more popular beaches areound, I don't know. We were very happy though with what we saw and spent a couple of hours there.

Interestingly enough, there was a wedding going on at the beach, which prompted a discussion between J and me about whether we would have seen something similar back in Singapore.

Kids had a lot of fun and got wet too despite us running out of clothes. Ah well.

I remember posting a pic from East Coast Park a while back and commenting that there almost wasn't a hint of a horizon to be seen - it was like a great wall of container ships. I remember too the feeling that engendered ... one of feeling trapped in. No such feelings today. Were there commercial ships in the distance? Yep. 5 of them.

The sight that greeted us as we stepped onto the beach ...

That's how crowded it was ...

You know that water you see in movies that has many shades of blue?

I thought it felt like us ... making ourselves comfortable in Oz

Ended the day with a walk along the foreshore in South Perth and was greeted with this sunset.
I wish that I could say that I could feel my stress leaching away but I have learnt that when shelter (a place for my family to live in) is uncertain, it's always there at the back of my mind but damn - it really feels good to be greeted by the beauty of nature at each and every turn.

Another glorious sunset ...

Here's to many more sunsets ....

That sky ... and a 41 degree monster

Will I ever grow bored of it? Dismiss it as a daily occurence?

I certainly hope not.

On the day we returned our rental and picked up our 1st car in Oz, I still remain amazed at the blue blue sky in Australia and it's animated cloud formations.

Saw our first rainbow and experienced our first 41 degress Celsius day ... and to think I complained about Singapore's temperatures!

Also our first experience buying a car certainly taught us a few things to look out for, if and when we need to purchase another car.

Blue sky, blue waters ...

On the way back to our Airbnb rental ...

1st glimpse of a rainbow since we arrived!

Turning around 180 degrees from the rainbow ... to be greeted by the sunset

Wave if you see us driving around in Perth!

Shelley Beach Park

Paid a visit to Shelley Beach Park today as the children wanted to visit a beach but we did not want to drive too far.

It is a very small beach but there was so much going on.

Families having BBQ, children doing the jetty jump, famililes exercising their dogs and powerboats roaring back and forth along the river.

I loved that parking was not an issue, simply a matter of finding a spot along the road that wasn't taken and slotting in.

While the weather was warm, hot even, it did not seem to raise the same amout of sweat, if any, that the Singaporean sun regularly wrung out of me.

We had a quite stroll ... exchanged hellos and made small conversation with some Australians that we came across. It certainly helped to make us feel welcomed.

We found the water's edge to be filled with these little fellas ...

Both S and D had a field day using branches to 'rescue' beached jellyfish. Didn't know if they were poisonous but I think not, judging from the carefree nature in which others were frolicking in the water.

It was very very nice to see them being carefree and enjoying what nature had to share ... this is one of the reasons we moved. Definitely looking forward to many more of these adventures with them!

All these in addition to the sunset over the Swan River that we enjoyed the previous night ... not a bad 3 days in Perth.

Still running into cranes ... even in Perth

A symbolic start?

It's 7.40am and we've touched down in Perth.

It's early in the morning but the sun is already blazing hot. I have a feeling that Summer and I are not going to be the best of friends.

We picked up our rental and headed off to the Airbnb rental that we had booked while we hunted for longer term accomodation.

Relatives and friends asked me about choosing the 1st of Jan as our arrival date and I always jokingly replied that it was to signify a symbolic start. Ha ... it couldn't be further from the truth.

In all honesty, it's because I am horrendous with dates. This way, I am unlikely to forget a date in which we start a new chapter in our lives. Also, it was because airfares were cheaper on this date than any other. Heh.

Seeing that it's the 1st of Jan though, New Year and all, we were worried that everything would be closed in Perth - courtesy of our past experiences travelling through Australia. We were plesantly surprised to find some shops open and we were quick to grab some groceries for the week ahead.

I love supermarkets in Australia ... everything is available in large sizes ... including this ...

Weirdly shaped capsicum

No that's not a child's hands!