A Singaporean In Australia

There is such a suburb called Gooseberry Hill. On the map, you could hardly imagine how a place looks like until you visit it. Perth has a wide array of terrain, suburbs within the metropolitan area could vary a lot in geographical features.

Gooseberry Hill was fortunately a hilly region like its name suggested. Never trust the name of a suburb here. Once in a while, a place or region is named after what it is, somewhat. Such as Dog Rock and in this case, Gooseberry Hill. Other than that, most suburbs have no resemblance to their names. Just in case anyone rushes to visit Success.

There was no place I had visited that was quite similar to Gooseberry Hill. Roleystone was close but it felt more rustic. Gooseberry Hill felt quiet yet secured. Houses were spaced rather far from one another. There was no pattern or sequence because of the inconsistent slopes around the region. The builders of the past built structures to blend with the surroundings instead of the current cut-and-fill approach. It was as though citizens in this suburbs had the intention to live harmoniously with the nature that was here long before humans.

Even in Winter, I could hear echoes of birds chirping from faraway places, well hidden from human sight. It was a rare magical place. No 2 houses here looked similar. Each house had its own unique charm. I was sure if we had the chance to tour one of the houses, we would be impressed with their self sufficiency features.