Australia

The City of Perth is not Representative of Western Australia

I began my first Australian trip in Perth, the capital of Western Australia (WA).   As I get ready to leave Perth, I realize that a city like this may create a misleading image of Australia.
Perth is a metropolis with about three times the population of Boston.  But the whole state of Western Australia is about 120 –yes that’s one-hundred twenty—times the size of Massachusetts, with only about 3 times as many people.

When Britain lost the American colonies, they looked south and decided to settle Australia. James Cook mapped the region in 1770 and in 1788 the first settlers—convicts—arrived.  Many were originally tradesmen and farmers. After completing their sentences  many received pardons and land as incentive to stay, expand the settlement, start a new life.  Because of the similarity in early history, Australian cities have a familiar feel to me.

Empty, dry, red desert
But what I saw once we left Perth for my trip Yanchep and the Pinnacles represents Australia, especially Western Australia (WA), much better.

Here’s some perspective.  If every person in WA took an equal-sized bit of land, each could stand in a square that was a half-mile per side (2,640 feet--almost nine American football fields).    I took some time to figure this out.  (I know—I need to get a life.)   If every Massachusettsian (is that a word?)  took an equal portion of the state,  we’d each have a square that was just over 500 feet per side.  Not even two football fields.  Alright, I admit I can’t throw a football to you from my square, but I could yell over to you if I wanted to share some ice cream.

Here’s the point:  Australia is big and a lot of it is empty. Empty, dry, red desert.  The coastal areas are startlingly different—lush and fertile.  The geography and these differences shaped its early people and culture.

I enjoy the history and culture of cities, but I am always fascinated by the ways that places I visit are unique.  That meant in Australia, I was going to spend a lot more time out of the city than in it.  There were animals to see, an aboriginal culture that was completely different from anything I’d ever encountered, red desert and coral reefs to visit.

And so I leave Perth.

Koalas

Yanchep National Park to see Koalas

One of our stops between Perth and the Pinnacles was Yanchep National Park to see koalas. Koalas and kangaroos are Australian icons. Koalas, who look a little like teddy-bears, are not bears at all, but cuddly-looking marsupials.  Like kangaroos, koala young start their lives in their mothers’ pouches.

"Almost Endangered"

It’s ironic that the first koalas I see are on the west coast because their native habitat is eastern Australia.  Civilization has taken a toll on these animals: deforestation for roads, farms, and cities has reduced the koalas’ natural habitat. And the arrival of non-native predators like dogs and foxes (imported for the English hunt way back when) has caused further erosion in the koala population.    Although koalas are not an officially endangered species, there are now efforts underway to protect some of their remaining habitat.

Koalas--slow moving; iron grip

Only about twenty kinds of the many different eucalyptus trees (gum trees, to Australians) make a koala’s diet and that is all they eat. The gum tree leaf has a lot fiber, little protein, and an oil that is toxic to other animals. Koalas move slowly and sleep 22 hours a day, and their sleepy ways have led to a rumor that koalas are not only high up among the leaves, but also high on the leaves. My guide assures me that is false---it’s all about conserving the energy their bodies need for digesting those fibrous leaves.

Koala front paws have an iron grip for security high up in those trees.  That grip is also very effective for clinging to humans.  The guide peels koala paws from the tree to transfer him to me, where he just wraps himself around my neck.

I feel an affectionate urge to nurture him.  He’s so cute, he arouses all my maternal instincts.  I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him and name him George.  Maybe I’ll take him home. 

I must have a guilty ‘kidnap the koala’ look.  The guide quickly snaps a picture and rescues the marsupial from my arms.   I settle for the photograph and we’re off again.

For video and more information on koalas, check http://www.livesmartvideos.com/koalascreening/

The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park

 

 
The beauty of stark, natural places always has the same effects on me.  I feel small against the greatness of a mountain or the vast emptiness of a plain; I feel inspired by the layers of rock in a canyon, where erosion exposes millions of years of history.  I feel awed in the least trite sense of the word.   The Pinnacles Desert has that affect on me.

Alongside the Indian Ocean, wind-blown sand formed dunes that gradually shifted  along the beach, covering plants as they moved.   Water in the vegetation combined with sand to form limestone,  turning the plants into something like concrete.  When the wind moved the dunes further along the coast, the limestone spires-- from a few inches to as tall as seven feet--remained behind.

The blue Indian Ocean is to my left. The sand as fine as powder is under my feet.  And as far as I can see, the pinnacles spread across the beach.  The effect is eerie… like a yellow limestone city set against a hazy blue sky, waves crashing to the shore, some scattered vegetation highlighting the bright beach, and the only people in sight are the few that came with me.  In the distance, an emu, ungainly and comical looking, races among the pinnacles, its large oval body on ridiculously skinny, long legs.

I take this all in for a while.  My guide hands me a small piece of limestone that broke off a pinnacle;  I remember learning, Take only pictures,  leave only footprints. "  To my surprise, he doesn't seem to think that way.

The drive back to Perth is not along the paved road we used to get here, but on a bump-and-smash along the beach on a trail blazed by other four-wheel drive vehicles paralleling the shore.  The Indian Ocean is the bluest water I have ever seen.   I see more boxing kangaroos, and they still make me laugh.  For a short stretch of road, we see two emu ahead, and then they race alongside us at about 30 miles per hour until we pass them.  I don't have my own video but you can see emus racing along a road: tinyurl.com/runningemus .   I dare you not to laugh.

There’s a fox, a non-native animal imported here from England for traditional English hunting.  He’s got a joey (a baby kangaroo) in his mouth. :(

Rugged, rough and breathtaking and barren-- and we see no people or vehicles for miles.  And suddenly the city looms ahead and we’re back in Perth.

#     #     #