Last week marked my (and Olive’s) 12 month anniversary of moving to the West. In the last year, I’ve learnt that: driving on Perth freeways really brings out the worst in people; this city has a pretty relaxed attitude to almost everything and actually WA stands for ‘Wait Awhile’; and that I should never ever take a good cup of Melbourne made coffee for granted!
Being that we moved in mid January, this is also the first time that Olive and I have experienced a full length Perth summer. One of us is probably coping a little better than the other on account of her fur coat, but from scorching 40-45+ degrees for days on end at the beginning of the season, to a milder and more pleasant Christmas and now a pretty steady and predictable temperature of 30ish degrees and cloudless blue skies every day, here are some other ways that our first Perth summer differs from what we are used to in Victoria.
The beach!
Sure, Melbourne has them, but unless you have a full length wetsuit you probably don’t get to go swimming all that often. It’s most often not nearly hot enough, and then on the odd occasion its far too hot, or in typical Melbourne fashion, sometimes its a bit of both! Sunny in the morning but then the cool change comes through and ruins the purrfect beach day before you have a chance to finish work. In Perth, its beach weather pretty much every day. The water is warm, there are so many great beaches to choose from and the only downside is that when the sea breeze picks up in the afternoon it can create some pretty big waves. Actually no, the biggest downside is probably the need for shark nets to be set up at most beaches. A little reminder that we are definitely the small fish in that very big pond.
Outdoor cinema!
In Melbourne, there might be a few nights a year where this is an appropriate activity. Short seasons are set up at various locations and I’d confidently say that most places would supply customers with blankets as standard. Here, outdoor cinema seasons run every night from October though to April and there are more movie locations that you could possibly visit in a summer. Lying down in beanbags on the grass under the stars and sharing a picnic over a glass of wine. No fear of having to dodge the rain, although we have had to dodge a few tipsy middle-aged movie-goers who, half way through the movie, suddenly realise that getting out of the beanbag after a few drinks might actually be more difficult than they anticipated.
Summer adventures!
We didn’t travel away from home this Christmas and instead had a bit of a Perth Stay-cation. This included a day trip to Black Diamond Lake near Collie. While a bit of a drive it was a chance to see more of WA and it was worth it for the blue water and a chance to cool off after a picnic on the bank.
We also checked out the Crystal Cave in the Yanchep National Park. Great to learn about how the cave was formed and the impact of today’s environment, particualrly the lack of rain, on the cave’s existence and its ability to grow stalactites and stalagmites. Bit of trivia…do you know the difference?
No summer holiday would be complete without also checking in with some animal friends. From watching the bull elephant painting (yep, with a paintbrush, he was quite the artist) and a tree kangaroo enjoying its afternoon snack at the Perth Zoo, to doing some yoga with the sheep and goats at Possum Valley Animal Sanctuary.
And of course, on other significant difference this year is that so far we’ve been lucky enough to not experience any devastating effects of bushfires. Watching it only on the news all the way from WA, I know it doesn’t give me anywhere near an adequate perspective of the people, animals, communities and land that has been impacted. I know I wouldn’t be alone in feeling quite useless in this situation. However one thing I have been dedicated too over the summer is supporting wildlife rescue efforts through crocheting nests for birds. A couple of weeks ago I’d never crocheted before (wouldn’t surprise you if you had seen my first attempt!) but now its something I do each and every night. I’m hoping that these little gifts are reaching where they are needed and are doing some good for some poor creatures.
The PURRth Life 