Perth, Western Australia (WA)

 

 

 

 

 

Well, here we are in our last stage of our journey in Australia – Perth and surroundings.  Bill and Moira welcomed us into their home in North Perth and showed us around.  On our first full day Bill showed us the great local coffee shop (no offence Melbourne, but we liked the coffee in WA better), and drove us around to do some errands, and then drove us around their old haunts from when Gary lived here.  Memory lane……….for those that don’t know, Gary lived in Perth between the ages of 6 and 12.He lived in a lot of houses and went to a lot of schools.  Now I can see clearly why he likes the sense of moving and traveling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On day two Gary and I walked into the city, approximately 1 hour’s walk away and explored a bit.  Gary got his second haircut of the trip, and then we had a yummy lunch in an old post office (telegraph) building and then walked back to Bill and Moira’s.  We really enjoyed Perth – it’s much more low key than most of the other cities we’ve been in but with lots of great little coffee shops and restaurants and a nice vibe.  A nice waterfront, and Kings Park has lovely views into the city and out to the water.  Actually, we both enjoyed WA more than the east coast.  The east coast was too touristy for us, or maybe it was the wonderful hospitality from Bill and Moira for the 2 weeks we crashed out at their place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill and Moira were kind enough (and trusting) to lend us their 4-wheel drive and so we drove south to Pemberton where Gary climbed a REALLY big tree (not me – he wasn’t going to take me out of my comfort zone this time!).  We stayed at a fabulous cottage with the forest right at our doorstep, where the only sounds were of the multitude of birds, the wind, and kangaroos thumping their tails – really, you can hear them.  We had one of the kangas visiting right outside our front door – shy and friendly at the same time.  There were bunny rabbits too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then headed southwest to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin (most southwesterly point in Australia), where the Southern Ocean (the Antarctic Ocean as North Americans know it) and the Indian Ocean meet.  Reminded me of Cape Reinga in New Zealand’s most northerly point, where the Tasmin and the Pacific met – anyone remember that?  Cape Leeuwin was really fantastic and we loved the lighthouse which we took the tour of and went up with a guide – BEAUTIFUL!  A highlight for sure.  And hardly any tourists; just like we like it (selfish, I know).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to Margaret River – some of you will recognize the name from the wines you may drink.  We visited Jewel Cave that was the most recently discovered cave in the area, in the 1950’s.  That was really cool (lots of photos below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our drive back to Perth we drove on Caves Road which is a beautiful tree-lined road where most of the area vineyards are, and we stopped off at the Yallingup Cheese shop where Janni a former colleague of Gary’s from The Big Carrot in Toronto now works at making cheese.  She had no idea we were traveling and definitely didn’t expect us in Australia, let alone in her cheese shop, so it was all quite exciting.  We had a nice little visit, and we tasted a number of cheeses and decided on three – a curd (which was a beautiful cream-style cheese with a slight tartness to it); a lovely camembert; and another creamy cheese called St. Julian – oh so devine!   Thank you Janni for our “friends and family” discount – those cheeses in Toronto would have cost us a small fortunate.

Then further up the road there were the most spectacular beaches we’ve seen in a while.  We stopped off at Sugarloaf Rock at Naturaliste National Park.  We then stopped off at the “other” lighthouse – Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse.  Then on to Bunkers Bay.  The weather was perfect, the water pristine, so we decided to go for a swim (the water was calling).  And then…………we stuck our feet in and that was a SHOCK!  It felt like we were at the Atlantic instead of the Indian ocean.  Gary, who usually would be the one to march on, wouldn’t go in with the water that cold, but the water kept calling me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then returned to Perth with our cheese and a multitude of wine to share with Bill and Moria, for a couple more days and then on to Bali, Indonesia – that’s if we can fly in; the volcano has decided to act up again.  We may have to fly elsewhere or just stay put until it’s clear.

So after 4 domestic Australian flights, plus one flight in and one flight out (OZ is big like Canada), and 6 weeks later, we’ll see you somewhere soon.