My re-introduction to hostelling has been excellent and it is great at long last to be able to cater for myself and not have to go out for 2 meals a day. One World Hostel in Perth is a fantastic place namely because it is small, well kept but it is the people who make the difference. We are represented by St Austell, Exeter a strong Derry contingent, a few home counties, quite a few Frenchies, Germans and a splattering of Swedes. Some have been living in the hostel for months and the record currently stands at 5 months.
On Sunday night after the Sunday session I managed to sleep through a burgalry when Stu had 150 Dollars stolen out of his wallet. I was very luckly beacause I had just been to the cash point and so it would have been devastating loosing all my cash and cards.
On Monday I wandered around Perth where there isn't really much to see and caught the train to Fremantle "Freo" on Tuesday. I ended up near the Round House, a former goal, where they fire the canon at 13:00 so that ships could syncronize their time pieces. I was chosen to press the button to detonate the canon. We counted down from 10 but nothing happened - how embarrassing with loads of tourists taking photos. Then suddenly out of the blue BANG it detonated as we all jumped out of our skin.
Tuesday was actually Liam's birthday and we had all arranged to meet at Rosie's as a surprise party for him. John, Scott and Alex took him out for dinner and was really upset that nobody else had made the effort to go along. He soon forgave us though when we sang Happy Birthday as Scott opened the private function room door.
I didn't really do much in Perth apart from have a fantastic social time with my fellow hostellers but after moving around 3 different rooms I lost my key to room 10 and with it went my deposit - 20 dollars. Friday came and it was time to leave. It was time to pull in the horns and start WWOOFing (Willing Workers on Organic Farms). I caught the bus to Manjimup and ended up at Normalee Manor Hostel in the middle of nowhere. There are around 50 seasonal workers from all around the World staying at the hostel. There was a great atmosphere at the Friday BBQ and on Saturday we got in the minibus for one of the 3 weekly shops to stock up on food and it would seem a slab of beer. On Sunday the sun shone again, with intermitent showers of course, and I took Pickles the dog for a walk up the track. We did alright on the way there but I then had to carry the pint sized mutt home after she looked like she was going to flake out on me. Paris Hilton I certainly was not as I arrived home covered in red soil!
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