Faffing in Freemantle

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So after landing in Perth at 7am we very sleepily adjusted to the slightly colder weather (where did we put the long-sleeved tops?) we headed for a campsite in Fremantle (hardcore - straight into the tent). It was nice to discover we were only a 5-10min walk from the beach and managed to catch our first of many WA sunsets over the sea (the beauty of the west coast). It took us slightly by surprise that it was before 6pm - coming from the UK summer the biggest adjustment to make has been how early it gets dark here.

The next few days were spent faffing around doing admin jobs and looking for some kind of vehicle that might get us round most of this sizeable country. Two requirements: cheap and reliable. It looked like we were asking a bit much but on day 4 in Fremantle we met Bert. A quick test drive later and he was all ours. (see 'meet Bert' blog for more details.)

Overall in Fremantle we spent the days enjoying the sunshine and the evenings putting on all our clothes and hanging out with 'senior' Australians in the campsite. Most of these 'grey nomads' were travelling huge distances and were over on the west coast to look at the wildflowers. They were a valuable source of information on car buying, free campsites, driving in Australia and places to visit (and not just wildflower sights). We have continued to enjoy the company of senior Australians in campsites (but more about particular characters later!) We have hardly spoken to any non-Australian people which is making it a very enjoyable and different trip to the usual backpacking/hostel scene.

Fremantle was a soft introduction to winter in the South West - warm days and cold evenings with the odd night storm thrown in for good measure. We didn't quite have enough clothes to account for this and would struggle with the cold even more on our road trip down South... (to be continued...)


freo - 29th August to 3rd September

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