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Published: January 24th 2024
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Tour Day 96-99 – What will I do in Perth? Several day trips looked like interesting possibilities – the Wave Rock, York, Wildflowers, and Aboriginal Cultural Day Tour from Perth (12 hours 30 minutes); the Margaret River, Caves, Wine and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse Tour from Perth (13 hours 30 minutes); Pinnacle Desert Sunset and Night-time Stargazing Tour (8 hours) and the Rottnest Island Round-Trip Ferry (7 to 8 hours). Did you notice the length of each? Of course, there is always the ever-present Perth Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour, but the web site sucks – no route map, no list of bus stop locations, no hours of operation, etc. But first, I had some business to do – deal with two double charges by service providers, try to get my Facebook and my secondary email accounts functional again, wrap up the last–minute requirements of Holland America before I fly to Singapore (like get copies of my passport, have the hotel print my luggage tags, etc.) AND I needed to do some SHOPPING. Yes, Uncle Larry said shopping – like toothpaste and other expendables I can’t (
reasonably, if at all) get on the ship.
By the time I had gone from Adelaide
Friends in Perth, Australia
Peta and Peter – Interesting and Fun Parklands Terminal to the hotel and checked in on Saturday, there was little time for anything except getting a bite to eat. Sunday, I worked on some of my business matters, had dinner (fish and chips in the hotel restaurant) and allowed the temperatures to subsided a little before I went for my standard “exploring the neighborhood” walk. Half a block from the hotel, I discovered a pedestrian mall. Half a block into the mall, there was a Kmart! The store was closed by then on a Sunday, but I knew where to get my toothpaste!
You might remember Peter and Peta from my last blog. I met them on the Indian Pacific at the welcoming dinner the evening of departure from Adelaide, Australia. Peter sat next to me and Peta across from him. I had seen them briefly in the Parlor and Dining Carriages, but hadn’t really had a chance to chat during the train trip. They owned a business about 1.5 km (1 mile) from the hotel, and my plan was to walk to the store and perhaps have lunch with them. They had a lot of catching up after their absence (they took the Indian Pacific for the round-trip excursion from Perth to Sydney and back), so they decided to walk to my hotel after work, and we could have a leisurely dinner instead of a rushed lunch. Sounds like a good plan to me. We met in the hotel lobby, went to the eatery, ordered a beer and enjoyed some more “chit-chat” before ordering. They chose the fish and chips, based on my recommendation, and seemed pleased with their choice – they said they would return. I had a shank of lamb which, although very tasty, was heavy on bone and light on meat.
Perth has the best weather I encountered in Australia – warm and dry – and is about as blue-collar as one can get in a city. If any of my fellow travelers visit Australia and intentionally omit Western Australia, they have missed a "road less traveled" gemstone.
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