Four days in already! I can't really tell if I have been affected by jet lag just yet, but I feel tired at night which is a good sign.

On the first day here we went into the centre of Perth (on the train, as we are staying at Cottesloe on the coast) and wandered round the Kings Park and botanical gardens. The spot had great views over the Swan River, and attracted a good range of wildlife. So far I have seen a bob-tail lizard and a host of parrots "busy" with the mating season :)

Getting into the spirit of the Australian way of life has been cool. There is a relaxed atmosphere about the place (even in the city) and my free time has been mostly spent on the beach. I have tried my hand at body-boarding, which was great fun, especially on the odd occasion when I caught a good wave and graciously drifted back onto the shore :D Also, trying to surf one "properly" is a good way of ensuring an injury or two.

Evenings have been spent variously at the pub, the WUCC welcomers party and watching films in the hostel (Jackass 2 is sick!). In the pub next door we saw the same guy chucked out three times, I think he had won big betting on the Melbourne Cup that day :P

It's not all been relaxing though... After all, we are here for a tournament, so we have had a bit of training too. We played mini on the beach on the second day, and had a close friendly against the New Zealand team "Magon" (lost 13:11) which was great for getting used to playing in the heat.

Really looking forward to the tournament now, and tomorrow the rest of the team arrive and we move accommodation to the city which is closer to the playing fields.

Excitement levels are building :P

This is the first update of hopefully several about my trip to Perth and the World Ultimate Club Championships I'm playing in.

So what has happened so far? Well the first couple of days where spent traveling here in the luxury of Royal Brunei airlines. So much as a rumble of the stomach and excellent food seemed to appear! Although, possibly due to a language barrier, when asked what I would lke, I usually got the opposite. Perhaps they were asking me what I didn't want ...

The freebies were also excellent; blanket, pillow, eye mask, socks (!?), bag, toothbrush and tooth paste. There was great fun to be had with this in the airports when I dressed up as Captain Brunei - on a mission to improve peoples dental hygiene! (photos to follow - see the flicker gallery). Its amazing how acting ridiculous keeps up the moral.

The in-flight entertainment was pretty good, a choice of films, TV, music and games to enjoy. I watched the film Matchstick Men (with Nicholas Cage) which was very good, and the same episode of The Simpsons three times whilst I had my main meals. Not only was this comforting, it's hard to break the habit :P

However, there were times on the flight when I felt rather awkward. For example, when you stand up for a second, turn round, and a random Chinese woman has sat in your seat and fell to sleep. I just didn't know what to do; how do you go about waking them up and telling them that they have made such a mistake? I just sat somewhere else and watched as she woke up, realised her mistake and didn't know where the rest of her family were...

I also met some lovely people on the flight, a nice young chap off to Australia on a gap year to be a diving instructor. If you are reading - good luck to you! I also had the pleasure of meeting a couple returning from a holiday to Vietnam, which, by all accounts sounds fascinating and a massive culture shock. Visiting Vietnam is in a completely different league to visiting Australia, which is rather like going to the beach in England! Hopefully I'll get to experience something uniquely Australian at some point, I'm searching for a crocodile/kangaroo BBQ...