Perth & Freemantle - Day 189-190
Trip Start
Jan 31, 2008
1
125
251
Trip End
Ongoing
Perth,
Western Australia,
Australia
Friday, August 29, 2008
Day 189 - 28/08/08
Booked a hostel online last night for a my first couple of nights in Australia. Staying at the Britannia Hostel in Northbridge, central Perth. Suppose to be an OK place according to the reviews online and bang in the centre of Perth, which should be ideal.
As always the Singapore airlines flight was impeccable, arrived in Perth on schedule, in comfort and well feed. I caught the shuttle bus from the airport which is only 13km from the city, but it took over 2 hours after dropping off all the other passengers at their hotels. I was the last to be dropped off, typical! Shuttle bus to me suggests a quick and speedy service to my destination
Perth City Centre 1
. Shuttle bus, my arse!! It cost 20 bucks too, ouch! Welcome to expensive Australia.My first impressions of Australia are, it's bloody freezing and darn expensive. Why did I leave cheap and tropical Asia? I'm sure I will adjust to my new surroundings in a couple of days, it's just a bit of a shock to the system after over 6 months in Asia. The temperature today is only 19 degrees and with the stiff breeze it feels more like minus 19 to my unacclimatised body.
I'm staying in a 4 room dorm at the hostel, which I'm sharing with a German and Swede. It's clean and comfortable and I had my first hot shower for a long time this evening, it was glorious, could of stayed in the there all night.
Booked a hire car online tonight which I pick up the day after tomorrow. Planning to go feral for a week and sleep in the car like a hobo. Going to explore the south-west coast's national parks and coastline. Haven't driven since January so I'm quite looking forward to getting behind the wheel again. A road-trip adventure, should be cool!
I'm really missing Asia and I've only been in Oz for 8 hours. Asia feels like home now after spending so long there. I'd got use to humid sticky conditions, the food, the mosquito's and the constant hassle from people trying to sell me things. In a strange way I miss all that stuff. Went out for some Asian food tonight in Perth to remember the good old days.
Day 190 - 29/08/08
Had an early start today after a good night sleep
Perth City Centre 2
. Today I'm going to blitz the sights of Perth as I'm leaving tomorrow to explore the rest of the west coast. First a walk around the city centre. I was expecting Perth to be full of hustle and bustle but it's quite the opposite, it's a very laid back and relaxed place which is surprising considering it's the biggest city on the west coast and the main financial hub for half of Australia. Lots of green spaces along the Swan river too. Feels like a big town rather than a state capital. The architecture is typically low rise accept for the half a dozen skyscrapers in the business district which tower over the rest of the city.Then I walked to Kings park along the cycle-way by the river. A really beautiful park with some perfectly kept gardens representing the different ecosystems of Australia, a raised canopy walk in the treetops and several water gardens. Saw some strange colourful birds flying around. I'm not much of a twitcher so I couldn't name them unfortunately but I've never seen such pretty birds. A section of the park has been left natural showing the original vegetation of the area, the entire area of Perth looked like this once upon a time before the colonisation.
Walked back to the city and caught a train to to Freemantle which is only around 25 minutes from the city centre. The port of Freemandle at the mouth of the Swan river was almost completely constructed by convicts in the 19th century. I walked around town for a few hours and visited the Roundhouse which is the oldest building in the state overlooking the Indian ocean. A lot of history in "Freo", it's an interesting place with a very different vibe to Perth.
When I returned to Perth, I went shopping. I bought 8 litres of water and some tinned food in case of emergency for my week long hobo adventure which starts tomorrow. Bring it on!!
