Perth is on fire. Western Australia has been in an extended draught for many years and is so similar to Los Angeles that they share a "fire season". 
We hope our new friends in Perth are safe and that the fires end soon. 

Perth is in the middle of nowhere making it a most wonderfully remote, modern and self-sufficient city. We were surprised at how much we loved it here. It didn't hurt that we had fantastic digs through a home exchange and the weather was perfect everyday. Even the aggressive Aussie flys left us alone here. 

We pretty much spent every day at Cottesloe beach catching the waves and swimming in the crystal blue water.  We did venture out a couple of times to check out one of the best parks in the world, Kings Park and the local zoo.  We also had a magical Christmas Eve at St. George's Cathedral  and an intimate Christmas Day, you guessed it, at the Beach. 

We also spent a week or so at a fantastic beach house in Yallingsup in the Margaret River region. This area is beautiful and full of world famous vineyards, one of which was owned by the family of the house we did an exchange with, Wise Winery (yummy SBS). The Aussies know how to mix family and fun--most wineries and breweries are set up with a great big playground so you can drink and they can play. 

We highly recommend Western Australia. Perth has endless things to do, the Margaret River wine region is only 3 hours away and WA has ome of the most gorgeous beaches we've ever seen.