I went to Joondalup today. I had spotted the name near the end of one of the Perth train lines and thought that it sounded like an interesting place to go. My first thoughts were of great disappointment. You get off the train into a huge shopping centre with the largest car park that I've ever seen (even bigger than those in Texas!). I then walked down the main highway for ages before finding that the path simply ended. I turned around and walked back feeling a bit stupid. Back in the shopping centre I found a bookshop with a road map of Perth and discovered a huge lake within walking distance from the station so I set off again in a different direction. By the way, I now discover that "Joondalup is named after Lake Joondalup, which is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of whiteness or glistening'." The lake is huge. There were an amazing number of water birds flying/swimming around including a few black swans. Even more impressive was the number of grass trees that seemed to be everywhere. 
Earlier in the day, I had been at the Aquarium of Western Australia. This also was impressive - particularly their display of marine creatures that will kill you! Faith will be glad to hear that a bite from the sea-snake we went swimming with in Shark Bay "causes general aching and weakness, paralysis and muscular spasm that can lead to respiratory and cardiac failure". However, the "best" bit was watching a video of a cone shell (which really does look just like a normal sea-shell that you might pick up on the beach) killing and then e
ngulfing a fish!
Oh, and just to keep trying to catch up with this blog I attach a photograph taken a few days ago at my house after I had given Anne a 'cello lesson and Jeff gave me a guitar lesson, 
Christine was teaching Jonathan to play backgammon and Xiaopeng and Kate were chatting in Chinese!
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