Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Pelican Yoga briefly interrupts its ongoing celebration of autumn 2024 on the Coorong, to celebrate the arrival of spring, in Perth.
Western Australian wildflowers are not fussed about calendars, nor European-derived notions of “the four seasons”.
Four days before the alleged end of winter, in Shenton Bushland it was abundantly evident that spring had already “sprung”.
Kangaroo Paws are now easy to see, as are some (not all, yet) of the “spring-flowering” orchids.
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Even as a spectacularly distorted reflection on the facade of another, lower and more “glassy” edifice, St Martins Tower is unmistakably itself.
Since we moved to Perth in 1983 many different tenants have “badged” St Martins Tower; as you can see in lower right hand quarter of the above photo, the current logo is that of ICBC – a Chinese bank.
From 1978 to 1988 St Martins Tower (140 metres) was Perth tallest building.
In the much more crowded and taller 2024 skyline, it is #10.
The #1 ranking, however, has remained unchanged for 32 years; Central Park (249 metres) still looks down on all other WA rooftops.
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Architecturally speaking, much of what stands tall in Perth is depressingly typical of what stands tall in just about every other substantial city on “our” planet.
Most post-1960 “towers” are both bland and brutal.
However, Perth’s unusually intense winter light can work “magic”, when combined with the happy fact that “vertical”, “flat” glass panes are hardly ever truly vertical or truly flat.
Comments closed…and it’s “companion animal” is a 5.6 tonne numbat!
Together, they make one hell of an “entry statement” – or “exit statement” – for those who travel by ferry to and/or from the South Perth foreshore.
Not coincidentally, South Perth’s major attraction is Perth Zoo, which is within easy walking distance of the ferry station.
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This series final chapter reveals the identity of the “red flecks” in the preceding post’s landscape view.
There’s no finer location in which to experience the two relevant species in their natural state than Fitzgerald River National Park’s East Mount Barren.
If you wish to enjoy a natural experience of them (both species are now popular with gardeners) the only places where you can have that experience are all in or near to Fitzgerald River National Park.
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There is no such thing as “the best place on earth”.
However, there is certainly no better place on earth than Fitzgerald River National Park, if you love unspoilt coastal magnificence, and flowering plants, most especially ones that grow – naturally at least – in only one “place”.
The photo was taken near the Park’s eastern end, whilst standing atop East Mount Barren, looking west.
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As dusk began on 05 April 2024, we made our way back from Peel Inlet’s edge and adjacent (unseasonably dry) samphire-dominated wetland.
Before our return to suburbia we skirted some mostly-intact, mostly-native scrub/woodland.
We “met” a few kangaroos, but by 5. 51 pm we were the only humans within view,
Unexpectedly, something lovely – something flaunting – briefly appeared..
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Even on the (rare) occasions when not a single bird is within sight, day’s end in Mandurah’s Creery Wetlands Nature Reserve is a superb combination of time and particular place.
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S/he may have deserved another.
However, the pictured tern was alone…as far as we could see, at least.
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Now considered by some demographers as part of “greater Perth”, Mandurah was once an “unspoilt”, sleepy little town on a very big inlet.
It is now Western Australia’s second largest city, with circa 100,000 permanent residents.
Famous/infamous for its “canal developments”, Mandurah still has a surprisingly rich array of natural attractions that are well-protected, but easy-to-access
One of them is an internationally significant bird sanctuary.
To reach it, some migratory birds travel considerably longer distances than do the English-born humans for whom Mandurah is also a “magnet”.
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