Australia without blinking

Aussie was an opportunistic stopover to see some more of Gary’s relatives (Perth, home to many ex-South Africans) and some friends from Vancouver (Mark and Anna near Melbourne). Our priority was seeing some great people, but we managed to squeeze in some fun too.

We were greeted at the Perth airport by Gary’s Uncle Peiter and Aunt Noreen, who are Lolah’s cousins. One of their daughters, Barbara, lives north of the city with husband Mike and kids Ross and Tom on an avocado farm. Amazingly, Barbara had organized events with all the local family - dinner with cousin Jeanie and family, and a braai with cousins Megan and Angela and their families.

Barbara and Mike took time off to show us around, visiting Perth and swimming a couple of times along the beautiful coastline (which they have taken great pains not to develop, unlike the infamous Gold Coast in the east).

Next stop Melbourne, where we were met by Mark and Anna and their adorable 8 month old daughter, Emma. These two Aussie friends lived in Canada for 3 years and squeezed more activities out of BC than anyone we know. They rode, climbed or skied every mountain from Vancouver to Calgary. Anna, famous for her to-the-second itineraries, had organized a mind-numbing agenda for us that started with a three-hour drive to their home town of Albury. After arriving at nearly midnight, we were up early to fit in a mountain bike session before heading out for an overnighter on one of Aussie’s highest mountains (Mt. Bogong) with baby Emma strapped to Anna’s back.

This special area is where they ski every winter, so it was great to see the terrain first hand and hear some of the stories that make Mark a local legend (he is already a Canadian legend within our circle of friends). We managed one more mountain biking outing and a river float before saying good-bye, catching a red-eye bus to the Melbourne airport to fly to NZ.