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.
Saturday, 2 July 2016
Friday, 1 July 2016
Sat 2 July - Oz election day
Yet another picture-perfect morning on the Swan River and not as teeth-chattering ly cold as yesterday. We didn't leave until the temperature had risen above the 1 C and the sun had thawed the frost on the car windows. Then Peter keyed Fremantle into the magical GPS and he followed the woman's instructions implicitly. There is no stopping on the freeways here like there is in Auckland. All lanes flow at 100 km constantly and everyone appears to know where they're going. Even local arterial routes flow at 60 km giving no opportunity for map-reading.
School holidays start this week and seeing that Fremantle is such a popular holiday destination we realised we needed to visit the first day the famed markets opened. Freo is a mere 20km from here so that gave us time to find a parking building, a Friday hair salon, the I-site and a coffee house before visitors arrived.
Freo was founded in 1829 and was the first Porto call for migrants hence it's cosmopolitan mix There are now two free CAT buses which run every 15 minutes which assist the elderly who have already exceeded their daily 10000 step goal.
Our first stop was the Markets before they became prohibitively crowded. I really could have spent another couple of hours there but after spending half an hour with the most alluring blond saleswoman choosing the perfect Swarovski crystal set, I thought I'd better not pushand a Trilby hat, my luck further. But then Peter found a belt and a Trilby hat so all was forgiven.
We walked the long way round to the fishing boat harbour through the Roundhouse ( built in 1831 to house the original convicts while they were building the official prison up the hill) . We then had to make our way across Bathers Beach to the fishing boat harbour with the vast array of seafood restaurants. By the time we got there the hordes of schoolchildren were finishing their end-of-term lunch and starting to move away. Even the seagulls relaxed. We chose a restaurant the best fish and chips in town -which we found to be true.
Just across the park was the WA Maritime Museum which was fascinating. Maritime history for Freo began in 1616 with the arrival of the Duyfken with Dutch explorer s and then the Batavia in 1629. Many boats were wrecked on that Western coastline and the museum has a grand collection of drawings, artefacts and diaries all displayed artistically. Of particular interest was a video of the restoration of the trunk engine from the X an tho which was used in the pearling industry but sank due to overloading in 1879. The wreck was discovered by marine archeologists in 1979 and there began the retrieval and restoration of the engine which is now proudly exhibited in working order.
After all that, there was nothing for it but to hop on a free bus to Capucchino Street where we had bowls of hot soup t
Yet another picture-perfect morning on the Swan River and not as teeth-chattering ly cold as yesterday. We didn't leave until the temperature had risen above the 1 C and the sun had thawed the frost on the car windows. Then Peter keyed Fremantle into the magical GPS and he followed the woman's instructions implicitly. There is no stopping on the freeways here like there is in Auckland. All lanes flow at 100 km constantly and everyone appears to know where they're going. Even local arterial routes flow at 60 km giving no opportunity for map-reading.
School holidays start this week and seeing that Fremantle is such a popular holiday destination we realised we needed to visit the first day the famed markets opened. Freo is a mere 20km from here so that gave us time to find a parking building, a Friday hair salon, the I-site and a coffee house before visitors arrived.
Freo was founded in 1829 and was the first Porto call for migrants hence it's cosmopolitan mix There are now two free CAT buses which run every 15 minutes which assist the elderly who have already exceeded their daily 10000 step goal.
Our first stop was the Markets before they became prohibitively crowded. I really could have spent another couple of hours there but after spending half an hour with the most alluring blond saleswoman choosing the perfect Swarovski crystal set, I thought I'd better not pushand a Trilby hat, my luck further. But then Peter found a belt and a Trilby hat so all was forgiven.
We walked the long way round to the fishing boat harbour through the Roundhouse ( built in 1831 to house the original convicts while they were building the official prison up the hill) . We then had to make our way across Bathers Beach to the fishing boat harbour with the vast array of seafood restaurants. By the time we got there the hordes of schoolchildren were finishing their end-of-term lunch and starting to move away. Even the seagulls relaxed. We chose a restaurant the best fish and chips in town -which we found to be true.
Just across the park was the WA Maritime Museum which was fascinating. Maritime history for Freo began in 1616 with the arrival of the Duyfken with Dutch explorer s and then the Batavia in 1629. Many boats were wrecked on that Western coastline and the museum has a grand collection of drawings, artefacts and diaries all displayed artistically. Of particular interest was a video of the restoration of the trunk engine from the X an tho which was used in the pearling industry but sank due to overloading in 1879. The wreck was discovered by marine archeologists in 1979 and there began the retrieval and restoration of the engine which is now proudly exhibited in working order.
After all that, there was nothing for it but to hop on a free bus to Capucchino Street where we had bowls of hot soup t
Thursday, 30 June 2016
Fri 1 July
Again another picture perfect cloudless morning!!!!
Yesterday was taken up with the Bull Creek Aviation Museum topped off with a superb meal at their restaurant patronized by resident of the neighboring retirement village.
Then off into Perth CBD to the central I-site to be plied with all the copious tourist publicity for Western Australia. So now all we have to do is decide what to select for our remaining 6 days.
Then home for Peter's afternoon nap before we took off to Gold Class Finding Dory in the local mall. I know!!!! Trust me, there was just nothing else on we could bear.
Again another picture perfect cloudless morning!!!!
Yesterday was taken up with the Bull Creek Aviation Museum topped off with a superb meal at their restaurant patronized by resident of the neighboring retirement village.
Then off into Perth CBD to the central I-site to be plied with all the copious tourist publicity for Western Australia. So now all we have to do is decide what to select for our remaining 6 days.
Then home for Peter's afternoon nap before we took off to Gold Class Finding Dory in the local mall. I know!!!! Trust me, there was just nothing else on we could bear.
Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Thurs 30 June
It is just awesome to wake up to this scenic Swan River , the only ripples on which are the wake of the black swans gliding serenely; a cloudless sky and no leaf stirring in these huge ancient gum trees. It looks to be midsummer but one step out the door onto our private balcony reminds me to put my jacket on.
Yesterday we got a call for Peter to wait for another radio interview before driving out to discover the huge Riverdale Mall block -much the same as all malls but in sections about the size of Albany Mall. Coles offered us produce far beyond our Countdown.
Today we'll explore further afield, knock off Bull Creek, the West Australian aviation museum, Finding Dory (so I know what my grandchildren are talking about) and start finding the must-see tourist attractions.
It is just awesome to wake up to this scenic Swan River , the only ripples on which are the wake of the black swans gliding serenely; a cloudless sky and no leaf stirring in these huge ancient gum trees. It looks to be midsummer but one step out the door onto our private balcony reminds me to put my jacket on.
Yesterday we got a call for Peter to wait for another radio interview before driving out to discover the huge Riverdale Mall block -much the same as all malls but in sections about the size of Albany Mall. Coles offered us produce far beyond our Countdown.
Today we'll explore further afield, knock off Bull Creek, the West Australian aviation museum, Finding Dory (so I know what my grandchildren are talking about) and start finding the must-see tourist attractions.
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
29 June 2016
if you ever want to experience flying at its best, go somewhere by Dreamliner. They say it's the journey not the destination that counts, and I'd go along with that .The plane is just superb. We had 7 1/2 hours of unequalled flying to arrive in Perth just as the rains had stopped. The place was under water but not a drop has fallen since. We picked up our Kia automatic and followed the woman in the GPS to get to our Airbnb on the banks of the Swan River. I have put a photo of the view out the glass wall of our unit. In due course we'll Sally forth and discover this city.
if you ever want to experience flying at its best, go somewhere by Dreamliner. They say it's the journey not the destination that counts, and I'd go along with that .The plane is just superb. We had 7 1/2 hours of unequalled flying to arrive in Perth just as the rains had stopped. The place was under water but not a drop has fallen since. We picked up our Kia automatic and followed the woman in the GPS to get to our Airbnb on the banks of the Swan River. I have put a photo of the view out the glass wall of our unit. In due course we'll Sally forth and discover this city.
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Just five more sleeps until we fly away on a Dreamliner to Perth to see what that's like in the middle of winter.
I'll do photos on fb as I did this time last year. Those of you who like the low-down might like to follow it on the blog. Those who just go for the pikkies can stay with fb.
Next message from Perth.
I'll do photos on fb as I did this time last year. Those of you who like the low-down might like to follow it on the blog. Those who just go for the pikkies can stay with fb.
Next message from Perth.
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