Perth

We arrived in Perth a couple of days ago and have been busy finding our way around the city. This is the Perth Coat of Arms on the freeway entering the City.

Even though it was overcast and raining, the city is very pretty – lots of parks and open spaces and the freeways are amazing making it so easy to get around the city.

 

King Park, in the centre of town, is 440 hectares (1000 acres) and there are statues and memorials scattered throughout the parks.

 

 

No day is complete without a little “retail therapy”. This is London Court – a quaint Elizabethan street – in the main shopping area. There are three pedestrian only malls in the city centre connected by underground walkways – all the shops you ever need!

 

 

And we almost took up this offer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After walking around King Park, we took a conducted tour in one of their old buses. We learnt so much more about the city and its history.

 

This is Perth Town Hall built in 1867. The old buildings have beautiful brickwork and even when the original building is replaced, they keep the facade as original.

 

 

 

This is one of the many colleges and churches built from sandstone ferried up the Swan River.

 

 

Next day we took an “overseas trip” to Rottnest Island to visit the Quokkas.

This is Perth skyline taken very early in the morning from the wharf area.

 

 

 

And the Swan Bells Tower just as the sun hit the spire.

 

 

 

 

 

What a full day. Up at 5.30a.m. to catch the coach to the Perth wharf  then down the Swan River to Freemantle, a conducted tram trip around the sights of Freemantle, another ferry to Rottnest Island then an bus trip around the Island. Then the ferry back to Perth. The coach delivered four very tired people to the caravan park well after dark.

Freemantle was settled before Perth and has very old buildings built by convict labour – the  convicts even had to build their own jail – to…

 

 

very modern buildings like the Freemantle Ports authority. The port is a very busy place indeed.

 

 

 

Rottnest Island is 19 kilometres off the coast and a very pretty place with tourism now its main attraction. It was originally a jail for aboriginals sent over from the mainland.

 

The South west of the island is very exposed to the wind and rough seas – next stop South Africa.

 

 

  And this is the little guy we came to see. There are about 7,000 Quokkas on the Island which was named by an early Dutch explorer who thought these marsupials were rats.

 

And there they were in the main street. Cute though they are, they have a vicious bite which can result in hospitalisation.

 

 

As the sun sets over the Swan River, we returned to Perth. We did see some very expensive homes along the river. The most expensive was $85 million complete with double story guest house, chauffer and gardener quarters  and all the other trappings.

And so back to Perth by night. This Ferris wheel was spectacular lit up.