Perth & Freo

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Trip Start Apr 15, 2008 Previous
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  Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Monday, January 12, 2009

A close shave! On the news today they reported an adult male had been taken by a 5 metre shark just off shore, south of Perth. Shocking as this may be it was even more scary given that Mark had been surfing here the day before. We had teased him about watching out for the sharks with a guy on the train on the way down to the beach, but we didn't seriously think he could have been attacked! Oh well he's still in one piece.  
Times goes so quickly when you're having fun! No sooner had we dropped Mark and Yvonne at the airport, we seemed to be back there picking them up again. They had returned from an enjoyable trip with their friends just north of Brisbane, on the Sunshine Coast. Looking forward to what they thought would be the more comfortable and less humid heat of Perth, they were taken back by the heat as they came out of the air conditioned terminal; it was still hitting 38C and that was at 7pm! It was such a lovely evening we picked up a couple of pizzas on the way back and sat and enjoyed them sitting on the banks of the Swan River

Kings Park

. Watching the activities in and around the river as the sun lowered its head, was just bliss. 
We enjoyed New Years Eve in the company of friends, cooking up a feast with basic facilities is always a challenge but Julie did a sterling job. Yes I did take my turn too! with further entertaining on New Years Day, I tell you all this socialising is tiring work! Joking a side it has been great to catch up with everyone, having visited Perth seven times; it feels like a second home.   
Perth has expanded so much in the past few years; I am told this is due to the boom in the mineral extraction business in the north of the state. Many people have their homes in the more temperate areas around Perth, (relatively speaking that is!) and fly regularly up and down to work in the mining industry. A new area to the north of Perth is called Mindarie, here they have built some huge houses lining a large sheltered yacht harbour. On the south side there are restaurants and bars, the afternoon we visited we enjoyed some live music which apparently occurs Friday evenings, Saturday and Sundays. We walked around the outer harbour walls, it was good to see the local families fishing from the many boat piers and off the harbour wall, with no shade on a hot day we were please to have the cooling sea breeze to temper the heat. There are still plots available if you fancy an ocean and harbour view in the sun

Freo

!
Fremantle or Freo as the local call it! Is the main seaport for Perth and is a town in its own right. It was here in 1829 that the first British settlers landed and established the Swan River Colony. The modern era has touched Freo, but gently. Many old buildings have been painstakingly restored and Freo's West End is acclaimed as one of the best examples of a Victorian port streetscape in the world. This is the cafe culture capital of WA. Many of the handsome streets are lined shoulder to shoulder with café's and bars, all heaving with tourists and locals alike. We have enjoyed a couple of days down in Freo whilst here, wandering the streets and taking well needed rests in one of the cafés! It's enjoyable to sit in the shade and watch the world go by. Both the traditional Freo Markets and the more touristy E Shed markets are a great way to spend a few hours, selling both food and handy crafts the choice is endless. Of special mention for you beer lovers out there are Freo's two micro breweries. Little Creatures, where on a hot day we had to take refuge! Brews several great beers of which the Pale Ale was my personal favourite, Mark being a cider drinker was quite taken with the Pipsqueak Cider. The other brewery is called Matilda Bay and is famous for its Redback wheat beer. Of course a visit to Freo is not complete unless you have tried the freshly caught fish, Cicerello's was our choice but the harbour has many other delicious choices too

Whiteman Tram

. 
Kings Park, one of my favourite places to visit, situated in the centre of the city the park is one of the largest urban parks in the world. The Park has commanding views of the Swan River and the city skyscrapers. There are some great walks around the park including the new lottery funded bridge walk. The day we visited was another scorcher, and didn't take long before we dived in the park café for a very nice lunch and a refreshing glass of white wine, oh and a glass or two of water! Kings Parks will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first place I visited when I travelled to Australia for the first time, 28 years ago.  
The Costal Path, another of the great things about Perth in addition to the stunning Indian Ocean beaches, is the red trail which runs along the coast line. This tarmac coated trekking and cycle path runs for miles and can be joined at point along its course, you will come across joggers, walkers and cyclists at all times of the day. We enjoyed many walks taking in the beautiful views of the ocean and bush lands. 
One of our favourite places to eat lunch is at the Jane Brook Winery, set amongst the vines out in the Swan Valley we always look forward to a visit when planning a trip to Perth. The winery produces same great wines and port which we had great pleasure in tasting before we sat down under the shady vines to enjoy a couple of the wonderfully prepared Jane Brook platters with freshly baked bread, washed down with a cool bottle of Plain Jane bubbly, it is the perfect way to spend a summer lunch time. Desert should be avoided! Not that it wouldn't be good, it's just that the Margaret River Chocolate Company is located on the other side of the Swan River. Apart from having heavenly chocolates, including free tasting! They have a café serving devilish deserts

Jane Brook Winery

!
Our last day in Perth was spent with my cousin Lisa and her husband Lloyd, we enjoyed a full day out on the Swan River, with more hot weather it was the best place to be. Lloyd has been skipper of his new toy for just a few weeks but certainly seems to have got the hang of it. Even must be a little crazy letting me take the wheel, I think we nearly lost Julie and Lisa of the back a few times! When we headed out into the Indian Ocean to pull out of the Swan River and back into Freo harbour the sea got really choppy not to bad for us guys up front but the girls in the back were tossed about a bit! Pulling into the restaurant for lunch was pretty neat, it's not every day you arrive in such style!  Chris and Hannah, Lisa and Lloyds neighbour accompanied us on their boat too, we enjoyed having a race across Matilda Bay, well I say race, but Chris's boat has a lot more power so it was a bit of a forgone conclusion really! In all we had a great last day in Perth and it was great to spend time with then after such a long break.
 

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Messing about on the water!

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