G’day Bruce! We’ve arrived in Australia! Squiffy’s favourite country and my biggest waypoint since our world tour began! Hoorah!

We’re in Perth, Western Australia and I’m in the mood to share some eyebrow-raising factoids about the place with you. Western Australia (WA), one of Australia’s eight states is also easily the largest, covering a third of the country’s land mass. WA is the size of Western Europe and yet has a population of only 1.9 million people. 1.4 million of which live in, or around, its pint-sized capital Perth. Which means that there’s less than half a million people outside of the city in a land so vast that my pea-sized brain can’t yet quite grasp the reality that we face on our impending roadtrip.

Perth is oft-quoted as being the world’s most isolated capital city — it’s closer to Jakarta in Indonesia than Sydney, on the other side of Oz. From the central business district (town centre/downtown), you certainly don’t feel isolated at all. The place is positively buzzing with activity and appears to have everything one could need.

Claire (and her Dad) have been particularly keen for me to create fond memories of Australia, as this is a place that they’d both love to live. I must say: So far, so good. To me, Perth’s a bit like Cardiff (which I love) with a handful of skyscrapers, a much more picturesque river setting and perpetual blue skies.

After munching my way through my first beetroot sandwich (an antipodian institution, I gather), we spent a few days exploring the city. We visited the Perth Mint to learn about gold and see the yellow stuff being poured. Days later, a lovely evening was had singing Carols by Candle Light by the water in the shadow of the skyscrapers, along with five thousand other people.

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