Western Australia

Leaving Brisbane was a very difficult thing to do. The staff at the Bavarian Bier Cafe had essentially become my family over a 6 month period. A multi-national body of love, that I will never forget, and make every effort to visit in their native countries in the future. As a birthday/send off party, we had a large gathering in my home, in which people were most gracious, kind, and sentimental. It was one of the loveliest nights of my life.

I arrived at the airport, only to be told I have been moved to a different flight for "fuel efficiency" reasons. Fair enough. Unfortunately, this meant a 4.5 hour flight, next to a morbidly obese man. When I brought this up with my friends in Perth, they all firmly believed that someone who takes up more than one seat, should pay for more than one seat. I don't think that would fly in Canada.

Perth is everything Brisbane isn't. It is isolated, an oasis of civilization with far less coming and going. The backpacker lifestyle is also very limited here-- it seems to be a more entrenched existence. That's not to imply that there is little sense of adventure here. Simply put, it is the people that make Brisbane an exciting town, whereas Perth is an exciting concept to begin with. Geographically, its a small strip of green, staring down endless semi-arid red sands. Erin's father, "Quincy", informed me why the sands are so red here. They are incredibly rich in iron, making the interior of Australia such a mining operation.

A few days into my stay here, Erin's boyfriend Oscar took us to his family farm. What a treat. Their farm, largely sheep and wheat, literally covered mass expanses that required automobile use to travel. Which meant, I got a few driving lessons. Without giving much more away, here is a video of my travels in Western Australia. You may note my use of a pretty stellar camera. This handy little GOPRO camera is the size of a TIC TAC box but provides very powerful images. It is also waterproof which makes it ideal for Southeast Asia. I think it is the beginning of a very good cinematic relationship.

Adios, miss you all.