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Saturday 30th – the morning after the night before. Probably, as we woke up, the Royal Wedding party was still going strong! We had decided to have a fairly quiet day today but eventually we went for a little drive and, with the help of Sat Nav, found our way to Guildford which is one of Perth’s more historic suburbs. It was closer than we had imagined so it only took 15 minutes or so to get there. The first thing we spotted as we drove into the town was the rather sad ruins of The Guildford Hotel, one of the oldest buildings in the area. It had been gutted by fire a few years ago and there’s a big campaign to try to get it restored to its former glory. We were soon parking up by the Information Centre which, as with much of the Perth area, was dominated with details of local wineries. The Swan Valley is one of the premier areas in the whole of Australia for wine production because weather conditions are usually perfect for growing grapes. Guildford is a bit “one sided” in that the railway station and lines dominate one side of the main street
with trains travelling every 15 minutes or so between Midland and Perth centre. All of the small businesses in Guildford are on the other side of the road. When we were in Perth eight years ago we often caught a train at Guildford railway station to go into the city and then on to Subiaco Stadium where we watched four matches of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Today we made our way across the busy road and were surprised at the number of people there who were occupying the many café’s - if it wasn’t a café then it was an antique shop. The only exception was a small newsagent where we bought a paper to get all the reports and pictures of the wedding. We couldn’t leave without using one of the cafes so, along with most of the residents of Guildford (or that’s how it seemed) we enjoyed some coffee and raisin toast.
It was nearing lunchtime so we went back to the caravan for a bite to eat and then we went in search of the ‘Zig-Zag’ Scenic Drive. We had attempted to find it a few days ago when we visited Kalamunda but we missed
Lovely story about Grace Bussell
a brave young lady and daughter of one of the early pioneers around Busselton it. We almost missed it again today because the signposts were confusing. We’ve noticed often in Australia that initial signs will point you in the general direction but then there’s no signage so, often with several options, you just have to guess!! We guessed wrong the other day and again at first today, but by a process of elimination we eventually worked out the correct way to go - and we’re glad we did. The views across Perth were fantastic and the immediate surrounding area was a bushland country park. We also had a brilliant view of the airport and could see planes approaching from miles away. The Zig-Zag referred to the on-going road which wound its way down the steep hill and narrowed until it became a single lane. It started life as a railway line which was built to transport timber from the top of the escarpment down to Midland, a Perth suburb. We dreaded the thought of meeting something coming the other way but when we got to the bottom we noticed a one-way sign so we needn’t have worried. We made our way back into Kalamunda and had a wander around. It exceeded our expectations as
House in Guildford
where she lived with her husband, Frederick Brockman there were loads and loads of shops which weren’t readily apparent when we drove through. We found an ice-cream parlour and I had a HUGE ‘single’ raspberry yoghurt waffle cone – twice the normal price but delicious.
On Sunday we decided to visit an area we had by-passed because of our dash from Busselton straight to Perth. Rockingham is within easy travelling distance of Perth and we recalled one particular part, Point Peron, that we briefly stopped at on our last visit. So we took sandwiches, along with our snorkeling gear just in case, and meandered the 40 or so kilometers along the freeway south of Perth. We eventually spotted a Coastal Scenic Drive sign and turned off to follow it. The first place we came to was Kwinana, a very industrial area but still with terrific beach facilities and splendid views looking towards Garden Island. The view from the beach was a bit too industrial for us so we meandered on a bit further and without realising, we were soon in the heart of Rockingham where already it looked very busy. We tried to park but couldn’t find a space so we drove on a little further –
about one kilometer away where there was a small jetty. The weather was glorious and there were plenty of people fishing from the jetty. We strolled along it and could see in the crystal clear water the reason for the fishing – there were shoals and shoals of mainly small fish swarming around the jetty. While I strolled Graham got talking to a local chap who explained the recent development of the jetty – it was only two years old and was constructed of concrete slabs rather than the traditional style of wooden beams. It was well designed too with a lower level for boats to moor which was also packed with fishermen. It proved to be an ideal place for our cuppa and cake and I was pleased that I’d prepared a flask. We watched as more and more people walked along the esplanade and jetty and a couple were swimming. It was delightful so we didn’t mind not being able to park in the centre. Eventually we got talking to a couple of ex-pats – they’d been here for over 40 years but went back to Kent every couple of years. They loved it when they were back
in England – Broadstairs – but would never consider returning home for good as they loved Rockingham so much and couldn’t cope with the cold English winters.
After a while we drove on to Point Peron and realized that, because last time we had approached Rockingham from the south, Point Peron was as far as we got and we never saw the real centre of Rockingham then. But Point Peron was lovely – a series of small bays with rocky outcrops. It was ideal for fishing, swimming (if you were a strong swimmer) and snorkelling if you could find somewhere to enter the water easily. We saw some snorkellers but didn’t see where they got into the water so we erred on the safe side and decided just to sit and admire the beautiful scenery. It was a good time and place too for our lunch so out came the sandwiches and they went down very well. After an hour or so we decided to explore more fully this end of Rockingham and followed the coastal drive which hugged the beach. It was as we remembered - quite residential, unsurprisingly, as the outlook was gorgeous, and we called in
at a wildlife sanctuary which also catered for boat trips to Penguin Island. Unfortunately, by now it was a bit too late in the day to consider doing a trip but we looked around the shop and made a mental note in case we were able to visit the area again at a later date. We drove back into Rockingham and managed to find a parking space a little way away from the centre but within easy walking distance. We strolled along the very busy promenade – it clearly was a very popular place to be and probably the busiest of all the ‘resorts’ we had visited. But it was pleasant and entertaining and it was no hardship to spend a bit of time there enjoying the atmosphere. The usual diversion for an ice-cream followed after which we made our way back to the car and then on back to the caravan. We had booked another “Sunday Roast” at the park “Deli” for 6:00pm and at only $10 per head it was great value for money - it rounded off a very pleasant day.
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