Towards the end of the first century Juvenal, the Roman satirist, was wont to say “Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno.” Which translates as “A rare bird in the lands, and very like a black swan.” which is as polite a way of saying “bullshit” that I have ever come across. Every European knew that all swans are white so someone claiming to have seen something as rare as a black swan was clearly lying.
Willem de Vlamingh put an end to that fallacy in 1697 when he came eye to eye with Black Swans on the river now known as the Swan River in a place now known as Perth, Western Australia. He grabbed a few but sadly they died on the way back to Holland.
Most Australians grow up seeing only black swans. They might well turn Juvenal’s saying around “A rare bird in the lands, and very like a white swan, mate” but they would probably just say “Bullshit”. However there is in WA not far from Perth a colony of white swans. A brief history can be found on a sign on the banks of the River Avon at Northam …
Just how naturally they live there is a moot point. The River Avon extends in a very similar fashion up and down stream but for some reason the swans rarely travel far from Northam.
Our journey today took us from Cervantes to York, the oldest inland Town in WA.
That concludes our exploration of the west coast for now. Tomorrow we will bush camp at Karalee Rock then it’s onto the Eyre Highway bound for South Australia. Updates may be scarce for a few days.
bobmcgee 