Link to the previous page australia 2020 southcoast-e 
The new year
Christmas actually only takes place in the weeks leading up to it and in an incredible variety of ways. I don’t think most people even know what the origin of „Christ“mas is. In other words, it’s not the origin, it’s a festival of lights when the days get longer again. Many Christian festivals were placed on holidays that already existed. Simply renaming them was easier.
Australia came later, everything was already set, because the days start to get longer in July. We have no idea what it’s like here with the indigenous peoples, the little I know is that they have 6 seasons.
So back to Christmas, there’s only one public holiday here and it’s one of the very few days when the shops are closed.
There’s no Three Kings Day here, why would there be? In the shops, everything is cleared away before Christmas and decorated for the beach, but the presents should actually be given on Three Kings Day, shouldn’t they? That would be more logical.
That week Natasha and Jennifer (we had been looking at accommodation, terrible, but we wanted to keep in touch) came to Perth and we had a girls‘ day out. I have to control myself, the wardrobe is starting to get full again and I counted 10 pairs of shoes again. But you don’t feel comfortable in the clothes you love when you’re travelling in the city. Louis Vuitton is just across the road, and people have been queuing there for a week. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself every day. From the morning onwards. I don’t even like the stuff, but it’s great when you have a name and people pay a lot to be allowed to run adverts. You can’t get anything better than that. Here it’s all about buying clothes, eating out and beer and wine. From the morning onwards, the many, many restaurants are already full and there are an incredible number of them.
New Years Eve
First, of course, we watched „Dinner for one“ here too (the original from NDR), then had a tasty meal and mingled with the thousands of people on the streets. The whole of Perth was on its feet. Stalls, carousels, food, drinks (no alcohol). Some people who had too much were immediately picked up by the police.
Music and acrobatics. At 12 o’clock 3 fireworks from the tower block and 2 at ground level, you didn’t know where to look first.
After returning to our usual beach, we made a New Year’s resolution to visit a different beach and a different restaurant every week. We did both together at the first one and ate wonderful fish and chips that still make my mouth water today.
Otherwise I miss exercise here. There were 3 or 4 parks with fitness equipment within walking distance of the Malibu Apartment, which was great. That is missing here, or can only be reached after a long walk.
But of course it is also interesting to enjoy the different parks.
On this beach there is a large sports centre with 2 large swimming pools, yoga, fitness and everything else, but apart from swimming, the rest is only available as a package and with a longer membership. The courses take place between 6 and 9 a.m., MORNINGS! Yes, the Aussis are early risers.
Yesterday we finally went to the cinema, and it’s right opposite. The Hilton is nothing compared to it, simply amazing. Chairs as big and comfortable as for a massage, adjustable, big screen, pleasant atmosphere. You can order a menu with your tickets and I think we were the only ones who didn’t have a glass of wine or champagne in our hands. The best thing was the toilets: „Man, you have to go to the toilet, otherwise you’ve missed something.“
We always thought cinema was pretty expensive here. Then we realised that it’s cheaper from 60 and there are all sorts of other discounts. Tuesdays are generally even cheaper and on Wednesdays there’s a glass of champagne. There are also performances for senior citizens, where we have teatime. Then there’s membership in all possible categories. We got the tickets for free for some reason that wasn’t clear to us.
Apart from that, our life has become very normal. The fist-sized muscle that had formed in the back of my knee at the beginning of our adventure has completely disappeared.
At first I was worried, then when I saw the many old trees with their thick branches and other thickenings, I realised: why only trees and not people? And I was glad that my broken knee with an almost torn tendon, which had already cushioned me from many a bruise, had stabilised and now that it is no longer needed, it has regressed, amazingly, but logically, it also takes time.
Now we were at the next beach. The journey there by bus was already a sightseeing tour through the suburbs with their beautiful old houses or houses built in the old style. And then finally a beach with hardly any waves. At last you can swim properly and it’s even fenced off (supposedly because of the sharks)
And now the partying continues. Aussies party all the time, at least in the 3 summer months. First is Fringe Festival 15 Jan – 14 Feb. We haven’t figured out what it is yet, but it’s all over Perth with stalls, theatre, open air cinema, comedy, music and of course food. I think everything that contributes to the entertainment takes part inside and outside. The printed programmes rarely match the actual events and so it’s often like looking for Easter eggs, but you’ll find something when they even provide the beanies and you can snuggle up in them.
In between, all sorts of things take place around Australia Day 22 – 26 Jan. and the organisers themselves no longer know what actually belongs to which festival and it’s best to collect all the information you can get and do a lot of detailed work to find something.
Australia Day originally celebrated the ‚conquest‘ of Australia, but later the diversity of cultures was added, as we experienced in Adelaide. The indigenous peoples, of course, had no reason to celebrate at all. Here, which is of course very nice, the indigenous people are strongly involved and it is no longer the conquest that is celebrated, but „Beautiful Australia“ together with the indigenous people. Every evening there is a large light show on the waterfront: “Shining the Light : The Story of Us“, which is dedicated entirely to the Aborigines, the indigenous people, „those who have always been there“.
The two images below were created by projecting onto a spray mist on the water
Next up is the Perth Festival from 5 – 28 Feb. That kind of mixes with the other one. Many tickets are sold out in no time and you don’t have to think twice. Many events are also free, but you still have to order tickets to keep track and prevent it from getting too crowded. People are registered at the entrance (please don’t shout if someone doesn’t care about Corvid and overworked medical staff, or if someone thinks it’s all being performed by actors, then they don’t need to go).
But we have managed so well here in Western Australia because rules have been consistently set from the beginning and EVERYONE who arrives here has to spend 14 days in quarantine. The last one died here in September with Corvid. When we find out what’s going on in Germany, we can only shake our heads and feel sorry for those who would probably have already made it through. And the companies. Where is the crisis as an opportunity? In Perth city centre, all the shops are open. In Fremantle, a trendy suburb of Perth, some are closed. What was an old pub doing? – It added a bottle shop and an empty shop next door was immediately taken over and a bistro was opened. Across the road, a large, very expensive restaurant with a brewery closed immediately and is still closed. Here in Northperth, all the restaurants that offered immediate delivery service have survived, and there are quite a few of them. Or you could pick up your food at the door. Here, there are still only 2 people at the lift and you are still reminded to keep your distance. So what? Where are the demonstrators protesting against the deforestation of the rainforest, with which WE are taking away the habitat of the animals that carry the Covid virus and WE are getting closer and closer to them? They used to live so deep in the jungle where hardly anyone could reach.
2.2.2021
Got up early this morning, went out onto the „balcony“ and looked at the „overcast“ sky. I was surprised though that it was so hot despite the overcast sky, normally it cools down immediately when the sun is overcast. Then we saw on TV what was going on, a new fire has broken out north-west of Perth after they finally got the one in the south under control. The wind has shifted and the fire is spreading towards Perth. When I went out again to water my mini garden, the flakes were already flying around my ears and it smelt very burnt, so I quickly went back inside and closed the door.
Next day – the sun is shining again and the sky is bright again. TV on, wind has shifted, the fire has got out of control and is spreading rapidly to the north. It’s frightening to see how the houses and farms are collapsing under the fire.
We went to the beach again, no waves, really let off steam and then hung around a bit, i.e. finally got round to writing a blog to keep our friends informed, but somehow it’s not going anywhere.
We postponed shopping from one day to the next, made a list of what we were going to do next week and then got the news that the lockdown had started at 6pm tonight and people had stormed the supermarkets again and bought toilet paper in large quantities. So Monday we don’t need to go to the supermarket, so Tuesday and our masks, which we had bought in a nice shop on the way for „just in case“ and which also looked so nice. We then dug them out and, oh dear, they were far too big, far too thick and that in the heat. So with this huge thing we went shopping, many shelves were empty and that with a lockdown of only 5 days and open supermarkets.
Joggers are allowed out for an hour and dog owners. Gerhard didn’t want a dog and he also rejected my suggestion to run to the river. I turned the mask round and made it fit with safety pins, I can now breathe and the mask also has its advantages: you have fewer wrinkles, you only need to apply make-up to half your face and the choice of matching clothes is limited, so you’re always ready more quickly.
Today Friday, the lockdown is over, the masks should (may) be worn for another 8 days. The lockdown was declared immediately when a security man from a hotel where travellers are quarantined was diagnosed with Covid. As he lived in the south of WA and also had a second job with Uber, this precautionary measure had to be extended to a larger area. Within 2 days 32 test stations were set up and within 3 days 50,000 people had already been tested. The precautionary measures were maintained for a while as he was travelling in a larger area due to his 2nd job. The rapid measures and strict instructions meant that many areas only had to be closed for a short time.
13.Februar
The fire is out and has devastated an area of more than 10,000 hectares. And people here are donating in large quantities and in some shops you are asked if you want to donate. It always happens very quickly here. And yesterday, on 14 February, the Chinese New Year was celebrated here.
In the meantime, we visited a classic car meeting where there was also a small car race with touring cars. Here are some pictures of the event for anyone interested in cars. You could also see some exotic looking cars. -G.)
The classic cars, some of which look as if they have just come off the assembly line, are always impressive.
Even the cyclists are amazed – jealous?
But there was also something for the little ones….
