Winter in Perth...

Rein checking in -

"It's been a few days that we're back now in Perth, after out amazing road trip.

View from Kununurra's look-out

Our trip back from Kununurra was uneventful, yet as stunning as the way up. Even though it was for 90% the same road us we used to drive north, in reverse, we did enjoy the scenery again, and from a different perspective.

The first day of driving took us right through the Kimberley on the Great Northern Highway, a stretch of road we hadn't done yet. This is one of the most remote areas of Australia, occasionally passing through mainly Aboriginal communities and the scenery was beautiful. 

That night, even though we didn't realise it at the time, we had our last camping night. We did the whole bush camp thing again, pulling up beside the road (somewhere between Derby and Broome), setting up our tent and starting a fire to keep warm and realised how expert we had become at all of this :-) Within 30 minutes we had the billy on the fire and a bowl of hot food in our laps!

The following morning we set off early as we wanted to make it in time to a beach side camp site near Port Hedland, realising this would probably be our last chance to swim in tropical waters. We did stop for lunch though on 80 mile beach, which we assume is called this way of its length. Well, however long it is, it is a beautiful white beach as long as the eye can reach. 

Of course, I had to take advantage of the occasion to dive into the crystal clear waters before delving into my sandwich. And in retrospect it was good I did, as it would be my last dive up North. As, when we arrived at our planned camp site later that afternoon, we were very disappointed with the fact that it was overrun by fellow roadies, spoiling the idea of a swim and a bush camp. Instead we decided to hit the road again and try to reach Karratha  and see if we could crash at Simon's uncle's place there. So said, so done and that evening we had a nice catch-up over a pub meal with Brian, Simon's uncle and a good night's sleep in a bed under a roof!

To our surprise on day three we woke up to a grey sky and spitting rain. We crossed the beautiful Pilbara region, through to Coral Bay, in the hope that we'd be hitting better weather on the West coast. That was in vain; the sad weather stayed with us all 1000 k. so when we arrived we decided not to brave the pending thunderstorms with our little tent but instead to check into the local backpackers' for the night. Who would've thought that I would spend my first ever night in a youth hostel at the honourable age of 46!

Due to the miserable atmosphere of the beach resort in the rain and flooded by Perth suburbanites with their kids for the school holidays that just started we decided to make a run for it the next day. We set off early again and just kept driving until we made the safe haven of m. & d. Andrew in Rockingham that evening. It was good to be reunited and to celebrate we drank wine and played our own family game of cards, "Moroccan Rummy", the rules of which we concocted while on our family holiday in Marrakech.

That was a week ago today. Since then we have spent most of our time cleaning, advertising and selling our car as well as reflecting on our next move.

After 6 months of living like nomads we feel the time has come to start rebuilding a home somewhere. I have reestablished contact with my work and to our delight there are several opportunities for reemployment in the firm, ranging from Europe to India. Of course these things cannot be decided overnight by either side, so at the moment we are waiting for the go ahead to book our tickets and set-off again for a meet and greet with my colleagues in New Delhi.

Cottesloe Beach

In the meantime, I am enjoying the joys of a Perth winter, which frankly reminds me of the better summer days in Belgium! Lots of sun in a stark blue sky and temperatures around 20°. While most of the locals think I am crazy, I think this is perfect weather for a nice day at the beach. I have been taking the opportunity to drive up the coast to one of Perth's most pristine beaches where yesterday I even braved a refreshing dive into the surf...

In spite of this though, the waiting game is asking its toll and we both hope to get some resolution soon. Here's hoping to hear back from Delhi sooner rather than later and being on a plane heading west!"

- Rein checking out

Stuck between a rock and a hard place

Simon signing in;

Well, Rein and I have finally completed what volunteer roles we had available to us. The big question now is: what next!?

After doing two-and-a-half week with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, work which was more difficult than I expected, though nothing which is too hard, we are currently staying with my cousin Aroha and her great family. It was amazing to see her after so long and great to meet her family finally! (Well, I had met her husband though too had not seen for many years).

The last two weeks were really really hard me. I mean REALLY hard. The past month Rein and I have been living out a tent (well two, our 'road side' tent and the palace) and it has taken its toll. And if you out there have done camping and 'enjoy it', you will probably laugh at us for what shite (and how much of it) we carry with us. We have almost everything bar the kitchen sink but these things, WE NEED. :-) The most important to us are our 'all wheel drive mattresses'. These behemoth things roll up losing the air within though still end up being as wide as 60cm. Imagine the faces of the serious campers at the AWC when we all went bush camping. The rest of the trip I will mention below, but for now, the past two weeks.

The first week meant being introduced to all within the camp and I guess this is where I started to crumble. I am not good with a big group of people and this quadruples when it comes to strangers. I instantly felt way over my head in being there as, on first impressions, these people ALL knew their bit about wildlife. After the first couple of days getting to know all, we had to prepare for the first week of camping. I mean BUSH CAMPING. NO facilities. Are you serious!? No shower? And worse yet, no toilet either???

The drive itself started early and before long we were all off in a caravan of five cars. The drive was taking its time and after a long while one of the cars got bogged (stuck in the mud), so one after the other cars tried to de-bog. Well, this turned out to be a three hour disaster which turned out to have an additional 8 'boggings'. The true horror was given to me when one of the guys in charge told us that 4 cars were still bogged, the sun was about to go down and to start to make camp. 'What, here, in the middle of this 'road', in the mud?'. My heart sunk. He was joking, no, this was reality. We had to search the vehicles to get tents, cooking gear and food, make a fire and start cooking. There was only four people present as the rest were fighting the mud. I have never had to cook on an open fire! After a struggle of emotions and loss of four kilos in 30 mins I had started to get the dinner going. I felt compelled to take charge of the cooking.

Eventually all returned to the 'camp' and sat around the fire to enjoy the meal I had provided. Here was my first test. They were all just happy to have food provided to them albeit a slap dash tomato pasta thingy. Everyone talked of the days events and before long we were all off to bed. The next morning started early...again.

The second day we finally made it to our camp site though by this stage we both felt like we were one million miles from anyone and anything we know. The next five days were a little bit of a blur but they included digging trenches, hammering posts and checking the trenches twice per day for any trapped wildlife for the survey. My biggest thoughts of the day were the isolation, the dirt, and a little boredom, though the 'boredom' was turned into lazy sleeps under a tree and reading.

Saturday finally came and we were all off back to base camp. The drive was thought to again be slow as we had to again cross the dreaded bog road though when we approached it, it seemed slightly better and well, we all got across.

The first shower after we got back was the BEST I ever had, though as in camping life, I felt dirty 30 mins later. Rein and I both felt that we could not face the reality that we would again be bush camping in two days. Our day was made the following day when we found out that we were to remain at camp to be involved in a second team staying at base, whilst the others were again going to go out bush camping. The news that we would be staying near showers and kitchens was so incredible, I thought I would cry.

In the end, the two-and-a-half weeks at Mornington went quite fast. Rein and I had originally signed on for three-and-a-half weeks so whilst I write this we should have been again bush camping. It was actually me who asked for us to be excused for the last week. I was really finding it hard emotionally and requested to leave. I do not know whether it was the isolation or what, but I knew I had to leave ASAP. The work at the AWC had turned out to be not good for me. I needed to be in touch with civilisation, with friends, family, just out of there.

From the above I have decided that I am not cut out for living that kind of life. The life I guess I feel most comfortable is one with bathrooms, beds, fine food and wine and having comfortable things close by.

I have learnt from the past two weeks. I have come face to face with the reality that I CAN camp and I can deal with facets of camping though with limits.

Now we wait with my cousin, ready to drive off tomorrow morning back to Perth and wait for news of what we have in store next. It is a scary thought not knowing what we have up next, where we will be after having to make some serious decisions on our next destination. Bangalore? Delhi? Brussels? Durban? Names which have been mentioned names which may be revealed soon.

I sign off a little nervous of the next few weeks yet excited for the little drive ahead.

Signing off.

Life at Mornington

Rein checking in –

“I realise that we haven’t even finished the write-up of our epic road trip, but we’ve been here now two weeks and we’ve had so many experiences, I thought I’d better start recording them now before they disappear in the big cloud of memories from our sabbatical. The road trip account will have to follow at a later stage. It is hard to keep track with our blog, particularly as it is so hard to find some downtime and internet access at the same time.

Mornington Research Camp;
this is the central kitchen and place that we called home for about three weeks

There is always something that needs doing here. As I am writing this, Simon and the rest of the crew are busy sorting through the load that was delivered this morning by the food truck. We get our daily food delivered here for about 25 people once every fortnight and that then needs to be distributed item by item to the individuals that ordered it. Not quite the same as hopping over to your local supermarket for your daily groceries… It is a bi-weekly flurry of activity with people relishing in the new supply of their favourite things or disappointment with stuff that didn’t come through (such as all the fruit in the last shipment, so people are now attacking the stack of apples and oranges that have finally arrived – unlike the coffee for the second shipment in a row L).

The crew for our first survey;
just before we set off for 6 days in the bush

But we came here to work, not to eat… Our first week here saw us going out with the crew to remote Marion Downs (even more remote than Mornington Station) to go trapping. While Marion is only about 170 k. away from here, it took us almost two days to reach it. Underway we got “bogged” (the Australian term for getting stuck with your car) on the rough tracks so we had to unexpectedly put up our tents half way. We were the first to make it to Marion since the “Wet” (there are only two seasons here: the Wet (roughly from November through to May) and the Dry) and we found that most of the track had been washed away by the enormous quantities of rainwater that had fallen over the last months.

Making our way on and off-road

Definitely "bogged"

Setting up camp on the "road" halfway

Simon's first go at bush camp cooking!

When we finally arrived at our destination, we set up camp for the following 5 days. We had to bring everything we needed to survive during that time with us so it took a while to unload the trucks and organize ourselves. The group split up in two, with four of us being airlifted over the ranges to do the trapping on the other side. Simon and I stayed in the first camp together with two other volunteers, three AWC staff and a few scientists, doing field research into interaction between dingoes and “feral cats” (wild cats that stem from lost pet cats).

Our campsite for the 6 days

That evening, as every following evening, we lit a big campfire for cooking our evening meal and to keep warm. Temperatures here vary enormously between day and night, dropping down quickly after the sun goes down to about freezing by 6 am and then rising again just as quickly with the rising sun to around 30 degrees.

The next morning we woke up with the first call of the birds, around 5.30 (we’ve been living now without watches for months and follow natural cycles of light and dark, and the calls of birds and such).  After a cup of Billie tea (tea cooked over a campfire) and some hot porridge we were in the savannah by 6.30 to set up the trapping sites. This involved digging trenches with shovel and pick and putting up fences along pickets hammered into the hard soil. Each site took about one hour to set up and we had four of them to do. At times we felt like the chain gang working the earth with the sun beating upon us, but to be honest, by around 11 o’clock we were done and headed back to camp.

In our labourers' uniforms! First time in my life I handled a pic.

That’s when there was time to relax, wander around, read a book and have some lunch, until around 3 in the afternoon when we headed off again to actually bait and set the traps for the evening, a less physically demanding job that took about two hours. We got home by sunset at 5.30 just in time before dark, to collect some wood and light the fire for the night. Dinner, mostly consisting of stews and pastas cooked in the camp oven (a huge cast-iron cooking pot placed on the coals of the campfire) was on at 6 and by 7.30 most of us retired to our tents to go to bed.

Our first "catch"

The morning of the second day we set out early again to check the traps for wildlife, such as small mammals, frogs, lizards, snakes etc. This involved sticking your arms down tubes and searching for little living things. Everything that was caught got identified, measured and tagged for the records.  And this cycle of setting and checking the traps repeated itself for the next 5 days.

Luckily we camped near a creek, so we could splash-bathe ourselves (among the freshwater crocodiles) in the icy cold water to refresh and get most of the dirt of ourselves, but after 6 days of this work the dust and dirt accumulated in places we didn’t know existed! So when Saturday arrived we were relieved by the foresight of heading “home” to Mornington Station and the showers…

This snake looked more vicious than it really was...

.... this is what it looked like when picked up

Relaxing after a hard day's work

That morning we had to get physical one last time to check and then pack up the trapping sites. Then pack and clean up our camp and by 2 pm we were finally on our way home. Given our experience of the tracks on our way out we weren’t sure if we were going to make it home in one go, but to our delight we found that they had been graded (smoothened out by huge road machines) during the week we were away so it was smooth sailing all the way home.

Relieved to be heading "home" to base camp and the showers!

We were welcomed home by the visiting parents of one of the staff here with a home cooked dinner, which was well received. We got into those showers faster than you could imagine and washed away days of dirt and ‘disgust’. Could we handle another two weeks of this!?

We were happy to find out the following day that AWC had planned that Simon and I were scheduled to remain in and around Mornington to do local trapping sites the following week. Those words were bliss, albeit we were still ‘camping’ but with facilities!

So here we are, doing week two, getting more or less settled into the bush lifestyle, learning a lot about ecology, wildlife, but most of all about ourselves. One thing is very clear, though…. Bush life is nice for a vacation, but not for us in the long term. We are very much looking forward to visiting Simon’s cousin, Aroha and her family, in Kununarra, after this. She has promised us that we can stay inside their HOUSE! Ah, the luxury J.”

A Mornington sunset

- Rein checking out

The road to Broome, continued

Rein checking in -

"Picking up from where I left off last time I wrote, I’ll focus on the highlights of our road trip to Broome.

Day one was all about our trek through the Pinnacles. We arrived around 4 pm and walked through this wondrous, alien looking landscape at sunset, taking some amazing shots (all lost unfortunately) in the yellow light against the red earth. That evening we dined on some excellent locally caught seafood at the village bowling club. Apart from the crustacean delights this had as an added bonus that we could enjoy a bit of “couleur locale”, mixing with the locals.

The next morning we set off as soon as we had packed up camp. Which of course took a bit of time as we weren’t yet experienced with the camping ways. But, after a good breaky, cooked by Simon on the camping stove we were on our way by 10 am. Day two saw us passing through some nice historic colonial towns, such as Dongara and Greenough, but the day’s highlight undoubtedly was Kalbarri National Park. 

This park, which can be reached only through a 30 k. off-road track, incorporates the beautiful Murchison River gorges. Over hundreds of thousands of years the river has carved out a 100-meter deep gorge in the red earth and we enjoyed some stunning walking trails leading us to the famous Nature’s Window. Again we took some amazing pictures but need to refer to the stock photo below to give you an impression.

After a full day of sight seeing it was getting late so we needed to find a place to camp urgently before it would be too dark to set up camp for the night. We tried our luck with a station indicated on our map. After a beautiful drive off the main road we arrived at Riverside Sanctuary where the caretaker warmly greeted us and offered us the old sheep shearers’ quarters for the night. As it turned out, Riverside is an old sheep farm converted into a wildlife sanctuary offering all kinds of ecotourism options. That night we were the only two people staying on the property, other than the three permanent staff, so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. Simon cooked us a hot meal in the camp kitchen, which was based in the characterful sheering shed, which still had the entire old sheering infrastructure in place. We then retired for a well-earned good night’s sleep in the warm donger (= Australian for bush cabin) that was appointed to us.

We woke up the next morning to a beautiful sunrise of the bush lands surrounding the station. It had been freezingly cold and there was a touch of frost on the ground, so we were happy we hadn’t needed to sleep outside. Day three was going to be a long one, aiming to get to Monkey Mia, with plenty of sights along the way, so we made an early start. Monkey Mia is a small beach resort on Shark Bay, known for its daily dolphin visits to its shores. It is a well-known holiday destination in Western Australia, and as Simon had never visited it, we were keen to make an overnight stop there while we were (sort of) passing by. This meant a detour of roughly 300 km, but as the whole Shark Bay area is a world heritage listed national park, well worth the effort. On the way there we stopped at the old telegraph station at Hamelin Pool, which is famous for its colony of pre-historic stromatolites. 


These are the planet’s first oxygen producing organisms and in fact to thank for all subsequent life on Earth. Hamelin Pool is one of the only places on earth were they still live due to the absence of natural predators. In Hamelin Pool they have formed large colonies in the shape of columns or mats on the seabed, which are visible from the beach. An amazing sight; again one we cannot show our own pictures of due to the sad loss…

After this visit we continued onto Shell Beach, which is named after the bright, white shells it consists of. These shells extend to 10 meters deep and the lower levels get crushed into “shell rock” which used to be excavated and used in the buildings in the bay area. This now is no longer allowed but the beach remains another incredible sight and our chosen site for a picnic lunch that day! The last stop before hitting Monkey Mia was Eagle Bluff where there is a boardwalk along a high cliff over the azure blue waters of the bay for spotting sea wildlife such us dugongs, sharks and dolphins. Unfortunately we had no luck spotting anything but the views again were amazing.

That evening we settled into a nice camping site at the Monkey Mia resort and had a refreshing swim in the bay. Next morning we got up early to watch the dolphins visiting the pier of the resort. Admittedly, this was a bit of a circus with the hundreds of tourist, lined up along the beach to catch a glimpse, but the friendly animals did not disappoint and showed up almost on cue to perform their morning ritual of frolicking and interacting with the park rangers.

We didn’t stick around after the dolphins visit but got back on our way. That day (our fourth on the road) we decided to skip the following main attraction on the way, avoiding another detour, instead opting to make some serious distance. By lunchtime we had made it to the country town of Carnarvon, the last post of human civilization (well sort of) before making the great traverse of the Pilbara plains. After a nice picnic at the Carnarvon marina we set off on the long stretch of about 700 k. to the next town.

That night was our first experience with bush camping. At the end of the afternoon we pulled up along the highway at a 24-hour rest stop to set up our tent. While Simon prepared our dinner, I got a campfire going to keep us warm during the freezing savannah evening.  We sat and watched the amazing starry sky, drinking Billie tea (= Australian for a campfire brew) before slipping into our sleeping bags around 7. I had one of the deepest and most refreshing sleeps in a long time, waking up the next morning with sunrise at 6 am.

... to be completed at a later stage ...

Blog entry - sneak preview

Dear readers

As it is sooo hard to get decent internet access in the Australian Outback we haven't been able to keep you guys up to date with our journey. I (Rein) have started a posting in draft but haven't even been able to finish that, due to being on the road all the time and therefore not behind the computer.

So to help maintain your much appreciated interest, here is a snippet of what's to come. I assure you, we will try not to make a habit of it.

Please stay tuned!

A Road beyond Bangalore…. To Broome!

Rein checking in –

"After being on the road for exactly one full week and having “done” 3200 k. we’ve made it to Broome! In fact, I am writing this blog entry, or at least its first draft, sitting in the sun right in the middle of Broome’s ‘world famous’ Cable Beach.

The trip has turned out to be an epic journey as promised. The state of Western Australia not only is vast (i.e. comparable in size to Western Europe) it is also uniquely beautiful in its geography and climatic diversity. Over the past 7 days we have traveled roughly along its Indian Ocean coast through temperate Mediterranean and sub-tropical climate to the tropical North.

Along the way we have made several side trips to get the maximum out of our journey. Again due to the size of the state and the corresponding distances this has meant we’ve added almost 1000 kilometers to the trip. But this has been very much worth it. Unfortunately, the great pictures we took at the most spectacular sights are lost, due to a crash of our hard drive. As you can imagine we were not amused by this, but again it has taught us a lesson; not to be too focused on shooting that ultimate shot and forget to just enjoy the moment and taking it all in as we are living it. This has also meant that we’ve had to rely on internet stock photos for the first few pictures in the postings of our road trip.

So after 10 days or so of preparation, which was mostly in the trustworthy hands of Simon and his mother, we set of from Rockingham, South of Perth, towards Lancelin, a rather dull surfing town just north of the outer suburbs of the city. We enjoyed our first road trip lunch here on the pristine white beach (feasting on typical Aussie curry pasties, courtesy of mum Andrew). Then we continued directly along the coast to Cervantes where we set up camp for our first night. We chose this place because of its proximity to the Pinnacles Desert. The Pinnacles are a natural phenomenon of vertical limestone columns set in a desert landscape. Scientists still don’t agree on how they came about, one theory claiming they are fossils of ancient tree trunks.

10 days into the second leg of our sabbatical

Rein checking in -

"It's now been over a week that we've arrived in Australia, and we've been very productive preparing for our new upcoming adventure on our sabbatical, the road beyond Bangalore!

As you all will know by now, we are heading up North along Australia's west-coast towards the tropical Kimberleys to start our new volunteer assignment with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. We are expected on their Mornington station around the 16th of June. We've received an official volunteer agreement from them, outlining all our duties and obligations, so it is all very official. During our four week stay on the station we will be on duty on-and-off, meaning that we will be venturing into the reserve for tracking trips ranging from a day up to several days, during which we'll be on duty day-and-night, tracking, catching and tagging animals. On those overnight trips we will be camping out of the station in the open air in a swag. I am very excited about this assignment; it will be an amazing experience in one of the most beautiful and desolate places on the globe!

The pier at Rockingham

Apart from all the necessary preparations for our trip of course we've also had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the comforts of staying with m. & d. Andrew. The great home cooked meals (thank you mum!), the peace and quiet of the house in suburban Rockingham and the amazing surroundings! 

Rockingham lies on the Western Australian coast about 50 k. south of Perth.   Being on the east side of the Indian Ocean it has amazing sunset views and, given its Mediterranean climate, some great beach life even in winter (which it is now).

Rockingham's foreshore with its sunny beachfront boulevard 

Point Peron National Park

The beach at Point Peron

Last Friday, Simon and I went on an amazing three-hour coastal walk to Point Peron, named after the French explorer who ventured onto Australia's west coast in the 18th century. Not finding any civilisation to trade with, the French never colonised the area and left it for the British to take possession about a hundred years later.

It now is a beautiful national park with great walking trails at 3 km. from Simon's parents' home.

And now we've arrived in Melbourne for our good friends' wedding. We are staying at their wonderful Victorian house in Prahran, the same suburb where I used to live when I first moved to Melbourne. Today I am exploring the city to discover what has changed in recent years, catching up with all friends. The wedding celebrations will take all of tomorrow day and evening and Saturday we are have a lunch and drinks with all our old friends here. As always, when I arrive in Melbourne, it feels like coming home!"

- Rein checking out

Perth; A home stop

Simon signing in;

Well, it has been one week since we arrived in to Australia and it has been very productive.

Since our arrival, Rein and I have managed to restart our lives here with our new bank accounts, tax file numbers and new local telephone numbers. The tax file numbers will be needed if Rein and I suddenly find some paid work whilst we are here. We both feel it would be good if we get a job to earn a little cash to help pump into our funds along the way.

Also within the past week, Rein and I have purchased a HUGE truck of a 4-wheel drive. Well, it is not the biggest you can buy, but compared to what we have had before, it is huge. We managed to buy the truck from a dear New Zealand woman for a great price (we hope; I have nightmares imagining she is the world's greatest con artist and she sold the world's most abused car to a couple of European suckers) and it is in great condition and we intend on keeping it in good condition and selling it for the same (if not more) up north after we're done with it. This has always been the plan but you never know your luck.



The new truck

This week also has been a scary realisation for me. Perth, or (I think) more so Rockingham, where my parents live, brings back scary recollections of my childhood and life when I was living here and it shows me why I left. When I'm back here I inadvertently switch back to a conformist, concerned with what everyone thinks, doing as everyone else does. This could be seen as just reconnecting to who I was, but I feel it is more a case of regressing back to my old personality before I discovered 'who I am' and why I had to leave. I knew then that I had to live in a more liberal place where bogans and surfer 'dudes' do not rule the roads in their ridiculous V8 cars and scruffy appearances, where life does not revolve around football, shopping malls and fast food take away. I know that I feel like this every time I visit my family here and I respect my family for living here but I know that I am not yet ready to live here, back in the state I came from. I am also aware that I cannot keep running from it, that there is something I need to face in order to see all this fear as something else, but at this moment, I just cannot. But is this fear just Perth?

As you all may or may not be aware, Rein and I are about to depart on one of the great drives of the world (well, I believe it is, and many Aussie would agree), hence the truck. The plan is to leave next week for our next volunteering role in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. For anyone not aware, this is a four straight day drive taking in well over 3,300 kms. We of course will not do it all in this time, but will take our time and take in the sights on the way. On this journey we plan to camp in tents (yes, tents) and live simply for a while. We have been accumulating a pile of stuff for our journey as well as my parents have been incredible in helping us out. We have it all, I believe, and will be ready as much as humanly possible.


We will be traveling from Perth in the SW corner of the state,
all along the coast towards Kununurra in the far NE corner.



Our intended itinerary
















The drive should be amazing and the landscape inspiring. We have heard that because it is winter here in Australia, that many a grey haired 'nomad' will by now be living in and around the north area of the state so we will perhaps struggle to find places to camp for the night, but I hope this will be the least of our problems.

A comparison in size: Western Australia versus Western Europe (for the men in us all)

Before we leave on this epic journey, we will be travelling to Melbourne for a lightening visit. It was not scheduled but we suddenly were asked to join our friends and their families for their marriage, and we could not of course escape the fact we are only a few hours away, to fly and join them. It will be great to be back in Melbourne after two years since our last visit. It will also be fantastic to catch up with so many people we have not seen since the same time.