The first time I visited Australia (the East-coast in 1992) I thought that it was a combination of an American exterior (appearance, commercial, extroverted) and an English interior (tradition, values, culture). Now while actually living in the country I find more and more that Australia has its own distinct features.

Of course you can never generalise and within Australia Perth has a different lifestyle again. Probably as it is one of the loneliest cities in the world. The nearest city is Adelaide at almost 3.000 kilometres. This and the Mediterranean climate makes things less hectic, in fact rather relaxed.

Perth, Western Australia

Australia's largest state, Western Australia, comprises a third of the landmass of the continent. It stretches from the tropical shores of the Timor Sea in the north, down the Indian Ocean coastline to the wild coastline of the south-west region washed by the Southern Ocean. The first known Europeans to land on the coast of Western Australia were Dirk Hartog and his Dutch crew from the ship Eendracht. They landed in 1616, on the island which now bears Dirk Hartog's name in Shark Bay. Throughout the 17th century, many Dutch navigators on the sea route from Holland to Indonesia touched the Australian coast, usually after being blown off course by the 'Roaring Forties'.

That the Dutch play(ed) an important role in Western Australia is shown by names as Cape Leeuwin (lioness), van Diemensland and Rattennest (now Rottnest, see also my my diving-page). On some of the old maps the western part of Australia is even marked as 'New Holland' !

The state's capital Perth, lies on the banks of the beautiful Swan River, approximately 19 kilometres inland. Today it supports a population of over 1,143,000 people and is one of Australia's cleanest and most picturesque cities. Many of the historical buildings are still standing in the city and particularly in the port of Fremantle, 15 kilometres away, where weekend markets provide entertaining shopping. In Fremantle they have rebuild a Dutch boat, the 'Duyfken' (little dove) using old methods. It is on display in the harbour.

Due to growth the river is now running through the centre and because there is no economic market inland, is there no commercial shipping on the river. This, and the sea, makes Perth a watersports paradise (see also my diving-page). Like many other cities in big countries, the suburbs are spread more than an hour each way from the city-centre. We live in Wilson, which is south-east of the city. In Perth there is a sort of rivalry between the North and South sides of the river (probably by lack of rivalling neighbour cities or countries).

The climate

As mentioned is the climate in and around Perth almost Mediterranean. For me the change means approximately 10-15 degrees warmer per season and of course the seasons are 6 months earlier (or later) as Australia is on the Southern hemisphere.

This means roughly the following temperatures (all in Celsius):

But of course these are averages and extreme summer temperatures can run well above the 40 degree mark. Due to the fact that it is mainly dry heat this is not as bad as it looks (although everything over 37° is rather hot) and air-conditioning everywhere keeps it comfortable.

Flora and Fauna

The different flora has been mentioned above. Western Australia is renowned for its Wild Flowers. But even more different (especially for a European like me) is the fauna. The most apparent would be the kangaroo (and maybe the koala), but Australia has indeed quite different types of fauna (marsupials, platypus, ..).

Although not uncommon in other parts of the world, but certainly a shock to the system for me, are the insects and other vermin: cockroaches are omnipresent and so are the poisonous redback spiders. More venom with snakes that can be encountered and maybe not venomous but certainly dangerous are sharks.

But as with all environments: as long as you're aware of the dangers and take necessary precautions, there is nothing to worry about and a lot to be enjoyed !

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