When my son Brian phoned and said the words 'Hi, grandma,' I yelped with joy knowing it meant that my first grandchild had just been born at the other side of the world in Australia. Mum, Erin and baby Morgan were doing well down there and as Brian talked on and said how incredibly beautiful the baby was and how she had a shock of black hair, the longing to be there sprung up in me.

And so two days later, having made various phone calls to rearrange my life and negotiate time off work, there I was sitting on the Air Coach smirking from ear to ear as I texted my news to the world at large. 'I'm a grandma and on my way to visit my Aussie family. See ya later'.

The thirty-hour journey (door to door) necessitated a lot of cramped sitting but the worst was the 5-hour stopover in Frankfurt, highly inadvisable but totally unavoidable on my economy ticket, my travel agent advised me.

Ah, but did I care when I found myself in the bear hug of my six-footer son in Perth airport at 2am on the Wednesday when I arrived. On our way home we swung along a deserted motorway, catching a glimpse of Perth city to our right and catching up on the news. I was going to stay in the house of my as-yet-unmet future in-laws and a little apprehensive about this, I was also trembling with fatigue.

After six hours sleep I awoke in my sunlit room, yes 'tis true, it is always sunny down under. Revived, I jumped out of bed and went to find my new family.

There on the lounge floor lay the little bundle that had caused all this excitement, the three-day-old Morgan. I lay on the rug on the cool, marbled floor of the room, gaping in awe at her baby perfection.

Then I met with Phil, Morgan's Aussie grandpa. His easy welcoming way made me feel immediately at home in their sunfilled house. Lynn, my counterpart in Aussie was at work but the welcome was repeated that evening when I met her.

I found time to spend some hours in Perth city, which is marvellously small and truly laid-back. I availed of the free bus service that whisked me in its cool and pristine cleanliness on a trip around the city.

The bus travelled around the broad boulevards of the Swan River area, the river itself a wide expanse of cool, clean-looking water. From there we travelled on up around the business area where the few high-rises are so artfully placed that they draw for the eye a calm etching which reaches up into the sharp blue sky.

The city has three main stores, many pedestrian areas and lots of restaurants and cafes. The bulk of Perth's size is held in the suburbs which stretch along the coastline in a plethora of houses ranging 50 miles north and south, well serviced with shopping centres and motorways and train services linking them to the city.

The West Aussie accent did indeed throw me, bins and Bens being dangerously confusing and the station Glendalough, just outside the city, being hailed by the sound of Glendolo.

I loved every moment of my time there. I fell increasingly in love with my wee grandchild, overcoming my initial nervousness to find myself changing nappies and waltzing her around in my arms.

I enjoyed the time spent with Phil and Lynn, even finding myself jumping on the back of Phil's new Harley Davidson, to be taken on a breathtaking trip- in every sense of the word as the wind from the sea that day was strong and fast.

I was enthralled watching Erin taking to motherhood with such naturalness and amazed at both her and Brian's knowledge about baby affairs, learning things that I had never known before about baby minding.

It was a treat for me to see both parents being equally involved in the caring of the baby and equally entranced by their Morgan. Twice while I was there the midwives visited and gave, according to Brian and Erin, invaluable advice and support.

The six days rolled by in a haze of glorious heat. Each day we lounged around the spacious, cool house, temperatures outside in this late summer time ranging from mid-twenties to a once-off high of 37¼ centigrade.

This is serious heat that this northern European ageing body does not cope with well, but then stepping from air-conditioned house to air con. car to air con. Shopping centre is a pleasant way to live with this.

Eating in the garden in the balmy evenings and looking out over not-so-distant sea views from the front windows of one's house is a seduction I gave way to easily. Meeting with Erin's family afforded me a glimpse into Aussie family life, which entranced me and left me hoping to get to know 'down under' better.

When I finally left, it was with a great loneliness to be parting from Brian, Erin and Morgan and also from this new ready-made family that had been so welcoming and caring of me while I was there.