Blogs from Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania

We flew to Perth on Virgin on Monday, 15th. I had booked this over a year ago and we were certainly looking forward to travelling again. The flight was smooth except as usual, they had run out of the toasted sandwiches we wanted for lunch. After arriving in Perth, we got a taxi into the Parmelia Hilton, arriving about 4pm. After checking in we went to the bar for some food and a drink or two. We had two small but delicious tacos and a glass or two of wine. We then walked up to the main street and found a bottle shop to get a couple of bottles for our room.We then rested for a while to watch the news and then went down to the dining room for dinner.This restaurant is called Samuel's so ... read more

1Sep2022 (Thurs) - Sunny We only had half a day before we need to catch our flight back to Singapore. After checking out, we pushed A on the stroller to our breakfast place (Croff Bakehouse). We wanted to take the free bus, but can't find the bus stop, so in the end we walked the entire journey. It was actually very nice to walk in that weather. We ordered a few croissants and a cake. The croissants were not bad, but the cake was just average. We then went to KMart to do our one and only shopping for the trip. The place was pretty huge, but I didnt get anything for myself as it was really difficult to shop around with A. But I did bought some kids clothes for A and my friend's daughter. ... read more

I loved: - Steve Woods friendship and hospitality, Coolgardie - Royal Flying Doctor Nullarbor Highway airstrips - the Bunda Cliffs, Great Australian Bight - Head of Bight - Windmills, Penong - Fowlers Bay and the sand dunes - Meeting up with John and Pauline Gummery - Bunyeroo Valley Geological Trail, Flinders Ranges - Acacia Ridge hike to the summit, Arkaroola, Gamon Ranges - Farina Bakehouse - Oodnadatta Track - William Creek Pub - Painted Desert - The Breakaways, Coober Pedy - Coward Springs on Oodnadatta Track - Marree Pub dinners number 29 twice! - Helpful mechanical advice from Sam Belotti - convoying with David Date and Kerry Date, Birdsville Track - free camping at Tippipilia Creek with David and Kerry - Koonchera Dune on Birdsville Track - Birdsville Track - Diamantina River - Big Red ... read more

Today we were up early and drove to the station in Mandurah where we caught the train into the centre of Perth. For much of the way the train runs in the centre of the motorway, between the lanes. Perth is a lovely clean modern city with sympathetic blending of the old and new architecture. After coffee and doughnuts we walked around to the Art Gallery where we spent some time before making our way to the Apple Shop where Winks got her phone sorted out. From there we took a free bus to the Kings Park Botanic Gardens where we had lunch. We then had a very pleasant walk around the gardens before catching the bus and train back to Mandurah. A very interesting and successful day in Perth.... read more

Practically Perfect Perth – Western Australia, August 2019 Perth is one of the most isolated major cities on the planet, while also being located in the world’s most populous time zone. The nearest city is Adelaide some 1,327 miles away - only Honolulu, 2,395 miles from San Francisco, is more isolated.The Greater Perth region boasts a population of just over 2 million – 40% of whom are England-born, and considering the city is named after Perth in Scotland, only 9% claim Scottish ancestry. It’s modest claim to fame being the birthplace of Heath Ledger, and where Hugh Jackman studied at the WA Academy of Performing Arts. A little bit of history: The first inhabitants of Australia arrived from the north approximately 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Western Australia was occupied ... read more