"Perhaps all pleasure is only relief" - William S. Burroughs
It never ceases to amaze me how far Perth is from everywhere. As such it was after an enormously long 7 hour flight from Hong Kong that we arrived late in Perth. We were to spend the next seven nights in the company of one of my oldest friends, George W Grundy with whom I was at prep school in Maidenhead. Adult life finds him in the beautiful suburb of Mosman Park, having married the wonderful Nelly from WA. George has many qualities, mostly well hidden. But one of his finest is that he knows how to welcome people into the phenomenal state of Western Australia. What followed was an idyllic short stay that lifted all of our spirits and showed the kids a fantastic insight into what Australia had to offer over the coming 7 weeks.
We didn't waste time - after a short sleep, we were all packed up and cruising down to Margaret River, 200km south of Perth with our other wonderful Perth friends (proper Perth, not adopted like George)- the Barretts. George (or more accurately Nelly) had rented the most amazing house just outside Margaret River. And it was here, our first beach stop of Australia, that we found the perfect beach that we had been searching for our entire time in Asia, but had eluded us. Redgate Beach - A pristine beach, devoid of any development whatsoever, not a single piece of rubbish to be seen, rock pools, incredible rolling waves and crunchy white sand so soft one could walk upon it with bruised feet. It was a warm day with a light breeze and we spent an incredible hour or so running along the near empty beach, playing touch rugby and climbing rocks. The contrast to our previous 3 months was staggering. The Australians know how to look after a beach. The beaches are in near untouched, perfect condition. They restrict any buildings anywhere near or on the beach. This means you can't find the perfect beach cafe that spills out onto the beach. But that is a sacrifice that is more than worth paying to have a totally clear beach, which looks almost the same as it would have done in the eighteenth century when the British ships first set eyes upon them.
And it just got better. The sun was beginning to set as we drove back from Redgate Beach, and the kangaroos were out in full force. This presented the first, and much anticipated, sighting for the children and sent them into screaming fits, not least because Olivia failed to see them to begin with.
We enjoyed 2 short nights down South, before school for the Barrett and Grundy kids meant we had to return to Perth, but we had an awesome time. A sensational lunch and wine tour at the Leuwin Estate. Long runs through the incredible countryside and a visit to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. The kids' heaven was completed by the older kids to play with, particularly the ever-kind Locky Barrett, who became the hero of all three Ward children. So much so that they all three insisted on spending their final night in Perth in his bedroom.
George and Greg got the word out that we were in town so we managed to catch up with a lot of the old faces. Dave Hanson, Dancing Dan Rohr, Stevey Munday (who seems to defy the ageing process), Leggie, TC and Jodie Kerr all making an appearance at some point over the week. It was fabulous to seem them all and have a catch up.
For school we spent our time teaching the kids about the history of Australia, its indigenous people and colonisation. This gave rise to a classic Alfieism. Asked to write a story about being an aboriginal and seeing Europeans for the first time, he drew from his recently acquired knowledge and concluded his story thus, "I gave them water and they gave me smallpox and I died." A rather neat summary of the colonisation of Australia.
The rest of our stay in Perth was spent wallowing in the luxury that was bestowed on us by our hosts. On the Tuesday, Perth pulled out all the stops and we enjoyed a 33 degree day. We all jumped on Greg's rib (not ribs) and sped out to Rottness Island. The journey over was a little hairy for the kids being bounced around at the front of the boat as Greg steadily nudged the accelerator forward. All the while Alfie was praying that dolphins would come out to greet us. Sadly they refused and for a while we thought Alfie's prayer power, which had hitherto never failed us, was waning. But we should never doubt the power of the Alf Man. No sooner had we anchored up in our secluded bay, than we were joined by two dolphins. The kids were hastily plonked on paddle board and I swam out next to them and we were able to get right up next to them as they leisurely swam around the bay. The kids completely lost it with excitement, as did their mother. Eliza bravely jumped from the paddle board and swam alongside them for a short while. It was a very special moment. That was day 4 in Australia. Things were going well. For Leone they just got better as she managed to coerce a quokka into a selfie, so joining the ranks of Federer and Hemsworth. I am not sure whether the quokka enjoyed the experience as much.
Suffice to say Perth was an almost unmitigated hit with all of us. Leone made a great new friend in Kirsty Barrett and I had the chance to meet up with friends I have known for many years and see my godson, Tom. (There lay the only drawback - a school trip to Canberra dragged both Tom and his mum away too soon). For the children, they relished in the wildlife they saw, with Eliza, as always, the first to spot, the bravest and the most excited. But more importantly they began to kindle friendships with a new generation of Perthites. This was my fifth, and perhaps best, trip to Perth. I can only hope that these new friendships bestow on my children the same wealth of fun and happiness that I have enjoyed with so many of the guys and girls of this great city.
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