Perth palette

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There are many ways of finding your way to Perth from Freo and having endured hours flying high we chose the Captain Cook ferry service which takes one in style up the mighty Swan River.Not too many boarded the ferry so all calm and quiet despite the usual quota of Japanese tourists who couldn’t quite outgun the boisterous squawking of the seagulls.Water is the dominant feature of much of Freo and Perth and the multitude of boats to be seen everywhere was remarkable and if the Skipper of the ferry is to be believed,one in three Western Australian families owns a boat of some sort.On another beautiful, cloudless day we were hugely impressed by the numerous grassy parks,marinas and upmarket mansions on the water.This is where the well heeled of Perth reside and the good Skipper made it his duty to remind the passengers of this fact which suggests that maybe the “tall poppy syndrome” has not yet wilted.A second on the weather….this is big,blue sky country and by the end of day four we had not seen a cloud or even a whisp thereof.The Aussies are masters of understatement and they will say that it hasn’t rained since October(fact) but they are being less than honest and they should be saying they haven’t seen a cloud since October.Perth is impressive and has a sort of “Cape Town without the mountain feel” to it..It is the closest jump off point to SA,throw in the weather,the feel of the Cape and it becomes a lot easier to figure out why so many South Africans migrate there.Very noticeable around the city were the many park areas,waterfront marinas and endless cycling paths.The city itself is spotlessly clean and one of the buildings reaching up desperately looking for that elusive cloud is none other than BHP Billiton(the World’s largest mining company)with a South African CEO at the helm.After taking in all of the above we had to find somewhere for lunch and being a lazy Sunday what could possibly beat “The Lucky Shag Bar”…I kid you not!This family restaurant is located close to the ferry junction and very neatly summed up Perth’s easy going ambience…..many people out enjoying great weather,impressive views of the Swan River against the backdrop of a city skyline which isn’t trying to compete with the big guys.A quick anecdotal bit of “Australania”…..have you ever wondered why the emu and wallaby enjoy prominence on the Aussie emblem?Well,apart from the fact that both are indigenous to the country,a radio host we overheard mentioned that neither of these creatures can take a step backwards.So here we have a country with a relatively short history which has achieved impressively on so many fronts and extending the emblem analogy,I venture that the nation really only steps forward.The following day,our last day before setting forth on the 4300km odyssey to Darwin,was spent with very good friends from our Salt Rock days.Cathy and Kelvin Oakes were great hosts in their brand new home in Clarkson,a very new suburb outside Perth.Very importantly Kelvin knew that the Sharks had beaten the Highlanders!

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Comments

[Sally]

Good on ya Sue !
Good to see the wine glass in hand at sunset !!!!