Well eventually I have been to download some of my pictures that I have taken so far in Aus. I went for a train trip to Freemantle on Saturday the 17th. Really easy to work out the train system as there are only 4 main lines so as long as you know which line you need to be on all is very easy. The staff in the station were also very friendly helping me to purchase the correct ticket and letting me know which line I need to go on. The trains were very clean so all in all a very pleasant ride. I then wondered around Freemantle for a couple of hours.
There is plenty in the city to keep you busy for the day and it is best do it on foot otherwise I think you will miss alot. I went down one street that had all these old quaint shops so that kept me busy for a while. There was a tour at the Freemantle prison but I did not go through it as I would prefer to go when Heath and the kids are here and besides there were plenty of little shops I still needed to wonder around. Around the harbour there is an area where quite a few restaurants are based around the water and cute little beach. As you can see from the pics below it is very clean. The markets was my favourite of the day. There is a fresh fruit and veggie market to buy all your fresh goods including various spices, jams etc. Then around the market there are small stalls dotted everywhere. I did not buy anything but it was great just to browse. A great days outing all in all! It was a bit overcast that day so the photos are not the best.
Freemantle prison
Streets of Freemantle
Harbour area at Freemantle
One of the many church's in Freemantle
One of the entrances to the markets @ Freemantle
Another entrance to the Freemantle markets
Maritime Museum @ Freemantle
Below are the pics I took just after I got to Perth when I was taken for a trip around the city. These pics were all taken in Kings Park which is a huge park that also includes the botanical gardens. There are some amazing views of the city from the park. Once again the park is a great days out and it is free, so you can pick a spot on the grass anywhere in the park and have a picnic.
Perth Skyline from the Botanical gardens
Nicky in Perth
Botantical gardens These pics were taken when I went for a trip out to the beach i.e. Scarborough. It was quite windy on the day so all of the windsurfers and kite surfers were out and about having a good time. All of the beaches I have seen so far have always got a grass area as well so you do not always have to sit on the beach and eat sand if it is windy! Plus as in the picture below again all the beaches I have seen so far have had play areas for the kids as well. Very organised in this regard.
Scarborough Beach
Kids play area @ beach
Scarborough Beach The pictures of the park below is one of the many parks that is close to the apartment that I am staying in currently. I think I have counted about 6 parks that I could walk to from the apartment so I don't even have to visit the same one each time. Some of them are small with just a grass area and jungle area for the kids and some are bigger with a dam and larger grass areas.
Dam in one of the parks
Play area @ park So now at least you have seen some of the pics that I have taken so far. Today is Australia day so we have a public holiday. I have seen plenty of Aussies with flags flying on their cars and homes celebrating the day. Plenty people get dressed up in their Aussie gear and just have a good time. Tonight there is a big celebration in the city with fireworks. I have just got back from Singapore this morning at 3:30am so very tired at this time and when I left Singapore everyone was about to start celebrating Chinese New Year. So I been very privileged in the last couple of days to experience both Chinese New Year and Australia day.
Have a great day!
Cheers
Nicky
We had a small celebration at home for my birthday and also any excuse to catch up with some mates is always good. Heath had sorted out some jumping castles for the kids and some ponies to come around for an hour. Well Reece was in his element he could not believe that he had real ponies in his own garden and he could ride them for as long as he wanted! It was just great to see the surprised look when they arrived. 
Bryce had loads of fun in the jumping castle throwing balls and butt naked - just up his alley! All in all it was a great day and even better that we were given the chance to catch up with everyone.
At the end of the evening Reece decided that he did not only want xmas decorations on the tree but his favourite giraffe alos had to be decorated so after attacking the tree for the decorations he was then able to complete the exercise of decorating his giraffe. The giraffe stayed like that until this morning when he then decided that xmas was over and his giraffe was allowed to return to normal.
New Year has been a quite one for us as we have just spent it at home as a family which has been great and I have been given the opportunity to go through each room and sort out the stuff we will be taking with us to Aus. The kids are a bit confused on why I would be removing some of their toys - It is amazing that half of them they have not played with in years but now that I want to send them off to charity they now suddenly want to play with them. Anyway they have now played with the toys again and are happy for them to go to less fortunate children. So now that I have been through each room my dustbins are overflowing with rubbish and my guest room looks like a bomb has hit it with all of the bags lying around. We have only been in this house for 5 1/2 yrs and I cannot believe how much rubbish we have collected over that time!