Perth Panorama Part 2

Wednesday we took a day trip to Rottnest Island. This is a nature reserve which once housed a prison and is now a paradise for swimming, snorkelling and cycling. It is reached by ferry which takes about 45 minutes from Hillary’s Marina with nice views looking back to Perth.

We took the bus around the island and enjoyed the views and treated the round trip as an orientation to help us decide which beach to come back to. The colour of the water was amazing, so clear and beautiful. Our bus driver gave us a potted history of the island and after an enjoyable hour we arrived back at Thompson’s Bay.

By this time it was time for lunch and we sat in the shade eating our picnic lunch and enjoying a cup of coffee. Joining us were Norma and Dave who are friends of Heather’s and who are also volunteer guides on the island. They showed us some of the buildings that the prisoners lived in including one called Buckingham Palace where an English nobleman was incarcerated when he fell onto hard times. They helped us find quokkas which are only found on this island and are very friendly creatures. Dave then walked us down to The Basin where we went for a swim. The water was frigid but refreshing once you got in. Len wasn’t keen on getting in the water but we insisted he needed to submerge himself in the Indian Ocean.

Our plan was to hop back on the bus and visit another beach but discovered it was later than we thought and the busses had stopped running, so we headed to the pub for a drink before catching the ferry back home.

On Thursday we had a day in Perth. Took the train in and then took a ferry across to south Perth so we could get good views of the city scape. There is a free bus that takes you around the city so we grabbed a seat and enjoyed seeing the buildings and parks in comfort. A highlight was being able to go inside the WACA cricket ground. Well, a highlight for the cricket fans amongst us!

We were back home in time to have a lovely birthday celebration with my sister in law Margaret at Little Caesar’s. Pizzas with a difference!

On Friday we were allowed a day off as Heather had to sort out her 92 year old father who needed an emergency visit to the hospital (he’s doing fine now, good Yorkshire genes, that man!) So our trip to Fremantle took place on Saturday.

We had a whistle stop tour of the town, had fish and chips down by the harbour and did some souvenir shopping in the markets.

The highlight of the day was seeing the mural by Graeme Richards which is painted on the walls of a furniture warehouse. He is a master at creating depth and a 3D effect.

The heat kind of sapped our energy but we managed to laugh a lot, mostly at Len!

Tomorrow we board the Indian Pacific train for Sydney. It’s a three night journey across the southern part of Australia and we will have no access to the internet at all. But we promise to post pictures when we get to Sydney in time for Australia Day.