Perth: January 2007

A warm welcome back to all of our readers! Following a very successful 2006, in which The Daily Lama was read over 7,000 times, we will continue to bring you exclusive coverage of Ray and Nikki's travel experiences in 2007. We welcome and appreciate any feedback you send us, and will use it to ensure we can always bring you more of what you enjoy reading.

Our first issue of 2007 is a two part feature in which Ray and Nikki hit the road again (quite literally), for a once in a lifetime journey from Perth to Adelaide, driving over 3,000 kilometres across the desolate, arid Australian outback, known as "The Nullarbor".

In this issue, Part One, Our Aussie guest journo, Chuck Maboomerang, found out what Ray and Nikki got up to in Perth over Christmas and tells us more about the preparations for their trip, which you can read about in detail in Part Two, online in a few days.

After an overnight flight from Bangkok, Ray and Nikki rocked up in sunny Perth mid arvo. I met them at the airport to say g'day and ask them about their journey from Asia. "We were very lucky with our flight to Australia" said Ray. "We found out some time ago that Jetstar were introducing a new route from Bangkok to Melbourne and there was an offer for the first people to book the new service" he explained. "So we picked up a couple of really cheap tickets and booked a connecting flight from Melbourne to Perth on Virgin Blue. It would have been easier to fly direct, but we saved a lot of money this way" said a very budget conscious Ray.

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Above: The map above shows the position of Australia, relative to South East Asia

Below: The excitement mounts as Ray (looking stoked in his Daily Lama T Shirt) and Nikki shoot through Melbourne and make their way to Perth on Virgin Blue - they just about had time to grab a flat white and pick up new mobile phone cards in between flights!

Also waiting to meet them both at Perth airport were some of Nikki's rellie's - her Aunty Nova, and cousin Suzanne, with her three children. "One of the things Ray and I noticed straight away was that everyone could understand us!" exclaimed Nikki. "This may sound funny, but we have become quite used to the challenge of communicating in Asian countries, where we cannot read notices, and struggle to get people to understand or answer our questions" she explained. "It was a real treat to be able to talk to people in English" she added.

The climate in Western Australia was quite different from that which Ray and Nikki had been used to in Asia. "Although the temperature was only a few degrees higher than in Bangkok, it felt so much hotter to us, as Perth is very dry, whereas in Bangkok, there is more humidity" said Nikki. "Stepping off the plane, I thought I was going to melt" she recalled.

Above: Nikki can hardly contain herself as she is re-united with her lovely Aunty Nova, at Perth airport

Nikki's Uncle John and Aunty Nova live in an area known as "The Perth Hills", with a sprawling home and vineyard in the beautiful Bickley Valley. "I couldn't wait to see how the Vineyard had developed since I was last in Perth, some eleven years ago" Nikki told me. "Back then, the grapes were relatively new and Uncle John had only just started producing Pinot, so I was very excited about trying some of his recent bottles" said wine lover Nikki. "And the one thing that it is virtually impossible to find in Asia is good wine at low prices, which meant that Ray and I had gone without for quite a while" she added.

Above: Nikki arrives at The Ashley Estate, one of several vineyards in the Bickley Valley Wine Region, and starts to salivate at the thought of tasting her Uncle John's very special Pinot Noir!

For John and Nova, wine making is still a hobby, although they do manage to produce over 2,000 bottles of grog a year for people in the region. "We were shown around the cellar by Uncle John, who explained to us what wine making involves" said Ray. "And we saw quite a lot of people coming to the house each Sunday to taste the wine - it is obviously quite popular in these parts" he added. "I may be biased, but I really like Uncle John's Pinot, especially as it is much harder to produce grapes for Pinot than most other popular wines" said a well informed Nikki.

Above: Nikki's Uncle John and Aunty Nova very carefully, lovingly and skillfully, turn these.....

Below:.... into this - one of the best Pinot Noir's Ray and Nikki have tasted in quite a while, and the Daily Lama's 'Wine of the Month' winner!

Our travelling pair quickly made themselves at home at John and Nova's, as more members of the huge Ashley family started to arrive for the Chrissy holidays. "Coming from a relatively small family, it was a bit overwhelming for me at first" Ray told me. "Nikki has five cousins living in or around Perth, who all have children of their own, not to mention her family from the UK. Her sister Sara, with husband and three children - and her mum, Sue had all flown from England to be with the family as well" he explained. "People were dropping in throughout the day and evening and I had quite a job remembering the names of all of them, but managed OK" he added.

Above: Sara Fearnall, Nikki's sister (centre) arrives in Perth to be warmly greeted by Aunty Nova (right) and cousin Anna-Marie (left). Sales of Champagne in Perth rose sharply as a result of the huge demand in the house. Luckily, there were no two-pot screamers around!

Those of you who are cricket followers will know that the Third Test in the Ashes series was taking place in Perth at the same time Ray and Nikki were visiting. Luckily for them, Nikki's cousin James turned out to be a bonzer bloke and managed to get hold of a few tickets for the fourth day's play at the WACA stadium. "We were already very happy to be in Perth and to be staying at John and Nova's house for Christmas, with such great people, but when James turned up with tickets for the cricket match, we were in seventh heaven" said Ray.

Above: "We are all going to watch England play Australia in The Ashes" - from left to right: Nick (Nikki's brother in law), Ray, George (Nikki's nephew), Adam, Sara (Nikki's sister) and Harry (Nikki's nephew) outside the WACA stadium in Perth

Below: The atmosphere and the weather were superb for Ray and Nikki as they barracked the Pom's, who were desperately trying to keep their hopes alive in the third match of the Ashes test series

Both Ray and Nikki enjoyed their day at the match immensely. "We knew that the match would be a sell-out, with people travelling from England, who had planned their trips months in advance, so we were very grateful to the 'powers that be' that we managed to get tickets at the last minute" he told me. "Cousin James was very kind indeed to get us all in and we really cannot thank him enough" said Nikki.

Above: The soaring temperatures did not stop the Pommie batsmen from adding quite a few runs during the day, although it was much more of a problem for this steward, whose head literally started to melt, revealing that he was actually an android, as featured in the movie 'Aliens'

Below: Cousin James (left, with stripy shirt) did well to get tickets in the shaded enclosure, meaning that all his cobbers could keep their cool - well, only when England were doing badly!

After the cricket, and with a few days to go before their Chrissy Day celebrations at the Ashley household, Ray and Nikki decided to head out of town to Hillary's Harbour for a couple of days. "We wanted to explore some of the beaches around Perth and Adam, who is married to my cousin Kate, offered us an apartment to stay in, about half an hour's drive away" said Nikki. "It was very generous of him and enabled Ray and I to get a little bit of time on our own before spending Christmas with over 35 people at John and Nova's" she told me.

Ray was still feeling overwhelmed by the warmth of Nikki's extended family. "They were so generous towards us, which I can understand for Nikki as she is family, but they showed the same kindness to me (a stranger), which really blew me away" he told me. "Uncle John even let us borrow his old Toyota 4WD, which he calls "Big Red" to drive to the coast" added Ray.

Above: Nikki, outside their apartment at Hillary's Boat Harbour - a popular beach resort and a real bewdie of a Marina to the north of Perth

Below: The world is getting smaller! This sign post at Hillary's Harbour confirms the distance covered from Perth during Ray and Nikki's recent trip from Bangkok (5,351 kilometres). "Our friends in London may be 15,680 kilometres away, but they are always in our thoughts" said Ray and Nikki

While staying at Hillary's Harbour, as well as sending us photographs and information about their itinerary, Ray and Nikki carefully considered the idea of making a once in a lifetime road-trip after leaving Perth. "The idea of driving across the outback had been in our mind for some time" said Ray. "Although we realised it would take us longer to get to Adelaide by road than by air, and be more expensive, the thought of crossing the "Nullarbor Plain" on the ground really excited us - the more we spoke to local people about it, the more real our vision became, until we finally made the decision to do it!" added a very excited Nikki.

Having researched their options, they arranged to hire a small campervan after the Chrissy hols and drive it from Perth to Adelaide over a seven day period. "We could see that we had to cover a long distance in the time we had planned, but having spoken to people that had done the drive, and studied the maps, we felt comfortable that we would not be under too much pressure" said Nikki.

Above: Nikki pours over a map of Western Australia, as she works out the best routing for the first part of their seven day journey to cross the country, including the "Nullarbor Plain"

With the arrangements made for their departure from Perth after Christmas, Ray and Nikki decided to hang out with her sister Sara's family, and organised a two day trip to a coastal resort south of Perth, called Margaret River. "This is a beautiful part of Western Australia (WA), boasting deserted beaches, great surf and sunshine all day long, late into the evening" said Nikki. "With daylight saving time in WA, the sun shines until 8pm or later, which is great for us as we get more time to be outdoors" she added.

Above: Ray is exhilirated as he discovers this beaut of a powder white sandy beach at Bunbury, one of the towns on the way to Margaret River

Below: The jetty at Busselton, near Margaret River, is 1.7 kilometres long - Ray and Nikki walked to the end and back, of course!

Above: The coast at Margaret River where Ray and Nikki stayed with the Fearnalls (her sister's family) - "Absolutely stunning" says Ray, as he gazes out to sea from the top of the cliffs, hoping to spot some whales swimming past

No trip to Margaret River would be complete without a visit to one of the many Internationally acclaimed vineyards scattered throughout the richly forested region. "We thought it would be a great opportunity to buy some wine (white, of course!) for the Christmas Day celebrations" said Nikki.  "We chose the Wise Vineyard, near Dunsborough, set in the hills overlooking the ocean and with views to die for" said Ray. "After lunch, we all took part in some wine tasting, revealing our inexperience as we chose to swallow each mouthful instead of spitting it out" Ray explained. "This probably worked to their advantage as we lost our inhibitions, and ended up taking a whole case, including some Dessert wine!" added a rather well-oiled Nikki.

Above: Nikki speedily re-toxifies herself during the wine tasting at Wise Vineyard, "Ah well, it was good while it lasted" says Nikki, as she remembers her stay at The Spa on Ko Samui a couple of weeks earlier!

Below: Nikki's brother in law Nick tries the well known Aussie test for being intoxicated with alcohol - "balancing on the pole" - while Nikki and her family offer their support. Although Nick passed this test with flying colours, he did his block when he later got booked for speeding!

With Christmas Day rapidly approaching, Ray, Nikki and the Fearnall's headed back to the Bickley Valley. "My cousin Sonya and her husband Paul, who live nearby to John and Nova, invited us round for breakfast, and a tour of their home" said Nikki. "Paul made everyone the traditional Aussie brekky, prepared on the barbie, before taking us on a grand tour of their beautiful property and to meet the numerous animals that co-habit the place with them" added Ray.

Above: "On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... six geese a-laying" - No worries for Paul and Sonya's three charming and very friendly geese, who breathe a sigh of relief as they realise they will not be ending up in the roasting tin on Christmas Day

The morning of Christmas Day at the Ashley household was an extremely busy time, with 35 people expected for lunch. "Whilst the meal was being prepared, Uncle John very kindly offerred to provide 'luxury' tours of the vineyard and other parts of his estate for his visitors" Nikki told me. "He loves his old red tractor and was very happy for an excuse to crank it up and drive it around" she added.

Above: Uncle John's 'luxury' tour of the Ashley Estate turns out to be a ripper, as Nick, Sara and the Fearnall children enjoy the ride

Below: Uncle John and Nick take a closer look at the grapes in the vineyard

With Ray and Nikki a long way from the UK on Christmas Day, they both wanted to check for any last minute emails before sitting down with rest of the family to open pressies. "We both received a few nice messages, but my favourite was a card from Zack, sent from Stratford-upon-Avon, the young son of my friend Jomo" said Nikki.

"It was great to see all of the young children opening their presents, and this seemed to go on for ages" observed Ray. "Their excitement was infectious and helped me to remember what a magical time Christmas can be - this was one of my most enjoyable Christmases in a long time" he added.

Above: Nikki's favourite Christmas card came via email from Zack in the UK

Below: Nikki's rellies, Rachel, George and Harry Fearnall rapidly emptied their Christmas stockings of their gift-filled cargo and contemplate organising an after-dinner sack race in the garden!

Above: "What is the one thing a London girl can never get enough of?" - Nikki is rapt as she receives a Chrissy gift of M&S knickers from her mum

Below: The table for the Chrissy tucker in John and Nova's house was so long, mobile phones were allowed so that people could text someone at the other end to pass the roast potatoes down!

Below: Chocka! Harry (left) and Ray act like a couple of bludgers and make the most of Uncle John's 'Lazy Boy' chairs as they recover from huge amounts of Chrissy tucker, hoping they will shortly be able to join in the fun in the swimming pool  - one of the big advantages of Chrissy down under!

With the Christmas celebrations over, and life in the Ashley household retuning to normal, Ray and Nikki took the opportunity to explore the city of Perth before bailing out.

Perth is the capital city of the State of Western Australia and has a population of 1.2 million people. It straddles the Swan River and is situated on the golden beaches of the Indian Ocean. Spacious, modern and easy-going, it claims to be the world's most remote capital city.

"My mum invited us to have lunch with her at The Old Swan Brewery" said Nikki. "This was a really good chance to spend some time alone with Mum before she had to go back to England" she added. "The restaurant which Sue chose was on the banks of the Swan River and gave us some great shyline views" added Ray.

Above: Ray takes a look at the impressive Perth skyline from outside The Old Swan Brewery, where he had lunch with Nikki and her mum, Sue

Wanting to see in the New Year in Perth, Ray and Nikki were delighted when Suzanne, one of Nikki's cousins, and her husband Giles, said they could have their house for a couple of days, as they were going out of town to celebrate with friends and it would be empty. "When you are travelling long term like Ray and I, we don't have a home of our own, which we sometimes miss" said Nikki. "Therefore, it was extra specially nice of Giles and Suzanne to let us use their home as if it were our own, especially at this time of year" she added.

"Nikki and I had a great evening seeing out 2006 and welcoming in 2007" said Ray. "We were also really pleased that Giles had offerred us the use of his two bicycles so we could get some much needed exercise on New Years Day" he told me.

Above: Nikki stands in the garden at Giles and Suzanne's house - "I wonder if these are the bicycles that Giles was talking about?

Below: Happy New Year for 2007! Ray and Nikki celebrate together as they look forward to another globe trotting year

It was during a visit to the nearby port of Freemantle that one of the strangest things that happened to Ray and Nikki took place. "We decided to have a look around, as a couple of people had mentioned it was worth a visit" said Ray. "Maybe it was something to do with us, but on the day we chose to go there, the place was virtually dead and we became bored very quickly" he told me.

"We had seen a local brewery during our earlier walk around town, that had a restaurant attached, so I suggested we head there for some light relief" said Nikki. "Two strange things happened as soon as we were inside" she continued. "Firstly, the heavens opened up and it poured with rain, which was a bit freakish, but even more bizarre was that we bumped into a couple who had been fasting at The Spa in Ko Samui whilst we were there a couple of weeks earlier" said a very surprised Ray. "The chances of this happening must have been about 10,000 to one, but we were delighted to see them and spent the afternoon getting to know them and their family" he added.

Above: Inside the 'Little Creatures' Brewery in Freemantle - Ray and Nikki mysteriously bumped into Nigel and Michelle (pictured next to Ray) whom they had met previously in Thailand, and were introduced to Helena and Graham, Michelle's dad

With their visit to Perth complete, it was time for Ray and Nikki to get back on the road and their much anticipated trip across the Nullarbor, to Adelaide.  "Overall, we had a fabulous time in Perth with the family" said Nikki. "Although we were sad to be leaving, we were also very excited about the journey we were about to make and had been preparing for several days" she added. "Uncle John took us to Britz to pick up our campervan, and we set off on the open road to start the 3,000 kilometre journey across Australia" said a very excited Ray.

Above: "Oh dear!" says Ray, as he inspects the remains of this vehicle - it turned out that the driver had swerved on the road to avoid a Kangaroo. "If anything steps out in front of you, it is probably best to hit it" was the advice they received from the hire company

Below: Nikki organises things inside their home for the next seven days and nights...

Below: This picture was taken by Ray and comes from a book showing the comparative size of Australia and Europe. We have added the yellow line on the picture to show you their route across country - the equivalent of driving from London to Moscow

Editors Note: Thanks for the article Chuck - so glad you decided to join The Daily Lama team whilst Ray and Nikki are in Oz. You can read about Ray and Nikki's journey across the Nullarbor in Part Two of Chuck's superb feature, online in a few days.

Readers Lives

Throughout 2007, we would like to invite you to share your stories with other Daily Lama readers in this section, which we are dedicating for this purpose. So, if you have an inspiring story, or want support for a new project, or even know of someone who deserves a mention, please email us at the Daily Lama office and let us know about it. We cannot guarantee to publish every story but will do our best.

In this issue, we would like to dedicate this section to the winner of our 2006 T Shirt of the Year competition, which was Nigel Shilton of London, England. We contacted him for his comments on winning our super mystery prize - the first ever Daily Lama T Shirt. "I was so chuffed" he told us. "I was reading the blog in awe, and got to the end and - wow! There I was... announced as the winner, which I didn't expect as I never win anything! The T Shirt I chose (with the "Live Your Life" slogan) inspired me and I really appreciate you sending me my prize, which I will wear with pride".

Above: A very cool winner - Nigel Shilton, pictured wearing the first ever Daily Lama T Shirt, with pride!

AMBER SOLAIRE & MOZZIE BYTE

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