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Published: February 15th 2015
CAPTAIN DAG SENDS BIRTHDAY GREETINGS
Dag with his staff on Seabourn LegendThe Silver Whisper slipped into Fremantle Harbor on a warm Saturday afternoon. Freo, as it is called locally, is a busy place on summer weekends with all the boaters out enjoying the blue waters of the Indian Ocean. Also, the markets are open on the weekends and it is a favored getaway for the Perth residents.
Our cruising friend Ann picked us up and took us on a drive along the Swan River which stretches from the ocean up to the city of Perth. The western outpost is one of our favorite cities in Australia. It is also the fastest growing metropolis and probably the wealthiest. The export of minerals and wheat generates most of the income. The city is separated from the rest of Australia by thousands of miles of bush land. Western Australians tend to look more towards Asia than to the land of Oz. Actually, Perth is the most remote major city in the world according to Wikipedia.
Along with cruising and bridge, Ann renovates old historic buildings turning them into beautiful homes and also has an art gallery in Perth. She got tickets for all of us to go the Moonlight Cinema in
the park that evening. Ann had packed a picnic for us and showed us how locals like to spend a Saturday evening in summer. The theater was set amidst tall Norfolk pines and had comfortable lounging chairs for the audience. As soon as it got dark we watched a Turkish movie called "Winter Sleep." Ann was kind enough to take us the 12 miles back to our ship at the end of a lovely evening.
The next morning we hiked over to the Freo market to check out their wares and fresh fruit. Fremantle is such an interesting historic town and has been the site of the America's Cup Yacht Race. The buildings are mostly Victorian style and the area is dominated by a busy port. There was a livestock boat docked just across from us. You can generally detect one of these ships from quite a distance by the aroma. This sheep ship (I must be careful with my spelling) carries about 130,000 animals and is headed to Saudi Arabia. The sheep have to be shipped live in accordance with halal dietary laws much to the chagrin of animal rights groups as this is quite an
THE BIG SCREEN
The setting and weather were super. arduous journey for the animals.
Joan is another great friend who lives in Perth. She and her son and daughter-in law came down to Fremantle for a visit. We took Joan, Chris and Myriam on a tour of the Whisper and then went to Shed E for a typical Aussie lunch. Chris owns a motorcycle touring company and they book visitors from all over the world on their Harley Hogs. Joan has co-authored several books and traveled the globe educating people about women’s health issues. She is such a joy to be with and a very spirited lady.
It was quite hot in Fremantle, but fortunately the "Freo Doctor" sea breeze kicked in and cooled things down just in time for our outdoor dinner party that night. We were having a joint birthday party for Dodi and Kevin at the Grill Restaurant. We had nice decorations for the table, our favorite pianist Remon playing tunes and a happy group to join in the celebration. There was dancing and singing and much cake eating and fun as we bid farewell to the wonderful Land Down Under.
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David Stubenberg
non-member comment
Perth
We also enjoyed Perth and Fremantle very much. What surprised us was the vast wine growing areas near Perth. I tasted some very nice wines at several vinyards while we were there but did not begin to explore all the area to the South and East of Perth. We took the Indian Pacific Railroad from Sydney to get there and that was an experience all on its own.