Day 19: Last full day in Oz

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Woke up that morning determined to make it to Kings Park that day. I went to a nearby café for breakfast, nothing major just eggs and toast. It was early and I went to the post office to mail some postcards and gifts to people. Biggest gift was a miniature gumball machine and some chocolates to Shannon. So I fulfilled my promise to Shannon to get her some gumballs 😊. After that it was time to get to Kings Park. I found the correct bus again Bus 37 which is free to Kings Park. This time I took it in the right direction and 10 minutes later I found myself in Kings Park. It is a large park and pretty as well. I got there just in time for a tour of the park from a volunteer tour guide. The other people taking the tour were a group from Texas who were visiting some friends working on the Chevron projects in Western Australia. The natural gas projects in Western Australia are enormous worth tens of billions of dollars and a big reason why the Australian economy is doing well compared to the rest of the world.

Anyway back to the tour. The lady taking the tour was a retiree and was doing this to keep busy and because she loved the park. It was a 1.5 hour tour and she took us around the park and talked about its history starting with the original aboriginal settlers and going on to the founding of western Australia. The park was renamed Kings Park in honor of the King of England in the early 1900's. The park itself has plants and grass from all over the road. The grass itself was from South Africa. They also carefully monitor the soil so only the necessary amount of water and fertilizer is used. The park is full of memorials to World War 1 and 2 and it would be the site of the Anzac ceremony Friday at 6AM but sadly I would miss it because I was leaving the previous day. It was an informative and interesting tour and I recommend it to anyone visiting Perth.

After leaving the park I jumped back onto CBD free bus and went to the docks. I stopped there to take a look at the Bell tower which is a very oddly shaped building that is either built to house a bell that was a gift to Perth or an example of one politicians ego. Different people had different opinions and I couldn't really draw a conclusion myself. So after taking a look at the Bell tower I took the ferry across the river to South Perth. It only cost $2 and it gave me a nice view. I often take ferries around cities because it is a cheap way to get a river tour. I wandered around South Perth for awhile before grabbing lunch and heading back. I got back to the hostel and took a break at the hostel before heading to dinner with 2 Aussie friends, Rachael and Aileen.

We were eating at an Italian place that Rachael had recommended. Rachael I had met on the Topdeck tour and she was one of the first people I had met when I got on the tour. She actually had gone on the same tour this year with her boyfriend and had another great time. Topdeck tours are always a good time. I got to the Italian place early and sat in a booth, in short order Rachael and Aileen arrived and after a hug greeting I gave Rachael her gift of Maple Syrup. It is a standard Canadian gift. We talked about the tour last year and the recent tour Rachael and her boyfriend Brent. It went on the same route as before and I learned Brent had set a Topdeck record at the Amsterdam sex show being pulled up twice for the same show. It must have been an interesting experience with him and I remember the show myself because I had been pulled up as well. It is fairly traumatic while you are up there but it is a nice memory afterwards. Meal was delicious and it was an excellent steak I had. I took the opportunity to pay for Rachael's dinner since I had paid for Aileen's the night before. Once dinner was over we decided to head to a bar for some drinks. Rachael also called her boyfriend so I could meet him. We went to a nearby Irish bar and settled down to some beers and chatted some more. I quite liked Rachael's boyfriend. Brent is a nice and funny guy and he is a nice match for Rachael who is also nice and funny. I had a half day tomorrow and they gave me some advise on what I should see. I was leaning towards either the art museum or the western Australia museum. Too soon it was time to say goodbye and it was hard this time because I had no more catchups after this and I honestly not sure when I would have time to do this all over again. I told both Rachael and Aileen to visit me some time in Canada. After one last hug goodbye Aileen drove me back to the Witchs Hat Backpacker. It was not that late but I was tired enough to sleep. Tomorrow I would start in Oz and end in Hong Kong.

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Photos

Catchup
Aileen and Rachael. 2 Great ladies

Eternal Flame
Eternal Flame at Kings Park