Three in One

This photo was not taken from India.  No, it's not in Italy!  It's captured from Subiaco- a sub-urb of Perth, Western Australia.

Today, Subiaco (or Subi for the locals) is famous for the Subiaco Oval- a football stadium in the capital city of Western Australia.  Just a few steps from the Subiaco train station (where this image was taken) there are various shops and a market which are popular destinations for both the locals and the tourists.

The Noongar Idigenous people once occupied the area until the Italian Benedictine monks arrived in 1851.  The said religious order named the place after Subiaco, in the Province of Rome in Lazio, Italy. 


source: Wikipedia
.

'Between the Flags'

Officially, it's early autumn down under, and before the wintry breeze starts puffing across the southern hemisphere I would like to share some photos I’ve taken during the final week of Australian summer.  

I’ve never been to any of the South Australian beaches last summer, but I was so lucky to visit one of the most famous beaches in Western Australia: Cottesloe Beach- the Bondi of the West!  

Behind the blue umbrella...

The missing ball.

Cottesloe rescuers. 

I visited Cottesloe after exploring the port city of Fremantle, W.A. last February 27, 2011.  I really enjoyed my 2-hour stay in Cottesloe Beach; ahh... I wanted to go back there again. 

...before heading back to the train station to catch the next trip to Perth, I noticed these young swimmers walking along the shores.

Blue and red...

Just a friendly reminder: swim between the red and yellow flags! 

.

The Pink Lake

While I was driving from the city this afternoon, I witnessed this very interesting phenomenon... 

The salt crystallization pan at Dry Creek, South Australia.

Located 12 kilometres northwest of Adelaide, alongside Salisbury Highway and Port Wakefield Road is a 4000-hectare salt crystallization pan that has been part of South Australia’s salt-mining industry since 1940.  But aside from its importance in dye manufacturing, food, leather-tanning and paper industries, salt lakes, like this, were once a mystery!  A body of water would usually reflect the blue sky but salt lakes would sometimes boast of its pink dye. 

The warm and dry weather last week followed by the cool and wet conditions in South Australia this week have possibly aided in achieving the suitable salinity, temperature and light to prompt the algae in accumulating the red pigments of the bacteria growing at the crusty bottom of the lake.       

The same phenomenon occurs in the famous Pink Lake in Goldfields-Esperance region, Western Australia. 

The lake boasting its pink dye!  Dry Creek, South Australia.

.

Individualism

Comfortably standing on top of the hill in Victoria Square- East Perth, Perth, Western Australia is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  From the original Norman Gothic style in the 1865-1930 construction, it was redesigned into an Academic Gothic style in the second phase of construction in 1930-1999; and the current Perpendicular Gothic edifice has been completed during the third phase of the construction which started in 1999, up to the present.  The Benedictine Brothers founded the cathedral in 1863.  

The first spire of St. Mary's Cathedral, Perth, Western Australia.  The second spire which was added during the third phase of the construction is, interestingly, not identical to the first one!  Have you noticed it on the first photograph?

Each of us was specially designed and created; even identical twins have so many differences.  Just like the two spires of this cathedral, we can also stand straight and humbly show the world of our own uniqueness!

The side-altar of St. Mary's Cathedral.  Photo taken February 27, 2011 after the 8am mass.

Simply Australia

Australia is not just about kangaroos and beautiful seascapes...  there are, actually, heaps of picturesque sceneries aside from the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.  The giant red monolith, and the red soil of Australia's Red Centre and the Flinders Ranges are among the common photographic locations which highlight the mostly hot and dry climate of this continent.

But Australia is so diverse that it takes, entirely, a year (after the complete run of the four seasons in the temperate, grassland and subtropical regions) to experience and appreciate the changing colours of its landscape especially in the agricultural areas where various crops are grown.

The railway bridge, believed to be the highest in South Australia, built over the River Light in Hamley Bridge, S.A..  Photo taken in late winter 2010.

Growing peas on the foreground, blossoming canola field and the three gum trees on the middleground plus nature's cumulonimbus clouds on the background-  simple yet beautiful!  (...along Everard Central-Templers Road, Hamley Bridge, South Australia.)

.

Then, now and henceforth...

The tower clock of Perth City Town Hall.  An example of a Victorian Free Gothic architecture, the building was opened in 1870 and is the only convict-built capital city town hall in Australia.  Corners Hay and Barrack streets, Perth, Western Australia. 

Learning is a continuous process, and as we learn from our day to day experiences there's always a challenge to improve ourselves and our lives.  Contentment and satisfaction, for me, are words that exist in the dictionary but not in real life; but don't think this as a negative thing because seeking for advancement and growing to become a better person is always a positive thing.  As we progress, however, we should also be committed to nurture all the beautiful things that we already have.


.

Bus Stop

After I accidentally dropped and broke my polarizing filter at the Kings Park view deck, I decided to leave and go back to the backpackers resort in Beaufort St..  While waiting for bus number 37, I took this photo:

King's Park and Botanical Garden Bus Stop.  Perth, Western Australia