After leaving Singapore, we spent five nights in Perth with our friends who we met on our NZ/Australia/South Pacific cruise last year. Being the gracious hosts that they are, they had an itinerary all set up for us while we were there. Perth is the capital of the state of Western Australia (population ~2.5 million) and has a population of ~2 million. The weather was beautiful while we were there - not too hot (around 24 C - about 75 F) with a nice breeze.
Our first evening while we were sitting outside enjoying a glass of wine and munchies, this giant lemon fell from the neighbour's tree into our friends' yard. You can see from the tape measure how big it is.
Our first visit was to Monument Hill - a war memorial dedicated to the navy and to soldiers.
A view of the city from Monument Hill.
The couple on the left are our friends who hosted us and became our personal tour guides.
This is a beach in Fremantle, a nearby suburb. When we left Fremantle, we drove by the suburb of Cottesloe which has a beach that stretches for miles, a small portion of which is dedicated to nudists.
We went to visit the Round House which is now a small museum. It has quite a history and I'm attaching the link for those of you who are interested. It's a quick read.
This is a view of the (older) main street in Fremantle taken from the Round House.
This is called a Grass Tree and the trunk is actually black. It withstands droughts really well. It used to be called the Black Boy tree but the name was changed for obvious reasons.
This is a Bottle Brush tree and I first saw these in Florida. They are plentiful here in Western Australia and grow wild but all the ones we saw were very healthy and mostly in full bloom. There are many different varieties of the Bottle Brush tree.
A close up of the flowers of the Bottle Brush tree.
An old submarine not far from the Round House.
We took a cruise around Mandurah Bay (population ~75,000) where we saw many expensive homes and a few dolphins. This is a view starting out on the cruise. The tree beside the building is called a Morton Bay Fig tree.
Mandurah Bay is being planned to look a bit like Venice; hence the bridges in the next two pictures.
This is a small beach in Mandurah Bay where kids can play because the water is so shallow.
All types of boats and yachts abound in Mandurah Bay; the two pictures in the middle are houseboats. The fishing industry (lobster & crayfish among others) represents over $180 million for Western Australia.
These are some of the more expensive homes built along the shores of Mandurah Bay. Many of them are built on two lots. They range from ~$1 million to in excess of $10 million. Many owners do not live here year round.
This house in the next two pictures has 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms and is built on two lots.
This is the fin and a little bit of the body of a dolphin, one of a few we saw in the Bay.
This is a mother and her calf (or pup as some may call it).
This house is built to represent a yacht and it belongs to the widow of the late Rolly Tasker, an Australian yachtsman.
We visited King's Park, home of the Western Australia War Memorial. The Park is ~4 sq Kms (~1,000 acres) and is also home to several species of plants, flowers and trees. These next set of pictures are from King's Park.
This is a picture of a flowering Eucalyptus. Most of the Eucalyptus trees I have seen in Australia have been huge and this is the first time I've seen what we're used to calling Eucalyptus in North America. There are many different kinds of Eucalyptus trees which the Aussies also call Gum trees.
This is the Western Australia War Memorial.
There are some really gorgeous views of the Perth Water and Swan River from King's Park. This section is the Perth Water section.
This is the Narrows Bridge with Perth Water on the left and Swan River on the right.
This is another type of Eucalyptus tree. The nuts from these trees crack open after a forest fire, fall to the ground and germinate.
This the Kangaroo Paw - Western Australia's state flower.
A close-up of the Kangaroo Paw.
This is a Boab tree and is a much smaller version of those we saw in Tanzania.
This is one of the many species of Banksia plants.....there are over 170 different types. The flowers are made up of tiny individual flowers grouped together in pairs.
These are the fruits of the Banksia. They are hard and protect the seeds from foraging animals. The fruits will not open until they have been burnt or completely dried out.
This used to be the Swan Brewery. It closed many years ago and the buildings now house other industries.
This cool looking kid was in the park with his buddy riding something that looked like a skateboard but was much more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I asked what it was and he said it was a hoverboard. I then asked him to demonstrate and he did in the next picture. Note the emblem on the wheels - Mercedes!
These are two kinds of the more than 700 species of Golden Wattle in Australia. The Golden Wattle is the national flower of Australia and is a symbol of unity. It is ideally suited to withstand Australia's droughts, winds and bushfires. The resilience of the Wattle represents the spirit of the Australian people.
This sculpture of a mother and child is the Pioneer Women's Memorial. The fountain plays to honour the pioneer women of Western Australia. The sculpture symbolizes their courage, strength and tenderness.
This is a variegated Peppermint Tree.
Another Boab tree. I have a fondness for them due to the impact of the safari in Tanzania.
We went to visit a couple of wineries in the wine region and these next few pictures are from the grounds. We did not actually see them making the wine; it was more of the store and restaurant which promote the winery's collections.
This picture is of the original vine of table grapes planted in 1890. It was taken at the Sandalford Winery.
These are Protea plants originally from South Africa and are from the same family as the Banksias. They were on the grounds of the second winery we visited.
After our winery visits, we had an excellent lunch at the Mallard Duck to end our tours. We can't thank our hosts enough for their generosity, thoughtfulness and expert knowledge of Perth and its suburbs. It was a super visit and while there is still lots to see in Western Australia, our hosts did a fantastic job of showing us some of the prettier areas close to home for which we are very grateful.
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