Margaret River

Normally I drive to a destination. Never had I imagined that I'd be sightseeing (that's not exactly the technical term to use when you're undergoing a flight training) on a plane!

Margaret River and its vineyards- birds eye view

But last week I did just that to Margaret River. All I know of the place is that its full of vineyards. What I didn't know is that there's a place called Cape Leeuwin just south west of Margaret River where Indian Ocean meets Southern Ocean. According to Darren, the latest south WA tourist attraction expert, the cape is marked by a historical lighthouse which is a must go destination if you're driving there. So now you know too!

To the left of the cape is Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean on the right

And they live happily ever after....

5 days ago I went back to Sarikei to attend my sisters wedding on the 26th March 2oo8. Initially I thought that I'd have time to spend with her before she's 'sold' off to Tie family (pronounciation different from a type of clothing accessory). Speaking from experience, I know that the last few days leading to the biggest event of one's life is probably the busiest and thereafter any breaks are rare and far in between. Therefore, I hardly have time to talk to her during this trip. The fact that I reach home very last minute does not help as well. In fact, I reached home 7 hours before the whole wedding day rush starts for her.

I took lotsa photos during the day but not using my camera... I took photos using my cousin's camera and I still haven't got hold of it (shall be updated). Before the trip, I was planning to get my own SLR but didn't manage to at that point of time due to time constrain. It was a pretty short and tiring trip but I was happy to be able to see a lot of my relatives I haven't kept in touch with for very long time.

I think it might be a while before I'll see her again. That's the sad part. But I guess the joy is knowing that she's happy. I wish her all the best in her new life.. and I feel really happy for her! Now... anybody has any idea the most economical way to call States using call cards?

Albany Flight (Pt 1)

After passing Phase 2 (Navigation Phase), we're now given longer and more interesting navigations. One of the more interesting flights is down south (yes! further south than Perth!) to a place called Albany. Its part of the requirement in our programme to complete this flight. I'm quite excited about this flight because it will be one of the very few flights where we get to land outside of Jandakot, refill and then get back to home base.

As with any navigation flights, preparation is done before the flight. For this particular long flight, our normal visual navigation chart (VNC) is insufficient. We'd need another map which covers all the way to South Ocean since Albany town faces that particular ocean. Lines are drawn to indicate the flight path on ground, distances and bearing measured. All this are normally done the night before.

However, the next day when the flight was suppose to take off at 10am, the forecast for Albany wasn't very good with low cloud base and the flight had to be canceled. Part 2 of this flight when the flight is completed and there's photos of Southern Ocean to show...

Crabs! (but I'm not talking about VD)

Crab or no crab. That is the question. Location: Peel Inlet which is one hour drive south of Jandakot at a place called Mandurah. This inlet is a unique geographical feature where rivers meets the sea and forms a huge lake but waters are just knee deep. Don't know when the season begins and when it ends. Legally only 2 months in a year strictly no crabbing i.e. September and October. However, we didn't want to take the chance missing the crabbing season as there's sign that summer is getting shorter by day and therefore conditions may not be favourable for crabbing anymore.

Its a pretty interesting device that we use to crab. It is made of spherical wire mesh hooked to the end of a stick. We had to saw away some end of the broomstick so that it fits into the car boot. Because the mesh is wide, we have to carry a pail with us so that when you scoop up the crab, you put it immediately into the pail or else it'll scurry around and fall back into the water.

Evening and night is the best time to crab. Walk around in the inlet and sometimes you'd spot something moving in the water. As you approach it, the crabs (which has camouflaged back and quite hard to spot) would be in its attack (or defence?) position with its pincher raised. This would actually cause its white contrasting bottom to stand out in the water and thus making it easier for us to spot and catch it. Kindda silly isn't it?

Interesting part of the trip was some of us got pinched by the crab at night because we can't see where they are and we're not wearing slippers. I guess that's the best time for them to take revenge on us. Also at night, wherever you shine the torch, there'll be some silly fish swimming in the beam and most of time we mistaken it for crab. Too bad the fish is too small to be eaten and too ugly to be kept as a pet.

Anyways, we caught some crab and missed some, let go of some which are too small (minimum size is 127cm at its widest). And in the end, the number of catch for the day tallies to 8! But I guess its not the number that counts but the fun and excitement of catching them. The chilly and egg crab dish we had for supper is just the bonus....

Just can't resist posting this news

Flash floods hit Shah Alam
By SALINA KHALID extracted from The Star Online

A SUDDEN downpour coupled with clogged drains was the main cause of the flash flood that hit Shah Alam on Wednesday, said Shah Alam parliamentary candidate Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin.

“The cause of it all is human; it is something we cannot control. Bullshit. Things we cannot control is earthquake, tsunami, cyclone etc. Human nature we can control. Is this the future leader? I say vote for a person who knows what he's talking about and have a plan in mind!

“We could be spending millions to improve the infrastructure but if people keep disposing of garbage into the drains, causing them to clog up, then it is very difficult for us to solve the problem,” he said. Then do something about it bugger!