I'm pretty keen to go to these two games.
Who is interested?
Initial enquiries would indicate airfares of $1100.
Adelaide / Perth November 15th & 22nd - Fever Tour?
Keen. So is Trace and the box.
reckon hold off a month or so to see if there are some sale flights.
tossing up between that and Melbourne cup/victory trip.
Haven't been to any of those places yet, so both are tempting. Will probably come down to cost in the end.
Hmmm, not sure. I'd rather do Brisbane than Adelaide again....
There's another double header for the mix as well, Brissie and WST away on 1 and 8 February (Less leave due to Waitangi Day).
But I will probably plan to do Perth and Brissie on 14 / 22 March. It also gives heaps of time to save up the cash, drum up more #fevertour-ists etc etc.... And if I do the March double header, I'll possibly sneak in another Newy trip on 6 December! :-D (Bling home on the 4th, Marinators home (somewhere) on the 5th too....!)
Could be starter. Only been to Perth for a Business overnighter and never been to Adelaide. I believe they grow some wine in those parts.
Hmmm, not sure. I'd rather do Brisbane than Adelaide again....
There's another double header for the mix as well, Brissie and WST away on 1 and 8 February (Less leave due to Waitangi Day).
But I will probably plan to do Perth and Brissie on 14 / 22 March. It also gives heaps of time to save up the cash, drum up more #fevertour-ists etc etc.... And if I do the March double header, I'll possibly sneak in another Newy trip on 6 December! :-D (Bling home on the 4th, Marinators home (somewhere) on the 5th too....!)
I've not done Adelaide, so I'm preferring this one. Also with all the "Away/Home" games being in the 4 weeks prior to the March "double Header", it could be a bit tricky!
Could be starter. Only been to Perth for a Business overnighter and never been to Adelaide. I believe they grow some wine in those parts.
Pro tip: don't organise a wine tour for the morning after the match.
I am interested.
My preferred approach is fly to Adelaide on the 21st, (Flights c$399)
go to the game in Adelaide on the 22nd,
Hire a camper van and drive to Perth
Go to the game in Perth on the 29th
Fly home on the 30th. (Flights c$683)
Looking for people who are keen for a road trip...
Found this:
Me and Nick did the trip from Adelaide to Perth, got a camper van on relocation for $1 per day!! plus $150 towards fuel
All in all, we spent $700 on fuel, 42 hours non stop driving (in other
words not counting breaks, 4.5 days to get there, seen millions of dead
kangaroos, emu's following us, strange police man in the middle of no
where, beutiful sun sets and freezing mornings.
And:
Hi
Just spotted your post. Don't be put off by anyone, it is a great journey, and something you will look back on.
We have campervaned alot around Australia.
Did the Perth to Adelaide run a few years ago, went via Bunbury, Bussleton, Augusta, Albany, Esperance, bit of a detour up to Kalgoorlie (as wanted to go there) - then back down to do the Nullabor stretch....... yes, it can be a bit tedious, but isn't that part of it, the open road???? just make sure you stock up with supplies, then you can camp and stop when you feel like it.
There is a good 'camaradie' atmosphere in campsites, as you generally see the same people.
Have to say, if you want a 'get away from it all holiday' we can recommend this - or any other road trip around Oz too!
Good luck
So that sounds perfect to me... 3 people in a camper van to split the driving. Stock up in Adelaide with water beer and food...
Take some pictures of Port August for me.
Particularly Port Augusta High School (my alma mater, not sure it still exists) and 89 Seaview Road.
Note, the dates seem to have changed:
Adelaide is 15th November
Perth is 22nd November
See http://www.a-league.com.au/results
Cost estimates: based on 3 people sharing the trip, travelling in comfort...
| Flights | $1,026.00 |
| Accommodation | $580.00 |
| Game tickets | $60.00 |
| Food | $400.00 |
| Beer etc. | $400.00 |
| Camper Van | $600.00 |
Total Each: $3066.00
Details:
Flights:
Wellington - Adelaide approx. $399
Leave Wellington 3.45pm Friday 14th November and fly via Sydney, arriving at Adelaide at 9.50pm Adelaide time, stay the night there, get up the next day and go to the game…
Perth - Auckland - Wellington approx. $627
Leaving Perth 6.50pm Sunday 23rd November on the Air New Zealand dreamliner, Arrives Auckland 6.10am Monday 24th, then fly to Wellington arriving 9.35am.
Total flights: $1026
Accomodation:
Adelaide - 2 nights (Friday 14th and Sat 15th) in a studio apartment something like the Ibis (one room each, queen size bed etc.) $849, or $283 each, or $141.50 per night each.
Perth - Travelodge we can get 3 rooms, queen bed each for 2 nights (Friday 21 and Sat 22) for a total of $891, that's $297 each or $148.50 each per night.
Camper Van:
Something like a Britz Frontier - sleeps 6 (3 double beds) $1796 including vehicle, liability reduction option, camping table, 3 caming chairs, prepaid gas bottle refill and first aid kit - that's $600 each.
Planned route is: https://maps.google.co.nz/maps/ms?msid=205782771559751363408.000500de5a78c9bf1cdc5&msa=0&ll=-31.802893,120.432129&spn=7.913818,14.27124
The only glitch at the moment is the rentla places will only give camper vans for a minimum of 14 days hire if you are picking up in Adelaide and dropping off in Perth. Have to work on that.
So, if anyone else is keen... a convoy of Nix camper vans would be epic.
Get organised.
This is happening. Myself and a friend Andreas are going - ideally we have room for one more person.
Currently looking at what travel agents etc. can put together as a package deal for three people. Forexample we have found flights via house of travel to Adelaide for $267, down from $399...
Day 1 (Sunday Nov 16th) - Adelaide to Ceduna (774km)
https://maps.google.co.nz/maps/ms?msid=205782771559751363408.000501194f4e3d76aec74&msa=0
Day 2 (Monday Nov 17th) - Ceduna to Mundrabilla (557km)
Day 3 (Tuesday Nov 18th) - Mundrabilla to Esperance (847km)
https://maps.google.co.nz/maps/ms?msid=205782771559751363408.000501198d0ae4f1c5da4&msa=0
Day 4 (Wednesday Nov 19th) - Esperance to Albany (481km)
https://maps.google.co.nz/maps/ms?msid=205782771559751363408.000501199c086971cfc10&msa=0
Day 5 (Thursday Nov 20th) - Albany to Margaret River (378km)
https://maps.google.co.nz/maps/ms?msid=205782771559751363408.00050119abef178aaf831&msa=0
Day 6 (Friday Nov 21st) - Margaret River to Perth (267km)
https://maps.google.co.nz/maps/ms?msid=205782771559751363408.00050119af0f52feaf473&msa=0
Anyone keen to be number 3 in the camper van? Tickets are not yet booked, 2 confirmed, 3rd is tentative... if the trip appeals let me know.
Brandon, 029 234 7737
Okay number 3 is out, so there is a definite vacancy for a third now.
Without a third we will downgrade the Campervan to a 2 double bed model, and just go with the two of us, but the three double bed model is the preferred option with three people to split the driving etc.
Travel agent quotes are in, and we think the final costings will be something like:
- Flights $925 each
- Accomodation Adelaide 2 nights at $302 each (Queen room each)
- Accomodation Perth one night approx $170 each (Queen room each)
- Campervan $1,001.67 each (3 person model) including unlimited kms, insurance, GST, 3% Admin fee, Linen and bedding, Kitchen equipment, General equipment, Customer Care 24/7 support, Travel wallet with maps etc., 10% discount for powered sites at BIG4 Parks, Liability reduction cover, One way fee, Prep urcahse Gas bottle option, Picnic table and chairs, extra driver fees, GPS and First Aid Kit
- Taxi to the airport in Perth $15 each ($45 total)
- TOTAL each for the three person option: $2413.67 PLUS game tickets, PLUS food and drinks.
Note these are the prices from the Travel Agent and are indicative only. We have found flights and accomodation cheaper, but have not been able to find the camper van on a 7 day hire option.
We MAY be able to cherry pick and bring the price down further.
The intention is to buy food and drinks duty free and/or at a supermarket in Adelaide before departing so the earlier estimates of $400 each were intentionally a worst case scenario estimate. We think we should be able to do it for MUCH less than that and still eat and drink very well.
If you are considering this, get in touch. We are thinking about booking and paying soon. However it is not too late to be number 3. Tomorrow I am re-approaching the travel agents to cost out the same plan but with less expensive hotel accomodation.
Looks epic and I would be keen as mustard but departure is only a week after I get back from 5 weeks in Europe so unfortunately no. Hope you can pull this off.
We are defintely going Jeff. Pity you can't makeit, you'd have been most welcome in the campervan.
Spent 45 minutes at the travel agents' today reworking the acoomodation (downwards in price) because at the moment it looks like it will just be Andreas and I... that means we need to take the sleeps 4 (2 double bed) campervan and splitting the cost between the two of us means the campervan part of the budget goes from c$950 each to c$1350 each.
We're just holding off finalising the deal until Sunday as we are exploring a couple of last minute feelers for a third person (which would mean we'd revert to the sleeps 6 (3 double beds) camper version...
We are now booked.
Due a travel agent capability flaw we've changed the plan. Turns out there IS a minimum hire fo 14 days if you pick up a Campervan iN adelaide and drop it off in Perth which more than doubled the costs of doing that.
So instead we are flying to Perth on Sundey 15th and picking up a sleep 6 (3 double beds) Campervan in Perth and returning it 7 days later. We're planning on driving up to Shark Bay and then down around the Cape Leewin/Margaret River area.
If no one else decides to join us the third bed will be a bag storage area and we'll have more room. But it does have the added advantage that if anyone wants to join us for a week campervanning around WA, there's a double bed available.
Can't wait.
With all the changes to the schedule, and flights, hotels, and campervans locked in I am very nervous now...
Arrrghhh. Perth game moved one day earlier to Friday 21 at 6.45pm.
That's okay as we will have the camper van and then can head down to Margaret River for the weekend after the game.
I just CAN'T wait for this now. Looking forward to my first away Distance Derby so much.
And the stromatolites and dugongs at Shark Bay, The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park, and the Pink Lake at Esperance. and Wave Rock, and Margaret River.
Bring it on!
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 1 - Adelaide - Pre-game:
Boy! Was I ever ready for a holiday!
Finally everything was sorted and I got a cab into town and picked Andreas up, and we headed to the airport. With check-in completed and some time to kill we decided to avail ourselves of the facilities at Mojo - always good to support the sponsors, and where better to have the first (Parotdog) beers of the trip?
A bit of pizza prepped us nicely for the first flight, to Sydney. Air New Zealand provided a couple of Moa IPAs mid-Tasman and by the time we got Sydney work seemed over 2000km away!
The next leg, Sydney to Adelaide was a code-share between Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia. On previous trips (flying domestically with QANTAS) I have found international to domestic transfers at Sydney to be the things of nightmares. Not this time though. The Virgin domestic transfer desk was RIGHT next to the baggage claim area, and there was a total of two customers there - Andreas and I. Very helpful Virgin Australia staff saw us sorted within 5 minutes of picking our bags up, and then it was about 20 metres from the desk to the bus stop where we awaited our transfer bus (for about 4 minutes). Really slick! I am a convert!
Speaking of the bus stop... Andreas is from Brazil, and misses the heat of warmer climes. Before we landed in Sydney the pilot had announced it had been 38 degrees C earlier in the afternoon - but by the time we got there it was 34.
Andreas was VERY happy!
Once at the Sydney domestic terminal we had a couple of hours to kill. There was a Coopers pub, so I introduced Andreas to Thomas Cooper's Artisan Reserve Ale, Thomas Cooper's Celebration Ale, Coopers Pale Ale, Coopers Dark Ale and Coopers Best Extra Stout. Some spicy chicken wings and pretzels helped prevent us getting too over hydrated.
All too soon it was time to get on another plane.
Uber Adelaide picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at our Hotel in North Terrace. By now it was late in the All Whites vs. China game. We had delusions of going out on the town, but we were a bit stuffed. So we opened the bottle of The Singleton Trinite I had brought with me and had a few scotches. Mmmmm, scotch.
We pulled up quite well on the morning of match day, and headed across the road for breakfast. Andreas was settling into this Fever Tour lark quite well:
Breakfast and coffee, and a near double page spread on Nathan Burns in the paper! (It's just like reading the Dom Post! - This road trip sponsored by Tui!)
We were keen not to put the Yellow Fever Tour name to shame, but 8.45 am seemed a little bit too early to start this sort of malarkey!
Turns out they were night shift workers from the Casino, and were regulars there for beers at this time of the day.
We did a walk around the neighbourhood - Adelaide really is a beautiful city:
The timing of our visit, with the Jacaranda's in full bloom, just added to the visual treat the buildings and wide avenues provided.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that "White Australia" even seems to be letting its guard down in places. First time I have seen a building flying this flag in an Australian city:
There was some cool street art to be found too:
and
And there is an abundance of cool sculpture around the city too, much like here in Wellington:
and
and
After a few hours walking and sight seeing we decided it was time to start the pre match attitude adjustment process. A corner Italian restaurant with outside tables and sun umbrellas was the perfect spot to appreciate the local fauna. However phone battery levels dictated we start inside adjacent to a wall socket.
That was okay. It was a lovely place, and the Polish waitress was very friendly and not hard to look at. We intended to just have a beer there, but ended up having 4 and a platter of oysters.
Then we moved on to the Austral where we had arranged to meet Andy Cussen.
We also meet up with Jesse, the Nix fan I had met at the Victory game in Melbourne, and also managed to hook up with a couple of other Nix fans. We shared a few rounds, and Andreas and I sampled their chicken burgers for lunch.
Next stop, after a ride in Andy's car, was the Joiners Arms, just across the road from Coopers Hindmarsh Stadium. We had a few more beers here and met a lot of very friendly Reds fans...
...they were extremely welcoming. A great atmosphere - just lots of people passionate about football - plenty of families with kids there too.
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 2 - Adelaide - the game:
So then we went across to the game. As Smithy said re. Hindmarsh - I want one:
There was a good bunch of Nix fans in the away bay
and our numbers were swelled later in the game when three young teen aged blokes came and joined us and started singing their hearts out. They were just awesome.
The teams started really positively, and when Roly put us 1 up I went totally bonkers. 1 - 0 away at Adelaide! Oh yeah baby. We were chanting "WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!". Morale was high.
Adelaide pulled one back but at 1 - 1 at half time, people in the away bay were ALL smiles. We were bouncing up and down.
Due to the large amount of imbilification we had participated in before the game and during the first half I must say my memories of the second half do not lend themselves to insightful analysis. However two things stood out:
1. The team spirit was fantastic. The boys were really giving it their all and shouting encouragement to each other.
2. JBS really stood up to be counted. I have been a vocal critic of his but I thought, that while not faultless, he acquitted himself in the first team. I shook his hand at the end of the game and said he should be bloody proud of his efforts. And he said "thanks mate, I really appreciate that!"
Obviously a third thing stood out... the free kick and the last second goal. Absolutely crushing. I had tears in my eyes. But heading over I did not hold great hopes for the two results. To have come THAT close to a draw away at Adelaide, upon reflection I was pretty stoked with the performance I had seen from the team. Especially considering we had people away and out injured. Ernie shook my hand at full time and indicated he felt the ref cost us dearly.
Oh well... nothing for it but to head back over to the Joiners' Arms and begin the post match.
And WHAT a post match it turned out to be.
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 3 - Adelaide - post game:
Dear me! What tales could be told about that night out in Adelaide...
Many rounds were consumed at the Joiners' Arms. We shared a table with the two Nix fans we'd met at the Austral earlier in the day. I have memories of watching the Kiwis win the league there. I have memories of 4 or 5 rounds bought by Reds fans who were embarrassed that we had been so cruelly robbed at the final whistle. They repeatedly gave kudos to the Nix and how they played.
There was a guy, a bit of a Guido, who was investing in furious amounts of spade-work with a lady he was having dinner with, at the table RIGHT UNDERNEATH the big screen that the league was on... so EVERYONE could see what he was up to. He was determined to get his hand up her skirt, and she was determined to prevent him from doing so. Hilarity ensued as the crowd started cheering whenever she fended off his next move. He was so focused though that he thought we were cheering for the league game. She was well aware though.
Eventually we got talking to Spiro.
Spiro is a mad passionate Reds fan. He was on fine form and suggested we all come into town with him. He would show us where to catch the free tram from... so off we went with Spiro.
We met some German football fans on a tour of Australia. They had flown into Adelaide the previous day and were off to the Gold Coast in the morning.
We got into town and Spiro was in his element.
He took us to a house of ill repute and insisted on paying for our entry since we had travelled so far, and buying us champagne. Just as things were getting 'interesting' Spiro mysteriously "disappeared". I am not sure what happened to him. I hope you're okay Spiro!
We staggered out into the night, and realised we were mildly inebriated. We thought it would be a good idea to eat something. Oh look! A Pizza by the slice place - perfect!
Feeling slightly less wobbly we thought maybe we'd call it a night - and began the "long walk" back to our hotel.
We walked for approximately 25 minutes, before we stopped a friendly Scottish lass and asked her if she could give us directions to the Mercure Grosvenor on North Terrace.
She could.
She turned us around, and we walked 25 minutes back to the pizza by the slice place, and noticed it was approximately 100 metres from the front door of our hotel.
Having been walking for close to an hour we were ready for more drinks. So we set off looking for a place to have a beer. And what sights were on display! Good grief! we actually struggled to find a place that served beer. Seriously. If we wanted vodka redbulls, or tequila, you could go anywhere. But the first three places we went to said "No we're not selling beer!"
Confused, we talked to a bouncer, and explained that while all the young girls dressed like hookers were interesting to look at, we were a bit older than their target market, and bit too tired to care, and all we wanted to do was have a beer. eventually we found a quite(ish) beer garden and had a couple more Coopers before heading home.
Delusions of grandeur lead us to open the Lagavulin Andreas had bought at Sydney airport, but both glasses sat there untouched until morning as we both just fell asleep within minutes of getting back to our room.
The next morning things were... delicate.
We shuffled out for pancakes for breakfast and then forced ourselves to do a bit more walking and sight seeing. But honestly we were just going through the motions. We went back to the hotel, checked out and Ubered to the airport.
Coffee, orange juice and water were our beverages of choice while we waited forour plane to Perth...
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 4 - WA Road Trip Pre-game:
See the map of where we drove on our way north here.
The flight from Adelaide to Perth offered some great views:
Lines of clouds running for hundreds of kilometres in straight lines.
and patchwork quilt patterns with their shadows
and some Crocodile Dundee "you call that a knife!?" sized dried lake beds:
We landed in Perth and caught a taxi to the Apollo rentals depot. They had been getting worried about us. Despite me having rung to check that they would be open until 4.30pm on the SUnday because our flight didn't get in until 3.10pm, they had been told by the booking office we wanted to pick it up at 8.00am!
Nevertheless after that small drama, and after discovering that even though we booked a GPS unit, they didn't have one... we were introduced to Gunter The Bug Slayer:
Gunter was to become a good friend and companion. We were never to see the front of him look so clean ever again...
Here's the three of us before we set off:
And view inside our new home on wheels for the next week in WA:
We did a huge $450 supermarket shop to fill Gunter's cupboards and fridge and then set off northwards, ultimate destimation, Shark Bay.
The first night we made it to Yanchep and parked in a carkpark in front of the lagoon (Lot 9740 Brazier Road on the map).
But not before we caught an almost perfect sunset over the Indian Ocean:
Some quiet Mohitos and a light meal of cheese, crackers, salami, olives and sundried tomatoes and then a few Lagavulins made for a nice end to a recovery, travel and set up day.
We both slept the sleep of the dead that night but woke up at 6 am due to not having adjusted to the time difference yet. So, after breakfast, coffee and teas, we set off north again.
First detour was out to the coast to a river estuary called Guilderton.
And what a stunning spot it was.
it was my first ever contact with the Indian Ocean. A swim there was not possible due to very strong rips, but a paddle...
was followed by a swim in the fresh water estuary, accompanied by a HUGE Pelican:
What a fantastic way to start the day. it really was a postacard picture spot
As we headed north we were treated to stunning vistas and the sight of white dunes to rival those at Parengarenga Harbour:
The next major stop was the Pinnacles in the Nambung National Park. These are sandstone pillars that have been exposed due to the sand around them being blown away. The pictures speak for themselves:
and
and
One last one with me in it to give some sense of scale:
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 4 - WA Road Trip Pre-game (continued):
From the Pinnacles he visited Lake Thetis near Cervantes (and saw some unexpected Stromatalites)
and
and then refueled and headed north to Port Gregory, and into Kalbarri, where we eventually settled in well after dark at the Anchorage Motor Camp, had some cheese and crackers and cooked some very very tasty scotch fillet steak, potatoes and veges. All washed down with some excellent WA craft beers. And some scotch.
The next morning we had coffee, tea, meusli and toast and then headed off. Saw some Pelicans being fed at Kalbarri
and, some startling pink flowers:
Which really stood out amongst the harsh barren northern WA semi desert we were driving through...
...on the last stretch north to Shark Bay:
As the sign says this place is a World Heritage Area - and it really has to be seen to be believed. We had a day and a half there and could EASILY go back with a 4WD and a tent and spend two weeks there. The place it HUGE! From the turn off up to Denham it's about 150 kms, and that is just one narrow part of the whole place. If you ever get the chance to go to Shark Bay, do it. It rocked.
Hamelin Pool:
Hamelin Pool is HUGE. it is shown by the green part of this map:
http://www.sharkbay.org/assets/images/marine-zones-map-icon.jpg
But standing on the shore of it you can't see both sides of the inlet - it stretches from one horizon to the other.
The pool is very sahllow - averaging 1 to 1.5 metres deep. The entrance to the inlet is particularly shallow - there is a ridge that runs across it from one side to the other and there are thick patches of sea grass across the ridge. This restricts the water flow out of the pool. When the tide rises the water flows into the pool through the grass. The shallowness of the pool and the hot climate mean that the rates of evapotranspiration are very high. This results in no water flowing out of the pool - the evapotraspiration means the water level in the pool drops and the ridge and sea grass means it can't flow back out on the ebb tide. This results in a very high level of salinity in the pool 2 to 2.5 times normal sea water.
The first thing this means is it is perfect conditions for Stromatolites - one of the earliest known forms of life on Earth, which were responsible for oxygenating the planet back when it was a very saline and inhospitable place. The high salinity means that predators that would normally feed on the bacteria that form the Stromatolite colonies cannot survive, and the stromatolites thrive as a result/.
First stop was the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool:
Just next to the stromatolites was something almost equally incredible. The only animals who really thrive in the saline waters of Hamelin pool are small cockle species. Without predators able to survive in the saline waters of Hamelin Pool their numbers have EXPLODED. Around 20,000 of these cockles can be found in each cubic metre of the sea floor in Hamelin Pool.
Over time the dead shells have formed deposits in some places off 7 to 10 metres deep. The pressure of the weight of the shells on top result in the shells have formed a limestone that is known as Coquina.
This limestone used to be mined and buildings in the area are made out of blocks of coquina. The shell quarry is about a 700 metre walk from the stromatolites:
You can see here the blocks used to make a stairway and path:
Shell Beach:
Next stop was a few kilometres up the road at Shell Beach which (from Wikipedia) is a beach in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia, 45 kilometres south-east of Denham.
It covers a 110 km long stretch of coast along the L'Haridon Bight. It is one of only two beaches in the world made entirely from shells.
The beach was named "Shell Beach" because of the great abundance of the shells of the cockle species Fragum erugatum. The seawater in the L'Haridon Bight has a high salinity due to both the geomorphology and local climate of the area. This high salinity has allowed the cockle to proliferate unchecked, since its natural predators have not adapted well to this environment.
The shells typically reach a depth of 7 to 10 metres.
this is a handfull off the shells (there is no sand in any of these pictures, it is ALL shells)
The beach is HUGE
We went for a swim, and because of the salinity (over double normal sea water) you are very very bouyant. I was kneeling on the bottom with the water up to my chest. I tried to dive down and get my head down to the bottom, but could not do it. At about 1 foot under the surface my sinuses were screaming and burning and I could not get my head any deeper. And the water is CRYSTAL clear.
What an amazing place.
More to follow tomorrow.
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 4 - WA Road Trip Pre-game (continued):
Before leaving Shell Bay we shot this:
From Shell Bay we continued onto Denham, arriving there late in the afternoon and checked into the Blue Dolphin Caravan Park. We then went for a walk along the beach:
Andreas awent for a swim
we then met an emu in the main street
and then had a beer at Australia's western most hotel
Next morning we headed a further 25km up the road to Monkey Mia and went on a 3 and 1/2 hour cruise on the Aristocat2. This is quite simply the best value most awesome tourist crusie/event/activity I have ever done.
We got on board without even getting our feet wet:
and then had a very comprehensive, funny and entertaining saftey briefing by the skipper Greg:
from which the key take-away was "If the boat sinks, grab as much beer as you can. It is all free if the boat is sinking, but ONLY if the boat is sinking".
We left the beach and almost immediately saw a mother dolphin and her new born baby. Then we headed over to the Blue Lagoon Pearl farm:
We had a half hour talk / demonstration on the history and intracies of artificial pearl seeding and production. It included explanations of how Blue Water lagoon pearls have pioneer grafting opals, gold and other gems into the shells to get pearl and gem combinations,
and how they have invented an amazing water cleansing product that means fish tanks and pools only need water changes/cleaning once a year - see www.thewatercleanser.com.au for more details.
We also got to hand feed a school of about 50 pink schnapper:
and then we headed off into the bay in pursuit of dugongs:
After which, with crewman Brendan up the mast acting as a spotter,
we also saw three types of turtles (green, loggerhead and hawksbill) a couple of sharks, three types of rays and some sea snakes.
On the way back into Monkey Mia Andreas joined several other in the boom net across the stern of the Aristocat
Once captain Greg put the hammer down and got the cat up to 17 knots there was even money odds to be had on someone losing their shorts. It turns out no one suffered this indignity, but on the drive back to Denham Andreas revealled it had been touch and go for a while there... and for the next two days his abs very very sore from the effort to keep it all together in the boom net.
We retreated back to Monkey Mia absolutely buzzing. All of that for 3 1/2 hours, and just $86 each.
We then decided it was Wednesday evening, and with the game on Friday we wanted to hit the road and start heading south...
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 4 - WA Road Trip Pre-game (continued)and the game...:
We managed about 250 kms and got to the banks of the Murchison River
we we pulled into a 24/7 rest area and parked Gunter for the night. This is where we realised he was "The Bug Slayer":
Next morning we had a wee drama. Gunter's battery had gone from full to drained in about 20 minutes of having the key in the ignition but not engaged. Something was not right. We called for road side assistance and a guy was despatched from Northampton. 45 minutes later he showed up, gave us a jump start, diagnosed that there was no fault code and that the battery was holding its charge. Odd.
So we said thanks mate - nothing else you can help us with. He set off and as we set off a warning light came on... so we tried honking but Gunter's horn was not working, so we were in hot pursuit down the highway. 15 minutes later on a dwonhill stretch, with Gunter's throttle WIDE OPEN and cupboard doors rattling, we caught the mechanice and he pulled over. A further check showed no error flags in the on board computer, and when we turned the key back on the light was gone. Go figure.
From there we drove to Jurien Bay, but not before we left Australia!
In 1970 the Hutt River Principlalty seceeded from Australia after the WA government passed a law setting wheat quotas that materially disadvantaged "Prince Leonard".
Here I am with Prince Leonard himself:
And here I am in front of the national flagstaff
We spent about an hour discussing the history of the Principality with Prince Graham (Leonard's son) and Leonard himself. It's safe to say we came away convinced Leonard was gregarious, charismatic and very very clever - he has letters from the Australian government confirming his status as a non-citezen and therefore tax exempt in Australia, as well as a signed painting from Prince Charles of the UK... he is however completely nuts! He's convinced all muslims want to cut all non-muslim's throats, as they are required to do by the literal words of the koran... he's studied it.
An interesting visit.
When we arrived in Jurien Bay we checked into the camping ground and went out for a crayfish feast and a bottle of wine for dinner.
Next morning we headed south, stopped at the Lobster Shack for lunch. Then it was onto Perth, where one of the Perth Fever, Brendan Wright, had offered us a spot to park Gunter the Bug Slayer in his driveway.
Cue drama number 2. After 2 days of solid driving, and stopping and restarting Gunter successfully since the battery incident at Murchison River, we found that after no more than 120 minutes of the key in the ignition but not turned on the battery was completely flat. A second road side assist call saw Andy the Englishman mechanic show up. His diagnosis was the battery was stuffed, so he performed a batteryectomy while we shared a beer with Brendan, who was ready for action!
With Gunter's battery problems resolved we set off in Brendan's girlfriend Terry's car... half way to his mate Graham's p[lace I realised I had left not only my wallet, but our match tickets in Gunter. Ooops.
Brendan had one spare ticket, and while we were at Graham's preloading "Westie-style" (Jack Daniels and cokes) I tried to get the intertubes to allow me to reprint our tickets. That failed... so we headed off to The Game Sports Bar to meet everyone else.
a really good number of Nix fans were there (around 25) and there were free bar snacks (chicken tenders, fried, lamb koftas, prawns) and morale was high.
We then walked to the ground singing songs and having a genarally good time, when all of a sudden Brendan was squaring off in a full on fight with an Aborginal guy who had been with his friends eating dinner in a park. I don;t know what was said, but potatoes were thrown and then punches were thrown. It was all a bit surreal. I stayed behind and made peace with the locals while everyone else walked on;
When I caught up we were nearly at the ground. One of the locals thought it would be a good idea to wear one of Glory's FFA strips (Yellow and Black) to the Nix game and he was mocked with a good rendition of "Are you Phoenix in disguise?" MUCH to his mates amusement.
We then queued up to buy me (D'oh!) a new ticket. While queuing we got talking to abunch of Brazillian guys... Brazillians are EVERYWHERE in WA by the way. And then we walked in front of the shed - cue some banter, and then down to the away bay.
It was really good to meet Niki (front centre) and to cacth up with Antony (left) and to meet JBM (right).
JBB was there too...
Later I met Roy Krishna's sister and niece:
When Roy scored the penalty there were some very happy Fijian faces let me tell you!
The half time entertainement really was - STRANGE as F@#%!
Firstly, this sex offender showed up and used a power tool to fire toilate paper at children...
and when I thought I'd seen all of the strange mascot children interaction I was going see this happened:
One young boy was so frightened he turned crying to his mum!
At full time I got the Brockie complete set:
and then Chris Egan, Perth Glory travelling legend came and said hello and he and Wain took us to the Brisbane Hotel. Back in the day this was the spiritual home of the Shed, and is where many of the Glory chants were written and sung for the first time. However, today it's "gone a bit wanky/wannabe" and Chris said he hadn't been there for years. Nevertheless, we were busy having a great time with Glory and Nix fans alike.
Until things exploded.
A guy in a wanky/wannabe loud shirt was either trying to chat up, or possibly piss off a coupel of ladies. They were unimpressed and were trying to tell him to piss off. They even told him to "Piss off mate". Then the guys they were with came over and there was some pushing and shouting.
I grabbed the loud shirted guy and put my arm around his shoulder and said "Hey mate, they don't want to talk to you. Come and have a beer with us."
He half turned to our table when the second of the two ladies turned and came back for another serve.
She said "You're just a wanker! You called me fat!"
He replied "Well you are fat.."
and BOOM.
I felt a guy fly past me from behind. He tackled the guy in the kidneys and the guy nearly snapped as he was ripped out of my arms and into the air. As he was airborn someone threw a glass and it hit him in the forehead. In the next 6 seconds, glasses flew, beer rained down all over the place, loud shirt guy hit the floor with a thud, punches and kicks flew, much shouting was heard.
The two girls and theior guys disappeared very quickly. Loud short's mates came in as the cavalry but he was down for the count with blood all over the floor.
I was sitting there shocked at how quickly a near riot had exploded.
Security shut things down, ambulances and police arrived, and Andreas and I figured it was a good time to head home.
Friday night out in Perth, eh? Madness.
Awesome blog....sun, beers, good food and football.
Adelaide and WA Fever Tour 2014
Part 5 - WA Road Post-game - The South West:
Saturday morning was very very delicate. we set off early and folund coffee and hot chocolate, and diesel for Gunter, and then got on the freeway to head south. The freeways in Perth are world class. They have train lines running down the median strip, and cycle and pedestrian lanes on the outside. Interchanges have train strations built into them under the cross road, and bus stations built into them on the cross road, with park and ride park built in. Very very slickly integrated transport system.
We stopped in the middle of nowhere at the midway bake house cafe - they have won best pies in Australia several times, and MAN they were awesome. Easy to figure out which one is which too...
We then headed south and drove upon a bit more excitment...
We headed down to Busselton... it's home to the longest pier in the southern hemisphere (1.8km)
There is a train that we could have taken out to the end
but we did the obligatory walk out to the end
and then had a quiet night in Gunter for the last time. A few quiet scotches and some sauteed leeks and chorizo sausage.
On the way back to Perth we took the coastal scenic route and stumbled across a huge group of scooter enthusiasts from the Pardise Lost Scooter Club
There were about 30 if them and they really had the throttles ALL the way open - some of them were touching 80kph!
Final stop was Kings Park in Perth. It's the largest CBD park in the world - larger than NYC's Central Park, and the views of Perth and the Swan River are awesome:
There was a concert on in the park that evening, but we had to get to the airport and return Gunter to Apollo, and fly home.
What a fantastic trip!
Chris Egan recommends Hahndorf, SA for the next Adelaide away trip - $1.39 to get up there between 9 - 3 and excellent pork loin, kransky and braturst - settled by German settlers way back when.
See