Day 149 Karrinyup, Perth, WA

It has been another "nothing" day, apart from a couple of appointments.  When I visited the hairdresser a couple of weeks ago she found a spot in my hair that she thought I should have checked.  Philip took a photo of it when I arrived home and I sent it to my skin doctor in Cairns.  I have been with the same skin doctor for ten years so I know I can rely on Edward's opinion.  His assessment was that he thought it was okay but just to be on the safe side to find somewhere to have it checked properly, which I did today.  It is, as Edward said, nothing to be concerned about but as I do have a  melanoma history it is always worthwhile getting an expert opinion.  All of those sun filled days in our teens, without sunscreen, are coming back to bite all of us old grey nomads.

Even lunch was a simple affair today with leftover spaghetti and meatballs and as always, it tastes twice as good the second time around. I really have to do a grocery shop sometime soon but it is something I put off until it is absolutely necessary.  

While I was preparing lunch Philip made a phone call to the company that has ordered our cooktop part that was supposed to be here on Monday or Wednesday at the latest.  Well today is Wednesday and it is still not here.  The company have no idea when the part might arrive and are blaming Thetford.  I actually think they are right because I decided to try another avenue to see if I could get the parts (it didn't worry us to have two of the same part) and the lovely lady I have been dealing with rang today to say that she can't get any sense out of Thetford.  When we get back to Cairns we are seriously considering swapping out the Thetford Cooktop/Oven for a Dometic that are a much easier company to deal with.

While we were watching television last night there was an advertisement for the Araluen Botanical Gardens Tulip Festival.  After a google search I found that Araluen is a southern suburb of Perth and is about a 40 minute drive from where we are on the north side of Perth.  I am over the moon that this festival happens to coincide with our stay in Perth and we have planned a full day there tomorrow.  From what I can read on the website there are heaps of self guided tours around the gardens and two good restaurants to choose from for lunch.  Araluen Botanic Park covers an area of 14 hectares or 35 acres so we will have plenty to see. xx

 

Day 148 Karrinyup, Perth, WA

After three big days of touring, today was a day of rest, or nearly....

I started my day watching my two favourite Aussie tennis players, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, battle it out at the US Open in New York.  These two are friends both off the court and on the court and you may remember (if you follow tennis) that they took out the Doubles crown at the Australian Open earlier this year.  They are a formidable doubles team and will also be competing in the doubles at the US Open.  Nick took the win in three sets in todays match but it was hard to watch and as Nick said afterwards "I hope I never have to play against my best friend ever again in any tennis match".

Other than watching the tennis I made us a Chocolate Slice that has been in my cooking repertoire since I learnt how to make it at high school!  These days I leave off the chocolate icing because we don't need the extra sugar calories....

Somehow I have ended up with a lot of small quantities of vegetables in the fridge and what better way to use them up than in a stir-fry.  I also fall back on this recipe quite a bit and it is so versatile because you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand.  It was also perfect because I had a nice piece of rump steak sitting in the freezer.  The marinade I used today for the beef was plum sauce, soy sauce, chilli sauce and lemon juice with a pinch of five spice powder.

It is a delicious meal and really quite filling so after lunch we walked the pathway in our suburb that borders one of many parks in the area.  There are many people walking after lunch and I think it is probably because it is still quite cool in the mornings (around six degrees) but after lunch the temperature has lifted to eighteen degrees.  The sun is shining brightly as we walk and we are soaking it up because rain is once again predicted by the weekend.

 

Day 147 Karrinyup, (Hop-On, Hop-Off), Perth, WA

 This is our twelfth day in Perth and it still hasn't lost its shine.  Today was the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour around Perth.  We decided last night that we would drive into Kings Park and park in the main parking area as it is Stop No 6 on the Hop-On bus and it is certainly easier to park here than elsewhere in the city.  The bus route winds its way through Kings Park stopping at numerous places but we don't get off here as the way the bus schedule operates, with only one bus, means that you can probably only get off once or at a push twice, and we really want to visit the Perth Mint that is stop No. 5.

These buses are a fantastic way of seeing a city and as I mentioned earlier we always try to seek them out when we arrive into a city.  Todays bus took us to most of the city highlights that included Kings Park, Northbridge, Crown Perth, Elizabeth Quay, Bell Tower, Art Gallery, City Shopping Malls, Watertown Discount Outlet, Yagan Square, Optus Stadium, Blue Boat House (the smallest yacht club in Perth) and the Perth Mint.  You certainly get your moneys worth on this two hour tour.

We alighted at the Perth Mint and only had to wait twenty minutes for the next tour where we would watch a bar of gold being poured. We also got to see the One Tonne Gold Coin worth around ten million dollars but with a face value of one million.  This solid gold commemorative "coin" was was poured when Queen Elizabeth visited Perth in 2011.  I found the tour very interesting and of course we knew quite a lot of the early gold rush history after visiting Kalgoorlie.  Philip lifted the gold bar that is very heavy but we completely forgot to see what our weight was in gold!  The Perth Mint also has some of the world's largest gold nuggets and oldest coins.

After our one hour tour we visited a nearby coffee shop for Toasties washed down with Tea and Coffee.  I have to say they were one of the best toasties I have ever eaten with lashings of butter spread on both sides of the bread so that the end result was rich and moist.  The majority of the toasties that you get these days are dry and tasteless. 

We only had around a ten minute wait for our Hop-On/Off Bus to arrive and take us right back to where we had first started from at Kings Park. Once again as we tried to drive out of the city Siri sent us on a wild goose chase and we are really beginning to hate her 😩.  Sometimes I think you are best to go with your gut instincts when it comes to driving.  Fortunately my husband never loses his cool when driving in the city otherwise we might really be in deep sh...t

Day 146 Karrinyup, (Swan River Cruise), Perth, WA

One of the first tours we booked when we arrived into Perth was a Swan River Cruise that included lunch.  I was also lucky enough to find a "special" that included tickets for the Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus that we will probably do tomorrow.  We decided once again to use Uber to take us into the Barrack Jetty that is in the heart of Perth.  It is so much easier than trying to find a park in the city on a Sunday morning and just to make it doubly difficult there is a Van Gogh Alive Exhibit at a nearby venue.

I pre-booked our Uber but 15 minutes before the allotted pick up time the driver texted us to say that he was waiting for us!  Sorry, but we will be there at the allotted time!  He was a nice driver though and didn't mind the wait.  He got us to the jetty with plenty of time to spare.

Once everybody was boarded at 11.15 it took no time at all for us to be on our way along the Swan River towards Freemantle.  The ship we are on is apparently the largest commercial ship to sail along the Swan River.  A couple of the bridges that we passed under are very low so it would restrict a lot of ships.  The commentary was great with a visual display on the TV monitors in case you missed the commentary.  We learn that there are over twenty boat clubs in Perth and Perth has the highest number of boats per person than anywhere else in Australia.  It does't surprise us though as the city certainly lends itself to water sports.

We sailed past "Millionair's Row" where there are homes worth many tens of millions of dollars.  These mansions are homes to the likes of mining magnates Twiggy Forest and Gina Reinhart and countless others.

The old Swan Brewery that is now apartment blocks and restaurants, looked quite different from the water and Philip commented that he couldn't remember the building being so large but then again, like he said, he had never seen it from this perspective.

Once we arrived at Freemantle and off-loaded passengers who were not on the boat for lunch the smorgasbord was laid out with some delicious dishes that catered to everybody's needs.  There were both hot and cold dishes and a very good variety of sweets for those who needed to finish with a sweet treat.  We had skipped breakfast again so we were quite ravenous by the time lunch was served!

It was a lovely three hour cruise and even though the day was gloomy we were in the perfect spot to enjoy it.  If there was any complaint at all it would have been that they did not need the air-conditioner turned on.  The highest temperature it got to today was just 16 degrees so heating might have been more appropriate.  Not one person took off their (mostly) puffer jackets and I could have done with one more layer.  But hey, it's only a small complaint and many would have disagreed with me 😜 (I'm looking at you Katie!)

Day 145 Karrinyup, (Wave Rock), Perth, Wa

 We have had an epic touring day. Our guide, Kea, picked us up at 7am and we didn’t get home until after 8pm. So where did we go? Well, we and six others travelled around 350km east of Perth to Wave Rock and Hippos Mouth at Hyden.

Our first stop this morning was at the historic town of York where we had about half an hour to have a wander around the streets. This quaint little town is on the banks of the Avon River that you may recall we drove over a few weeks ago when we stayed at Toodyay. At York we walked down to the Avon river and crossed it on the famous swing bridge that I can assure you is not for the faint hearted. 

Our drive takes us through the heart of the wheat belt with wheat crops and canola crops sitting side by side in paddocks that stretch for miles in both directions. This area is also grazed by sheep, thousands of sheep! They are mostly merino with some of the sheep just off shears and others with full fleece. The sheep are in good condition so I have no doubt there is also a market for fat lamb. One thing we noticed today is that even though the sheep are in large paddocks they bunch up in a tight mob. We saw Alpacas running with one mob so we think that there must be quite a few dingos/wild dogs in the area.

We take a short break at Corrigin to visit a cemetery for “man’s best friend”. This dog cemetery is a tribute to all the working dogs that have now taken their place in doggie heaven.

Our lunch stop is at Hyden Bakery & Cafe where we just have to sit down to a home made pie. I went for the plain mince and Philip had the Pepper Pie. We had a warning pot of tea to wash it down followed by custard slice for me and Passionfruit cheesecake for Philip. 

From Hyden it is just four kilometres to Wave Rock. It is Saturday so there are lots of people here but that in no way detracts from this magnificent granite rock that has been formed by wind and water. The colours of the granite are stunning and I’m so pleased we made the trip to see this natural wonder. Many people told us it wasn’t worth the drive but I beg to differ.

After we had climbed to the top of Wave Rock to take in the wonderful views we all made our way back to the mini bus for the short drive to Hippos Mouth. This is also awesome and if you are very adventurous you can climb right into the back of the rock and crawl through to a cave. We are not adventurous! Our tour guide, Kea, took a nice group photo of us.

On our return trip we stopped at the Kondinin Salt Lake that can be a mint green colour at certain times but unfortunately today was overcast and showery so all I could photograph where the statues.

And our very last comfort stop was at the little country town of  Brookton. For such a small township it was absolutely gorgeous with all its flowering fruit trees lining the street.

As I mentioned, it was a very long day and I am now looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow morning before our Swan River Lunch Cruise.  The weather is predicted to be showery but I'm hoping the BOM is wrong for once.....

Day 144 Karrinyup Waters, (Freemantle), Perth, WA

Part of the reason we have extended our stay in Perth was because we were waiting for a part for our cooktop that we were assured would arrive this week.  As it is now Friday Philip rang the caravan repair place only to be told that the part wasn't ordered!  (Two phone calls to them last week and they assured us the part was ordered).  We were both feeling pretty angry with the company but what can you do.  They now say that the part will be here on Monday with Wednesday being the latest.  We will see but we are extending our time here for another four nights just to make certain.

So when we walked out the door this morning, feeling slightly discombobulated, we completely forgot the camera and GoPro that usually goes EVERYWHERE with us!  Thank goodness for iPhone Cameras is all I can say.  We are heading to Freemantle and the drive from where we are staying is 30 kilometres and takes around 40 minutes.  It is easy driving now that the roads are beginning to feel familiar.  Gee, by the time we leave we will be able to drive anywhere!

Can I just say right here and now, I really like Freemantle.  We found a Parking area quite near the heart of the city and once we had parked up the car we made our way towards High Street.  On our way we dropped into Kathmandu to purchase some replacement mesh travel bags.  They are a godsend in the caravan but a couple of ours (we have twelve of various sizes) have the zippers broken and they are starting to fall apart.  We have had them for quite a few years and they have travelled thousands of kilometres with us so replacements were inevitable.

The shop assistant at Kathmandu was very friendly and gave us a heads up on which way to head in the city centre.  As it is Friday the Freeo markets are taking place so that was our first port of call.  The markets were like any other and terribly crowded so we didn't stay long at all.  The old building that the markets are housed in though is quite lovely.

After the markets, we started to make our way towards the harbour but spotted a cafe that looked like a nice place to stop and have brunch.  The restaurant was called Mr Chappel and the food here was excellent and far superior to what we had for breakfast yesterday.  After my experience with the fried egg from yesterdays Brunch I decided to go with the Orange Pancakes with Coconut Yoghurt, Grilled Pineapple, Strawberries and Chocolate Sauce.  Perfect.  Philip went for the Bennie and he was a very happy Chappy.

After our hearty breakfast it was time to walk.  We kept heading towards the harbour and made a bee-line for the Ferris wheel that we could see in the distance.  We walked down a lovely tree lined street with some interesting terrace houses but nothing like the heritage buildings that are everywhere in Freemantle.

Once we reached the Ferris wheel I could tell Philip was a little nervous as he is not great with heights but he assured me he would be fine.  I think this photo says otherwise...

We only did three rotations but it was enough to afford us some fantastic views around Freemantle.

From the Ferris wheel we could see the Ship Wreck Museum so that was our next destination. All the way down the West Coast we have been reading about the number of ships that were wrecked along the coastline. An extract from Museum brochure:

"The museum is housed in an 1850's era Commissariat building which has been restored to its historic glory, and houses hundreds of relics from ships wrecked along Western Australia's treacherous coastline, including the original timbers from the ship Baravia (wrecked in 1629), The de Vlamingh plate, and artefacts from the Dutch shipwrecks Zuytdorp, Zeewijk and Vergulde Draeck"

It was a very interesting place and we spent a good amount of time wandering around the two storey building.

Next stop on our walk was the Round Goal.  My goodness those prisoners had it tough.  Prisons these days are five stars in comparison.

Continuing our walk we stopped at a nearby lookout where we had some lovely harbour and beach views.

We made the decision to start heading back towards the parked car as it was close to 1.00pm.  We weren't hungry but we picked up some fresh bread rolls so that we could have ham and salad rolls later in the afternoon. Our return to the car took us a different route and along another one of the city's main streets.  We both commented on the number of restaurants in Freemantle's city area and we both had a vague recollection that it has become a bit of a foodies paradise.  I love that most of the heritage buildings in the city have been restored and still retain their Olde Worldly Charm.  It really is a lovely city that I hope we get to return to over the coming week.