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Published: June 24th 2007
Magical Start
June 12th: We met Meghan and Rob and went for a faboulous pizza dinner at Spaghi's. We were still very incredulous of our dolphin encounter, the rest of the evening proved to keep us enthralled with the magic of this place.
Getting to know Perth
June 13th: We hung out in the morning with Meghan, Rob having gone to work. I had not previously known either of them, and it had been some time since Carolyn had seen either of them, having gone their separate ways after high-school. I kind of felt like I knew Meghan a little already, having read countless SMS messages from her over the past 9 months. They are both the nicest people, and we got on great straightaway! Meghan went off to work, and Carolyn and I moseyed into the city to check out the sites. We got to take the ferry into the city as we were staying in South Perth, which is much more exciting then getting on a bus - at least the first couple times!
We did the walk that is listed in the Lonely Planet, which ended up being probably close to 10km's by the time we
had walked back to South Perth. We went to the Perth Mint - the oldest, still functioning mint in Australia. We got to pick up a gold bar valued at $300,000! Well, I picked it up while Carolyn just tried to... it was pretty heavy and inside an enclosure, which made it very awkward. They melted down a bar of gold and we got to watch them make the bar as it would have been done back in the day. From their we walked around the business district of the city and checked out some of the old buildings dating back to the 1830's. There was a new building there under construction that we stopped to watch for a while as they tried to put a large disposal container onto one of the floors. It looked painstakingly difficult, with the crane operator receiving instructions for two guys with radios. It was suspended over the street and kept jamming so it was taking a really long time. THe traffic that was waiting was backed up for probably 30mins - and these people were getting very impatient! When we left, they had just allowed the traffic to go under it, with it
suspended overhead - I can tell you, I would not have wanted to drive underneath it!
We walked up a monster hill to the beautiful and massive King's Park. The weather was perfect. The grass is magnificently manicured, the trees all towering above us, many fitness enthousiasts running by... more magic from Perth!
We finally made it back to the apartment and had a quiet evening after a dinner of bowtie pasta.
Bike Trek
June 14th: We borrowed Meghan and Rob's mountain bikes and headed out to the Indian Ocean - we weren't going to pass this up! The city of Perth is 19km's inland from Fremantle, the main shipping port for the city. We followed the Swan River along the North side almost all the way out, cutting across to Cottesloe beach. Not surprisingly, the Indian Ocean looks much like the Pacific and Atlantic! And just as fantastic! The sense of awe that something so vast instills in you - it is truely inspirational. The water was too cold to contemplate swimming, and we didn't really have our swim gear anyway, so we settled for a pub dinner that overlooked the Ocean and we watched the sun slowly
set. A good way to spend the day marking 6 years of Carolyn and I having been together.
Fremantle
June 15th: We took the train to Fremantle, opting out of the bike ride as it ended up taking the majority of the day before. We took a tour of the prison there, which had been operational up until 1991. It seemed very unbelievable, as there was no plumbing in the building other than a couple of bathrooms and the kitchen which had been retrofited. These guys (and girls), did not have an easy life. Some were exceptional artists and were allowed to paint on the inside of their cells - I guess they had a lot of time to get it right, because they were masterpieces. We then made our way to the little creatures brewery, where we sampled their many fine beverages... yum yum yum. We had heard that the fish and chips was tough to beat at Cicerellos - so we split an order and were in full agreement - more vinegar please!
We had a mexican fiesta with Rob and Meghan back at the apartment - fahitas with Coronas! aiyeee aiyeee aiyeee....
Day of Exercise
June 16th: Rob and I went down to the park and threw the frisbee around while the girls chatted in the apartment. There isn't much better then a wide open field and a frisbee - a 100g competition model Rad Flyer at that. We had a good run, then headed back up as Rob had to go to work - taking care of injuries for a Rugby league. The girls decided that we would head to Harrison Island, which was fantastic! Only there were only two bikes, so I got to run. The weather was great again, and we rode around the South shores of the Swan river, working out on all the outdoor excercise equipment along the way. Carolyn was especially good at the standing rower/horse rider. There are kangaroo's on Harrison Island - although we didn't get to see them. We are not sure where they were hiding because we walked all the way around it! We then headed around the North side and part way decided we would head up to where Rob was working, and to watch the first's rugby match. We made it up there, but found out that we were at the wrong playfield.
No worries, great day for some exercise, so we ate a few snacks and headed home. We measured our route when we got home, and found it to be 19km, not counting all the walking we had done - no wonder we were all so hungry!
We went to a Irish pub, JP O'Reiley's to watch the Austrailian/South African Rugby match. We invited our Irish friends from Melbourne who are also in Perth, Lorraine and Mary, so they also joined us for our night out! Unfortunately, the Aussies came out on the bottom.
June 17th: Carolyn booked us in with a wine tour in Margaret River for the 20th, and a rental car to get down there. Then the four of us headed back out to Cottesloe for a Sunday session. We met up with more of Rob and Meghan's friends and had a few drinks at the Ocean Beach Hotel - the same place we had visited the last time here. Then we play some frisbee on the beach and got some great action shots - incase you didn't recognise it, Meghan is doing the alligator... We then visited the Subiaco market and got some fruit and veggies
on the way home.
Rottnest Island
June 18th: We decided to do Rottnest Island this day because the sunny weather was only supposed to be with us for another few days and we were off to Margaret River the next day. So we took advantage and got up at the crack of dawn - actually it was hours before this, and jumped on the train to Fremantle, after taking the bus into the city. We caugth the 7:30am ferry out to the island, and got there just in time to have a coffee before the bike hire shop opened. We were excited to be the first ones there because we wanted to make sure that we got a tandom bike! This was a first for both of us and it went surprisingly well - we didn't stack it once all day! We were a little shaky in the beginning, but took delight in flying down the hills in top gear a little later on! We cycled around the entire island, and because it was a weekday, and rather early - we didn't see anyone else until we were almost halfway around! Fantastic views of bays and rolling hills -
sand dunes piled up all around us! It was a little on the chilly side with the wind, but warm enough for a tee-shirt once we got cycling. We had packed a lunch and got to eat it on a deserted beach on the farthest tip of the island. We even saw some dolphins frolicking in the waves where the two currents met. Magic.
We found a sheltered spot in the dunes on the west side of the island, and got a bit of sunbathing in after I went for a bit of a swim - wow was it ever cold! Carolyn made it as far as her ankles before decided that it wasn't for her. We made our way back to the jetty and after dropping our bike off, jumped on the 4:30pm ferry back to Fremantle. There was an announcement that the ferry was continuing all the way into Perth City, so we elected to stay on even though, we were meant to get off. The trip up the Swan River was quite relaxing but took significantly longer than the train, putting us in Perth around 6:30, making us a little rushed for our floor ball game!
Rob
plays in a league here (almost a whistle ball, and a 3' plastic stick) and invited me out to a game, although maybe it would have been better if I had stayed on the sidelines. I had heaps of fun, but somehow managed to give a girl a bloody nose, incurring a 2-min penalty. The only one of the entire game. I felt extremely bad, but Carolyn and others on the sidelines seemed to think it was hilarious, and kept trying to take pic's of me looking sorry.
Margaret River
June 19th: We picked up the rental car at 9am and then Lorraine at her hostel in the city - she had decided to come with us. We drove to Pemberton to one of the massive Kerri tree's that someone has built a ladder around to the very top! The one we climbed was 51m, and extremely dangerous! There is a bit of a wire fence around the side of the rungs but nothing under - and if you ever did fall, you would end up boucing along the rungs all the way to the bottom because they were so steep! It was pretty terrifying - and we were
both a little shaky by the time we got to the top. We elected not to climb the others (60,68m) as they were essentially the same and cost money. We then drove into Margaret River to our hostel.
June 20th: We met out tour group at 10:30 and went to 2 wineries before lunch. The winery grounds were really well looked after, and the wines delicious! We were served lunch at the third, and it was a real bushtucker feast! Smoked kangaroo, wild bush turkey, and many exotic chutneys and sauces. Me and another guy got volunteered to have a grub, that the indigenous are fond of - hmmmmm, not the best tasting things around. We went to another winery and then convinced the tour guide that we would all rather visit a brewery for the last stop rather than another winery. Bootleg Brewery ended up being the most social stop of the day as we all got to have a much better chat seated around a table admist all the beer.
We met of with two of the other couples after at a bar in town and chatted well into the night.
June 21st: Our hostel room
was very cold in the morning as it was about 10 degrees out and there was no heat in our room! Brrrrrr..... We went to check out some caves that are in the area, but elected not to go on the tour as we figured it cost too much. We made a few stops along the coast on the way back up to Perth and got so see some more of the rugged coastline.
Jennifer and Todd
June 22nd - We didn't do too much - just kind of hung out and relaxed, did some laundry. That night we met up with Jennifer Spicer and her fiancee, Todd. Jenn is the sister of a good friend of mine from home - and we got along great! We met at the Belgium Beer Cafe and told many good stories - they were a riot!
Wrapping up Perth
June 23rd - A day of recovery - met up with more of Meghan and Robs friends later in the day to watch another rugby match - South Africa and New Zealand. Great game.
June 24th: Anther sunday session - frisbee in the park and packing. Went for thai dinner in
town. A big thanks to Meghan and Rob for all of their hospitality over the past two weeks - you guys are awesome.
Only a little more than two weeks and we'll be back in Canada - we are both really looking forward to getting there and seeing everyone again! Off to sunny Darwin tomorrow for one last Holiday!
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Corrie
non-member comment
What fun!
Wow - sounds like you guys are continuing to have an amazing adventure! Enjoy your last two weeks in Darwin then hurry home! Can't wait to see you both!