SAT 2 July -waiting for election results
Tomorrow we need to be up off and away at the crack of dawn before 10am (our departure time so far), so I'll write up today tonight.
We drove into the CBD and found a parking building where we could leave the car for the day. We then tracked down a hop-on-hop-off bus which circuits once an hour only. Of course we had just missed one so had to find a coffee bar to shelter from the cold. We bought a 2 day package from the bus driver and away we went.
Our first hop-off was at the Perth Mint which was founded in 1899 in response to one of the greatest gold rushes in history which began in Kalgoorlie in 1893. Our conducted tour gave us so much fascinating history and included a demonstration of the process of making a gold bar.
We had to tear ourselves away to catch the next bus which drove us through the extensive Kings Gardens. These warrant a whole day on their own and we may go back if time permits. However our next goal was the new Bell Tower opened in 2000 as WA's Millennium project. It is a spectacular building on the waterfront housing the 12 bells of St Martin's plus another 6. There are 6 levels to the Belltower  . On the top deck you can pay a small fee for the tune of your choice.  Peter chose the NZ national anthem. Now we know how Olympians feel when they have won gold. I didn't realize how patriotic we are.
We also paid for a cruise of the Swan down to Fremantle,  but by then they weren't cruising anywhere,  so we need to get cracking tomorrow morning.