Carole & MaryLou's Excellent Adventure-continues

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Perth – Fremantle

We arrived early in Freemantle and were able to leave the ship by 11:00. We hooked up with Frances and Susan, Aussie sisters, and made our way to the train, a short 15-minute walk. It was interesting to watch the towns go by and strange to see immaculate stations and lively areas around the tracks. No trash or dilapidated buildings here. This place is booming. There is construction everywhere. Perth is a modern city with skyscrapers and a very young vibe. All the major accounting firms are here in close proximity to the headquarters of the large mining concerns. WA (West Australia) is rich in natural resources and that wealth is reflected in the city. Perth runs complementary buses on three different routes. We picked one that we thought would take us to King’s Park but we were wrong so after a tour of the city the bus driver instructed us where to pick up the right bus and we arrived at the park around 1:00. This gem looks out over the city and the confluence of the river Swan and ????.

We are docked in Fremantle and Perth is inland. The Swan River is quite shallow so boating is limited to sailboats, tour boats, one ferries, jet skis and motorboats. It is here where the Western Australia Botanical Gardens are located and we meandered around until we came to the cafes. By this time we were hungry so we stopped for a bite and really understood what the “Australian Salute” was all about. There were flies, lots of flies and waving them away (the salute) while trying to enjoy a meal was not so much fun. Still the food was good and we felt energized to explore the garden.

It would take a chapter to tell you all we saw. There were gardens dedicated to areas of WA and the path wandered along the cliffs above the river offering wonderful views. We saw Boab trees that look dead but contain precious water and a large variety of Kangaroo Paw plants. We wandered the Water Gardens and stopped now and then for a rest. Watched a family of ducks, Dad, Mom and seven babies graze and enjoyed the Magpie dance and he hopped up and down to startle a bug a then pounced. Finally we saw a Kookaburra in a gum tree. Yes we did and he sat there posing for us. MaryLou got a great photo of him.

It was now time to head back into the city for a rest before our main event, a walking tour of Perth. We stopped into a pub and I enjoyed a $10 Guinness, MaryLou had a $3.60 diet coke and the sisters had tea and weren’t charged for it. This was a bar that catered to the lads just getting off work and we stood out like sore thumbs but everyone was pleasant and friendly. We sat for 1 ½ hours and then met our tour guide Rusty and fellow walkers Bill and Luba from inland.

Once we set out it became evident that this was not going to be a nice stroll. Rusty took of like a Bondi Tram (very fast) and no matter how many times we asked him to slow down he didn’t. He took off with the locals and then waited until we caught up to describe what we were seeing. He nearly got us killed crossing a major intersection. Still he was knowledgeable and it was obvious that he loved his city and was very pound of it.

It was Friday night and everyone under 35 was in town and dressed to the nines. Girls is short, short skirts and high, high shoes walked with their blokes and the bars were roaring. Well we walking and we ran and we rushed and we limped along. Anyone who has traveled with Mike knows exactly what I’m talking about. After two hours we just couldn’t walk another block so we said goodbye to Rusty and boarded the train back to Fremantle and limped aboard eleven hours after we had left. I have no idea how many miles we covered but I really though I wouldn’t be able to walk the next day. My knee was swollen and MaryLou’s ankle ached and we just tumbled into bed.

Saturday we headed back to Perth on the train, We took the complementary bus, the Blue Cat, down to Barrack’s Square on the bank of the river and boarded a tour boat for a cruise back to Fremantle on the Swan. The sky was severe, clear blue and the sun strong but once on the river we had a fresh breeze to keep us cool. We passed many yacht clubs, saw the famous black swans that give the river it’s name and passed by the homes of the rich and famous. One in particular was so over the top as to be ugly. It was three building set on about two acres with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, bowling alley and media room and who knows what else. It was built by a mining magnet and recently sold to a Jakarta businessman for $157,000,000 Australian dollars.

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