Friday, 20 August
After missing dinner the night before Madam was ready for a solid starter, and there was a fair void in the Hughesy digestive tract as we made our way downstairs to check that the tariff we'd paid included the continental breakfast I vaguely recalled being mentioned the day before.
A continental breakfast, in my understanding of the term, is something light that might do you till morning tea but doesn't fill a gaping void. If it wasn't included, we agreed, it shouldn't be too difficult to find somewhere nearby where they turn out a hearty breakfast at a reasonable cost. Yes, we were assured, the continental breakfast is included in the tariff, so if you'd care to step through into our restaurant…
So we did, and in so doing added a new dimension to the definition of the continental breakfast. I was expecting something like (maybe) juice, tea or coffee, toast and (maybe) a croissant or some other form of pastry. What we fund was a substantial smorgasbord offering fruit juice, cereal, toast, pastries, ham, salami, boiled eggs, yoghurt and an array of fruit. Not a bad spread with tea and coffee thrown in for good measure.
That, I suspect, is another example of the impact of fly in fly out miners on the Perth hospitality scene. If you're heading off to the back blocks for a fortnight you'll be wanting a substantial breakfast and you're going to want it at the right price. I could be wrong about that, but I'm not holding my breath in anticipation of a similar spread being classified as a continental breakfast anywhere in the eastern states any time soon.
So, refreshed and fuelled, we checked out and set out for the short stroll to Bayswater Car Hire, where our chariot and Karen the Helpful Sat-Nav Voice waited. Paperwork was disposed of quickly in an environment that could have been friendlier, but when you're paying the rate we were paying smiling courtesy and detailed explanations are an extra that would cost a bit more.
Once the paperwork was concluded, we claimed the chariot and prepared to negotiate our way out of Perth. It may come as a surprise to the gentle reader to learn that Hughesy's array of techno-skills comes to a screaming halt when you're talking GPS technology and I had no idea how to get Karen to start doing her thing.
A visit to the office for orientation while Madam sat in the car park with the engine running produced a rather abrupt entry of the Brand Highway as our preferred destination and a hasty retreat during which I failed to register the existence of the step leading up out of the office.
The result?
A sprawling Hughesy, iPod and mobile phone relocated from the breast pocket to the right hand sleeve, a skinned little finger and a hasty undignified exit. Oh, and on arrival back at the car, Karen proceeded to spit out a series of directions that didn't compute with our (admittedly basic) knowledge of the local geography.
A handy street map and a few hurried directions had us across The Causeway heading for the Wildflower Country.