Welcome back!

So it doesn’t feel like it’s been 18 months since I was last here in Perth, Australia. Driving down familiar roads and going into my well loved shops and drinking my Boost smoothies...well it doesn’t feel like I have been away. Anyway, I will start at the beginning...

So I left my snow covered house with mum and dad on Thursday 24th January with an unfortunate start of 4am. My lovely brother managed to get himself out of bed to say bye to his sister and then headed back to bed before I even headed out the door. My poor puppy Harley didn’t know who was coming or going but with a suitcase and bags piled up in the kitchen, it wasn’t a good sign for him...someone was leaving! I woke up feeling sick knowing that probably the hardest part of this entire trip was about to happen, the goodbyes and the long crappy flight ahead of me. I am a girl after all and I freely admit a pretty soppy and emotional one. I mean the first set of tears came when saying goodbye to a very uninterested dog (who was keeping his eyes solely on making sure dad wasn’t going anywhere without him). So fast forward to the airport, in which checking in was a piece of cake and to stretch time out a little more with the folks, sat down for a cuppa in which I got told everything I needed to hear from the parents to make it easier to leave e.g. you can come back at any time, you’ve always got a home to come back to, just think of it as a holiday, but as time ticked by and I got the “I think it’s about time you headed though”, predictable me bawled my eyes out. It really is the goodbye part which is the worst part out of all this and it really doesn’t get any better. I just have to get used to security people at the airport looking at my red eyes and quivering lip and you can see them thinking “I would do anything to escape the Scottish snow and rain.” Anyway goodbyes were said and Mum, I think you did very well this time, although the hug was pretty tight haha.

So as many might know, I am not the best of flyers and no matter how many places I travel too, I am a stressful, nervous traveller. Every creek or noise that comes out of those flying machines I look around expecting...well somebody else to be question said noise or creek. So of course I had to experience some terror on my flights. Number one happened on the very first flight of my 26 hours of travelling. On takeoff, multiple overhead lockers sprung open dropping various bags and jackets onto the people below (not me thankfully) and a handful of trays fell down also. Trust them to stick me on a rickety old plane lol. I arrived in London and it didn’t seem long till I was making my way to my gate and to board my Singapore Airlines Flight to Singapore. Stepping on board that plane was unbelievable. It was huge, clean and extremely comfortable and quiet as anything, no creeks or bumps at all. The only noise was the toilet flushing behind me and the cue of people standing next to me. It didn’t bother me as I had a couple spare seats next to me so I managed to get comfortable with my legs up. The plane was so quiet; I didn’t even think we had taken off!! I knew we were moving but not so fast that we could take off and next thing I knew we were in the air as smooth as anything. I made a point of not watching the clock. That is one way to make a 12 hour flight drag. So I watched TV and movies and had a bit of a nap and by the time I looked at the clock, nearly 7 hours had passed. It was a very quick flight and an enjoyable one, but I knew that couldn’t last. On our way to land, I could feel the plane dropping and I heard the wheels go down and then we were rising again and climbing and the wheels came up. The pilot said they had to abort the landing (didn’t hear the reason why due to sheer panic) but he was going to try land from a different approach. It took an extra half hour to land. As soon as I got inside the airport, I knew that I needed to get to my next flight straight away but I wasn’t worried at all, as Singapore Airport is THE best airport in the world. There is no fuss, no crowds of angry people, everything is straightforward and pleasant and it is just such a beautiful airport. So I had another 6 hour flight to go and although I was extremely exhausted, I was feeling ok. It was a bumpy flight into Perth but at that point I was looking forward to the day ending and getting a proper kip.
So I made it to sunny Australia. I got through security fine but had the sniffer dog set on me but poor dog found nothing to eat (or illegal hehe). I met Jaime and her boyfriend Simon who came to pick me up at the airport and are putting me up for the next 2 weeks. Jaime, for those who don’t know, is a girl I worked with at the WA Police Department when I was here last and have been friends ever since, staying in touch all this time. We get on amazingly well and her boyfriend is lovely and they have both made me feel so at home which is just what I needed as I usually feel really unsettled and homesick for the first few days I’m away.

So days have been pretty busy, which helps with getting over the jetlag and the travelling and the homesickness. The first few mornings I slept well into the morning. The day after I arrived was Australia Day (good timing on my half). We had an Aussie BBQ at Jaime’s house with a few of her friends and even though I spent the day in the shade, without fail and typical of me, I got burnt! It was a nice chilled day with awesome food. Sunday, I managed to get my mobile up and running and picked up a few bits and pieces that I couldn’t find back home due to all the winter clothes and water-proof boots like shorts and flip flops. They were very much needed for my picnic/sunbathing session at Kings Park on Monday, my favourite spot in the whole of Perth (see pictures). The view from the park is gorgeous and it’s a nice place to chill. I have managed to catch up with a few friends whilst I’ve been back too.

On Thursday, Jaime and I went on a road trip down South so I could meet her family and to see a little bit more of the country. We went to spend the night first in Bunbury with her Sister Jess and nephew Jordan, in which we had another BBQ (the best way to eat meat) and movie night. In the morning we went to the Dolphin Discovery Centre. We all went down to the beach, waded into the water and everyone had to stay in a line and the dolphins came right up to you and swam back and forth. We had 5 dolphins come up to us. We weren’t allowed to touch them or even put our hands in the water but it was amazing how close they came to you. The story about how the dolphins come to the same spot nearly every day is that an old woman used to live on the beach and fed the dolphins every morning. So now the dolphins come every morning to the beach expecting to be fed lol.

Our next stop was to a place called Donnybrook to see Jaime’s mum. Her house is my dream house, with land and a pool and a really nice house out in the country. It was really nice and peaceful. We stayed and had lunch before setting off just down the road to our next destination. The next stop was Simon’s family farm in Ballingup in which “out in the sticks” is an understatement...even mobiles had no service lol. Everything was so peaceful and his family were lovely and welcoming. We had a nice chilled day and a tour of the land and the animals. We spent the night there before packing up the car the next morning and heading back into the village and visiting another of Jaime’s sisters and nephew Steph and Jake. We then headed for an amazing pub lunch in which all of Jaime’s family joined us for a farewell. We had a 3 hour drive back to Perth before a girl’s night out this past Saturday night. We headed to a Tapas and cocktail bar called The Precinct in Victoria Park with Christine, one of Jaime’s friends and Michelle (and her sister) who I also worked with at the police department. We had a great night talking about the most random things whilst eating good food and unusual cocktails.

When I haven’t had anything planned, I have been out in the back garden sunbathing, trying to get 18 months worth of Vitamin D uptake haha. Monday, we had a cinema outing to see Les Miserable (questionable spelling). It was a brilliant film and I really recommend it as long as you realize it is all singing! Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe...they all sing every word, every line. I really enjoyed it! Tuesday I ventured into Perth city again and went on a memory tour of where I use to live and work. In the evenings when nothing is planned, we sit down to Australia Masterchef: The Professionals. It is nothing like UK Masterchef and a hundred times better (I am addicted). Wednesday, I treated Jaime to the Fremantle Prison Night Tour. It was nothing like the first time I went there, where I flew for the exit every time someone jumped out on us! Our guide was a comedian (he even went to Aberdeen University and apparently you need a good sense of humour to go there hehe). Ok I do admit that I did jump a few times and because I knew a few of the “surprises” coming up, it kind of gave Jaime an inkling what was coming i.e. uncontrollable fits of the giggles or looking like a rabbit caught in headlights. The guide didn’t tell as many ghost stories as the last tour I did, but Jaime seemed to enjoy herself and I did too. So Thursday was my last day and I spent it packing and re-packing my suitcase trying to fit everything in it and so that it closed. I bought a total of 2 things for myself in Perth, a pair of shorts and flip-flops (so nothing big is what I am trying to portray here). So when I left home in Aberdeen, my case was a whopping 20kg and when I left Perth to fly to NZ, my flip-flops and shorts made my case weigh 21kg???? How my case can weigh an extra 1kg from a pair of flip-flops and a pair of shorts, I don’t know!! I treated Jaime and Simon to a farewell/thank you meal Thursday night. We had delicious Mexican food and a cocktail with awesome sombrero hat pictures (and I will post them once I get them loaded onto the computer).

I don’t know how I am feeling towards leaving and moving to NZ, I still love Perth and I could see me living here for a while. I am anxious about NZ and trying to start a new life there...all I can do is give it a shot and try my best and take it one day at a time.
The next blog will be when I arrive in NZ and will hopefully get my mobile and net up and working properly so I can give you all a quick call/message/up-date email.

So I have rambled on enough.
Miss and Love you all,
Claire  xx