Blogs from Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 2

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

We're back in Perth after spending last Friday here. On Saturday we started north to look at the koalas at Yangchep national park also saw lots of kangaroos there. We then headed north again, passing the huge very white sand dunes, very interesting apparently they move about 12 metres every year. We carried on to the pinnacles which were vast. They covered many hectares. Then on to Cervantees for the night! no internet so no post.The next day we headed to the stromotolites and did a leisurely walk arount lake Thetis it is not that big, more a large pond 4-5 rugby fields in size. Then cruised back to Yangchep national park and booked into the inn there. We did a couple of bush walks for the afternoon, looked at the Koalas again, they were much ... read more

"Travelling is not something you're good at. It's something you do. Like breathing" - Gayle Foreman Travel to foreign countries involves a bit of a hard slog and for South Africans, probably a bit more of a challenging process than most. In the case of travel to Australia there are a number of hoops one has to navigate and jump through before you finally arrive there. It starts with the visa application. Sort of easy enough as it can be done online and after filling in endless pages of questions probably designed to reassure the Aussie Immigration blokes that you aren’t a convicted murderer or worse, you get to the really exciting part where you need to upload documents. Here they want hard copy, documented proof that you have some cash, you won’t be a burden ... read more

Back to Perth to meet up with Steph and Martin but first a pic of us with Rob and Jacquie which I should have posted last time. Driving up from Margaret River we managed to find time to drop into another art gallery (funny that) and a winery (firetail) where we bought a bottle of their medal winning Cabernet - very nice it was too. Then we stopped at Busselton with it’s 1.3km long pier. And that’s where I had a new experience. On the way out of the town I was pulled over along with a line of cars and was breathalysed - needless to say I passed. Next stop Hilary’s where we were to meet Steph. Strangely enough it was where we walked with Rob and Jacquie when we first got to Perth. Wandering ... read more