Chronicles of a Trailing Spouse...

Oh dear, we really need to get used to the idea that this is not a country which can be easily traversed in three hours by road. And when people tell you something is 'just on your doorstep', what they actually mean is that you don't need to take a flight to get there. Yesterday we decided to visit the famous Karijini National Park, which had been described by several people as - yep -- 'on our doorstep'. It isn't. Setting off with a picnic, five bickering children and half a tank of petrol, we figured we'd be at the park in an hour. And yes, we did reach its outer edges in just over an hour, however we quickly discovered that the Visitor Centre was 55 kilometres away, and all the attractions were of similar distances and in various directions. And the road had given way to a red gravel track making for a bumpy and uncomfortable ride. I had imagined visiting the park would be a bit like visiting The World Showcase in Disney World , where you can ...

One thing I like about all the moving around we've been doing over the last few years, is how you can walk -- quite literally -- out of one world and into another ( and as if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared! ) One day you're living in a house on the west coast of Ireland, surrounded by green fields and grazing cows, the next day 'home' is a 16th floor hotel room in hot and dusty downtown Abu Dhabi. And where you once woke up to the sound of tractors chugging along the road and 'Morning Ireland' on the radio, you are now woken by beeping taxis and the international edition of CNN news on the TV. All that is required to implement this dramatic transformation is enough money to board a flight (or preferably an employer willing to relocate you) and the will to do it. Just over a week ago we did it again, we left the Perth hills and tumbled -- head first -- from one world right into another. The journey, which we planned to do in two days, ended up taking ...