Fish and Chips

I have been asked what the local fare is like here in Perth and it is hard to explain until you look at the demographics. The population is a crazy mix: 26% English, 25% Australian, Irish and Scottish at 6% and Italy with 4%, China comes in with 2.9%. The English/Irish/Scottish influence is punctuated by meat pies and morning tea, sausages and the breads available- scones, crumpets and Irish soda. The are British sections in the groceries like our Mexican sections at home- and the tea, my god the tea- it is a whole isle unto itself. But, the thing Aussie's really go for is Fish and Chips. We have tried a lot of places and the kids are now experts. Barramundi, mackerel, cod. Beer battered or panko. Vinegar or lemon. We all have an opinion. The best comes wrapped in paper so you can unfold it on the table and the whole family digs in! Cold beer and napkins are essential- so is a nap afterward.

Cheers,
Evangeline

Warning: Photo Cuteness to follow

I figured I better get the Halloween pictures up before I post about our adventures with Australian Thanksgiving. 

Although we were warned Halloween was not a big deal in AU we found it to be quite the opposite. These photos were taken at Vee's school. They held a carnival and cars parked around the oval, aka football field, and passed candy out of the boot, aka trunk. 

Trunk or Treat! 

It was about 85 degrees, so not much different from a Texas Halloween. Later in the week, on actual All Hallows Eve, we had tons of kids come to the house. The idea of going door to door for candy is still new here so no one knew what to make of the 6 foot man dressed as a Caballero, complete with fake mustache and a pop gun yelling Aye! Aye! Aye!, as kids approached the steps. Everyone left with a smile and a strange kind of candy bar called a Snickers. The candy here is very different and while you can source a Snickers they are not nearly as popular as a Picnic Bar or Turkish Delight. Just like taco night, there are some things I'm not willing to give up and kid size Snickers on Halloween is one of them. 

Halloween- the witch and the warlock/thirsty cowboy

We have continued to take weekly weekend excursions in and around the city. I have a must see list that includes the big three: Kangaroos, Koalas and the elusive and highly prized Platypus. We drove up to Yanchep a few weeks ago and kind-of marked Koala off the list, I say kind-of because the Koalas were in an enclosure not dangling in trees as we walked the trails. That said they are CUTE, the one pictured below in named Millie, she is 19 years old which is very old for Koalas. They have very sharp claws on their paws to climb and strip leaves from the eucalyptus trees, which is also all they really do since they sleep 20 hours a day. Koalas are nocturnal and very slow moving- the main cause of death in Australia is being hit by cars or eaten by dogs. They rarely drink water but get all liquid and nourishment they need from the kilos of eucalyptus they eat everyday. We are hoping to see them wild in the trees when we head to Kangaroo Island in January, I will keep you posted.

Yanchep National Park

Caves, Koalas and Kangaroos- oh my!

This guy snuck up on us while we were looking at the lake.

He gone.

The caves are all limestone and look a lot like the caves we have been in near Inks Lake in Texas.

Davis is always a joy to be with on tours, its just extra special when your a couple of meters underground. #mostpopularguyintheroom

In an attempt to post more frequently I am going to try and approach the blog thing a little differently. Kirk has convinced me I am writing the posts like essays and not as I should be- snapshots of what's going on as it happens. So stay tuned as I try it his way for a while.

Surf Life Saving Club

Every Sunday all across Australia Australians go to church, but not in a building- they go to the beach, its called Surf Life Saving Club. There is no government run Coast Guard here and while there is a volunteer coast guard that works with the Australian Navy most of its duties involve marine vessel rescue and recovery. With 23,000 miles of beach along the coast of Oz there is simply too much sand and surf to effectively monitor and patrol. In 1906 the Bondi Beach Surf Bathing Association was formed, sparking the largest volunteer movement of its kind in Australia. Today three hundred and eleven clubs operate all along the coasts with 165,000 members. To date they have saved 650,000 beach goers from the fierce rips and pounding waves of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The religion of surf safety starts early with weekly Sunday morning training sessions beginning at age four- its called Nippers, and no it has nothing to do with the temperature of the water. Each age group is assigned a color and all the kids don their speedos and colored beanies and hit the beach for an hour and a half of what can only be described as iron man training for children. Sand sprints, push-ups, rescue board relays- it is exhausting just to watch!

Vee and Davis have been going now for the past four weeks and it is amazing to see their confidence build with each session. When we arrived in June I would only let them get in the water up to their knees- I had never seen such big waves nor did I know the first thing about rip currents. I DO know enough about water to respect it, so it was safety first. Now they are learning how to spot rips and get out of them, to dolphin dive through the waves and what the warning flags on the beach mean.

The first day when we were standing on the beach watching 200 kids run in and out of the water it was mind blowing to think that the same thing was happening up and down the beach all over Australia. The motto of SLSC is,  Aussie for Life. While our stint here in Oz may not be forever this experience will definitely stay with us always.