Carrot cake porridge, for autumn

Autumn (fall) has always been my favourite season. It isn't as dramatic in Western Australia as it can be elsewhere, because our native trees aren't deciduous and the weather isn't cold enough to give really bright foliage colour. However, I still find it beautiful. I also love the shift from long hot summer days to cool crisp nights that are set against a generous scattering of mild sunny days. When it isn't sunny, grey drizzle provides an excuse for cozy hours indoors with tea and books. 

Autumn leaves

With the cooler weather, I also renew my love affair with warming foods. I find it is too hot for porridge in Australian summer, but at this time of year, I welcome its ability to warm you from the inside out.

Carrot cake porridge

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Tandem cycling and Peninsula Tea Gardens at Tranby House

Some of you noticed in my March photos post that I had photographed a tandem bicycle.

The bike in question was one that Mr Bite and I hired a few weekends ago. Mr B has long wanted to try a tandem, and for Christmas I gave him a voucher to hire one. I hold the view that cycling is better with scones, so the voucher also incorporated afternoon tea at the Peninsula Tea Gardens of Tranby House.

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Kalgoorlie and surrounds, Western Australia

Lake Ballard salt lake and sculptures

Kalgoorlie was our final destination on our recent 4-night stint away. Approximately 600km east of Perth and 400km north of Esperance, it is set in the heart of the Western Australian Goldfields region. Gold was found in the area in the late 1890s and continues to be mined today, making the region one of the richest gold producing areas ever discovered. The district is also a huge producer of nickel.

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder 'super pit' - a huge open-pit gold mine

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Cottesloe Sculptures by the Sea, 2014

This is the third year I've posted pictures from the annual Sculptures by the Sea event held at Cottesloe Beach. The event doesn't need much introduction. Each March, it delivers several weeks of creative sculptures set on and above the Cottesloe shoreline. It seems to have become increasingly popular each year, and as a free event in a beautiful setting, the popularity is deserved.

Here were some highlights from our visit this year!

Spot the wire cloud in front of the real one; the wire is lit up after dark too

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Esperance, Western Australia

After seeing Hyden's Wave Rock, we drove another 4 hours east to reach Esperance. In contrast to the tiny 200-odd population of Hyden, Esperance is home to nearly 15,000 people and has multiple accommodation options, cafes and shops. The contrast was pronounced!

As is typical of Australia, the scenery also changed dramatically as we moved from flat, inland plains to the coastal region where Esperance sits. Water is everywhere. Our first afternoon was cloudy and overcast (and, to us, beautifully cool - under 20'C!) but the magnificence of the coastline was still evident.

Twilight Beach, Esperance

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Wave Rock, Western Australia

Wave Rock, Hyden, Western Australia

The last four days have reminded me that Australia is a really, really big country. Logically, of course, I knew this already - but there is nothing like driving the open expanses to bring the fact home.

We covered over 17,00km in roughly 18 hours of driving, and still covered just a small corner of Western Australia. When looking at Australia as a whole, that small corner becomes an even smaller component.

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365 project: February photos (plus ballet at the quarry and bouncing stonehenge)

Having done a post summarising my January photo-a-day photos, I thought I would continue on and summarise each month as the year unfolds. Here, obviously, we have February.

Featured in the February photo set are snapshots from two outings not yet mentioned on the blog. The first was our attendance at the Western Australia Ballet company's Ballet at the Quarry. Mr Bite gave me tickets for my birthday last December. It was the first time in a long time I had been to the ballet, and the first time Mr Bite had been at all. The modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, set to Radiohead music and appropriately titled Radio and Juliet, was a good choice for both of us.

Ballet at the Quarry - amphitheatre seating

The Quarry Amphitheatre is an atmospheric place, with grass tiered seating surrounded by towering limestone walls. We took a picnic and the hot day transitioned beautifully to a cool, clear evening.

The second outing was our visit to the 'Sacrilege' bouncing castle, part of the Perth Festival activities. It provided a full-scale bouncing version of Stonehenge, and was free for children and adults alike. We had enough of bouncing after about 5 minutes, but it was very fun!

Bouncing Stonehenge

Activities and outings explained, here are my 28 photos for February...

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Out and about in Perth #7 - Hillarys Marina

We have been packing a few outings into our recent weekends. Most notably, we have actually been to the beach. I know this may not sound very eventful, especially during Australian summer, but there are all sorts of barriers that usually prevent our beach attendance.

Hillarys Marina, late afternoon

For starters, Mr Bite and I share an unhelpful ability to burn within 15 minutes of sun exposure. Sun cream is no guarantee of avoiding this outcome. Going to the beach during the middle of the day is pretty much never going to happen.

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Eden's Salad Bar, Subiaco

After I raved about the easily obtained veggie food in North America (in my blog posts and to anyone who would listen), I realised that I should try harder to do justice to the vegan and vegetarian places of my home town. There are plenty of places that I would be thrilled to discover if I was looking for a cafe on holiday, and a number of them are quite conveniently located to either my home or my work.

Today's post is written in the spirit of recognising great veggie food on my doorstep, and I hope you'll agree that I'm starting with a delightful example.

Eden's Salad Bar, Subiaco

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Australia Day weekend: Australian celebrations, my Mum's birthday, river-front activities, and much food

When the British First Fleet reached Sydney harbour on the 26th January 1788, I wonder if they knew how subsequent Australians would appreciate their timing? The Australia Day public holiday does, after all, work wonders at easing the post-Christmas return to work.

Vegan lamingtons

I would still swap the date, happily, for one that does not mark the anniversary of British culture invading indigenous Australia. We may have that shift in the future. I will welcome it if it comes. For now, though, I have enjoyed the opportunity for a 3-day January weekend that celebrates Australia and overlaps with my Mum's birthday all in one.

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Out and about in Perth #6 - Subiaco Common

At the end of a scorching Saturday, Mr Bite and I visited Subiaco Common to soak up the setting sun, sea breeze, and cooler temperatures. The common is a man-made park and lake set against modern housing developments, tucked into a quiet corner of the leafy Subiaco suburb. It's not far from us, but this is the first time we've explored it fully.

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65% cocoa Forestero Ghana chocolate, by Gabriel Chocolate

It's not often I dedicate a whole product review post to one block of chocolate. Gabriel Chocolate, however, invites such attention. They are the first Western Australian company to make single original chocolate (using imported cacao beans), and they do a swoonworthy job of it.

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Good bye 2013

Like last year and the year before, I've spent the last few days out of Perth with Mr Bite's family. Six adults, three children and one dog in one house is a recipe for minor chaos, but it is chaos of a good for you, Australian, summery kind of way.

To finish off this year, here are some snaps of the calmer moments.

I think tee-pees are under-rated as outdoor accessories.

Western Australia's south-west forests

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Fitness Fridays giveaway! Share your 2014 aspirations to win a Paul's Warehouse voucher

You may recall me posting aspirations at the start of 2012 and again this year. I prefer 'aspirations' to 'resolutions', as I think New Year's resolutions have developed a reputation for being unrealistic and short-lived (although obviously they don't have to be). Aspirations, on the other hand, are just goals. We can set goals any time, but I like to reflect and re-focus at the start of each year.

Today, I am hoping to inspire you to start thinking about your own aspirations for the next year. The reason? I am fortunate to bring you a giveaway for a Paul's Warehouse voucher. For those of you not familiar with Paul's Warehouse, it is a family owned Australian company that offers discount sport and exercise equipment, clothing and shoes. There are no physical stores in Western Australia, but they ship Australia wide (I apologise to my non-Australian readers; they are Australia-specific) for a flat rate of $10.

With a $30 voucher, you could buy all manner of items to support whatever you want to do in 2014.

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Camping - reflections in photos

Camp site, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park - pre-tent

Camp site, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park - post-tent
(thanks to my sister-in-law's tent lending!)

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Out and About in Perth (#5) - Open House Perth, 2013

Some of you may be familiar with the Open House scheme. It started in London in 1992, and has since extended to cities all around the world. 2012 was the first year for Open House Perth and we didn't know anything about it until after the event (!). This year, we were more organised and managed to visit a few of the open buildings on Saturday. I am glad we did, although as I forgot my camera, I am sharing images with you courtesy of my phone. I apologise for the dubious quality at times.

By Bishop's See Gardens, Perth.

Open House aims to give people a behind the scenes look at historical, architecturally significant and/or otherwise meaningful spaces. Mostly these spaces are buildings, but some are gardens or other types of architecture. This year, there were 65 sites open in Perth over 2 days. Clearly, you have to pick your priorities.

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Out and about in Perth (#4) - Whiteman Park and Araluen revisited

We have had a few outings in the Perth area recently. Last Sunday was our one year wedding anniversary (thanks for all the congratulations!) but it was also Father's Day. During the day, we visited Whiteman Park with family.

Whiteman Park: It's big enough to have tram and train lines within it.

I hadn't been to Whiteman Park since I was a child, and I had forgotten how big it is. There are picnic areas, walk trails, bush land, playgrounds, and railway/transport features spanning 7000 hectares in total. The railway and transport features stem from the Park being home to much Western Australian transport heritage. There is a motor museum, a tractor museum, a tram around the grounds, and a railway around the grounds. 

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Northern Queensland finale - Daintree region

In my last Queensland post, I took us up to our crossing of the Daintree River by car ferry. Once you reach the other side, you're in the heart of the Daintree National Park and there are no shopping complexes, high-rise buildings, phone networks or even mainstream electricity. There are generators for power, one petrol station, a convenience store, and a scattering of accommodation and food options.

It is like a different world, and it is very peaceful.

Walkway to our cabin, Daintree Wilderness Lodge

I had hatched a cunning plan for our Daintree accommodation. I suggested that if we camped and used budget accommodation for the first part of the trip, we could have a more luxurious ending in the Daintree. Mr Bite didn't need too much convincing and so it was that we came to stay at the Daintree Wilderness Lodge, a small eco-friendly resort that has just 7 cabins, all set into rain forest off their private walkways. 

It has long been a dream of mine to stay in a tree house (as per my previous ramblings on the topic), and this is as close as I've come to date.

Daintree Wilderness Lodge

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Snapshot of Melbourne

For the last few days, I have been in Melbourne for a work conference that started on Thursday afternoon and will finish this evening. It has been an opportunity for some brief sight seeing and meeting with friends, in addition to the work component. It has also been an opportunity to rely exclusively on my camera phone, so I apologise for the quality of some photos!

The conference is being held at the Mercure-Pullman Albert Park, which is a slightly odd hotel that actually consists of two hotels. The Mercure, where I am staying, is the slightly less fancy half. The Pullman, where rooms are a little more expensive, is reportedly a little more upmarket.

Mercure hotel room

I think my room is fine, although the view out the window is not, perhaps, Melbourne's best front.

The View!

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Northern Queensland travels - Cairns to the Daintree, via Port Douglas and Mossman Gorge

It is difficult to grasp that 2 months have passed since we returned from our northern Australia holiday. Or rather, it is easy to grasp that 2 months have passed, but hard to understand why I haven't finished writing up my travel posts!

This is the second to last post that will relate to this trip, and it picks up where my two Cairns posts left off. After we left Cairns, we drove 1.5 hours up the coast to the Daintree region, a drive that is as scenic as it is winding.

Look out point mid-way between Cairns and Port Douglas

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