Dear blog (that introduction is for my housemate), this has been a much busier week than I intended… but that seems to be the trend, eh? I visited Walyunga National Park, Noble Falls, Cottesloe Beach, Pinnacles Desert (again), and Rottnest Island.

Walyunga National Park

I met up with a fellow travel buddy Mo and we drove out to Walyunga National Park, about an hour outside of Perth by car. I have been to quite a few national parks since being here but Walyunga was definitely something special.

It was a very hilly area, as it’s up in the “hills” of Perth. Mo and I were one of three cars that were parked at the national park… two of which were people fishing in the river at the entrance of the park.

The hike we went on was a bit strenuous at times with some deep inclines and declines, but it wasn’t anything too crazy. It was a warm day but it felt good to be out in nature.

Along the way, we saw… GOATS! Once again, I thought they were dingoes when I first spotted them, like that time a few months back at Kalbarri National Park. They were near the river, perhaps heading down for a drink of water.

We also saw some kangaroos hiding from the sun under some trees.

It was nice to see some wildlife again, after having a few hikes in a row without seeing anything substantial.

Noble Falls

Next, we headed to Noble Falls. I wasn’t actually sure if the waterfall would be flowing at this time of year but I was hopeful.

I was not in luck.

The falls had completely dried up, but it was a cool area nonetheless. Mo and I walked a little bit of the trail but decided to leave early since we had already done a long hike at Walyunga.

Cottesloe

I recently met a fellow snorkeler named Ben and the two of us decided to head out to Cottesloe one morning before we both had work. The conditions weren’t looking too great, but we decided to chance it anyway. I suggested Cottesloe, as I had been there a couple times before and had success snorkeling there even when it was supposed to be lousy conditions.

When we first got in the water, it seemed like it was going to be an awful snorkeling session but sure enough, we found some pockets where the clarity was really nice.

The big moment of the day was spotting a dusky morwong – it was hands down the largest fish I’ve ever seen! It swam right in front of me. I think we saw two along the way. Yay!

Pinnacles Desert & Nambung National Park

Mo had only recently moved to Perth and wanted to see some of the more popular attractions, so he suggested we go to Pinnacles. While I’d been before on my road trip up to Kalbarri, I decided it would be nice to make a return trip and to perhaps go on a longer hike around the area. When I’d gone with Jason before, we only stayed for a short time since we wanted to make it back to the city before dark and had been driving a lot that day.

Returning to Pinnacles was certainly not redundant. It’s such a beautiful area, and truly a treasure in Australia.

We drove along the park, looking at all the different types of formations and then decided to do a hike deeper into the park. At one point, we saw several fresh-looking emu tracks which had me feeling hopeful, but we didn’t end up seeing one.

It was really nice to return to Pinnacles.

We also stopped off at another trail in Nambung National Park where we were able to hike up to a series of white sand dunes. It reminded me a lot of the White Sands National Park in New Mexico… but on a smaller scale.

Before long, we headed back to Perth but Mo and I have plans to potentially go down south to Margaret River and Albany in a couple of weeks – some spots that I’ve heard mentioned over and over since being here in Perth.

Dugite at Rottnest Island

I know, I know… I’ve gone to Rottnest a lot since being in Australia. I can’t help it – the snorkeling is excellent and it’s such a beautiful island. I also told my housemate Kory I’d take him there as a Christmas present and the time had arrived.

We took the boat from Perth down to Rottnest and proceeded to walk to our first snorkel destination of the day. Along the way, we saw the skeleton of a quokka. Sad 🙁

Along the way, I spotted… another dugite snake! It was such a magical treat to witness my first venomous snake back in December, but this time I was able to really, really observe this awesome creature.

I’d like to clarify that I was observing it from a (relatively) safe distance. The road we were walking on was at a higher elevation, and the snake was down in a meadow below. It may look close in the pictures/videos, but my camera was zoomed in. I wanted to get closer to it, but I knew it wasn’t wise as dugite venom is deadly… and I didn’t want to risk getting bitten.

Check out this video to see my beloved dugite snake!

I was kicking myself for not bringing my nice camera with me to Rottnest, but I had told myself “I’m going snorkeling – I don’t need to lug that heavy thing around!” Sure enough! Irony, am I right?

When I had seen the dugite snake back at Neil Hawkins Park, it was rather brief. It was very close to the trail, and remained still until it backed away into the brush. This time, at Rottnest, I was able to watch the snake for probably five minutes or so. It was so cool to observe as the snake slithered around the meadow, trying to find something to eat. The way its body moved was so unusual… but I suppose typical for a snake. It definitely seemed to be on the hunt for something. After a while, the snake started to disappear into a bush so Kory and I decided to continue our trek to go snorkeling. Along the way, I kept talking about the snake over and over and the two of us made some jokes, talking about a TV show we made up called “Is That a SNAKE?” about silly people’s reactions to encountering snakes.

We went to Little Armstrong Bay, the Basin, and Pinky Beach for snorkeling. Little Armstrong Bay ended up being the best spot, with really nice visibility. I was proud of Kory for going snorkeling. He is afraid of sharks and we actually swam somewhat far out from shore, but he did a great job and even seemed to enjoy himself.

Rottnest Island was lovely, as always. It may have been my last time going there, as my time in Perth is coming to a close unfortunately. What a cherry on top, to see a dugite snake during my final visit there.

P.S. I also learned that not all snakes in Western Australia are venomous… which I previously had heard. Sorry for that misinformation!

Art of the Week

No art to share this week, unfortunately! I’ve been too busy adventuring on my days off… I’m sure I’ll have something to share next week as I’m planning on drawing tomorrow after work.

Reflections

We had our work Christmas Party earlier this week and it was hosted at a venue that is part of Optus Stadium. It was so fun to hang out with my coworkers outside of work. We had a DJ, canapes, a photo booth, and a dance floor. I love these people so much!

The picture above is of Ma – and she is truly that… the mom of our workplace! She is the very first person I started working with. She trained me at the Functions Center and gave me my wings to fly… or… swim?? on the boats. I love her!

Bitter sweet that my time here is coming to a close. All of these people… man! They have been amazing. A week from today will be my last day there. Some of us are going to go to a restaurant for drinks after my last shift (I’ll just have a sprite haha).

It was also my mom’s birthday on Valentine’s Day. Happy, happy birthday, Momma! Love you so much and wish I could’ve been with you on your special day!

It is getting weirder and weirder that my time here is almost up. The countdown begins. They have started setting up the stage for Björk’s concert in Langley Park and it seems to be a reminder of the ticking clock for my time here in Perth.

I don’t have much planned for the next week, but I think I said that last week as well and this ended up being a really full week! That said… I have been exhausted. I didn’t really rest much on my days off, since I was out adventuring. I think this might end up actually being a chill week for me. We’ll see! Stay tuned.

Thank you for reading! As always, please share on social media if you feel so inclined. Sending you all my love!