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Published: June 10th 2014
Our stay in Perth was with friends Stef and Anna, this was turning into the friendship tour of Australia! Its great to have friends in all sorts of places around the world, it gives you an excuse to visit!
Perth feels quite compact for a city and getting around it was quite easy. A short taxi ride from the airport and we were at Stef and Anna's. They have a lovely place in the 'burbs of Perth with a nice pool and a lovely little dog called Bovver, a great place to relax in the sun. Stef was at work so we spent the first afternoon catching up with Anna. Bother is a Border Terrier, yes the dog from Something About Mary.
We only got to see Stef and Anna for a few days before they were jetting off to Bali for a long weekend with some friends, but before that they made us feel very welcome. They took us to a pub quiz, which as it turns out, we weren't as clever as we thought we were - good fun though. Steff was working so we met him for lunch one day and he took us to a
nice Vietnamese place. The city centre was nice, it was a mixture of blue collar business and a bustling set of shopping streets. Every corner there was a busker so music was always around you. After we had lunch with Stef we took a walk up to Kings Park, which is set high up with a great view of the bay. It's a park / botanical gardens so a great place to relax and eat an ice cream.
Jen's dad told about a pub to visit while in Perth called 'The Lucky Shag', it's the home of the 'Barmy Army'. For all those that don't know these are the English cricket supporters, supporting the away games. We met Stef after work and made our way there, a great little bar in bay on the waters edge and I imagine when the cricket is on the atmosphere would be amazing. Anna met us a bit later and they were leaving the pub to go straight to the airport and off to Bali. But not before a few 'send off' Jaeger Bombs and a good laugh. We made it back to theirs a little worse for wear but it think Bovver
was glad to have us as his dog sitters for the next few days.
We should of really spent more time exploring the area, seeing the sites etc but we had a comfy house and swimming pool at our disposal. The weather in Perth in HOT so relaxing by the pool just seemed like the best option! And we loved it. One day we decided to have a pool party for 2, well 3 if you included Bother. We got in plenty of BBQ food and booze and the tunes on and had a merry old time. Stef and Anna's friends, Doug and Anna, came round to use the pool. Jen also knows Anna from a while back. After a few drinks, a few laughs, swapping of traveling stories and plying them with a bit of booze we sent them on there way! After that we tried to fire up the BBQ, I think the coals might of been wet because the oven's grill did most of the work that night!
No trip to Perth is complete without a visit to Fremantle and it's prison, a 45 minute drive and you are there. Stef was kind enough to
let us borrow his car. We'd booked an evening tour around the infamous prison so before we did that we explored the endless coast south of Fremantle, we tried to relax on one of the beaches but after getting sand blasted (oh did I mention it's windy in that part of Australia?) we decided on retreating back to the car. Kite Surfing is a big sport there, the multiple sails in the sky attested to that. I guess it does have the perfect environment for it. It looks hard though. The soundtrack to our drive along the coast was Eminem's first album, it reminded me of being young again! We were recommended a brewery to visit called Little Creatures in Fremantle, which was a great little place. They have a couple of buildings, the brewery itself and a pub / restaurant next door. The beer was great, we only wished we'd realised there was a pub rather than sitting in the brewery drinking our beers! The brewery is on the harbour so there are plenty of seafood restaurants around, we found a place that did fish and chips (one of the things me and Jen are missing from home) but
we were sad to say they were a poor effort, still nice, but not the same. I had the local dish, Chilli Mussels, I don't think they need a description but they were super spicy! After all that it was time to visit the prison. The tour was great, it was a mixture of history and scary theatrics. It was dark by the time the tour started and they don't turn the lights on, they just give everyone a small torch. It's very eyrie walking around the buildings and yards in the dark hearing about prisoners and ghost stories. One particular story was about a mother and young daughter who did the tour (probably one of the day tours as it would be a bit cruel to bring your young daughter to a place like this at night time), the daughter started talking to someone next to her mum, guess what, there was no one there........... ooooohhhhhhhhh! The little girl was talking to someone who died at the prison, but it didn't stop there, the girl was still talking to this person walking next to her mum when they were on the way back to their car. They were definitely
ramping up the spook factor to 10. We saw the punishment yard, where people were tied to a post and whipped and shown the various types of whips, all very brutal. We got to see the gallows which was very creepy, you could see where the ropes had bitten into the wooden beams. Jen swore she felt something creep up her leg during that bit. We were told story's of people who were hung, including the only women Martha Rendell who was found guilty of poisoning her 3 stepchildren. There where various scares, when we visited the solitary confinement block an 'actor' jumped out of one of the cells, scaring everyone then proceeding to tell his story. The morgue was pretty grim, no modern day fridges, just a cooler room in the cellar. Before we went into the morgue there was another scare, after the guide finished talking some 'jewellery box' music started up from no where and a women, in costume, stepped from behind a wall..... after lots of shrieking and Jen hiding behind me this lady told her story. It was lots of fun and I wouldn't recommend it for those with a week heart. It was interesting
to read about the history, the prison was used between years 1850 and 1991. Although the prison was used for a mixture of people, there were exhibitions that concentrated on the plight of the Aboriginals incarcerated there. I guess it would be hard having foreigners taking over your lands and locking you away, in some instances for not knowing why. Not because they weren't told, but because they didn't speak the language of the courts of the time. There's also some interesting artwork done by aboriginal inmates, a small insight into the mind and life there. The conditions in this prison were very harsh to say the least.
We got our Indian Visa in Perth, it wasn't much hassle but in hindsight we could have got it in other countries such as Thailand or Nepal for a fraction of the price. But I suppose that's the benefit of having 20/20 vision hindsight.
Jen's not had that much luck with her teeth on this trip, they started playing up again. Rather then leave it for a less well developed country where they'll pull your teeth out with the aid of a door and a piece of string (yes, I
know that isn't true), we thought it best to get it sorted here in Oz. She got a short term fix, I'm pretty sure she's looking forward to those two root canals when we get home! Not.
What an ace time we had in Australia. I got to see a great country I've heard so much about, got to make new friends and got to know friends better, ones who I'd only really met once or twice during boozy sessions. And of course Jen got to catch up with old buddies. Time was upon us for our next leg, a much anticipated South East Asia starting in Thailand! Sawatdee Australia.
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View of Perth city
Momma Toni
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Fremantle Atmosphere?
Hi thanks for the link wierdly eneough i was sitting in bed this morning looking at a mini atlas of perth and the huge landscape of australian territories as well as new zealand! and then you pop up in perth! the aboriginal art work was particularly mind blowing!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was so very beautiful and (out there) when you think of the deprivation on all levels being incarcerated in such appaling conditions and yet still have the incredibly spiritual inner vision to paint such a remarkable inner landscape from memory is truly awesome and heartening it makes you feel less alone! thinking of you often all my love Momma Toni xxxxxxx