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Published: February 13th 2007
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Sunset from Freo
We missed sunsets during our travels since Ireland and were happy to see the sun go down on the Indian Ocean. As children, we visualized Australia as an exotic place on the opposite side of the world. Somehow it didn’t seem nearly as far away after a four hour plane flight from Bali! But 80 degree temperatures and decorated Christmas trees soon reminded us that we were quite a distance from the gale force winds hitting Seattle.
The historic port of Fremantle, known to the locals as Freo, made an attractive and comfortable base for exploring the nearby city of Perth. Perth has been compared to Seattle in many travel guides, and we agreed they weren’t far off. With a compact downtown and several large waterfront parks, it’s a great place to explore on foot in good weather. Fremantle had plenty of its own attractions, including museums, a sprawling covered produce market and a harbor full of fishing boats. At the Maritime Museum of Western Australia, we admired the yacht that carried Australia to America’s Cup glory. The centerpiece of the Shipwreck Galleries are the reconstructed remains of the ship Batavia which was excavated by Maritime archaeologists in the 1970s including the portico facade that the Batavia was carrying as cargo for the Indies.
On Friday night, we joined crowds of
locals eating superb fish and chips at outdoor tables on the waterfront.
A short ferry ride from downtown Fremantle is Rottnest Island, once used as a prison for Aborigines but now a national park. The only motorized vehicles are park shuttles and delivery vans, so most visitors rent bikes to explore the quiet costal roads. The sandy beaches were crowded with families on Christmas vacation, but at the rocky tip of the island we watched the waves crashing in complete solitude. Since there is little vegetation and no natural fresh water on the island, the only native mammals are the quokkas. Early explorers thought they were rats, but actually they are more closely related to kangaroos. Most are completely fearless, foraging under picnic tables and accepting pats from small children.
Back in Fremantle, we celebrated an Australian style Christmas at nearby Cottesloe Beach. The white sand was crowded with families, many wearing Santa hats and other holiday paraphernalia. At the barbeque hosted by our Japanese hostel owner, we shared sushi and lamb chops with an assortment of other travelers. Some were on vacation like us, but many had come from around the world to look for jobs in
the booming Australian economy.
The most important reason for our visit to Western Australia was Chris Hallam and his family. Chris and Chris met in a youth hostel in The Hague in Holland in the summer of 1998, and have been corresponding by email ever since. Initially we didn’t realize that Perth was still an eight hour drive from the Hallam’s farm in Grass Patch. Luckily we were able to hitch a ride with Chris’s parents as they returned from a Christmas visit to the city. John and Yvonne Hallam introduced us to the ute (a popular rural vehicle combining an SUV with a flat bed pickup) and all kinds of local natural history.
South of Grass Patch by 40 minutes is Esperance and we had time to see the town and go on an ecotour out to the only protected island off the south coast that allows visitors. Woody Island was an enjoyable hour long boat ride from Esperance and was full of wildlife.
Like many small towns in the outback, Grass Patch is basically a collection of farms, with a school, community hall and tavern in the center. The Hallam family has 10,000 acres that
Fremantle Memorial
In the harbor, there is a memorial to the men and women who have died working the seas. they use for raising sheep and cattle, as well as farming wheat. We arrived in the relatively slow season between harvest and seeding, but this also meant that our hosts had more time to show us around. Chris got a little more excitement than he bargained for, when a bush fire broke out west of the next town and he was drafted as a temporary member of the Grass Patch fire brigade.
On New Year’s Eve, we were off to the beach again, this time to the more remote but spectacular southwestern coastline. The superfine white sand and crystal blue water surpassed anything we’d seen before, and even on a busy holiday weekend there were only a few dozen families. We were able to enjoy a swim and a peaceful picnic lunch, before heading off to a different kind of beach party. The Grass Patch “beach” is actually on the shore of a dry salt lake, so there were no water sports but plenty of space for beach volleyball and an informal cricket game. As darkness fell, we were treated to a feast of slow cooked beef sandwiches and all kinds of salads. A local DJ provided music for
Rottnest Island
Originally a barren island Rottnest has been used by the Australian Park system as a nature reserve and a holiday getaway for Aussies. dancing, and soon we were raising our glasses to the beginning of 2007 beneath the Southern Cross.
Getting from Grass Patch to the east coast of Australia required a bus, train, taxi, plane and lightrail, but the city of Sydney was well worth the trip. “Sydney-siders” and tourists celebrate the January sunshine by strolling the waterfront esplanades, watching the many buskers and crowding into sidewalk cafes. Our first destination had to be the Sydney Opera House, which dominates the harbor with its graceful white silhouette. From here we wandered through The Rocks, a convict built historic neighborhood that now home to upscale shops and restaurants.
We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit yet another maritime museum (!), where we were surprised to find an exhibit on American schooners that we both remembered from Mystic Seaport. Other highlights of the museum included an authentic tall ship and a boat built for an annual regatta where all entries are constructed from beer cans. The following day we boarded a pedestrian ferry to Manly, one of the many coastal suburbs surrounding Sydney. Manly Beach is famous for its surf, and we watched many Australian kids taking holiday surf lessons. An
Rottnest Island Cove
One of the many lovely coves for snorkeling and tidepool looking. afternoon hike on the Manly Coastal walkway took us from secluded costal marinas to expansive clifftop views.
From our hostel in downtown Sydney, the Blue Mountains National Park was just a short train ride away. The area is especially famous for its rock formations, from steeply eroded canyons to freestanding pinnacles. As we explored the two largest canyons, we enjoyed the constantly changing light on the exposed rock faces. The vegetation included many eucalyptus trees, whose sap droplets give the air and the mountains their characteristic blue color.
Warmed up for New Zealand hiking adventures to come, we spent our last afternoon sampling yum cha (otherwise known as dim sum) in Sydney’s Chinatown. The restaurant we chose had 200 packed seats, several dozen waiters and more kinds of dumplings and other Chinese finger food than we had ever seen before.
Then, we were off to the land of fiords, kiwis and Tolkien…
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