Chris and Alla's Excellent Adventure (2024): 18. Perth, schmerth. We're going to the desert!

Thursday morning on the only day we will be in Perth: I went to bed with grand plans of strapping on my sneakers and jogging to the renowned Kings Park first thing for some fresh air. But the reality was the opposite. Both of us slept late, sent out some laundry, and ordered waffles and avocado toast from room service. I was in the hotel provide bathrobe and slippers until well after 11.

After breakfast we got to work on the phones, generally unsuccessful in trying to make calls to car rental contacts and tour operators on Christmas Island. I even sent emails to see if we could rent a bike near our hotel. We had been warned in a message from the hotel manager back in June that things on the island sould out quickly, depending on how many tourists were on the island at that particular time. Thinking we weren't going to find anything, I started visualizing how I would approach strangers at the Christmas Island airport to ask for a ride into Flying Fish Cove. We sent out a flurry of emails, and then took a short walk to exchange money in case credit cards were an issue on the island.

Our walk gave us a chance to take in the vibe of the district of Perth we were staying in. Three things stood out to me during our short excursion. 1) On a per capita basis, there is a high number of exceptionally tall men in Australia (over 6'6"). 2) Restaurants looked fabulous, as did the availability of unique ethnic and ayurvedic grocery stores. 3) Businesswomen in Perth wear heels. Granted, I haven't been in an office for more than a year, but when I was, Rothy's or similar flats were the number one footwear, hands down.

Downtown Perth

We were picked up at 12:40 pm for our pre-arranged "Pinnacles Desert Sunset and Star-Gazing Tour." Altogether, there were three mini-buses with about 15 people per bus that comprised the tour group. We traveled north from Perth to for the main astronomical event, stopping along the way for snacks, ocean overlooks, and sand sledding. I was fascinated by Western Australia's landscape as we drove. We passed a flock of wild emus and took in some really unique flora. At times, the vastness of the landscape felt overwhelming, instilling a fear that I wouldn't last 48 hours left alone in the middle of the scrub.

Landscape during the drive

Big sky

Windmills in the distance

Smoke bush (photo from internet)

Flock of emus (photo from internet)

The first stop was a public picnic area in Lancelin, a small coastal town of less than 2000 most known for its fishing and lobster industries. I was jealous of the climate in and around Perth, exemplified in a photo from this area, that allows for indoor/outdoor living. Entire walls can be opened up to the outside to enjoy a cool breeze or the sound of the ocean.

View of Indian Ocean from Lancelin, W.A.

List of shipwrecks in and around Lancelin

Inviting "secret path" to the ocean

Showy honey-myrtle (Melaleuca nesophila)

Lancelin indoor/outdoor living

Striking trees featured prominently in city landscaping

From there, it was a short 10-minute drive to the Lancelin sand dunes for a new experience - sand boarding. It was a beast to carry the boards up the dunes, which is why Mom only sledded twice. While it was fun, it wasn't worth the effort to go up a third or fourth time. I managed to scramble up and sled down the dune four times before time was up and it was time to make our way to the next stop.

Contemplating what she is about to do

Initial technique looks good

Whee!

"I nailed it!"

Our third stop was a state park at Hangover Bay. The beach was full of seaweed, pieces of sponge, and washed up cuttlefish bones. We finally pulled into our final destination of the Pinnacles Desert in Namburg National Park around 5:30. At the entrance we were able to photograph a kangaroo snacking on some shrubs at close range, and I got even closer with a kangaroo tick that I found crawling on me after sitting on the ground for a few minutes to chat with a fellow American traveler.

Hangover Bay

Kangaroo in Pinnacles Desert

In the park, our guides parked the busses and we were free to wander while they prepared our dinner and set up the telescopes. It was spectacular. The origins of the limestone/quartzite stone pinnacles piercing through the sand is not fully known. Artifacts from the region's indigenous Noongar people suggest that they have been exposed for about 6,000 years. Before that, they were thought to have been hidden underneath.

With each step and at each turn of the head, it felt like I was seeing something even more extraordinary. I took dozens of photos to try and capture the marvel of the sun's disappearing light bathing the stones in gold. The angled light revealed kangaroo footprints in the sand and highlighted a hole likely dug by an Australian goanna, or monitor lizard. As we walked, two types of birds, including a "willie wagtail," harrasing each other in the sky. The uniqueness of each country's and region's natural beauty far more interesting to me than activities within the cities.

Once the sun set, it got cold in the desert (50s). We all bundled up in sweatshirts and hats and ate dinner on folding benches and picnic blankets. Tonight's astronomical treat was the "Harvest" supermoon, and we watched it rise over the desert scrub. As it rose it moved through low-lying clouds, giving us the opportunity to take some amazing, Halloween-worthy photos. When the moon's light was unhindered, there were moonshadows all around.

The bright moon meant that distant stars and galaxies were outshined, but we were still able to see satellites crossing overhead and Saturn and the Butterfly Cluster through the telescope. We took turns at the eyepiece, and I also had my binoculars through which we could see details of the moon.

It was a quiet 2.5 hour drive back to the city. Most people slept. I was able to relax in a way that I wasn't when we left. During the afternoon, we had received an email response from "Martin" on Christmas Island and were able to secure his very last rental 4x4. We weren't back at the hotel until 10:30, and spent another hour packing up for our 5:00 am Uber back to the airport for our next experience

THE PINNACLES DESERT