Australia

Journey from Jo Berg was a marathon, it eventually took about 26 hours. Over the next couple of days I genuinely lost a day and eventually asked someone what day it was.

The route initially took me from Jo Berg to Sydney - for those of you who know their geography its a long way past Perth. I had to change flights at Sydney to board yet another 747 to fly back to Perth - trouble was the connecting flight was running so late they put me onto another flight. Things just went from bad to worse as that plane was eventually delayed by about 2 hours. Its about a 5 hr flight from Sydney to Perth. Long storey cut short after various telephone calls to the hotel and car hire people to tell them I was running late I eventually got to the hotel just after 3 am, needless to say I had no trouble getting to sleep, unfortunately it was not for long as I had to check out at 11 am.

Woke up to a beautiful morning and not a cloud in the sky. The hotel I was staying in was in the centre of Perth. Perth is very modern with sky scrapers and many shops and stores. Lots of hustle and bustle - a nice vibe. I will attach a couple of pictures to show you what I mean.

However all good things must come to an end - I needed to head south to a place called Pinjarra, which is a small town about 70 miles away, the parachute centre is located on the outskirts of the town.

I am staying in a cabin in a caravan park and for most of the time I have been here its been raining. However come Sunday when I am drafting this it has eventually stopped and the forecast is better for the next few days. So no skydiving yet, but I have been out to the DZ, picture attached.

There is not much in Pinjarra but there is a city about 12 miles away on the coast called Mandurah. Mandurah is right on the edge of the Indian Ocean, its very much a boating community, with some very smart houses and nice waterfront with cafe's and restaurants. A series of canals have been constructed in recent years and this is where you will see the most expensive housing and posh boats.

As I have said I have not got any jumping in yet and I am looking at the possibility of trying another couple of DZ's, one of them interestingly enough is called Hillman Farm Skydiving.

Finally for now the obvious contrast between South Africa and Australia is the vegetation. Where Johannesburg and to a lesser extent Cape Town are quite arid, Australia is (or this part) is very green, hopefully will get some pictures on this later. Even though its winter here, its not particularly cold. When the sun does get out its nicely warm - even hot. John 26/5