Monday October 22

Arrived in Perth last Tuesday and as today is our last day here and furthermore, it is raining (the first real, ongoing rain we have had since leaving home), so I have decided that I am going to make an absolute exception and talk about a place before we leave.

We are both quite enjoying the unavoidable reason for propping in the van this morning.  When the weather is superb (as the last couple of days have been) you do feel that you should be off doing things and when there is lots to do, as is almost always the case, that feeling is difficult to ignore.

For once I am going to try very hard not to go on too much and as enjoyable as Perth has been, a city is pretty much a city and there are not the wonders of nature I feel the need to go on about everywhere you turn.

Having said that, Kings Park, where we spent last Wednesday, is quite amazing.  The park is one of the largest inner city parks in the world and has both cultivated gardens and ‘untamed’ bushland.  As it is located on Mt. Eliza, visitors are afforded stunning views over the city and the Swan River.

 

Original Swan Brewery in the foreground

 

From our perspective, the attraction was definitely the Western Australia Botanic Garden, which is committed to the conservation of the state’s flora.  Western Australia has half of Australia’s 25,000 plant species, most of which are found nowhere else on earth.

There is, however, something dreadfully ironic about walking through this beautiful area, where so many devoted people are trying to save particular plant species (and by association, the faunal species relying on them) when we have travelled through so many areas where it is hard not to conclude that even more people are single-mindedly and equally devoted to exploiting a natural environment which is struggling to survive.  I respond by doing my usual vacillation between thinking that trying to make a difference is a waste of time and deciding that it is up to those of us who care to continue doing as much as we can..

My favourite part was the Banksia Garden.  62 of Australia’s 77 Banksia species occur in Western Australia and they have been the delight of our ‘wildflower spotting’.  I did not take many photos as lining them up in a garden doesn’t seem quite as exciting as seeing them in their natural environment.  Will share a couple of special flowers with you though (to add to the Eucalyptus macrocarpa I included in the last blog).

Banksia coccinea

Swan River Daisies (the purple ones)

Some of the everlastings we didn't see in the wild as they had already finished - it has not been a good season for them as it has been so dry this winter.

More everlastings . . .

The Glass Bridge on the elevated walkway through the WA garden.

 After walking what seemed like miles, we drove through the park to fully appreciate the extent of the bushland areas and the vast range of playgrounds, gardens and other facilities it offers. It is very hard to imagine today’s civic leaders setting aside and funding such a vast area.

On Thursday we took advantage of what appears to us to be a great public transport system, by hopping on the bus which passes the caravan park for a trip to the Stirling train station.  Here we enjoyed a fast trip into the city on a train, which runs down the centre of the freeway – what a very sensible idea and why are such systems not being incorporated into all new freeway constructions?

We then spent the day wandering around the city, from the Arts precinct in Northbridge to Barrack Street jetty, the Swan Bell Tower and the historic Supreme Court and Government House area.  This wandering was facilitated by the city’s excellent Central Area Transport System (CATS) buses, which are free.

Barrack Street Jetty.

Barrack Street Jetty.

West Australian Rowing Club.

Swan Bells Belltower.

City from Stirling Gardens.

Old Law Court Museum.

Government House.

Hay Street Mall.

 Friday was the day to travel out to the historic town of Guildford and to take the Swan Valley Food and Wine Trail from there.  Guildford certainly has some superb old buildings, but as people who have been spoilt by living on the Mornington Peninsula and visiting other wine areas such as Rutherglen, McClarenvale and the Clare Valley etc etc we were less than entranced by the Swan Valley.

 

 

 

 

The weekend weather was predicted to be terrific, so we had saved our visit to Rottnest for Saturday.  Took the 9.30 Rottnest Fast Ferry from Hilarys Boat Harbour, which is conveniently close to the caravan park, for the 45 minute trip over to the island.  Murray knew more about the island than I because of his diving interest, but we were both amazed at how beautiful it was.

 

The island’s curious name came when Dutch explorer William de Vlamingh mistook the members of the unusual marsupial population for rats and named it ‘Rottnest’, which means ‘rat’s nest’.  We saw a few of these ‘rats’, or Quokkas as they are properly known, hopping around.  All shops had perspex doors in the lower half of their entrances to keep the Quokkas out!

There are virtually no cars on this 11 x 4.5km island and bikes are the transportation of choice.  My dodgy legs and feet make bicycle riding a very precarious past-time, so we took advantage of the excellent Bayseeker Bus Service from Thomson Bay, where the ferry arrives and where all facilities are located.  These buses circumnavigate the island on an hourly basis and set down and pick up passengers at any one of the eighteen stops around the island, which gives access to the most beautiful bays imaginable.

Thomson Bay.

 There are some 23 named bays, coves and beaches around the island and there is accommodation at only two, so the vast bulk of the island, which is a Nature Reserve, is totally undeveloped.  Of course, early settlers created all sorts of environmental and social havoc, so extensive revegetation is now underway.  We spent most of our visit at the Parkers Point beach, which was just sublime.  The water is much warmer than that on the mainland, due to the warm current which flows from the north, so we spent ages in the water with our snorkels.

Parkers Point beach.

The other end of the beach.

Rottnest Island Daisy - this is made up of numerous small flowers.
 

Around from Parker Point.

Between Parker Point and Little Salmon Bay

Seriously wind-pruned Melaleuca.

Little Salmon Bay.

After returning to Thomson Bay aboard the bus, which gave us a look at the remainder of the coast of the island, we tracked down a decent coffee and some lunch before reluctantly boarding the ferry at 4pm for the return trip.

Almost time to board the ferry!

Sunday was another beautiful day, so we drove down the coast to Fremantle.  This port city retains much of its charm and many old buildings have been restored.  The west end of the town is regarded as one of the world’s best examples of a Victorian port streetscape.  We thoroughly enjoyed wandering around checking everything out and because it was a lovely sunny Sunday, there were people everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Esplanade Hotel.

 

The Roundhouse - Perth's first gaol.

The Boat Harbour from the Roundhouse.

The area around the Fishing Boat Harbour is particularly interesting, especially if you are travelling with Murray who can never get enough of boats and ports.  There are lots of restaurants and cafes selling seafood - fish and chips being the favourite and the views across to the huge fishing boats make the whole scene busy and colourful.

There are many fantastic bronze art works around the streets of Fremantle and Perth.

 

 

Maritime Museum Shipwreck Gallery.

Maritime Museum and 'A' Shed.

Maritime Museum.

We left Fremantle mid-afternoon with perfect timing, as the clouds had started to roll in and arrived back at the van ready to have a good sit down – or that is how I felt anyway after all our walking.  We were able to spend the remainder of the afternoon with the newspaper and books, enjoying the antics of the passing parade of Dusky Moorhens, Purple Swamphens, Pacific Black Ducks and Wood Ducks which live in the couple of dams in the park.

A group of young Dusky Moorhens was so funny, chasing one another around.  They have the most enormous feet!

That brings us back to today.  The rain appears to have stopped, so Murray is out greasing the wheels of the van ready for the run home and I will do useful things too when I finish this!  Tomorrow we will go north-east to the monastery town of New Norcia, before turning due east and making for Kalgoorlie, where we expect to be on Thursday for three nights.  Next post will hopefully be from there, so until then . . .