Rocky Bay Bushwalk

We assembled at Tom Perrott Reserve carpark on a beautiful sunny morning. Jack was the leader and we set off in good spirits, enjoying the views down to the river. On a long weekend, it was full of boats coming and going, from the smallest to a large Captain Cook Cruise. Water skiers were getting towed and there were some individual mechanised craft that I’d never seen before.

At this point I sat down for a rest. The others progressed up the hill, turned around and met me on the way back:

There were some very posh houses around this part of the river:

This one had a pool and its own private boat ramp.

On the way, I spotted a lone white heron hiding amongst the reeds:

Chernobyl

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. I’ve been watching a series of documentaries on TV, made in different parts of the world, but all showing footage, again and again of the nuclear plant exploding. It was truly shocking. Perhaps the worst thing was the giant cover-up as the Soviet authorities tried to keep it secret from the rest of the world: until they couldn’t. Finally the whole town of Pripyat had to be evacuated: some 4,500 people in an enormous convoy of 1,500 buses.

There were interviews from survivors, including hospital nurses and doctors, firefighters and other first responders, schoolchildren in Pripyat, bewildered local officials who didn’t know what to do. There were photos of many who didn’t survive, as well as horrific footage of radiation burns on the bodies of victims. One documentary relied heavily on this book:

I actually bought this book in 2020. I had been sitting next to someone on a plane who was reading it on the flight. As soon as I got home to Perth, I went out to buy it. The book is detailed and dense, representing years of research.

In 1986, at the time of Chernobyl, I was working at Vienna International School. I’ve been trying to remember how it affected us. I know that our students were not allowed outdoors at lunchtime. I also daren’t pick the herbs growing on our balcony. Apart from that, I remember very little. I suppose we were lucky in that the radioactive dust was blown north-west of Austria, eventually being identified in Scandinavia and even being known as “acid rain” falling in the Welsh mountains.

In order to see what we were doing at the time, I’ve been looking through my photo albums. A few months after the disaster, in June 1986, C and I were on holiday in Venice. This is us feeding the pigeons:

So it seems we were completely unaware of the seriousness of the tragedy. For us, life was going on as normal.

Much later, I was reminded of the repercussions of the nuclear fall-out. JL had a Polish cleaning lady at his house in Quinns Rocks. Her son married a girl who was a recent Polish immigrant. Soon, they had a child. Tragically, it was a hydrocephalus baby.

Hot Walk Through History

Sunday’s bushwalk was around the old quarantine centre at Woodman Point. We are now into the “winter schedule” of late starts, but the weather played tricks on us and we found ourselves walking in 31 degrees. Arriving at Nyyerbup Circle, Coogee for 9.30 am, it was virtually impossible to find a parking spot. There were so many people there, including skuba diving groups. Fortunately I had my secret weapon, in the form of JL’s old disability sticker.

We followed Sue along the disused rail tracks, which had previously been used to carry ammunition to bunkers along this part of the coast:

The quarantine station was established in 1886, to house people arriving by boat at Fremantle who were suffering from contagious diseases. It operated up to 1979. This is what it looks like today, when it is used as a recreation camp:

We observed a monument at the nurses’ graveyard, since many of them succumbed to the diseases:

We also passed the small crematorium, where bodies were disposed of:

 

Three of us decided to take a short cut back to the start, since it was getting really hot and not easy to traverse the sandy tracks.

We all enjoyed lunch in the shade at the end of the walk:

What an interesting excursion, in spite of the heat!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the destruction of Burswood Park continues:

Easter

On Good Friday, C and E came over to have dinner at Burswood. Only Rocky was missing, as big dogs are not allowed in this building. On the menu was Salmon Wellington from Aldi. I have sworn off Kailis since the price of fresh fish has gone through the roof. Snapper now costs ten times more than when I first started shopping at Kailis. For dessert we had kiwis that claimed to be from WA, but I couldn’t believe this as I didn’t know they were grown here.

We should have gone down for a swim, as Friday was the best day in terms of weather, but we were too lazy.

I was keen to get some exercise on Saturday, so I walked around the perimeter of the fenced-off area of Burswood Park. I took this photo directly opposite from where I live:

The picture shows the complete destruction and the pond they are trying to fill in with blue metal. It’s taking them a long time.

On the way home, I walked past Crown and was looking for somewhere to sit down. I accidentally found a secret back way into their pool area. I followed a sign that said Great Lawn and found an unlocked gate. Normally you would need a key card to go through to all their outdoor facilities. Without my swimming costume, I couldn’t take advantage of the situation, but I wonder if I could repeat the experience?

Their trees were just coming into bloom: