Connections Nightclub, Northbridge

Perth is a little bit conservative. But, I have found a nightclub that kind of fits my purpose, not matter how I embarrass myself. I initially went there on the 5th day I was in Perth. I was offered crystal meth. Which, although I said no, was kind of awesome (as in, OMG someone thought I would say yes....OMG) I did go on a Wednesday night, wanting to see the Lesbian Mud Wrestling. Of course, I arrived at the unseemly opening time of 10ish pm and proceeded to drink scotch and coke, tall. I fell in love with my bartender, who firstly complemented me on how my dress made my breasts look fabulous, and then proceeded to serve me my drink of choice without me even having to ask...

Of course, there are a couple of things to say about this. I would have not mentioned this at all, but I did post this on Facebook, and if any straight man had said that to me I would have decked him. But, still, it was a fun night in which I threw up. This is the first time I have thrown up in ages, as usually I have a tiney little bit more continuity with my drinking. I drifted back towards my hotel room way after 3am, but enjoyed every minute of the cold walk.

Over 2 weeks later and I was out for Famous Fridays. Lucky for me, fabulous Queens were afoot. I was offered, again drugs in the form of some strange white powder, but again, was not interested in anything but scotch and coke, tall, shook my head and watched the misselaneous people on the dance floor. The music at Connections is loud, tripping your throat kind of loud, and hearing is difficult. There are spinning lights on the roof when you enter, and mirror balls and flashing lights on the dance floor. But, none the less, I was approached by a "gay" man. Of course, he was old, afraid, and really looking to score some pretty little straight morsel floating around such alternate gay clubs such as these. Funny. I was point blank outright with this man, Michael, but he was eager to hang around to see how drunk I would get. He was most annoyed when I stopped drinking after 2 drinks and said I was only here for the acts, Barbi and Ivy, so he became determined to "get"me drunk.

Relaxed, walking toward a spare table, I managed to fall over the dance floor (note, not fall ON the dance floor, but fall OVER the raised wooded portion.) I was SO very embarrassed, and Michael assumed I was as drunk as he was (yup, I had had 2, you had had 9...close?) Getting me another drink as the show started, Michael proceeded to freak at Ivy, insisting that she had had her "parts" cut off. I was hysterical. He was kind of offended I was laughing at him, but I was figuring that he didn't really come to these type of clubs much. I think it was a bit too....cultural for him. It was quite late into the early hours of the morning by this stage, and Michael, I think really drunk now, asked to feel the breasts of a woman standing on his right. She, smiling, said no, but that I, on Micheal's right could. Not needing another invitation, Michael abandoned to his obsessive need to find patently unavailable women in a gay club, I unregrettably left with this woman.

I think that is the fabulous thing about new places and new clubs. In spite of the embarrassing moment of falling over (in front of the towering stiletto wearing fabulous Queens by the way. Oh the shame!) and the hectic first night, and the blond of the second, fabulous Famous Fridays, I dont need to explain myself. I can love the Bartender, and have a slight crush on the beautiful redhead bartender (my first scotch and coke, tall in Connections) and even then, I can go on Mud Wrestling Wednesdays (even if work will be slightly wonky the next day) or Famous Fridays and still feel like, finally, there is a place that I can just listen to the music. That finally, I can fall over in front of Queens, and yet, still, I can return, comforted that the music will still be loud, and that the lights will still freak me out.

Ok, so being that I am a card carrying member of the Zoo, I will TRY and not to continue to post about the zoo, but I did not really give the African Savannah much time. The Lions were asleep, as were the Sumatran Tigers in the Asian rain-forest. The most depressing exhibit by far was the Elephants. They are such elegant, large beautiful creatures, and are trapped in what are small exhibits, unable to cruise around. Perth Zoo has two females, and a male that is kept separate. It is so very sad. I remember a couple of years ago the debate between Dubbo Zoo and Taronga regarding the transfer of some Asian Elephants. Dubbo argued that they had the space to accommodate the Elephants need to walk that Taronga simply could not have. Taronga got the Elephants, in part because more people visited Taronga than Dubbo. But if the Elephants were at Dubbo, people would have gone. This reminded me of that, the Elephants unable to walk around, as there enclosure's were small. This is Tricia, the matriarch and the oldest of the three.

Also on display, the history of Zoo's and their treatment of Animals. This is not something that is Perth Zoo only, it is simply that they choose to exhibit history. These photos show the bear caves, which were tiny boxed in cages for exhibition purposes only.

On a lighter note though:

Near Simmo, the Estuarine Crocodile, are these cute Fairy Penguins. This is one of the few I got of them clearly swimming in the water. Some of them were in the middle of malting, so were half fuzzy, half sleek, kind of like teenagers. They were very adorable, and would wizz about and be all sweet and inquisitive even with all the people hanging around.

The Perth Zoo...Mark II

This is a Galapagos Island Tortoise, and was just cruising around in his enclosure when we all walked passed. The wooden fence seemed a bit flimsy, but I guess he ain't going nowhere! He was HUGE. Ok, I admit, I am not the tallest person around (5'4") but his shell would have made my hip without even trying!! He reminded me of one of those old school monks, calm and unfazed...His legs were very very thick and the ridges of his shell pointy. He was kind of scaly too. Not an absolute favorite, but indeed, a very interesting animal.

Of Course, Perth Zoo is also host to a variety of Australian mammals, including two species of Kangaroo, the Red and the Grey. Typically, the gray's are not always Grey, but are a reddish/brown, and the red's are not red but a greyish/brown. The guide said that the way he tells the difference is due to the shape of the head. The Grey has a smother shaped head, and a narrower nose with sharper, pointed ears. The Red has a larger jaw, box square nose and lager, rounder nose. The red is in the middle, the two gray's on either side. Another disturbing fact...the female Kangaroo is always pregnant and will often have a joey outside her pouch, a fetus growing inside her pouch and an fertilized embryo, just waiting for the fetus to become the joey. Lesson: you do not want to be a female Kangaroo! Unless you belong to the Zoo, who keeps you on contraception. You can walk around in this enclosure, and both the Kangaroo's and wallaby's they share with have the freedom. You, however, must stay on the path. Behind a rope that the Kangaroo's can just jump over. They have the right of way.

The Emu's on the other hand, have a much more appropriate breeding cycle. A pair will mate for a breedingg season (approximately twice a year, and will last about 5 months). The female will lay a whole bunch of eggs (up to 20, but usally around 10-12. Not all of these eggs will be by her breeding partner) and then the male will incubate them all by essentially laying on them and staving himself for about eight weeks. The female by this time is long gone, and will be ready for the next breeding cycle. The male will not breed while raising the chicks (this takes approximately 7-12 months.) Kind of makes sense - the female will mate with as many breeding partners and then leave them to be raised by a single male. Anyway, they are kind of creepy. And, really, so birds need to be this big? I don't think so. And they stare at you!

Apart from the complete awesomeness of the Wombats, Zeus and Cherub, that I mentioned in my last post, and the adorable cuteness of the Numbat, the Estuarine (Saltwater) Crocodile was excellent. Glad that there was a glass wall between us, but spent quite a lot of time hanging out with Simmo. He is massive. Lazy. He was lying at the bottom of his pond when I got there, and I think he spent the first 15 minutes there sleeping (they can survive approximately 40 minutes underwater without breathing), then drifted to the top to get some air. Knowing that they are very fast, large and have a preference for drowning animals as large as Cattle was not in least disconcerting on my side of the glass. Of course, until he opened his mouth! Really, Simmo is my second favorite. (Don't tell the Numbat!)

I became a member of the Zoo (which means I have a 12 month pass, essentially) and it was really so I could come back and see Zeus, Cherub and Simmo.

Perth Zoo

I went to Perth Zoo for a couple of hours. I made the mistake of going during the school holiday's, so there were many hideous children running around ruining the day. There was some damage from the last big storm on March 22nd, and as such, some of the exhibits were still being fixed and upgraded. I have not been to a Zoo in years and was wondering around to see how is is all set out. The Zoo is also in a very useful location (South Perth, a 8 minuet ferry ride from the city and about a further 5 minute walk.) There was various exhibits, such as the reptile house, which was heated. The snake above was very friendly, and was flirting with all the guests walking up to the cage.

The very large python is over 15 meters long, and is expected to grow to over 30. He was (presumably) illegally brought into the country years ago, and then abandoned outside of Taronga Zoo in Sydney. I guess when he reached a size that was too large to keep domestically. Perth Zoo took him in after Taronga advertised him (obviously only to other Zoo's). He only gets fed once a month, but also does not really do much either except sleep under the heater.

My favorite animals by far was Zeus and Cherub, the wombats. They are very kool and hilarious. This is Zeus. Apart from the awesome names, Zeus has a tear in his right ear. When I was talking to the guide for the Australian animals section, he said that Cherub beats him up if he gets too close. They do have separate pens, that are connected by a tunnel with a gate, but these gates are often (mostly) open so that they can interact.

The Cutest animal by far was the little tiny numbat. These are very endangered, now, and mainly exist due to Zoo breeding programs. This little numbat was unusually active during our visit until children turned up and freaked him out. But he is so small. Of course, this was before I saw the Pygmy Marmoset, which is essentially a teacup monkey, or a Designer Nature Monkey if you will. (They were too small to get a good photo)




There will be another Zoo post, as there is the Crocodile, the Galapagos Tortoise (love) and the Elephants to show, along with the Otters (hilarious), Cassowaries and Kangaroos.

One Week in Perth (Fremantle)

It has been a very busy and slightly touristy week. I am now very very tired, but still getting up and checking out some more sights around Perth. Also, finding a full time job and fixing up my degree program. And finding somewhere to live. But, the problem with living in a hotel for a week, is that they change your towel daily and provide Breakfast and I don't have to do any cleaning. And they change the sheets. I like being this comfortable! I will be updating this blog a bit more than once a week, but this is a start, at least.

Fremantle, known locally as Freo, is pretty and has all of these old buildings, hidden allyways and expensive shops to lure tourists. Freo also is home to The University of Notre Dame, which has taken over all these old buildings just outside of the central shopping district. Notre Dame is one of two private universities in Australia (the other is Bond, on the Gold Coast in Queensland), and I would SO like to attend! But, alas, it is expensive and exclusive!
But, Freo is also the port area, so has quite a few ships hanging around in the harbor. I like it here, it is both functional and industrial while also having these organic markets, and old building's.
Freo is also home to the gaol, but I have not visited this yet. (When I do, I will let you know)
There is a artist, Wendy Binks, who has this little store full of Emu art. Binks has released several books, one of which is called "Where's Stripey?" This book is loved by my nephews. So I sent them some postcards with emu's and Stripey (the character) on them.
These photo's are from Freo harbor. I do have many more, but these ones I like. I will post about the time at the Zoo and the cruise along the Swan River soon...