Happy Chinese New Year to everyone in Perth!
In Perth, we are lucky enough to be exposed to a range of people from a diverse set of cultures and backgrounds, including those who are of Chinese and Vietnamese ethnicity.
According to the Lunar calendar, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon and is celebrated from the 23rd January for 15 days.
ABC Interview with Ken Lee on Celebrating the Lunar New Year Dragon Style
For the best low down on what Chinese New Year is all about, hear from Ken Lee at the ABC site. Ken is one of my long time friends, and I really enjoyed his interview on the ABC with Brooke Bannister.
The suburb of Claremont is located about 9 km west of the centre of Perth and at its heart lies “the Quarter” – an area where people can shop, eat, work, socialise and live without having to get into a car and go anywhere. It’s like a village within a town within a city!
Its official address is 9 Bayview Terrace but the large block is bordered by the Terrace, St Quentin Avenue, Gugeri Street and Bovell Lane.
The idea behind the Claremont Quarter began 15 years ago but it was only in February last year that the final stage was officially opened.
If you can shop till you drop or just love to browse through the windows, with over 450 Australian and international brands on show, there is definitely something for you to look at!
In a city built on the banks of a large river bordered by 90 km of coastline, it would be a sin not to partake in some kind of water sport.
Perth is a water baby’s playground and for most of us, being in or on the water is part of our lives from a very early age. We swim and surf in it, dive under it, sail on it, jetski over it… the choices are only limited by our imaginations.
For visitors to the city, it is a matter of working out what you want to do in the time you have available. For our family, jetskiing on the Indian Ocean was top priority and far from anything they had ever tried in the cold waters of England.
Here is just a small taste of what is on offer around the city that you may wish to consider before you grab your towel and head to the beach:
Walking along the boardwalk at Claisebrook Cove in East Perth today, it may seem unlikely that this area was once the city's main industrial area. Even more unlikely, that it was the scene of a short lived and rather unusual experiment in agriculture – silkworm farming.
Claisebrook had originally been set aside as the town's abattoir, but this use soon lapsed. Instead, it became to be regarded as a potential site for a botanic garden, or agricultural nursery, something which it shared with nearby Third Swamp (now Hyde Park) and a number of other sites.
Denmark has become a haven for the artistic and environmentally minded since the 1980s. Located only 38km west of Albany and about 420km south of Perth, it is a charming destination with things on offer for everyone from adventurers to romantics to families. With comfortable temperatures year round, any time is a good time to visit Denmark.
Like many of the towns along the southwest coast, Denmark has lots to offer the outdoor enthusiast. Ocean Beach along Wilson Inlet has excellent surfing.
Closer to Darwin than its own capital Perth 3000km away, Kununurra is often described as the last frontier.
Situated at the heart of the East Kimberley in northern West Australia, Kununurra is a green oasis in the red dirt that in the local Aboriginal language means “the meeting of the big waters.”
My family and I were lucky enough to live there for three months in the mild season before the wet a few years ago. It is hot all year round with two distinct seasons; the wet (November – January) and the dry. Many roads are closed during the wet season so it is best to travel in the dry and plan ahead.
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