Perth
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
4
72
Trip End
Ongoing
Perth,
Western Australia,
Australia
Friday, June 27, 2008
So from Singapore our journey continues south, across the equator to the land down under, Australia. After a fairly straightforward (if a little cramped) Tiger Airways flight, we arrived in the middle of winter in a rather cold Perth. Immigration and customs were a total breeze - no queues, no hassle and a friendly smile and hello from everyone who questioned us
Swan Bells
. The USA and the UK should take note, all we want is to feel welcomed...Jumping on the bus to the city centre, even more friendly Australians. The driver was the most cheerful bloke I've ever met. If the people at the airport are this nice, what are they like elsewhere? We had prebooked at The Emporers Crown Hostel, very close to both the CBD of Perth and its nightlife area of Northbridge. Its been a while since I last set foot in a hostel and this one impressed me loads, though we did get a private room. Im too old for shared dorms these days,
For our first full day in Perth, what decided to explore the CBD area, and then branch out to some of its parks. The shopping area is pretty large, but its all contained with 4 streets, which then are surrounded by the skyscrapers of the financial houses. We briefly looked around, trying to compare prices to back home, and found it all to be the same, or in the case of books, more expensive. After grabbing some food in a token mall food court, we walked down through the skyscrapers (past Helen's old employers in the process) and to the Swan River. It's lined by parkland and cycle lanes, making it a breeze to follow. We went past a tower with some bells in, called the Swan Bells, then on up the river to the edge of the large Kings Park. Struggling to find an entrance that wasn't shut due to rockfall or improvements, we eventually found a steep path up that followed a trail marking a key battle in Papa New Guinea for Australian forces in WW2. It was really interesting, and the numerous information boards meant I could stop for a rest every few minutes. At the top we headed for the main spots - State War Memorial, a walk through the botanical gardens and its elevated walkway, followed a nature trail through some bushland, and climbed a tower with some great views of the surrounding suburbs
Kings Park
. All in we spent most of the afternoon here and it was already dark when we got back to the city centre, with rush hour in full effect. Even though it was only about 5.15pm, everything seemed to be shut or was closing, meaning we struggled to find somewhere to eat that wasn't a restaurant. We ended up with Asian takeaway from a place in Northbridge. We mooched around the hostel for the rest of the night, getting in some much needed sleep.Day 2....
So waking up to heavy rain and wind, we decided to stay indoors for our second day in Perth. A few minutes away was the museum of Western Australia, so we headed there. It's fairly small, but the exhibitions were really interesting, interesting enough to be in there for almost 4 hours. Most of it concerned the history of WA, with lots on the early "European invaders", aborigines and the various conflicts between the two. Other exhibitions were on the animals found in the area, from Dinosaur to modern day pests. The old Goal and Courthouse of Perth stands in the museum, which was interesting to look at. All in all, really interesting, and well worth the entrance fee of $0. We donated some bucks though. We are nice like that, and it did keep us dry all morning.
Afterwards we walked the short distance to the main train station and jumped on a free bus that took us to the Queens Gardens
Kings Park and CBD in background
. From here we walked along the river the the causeway bridge that took us to Heirission Island a small island which the main road out of the city passes over. I read somewhere that a bunch of wild Kangaroos lived here, and wanted to see animals in the wild rather than in some zoo. With more rain and a touch of thunder, the park was empty apart from us. The Kangaroos have their own section which is fenced off, I assume to stop them crossing the road and / or peoples Dogs harming them. We saw a couple of Western Grey's feeding, and got close enough to take some decent photos, but left them alone straight afterwards. We carried on walking through the park, watching all the birdlife. Everything from Parrots to Pelicans passed over head at some point, which was really cool. I didn't expect to see any wild animals in a city, let alone parrots and Kangaroos, so it really impressed me.With the day getting darker and colder, we headed back to the city and then the hostel to get into some dry clothes before hitting Northbridge for some playtime. Thing is I had trainers on and a backpack, meaning the clubs were out of bounds; and at 9pm the restaurants turned us away saying no more bookings were being taken. Even Subway shut by 10pm, meaning all on offer was nightclubs we couldn't get into, and a few sketchy looking takeaways and a cornershop with a few snacks. We settled for snacks and was back to the hostel by 11pm, wondering if everything closes early in Australia. Our problem is that we have been spoiled by London, where everything is open late. No restaurant turns you away at 9pm there, otherwise they wouldn't have any trade. We put it down to it being Winter, and that's it. I should also point out that everyone out on the town was friendly as anything,the only trouble we saw were three pissed up girls from the UK. We make such a good impression abroad...
Tomorrow though the real journey begins, as we pick up the Van and set off into the unknown - literally. We have no idea as to where to go, what to do or where to sleep.
