Perth

Perth:  22 – 25 June

On our first full day in Perth, Helen and Peter drove us to Kings Park.  It was a glorious day and there were people everywhere through the Park.  We walked around a number of the flora gardens, admiring the way the Park has been developed.  One very interesting feature is the large boab tree which was transported from northern WA to Kings Park some years ago.  There was considerable uncertainty as to whether the boab would survive the six day road trip to Perth – but, a few years later, the boab is looking really good and damage from the trip is gradually being repaired. 

 

 

The Narrows Bridge is of course an iconic view of central Perth.  After a most enjoyable picnic in the Park, we drove back to Duncraig along the coast:  it was very picturesque with the sparkling Indian Ocean. 

Sunday saw us head off to St Matthew’s at Shenton Park.  We went to their 10.00 service and it was packed with people from a variety of cultures and ages.  We managed to have a chat with Kanishka before the service.  After the service, we spent some time chatting with Cailey, so it was good to see them after so long.  As the rain came down, we set off for Fremantle, where we had lunch at iconic Cicerello’s – an extremely crowded fish and chip restaurant, with alfresco views of Fremantle Harbour.  This was quite an experience with great food and people absolutely everywhere.  We then visited the Maritime Museum and saw, amongst other exhibits, Australia II, as she was when she won the America’s Cup in 1983.  Then it was back to Helen and Peter’s home;  we brought our blog up to date posting lots of photos.

We spent the next couple of days relaxing and visiting sites of interest around Perth.  In particular, we visited the Western Australian Shipwreck Gallery in the Fremantle port precinct.  This Gallery has a magnificent exhibition of the Batavia:  the Dutch ship that was wrecked on the Abrolhos Islands in 1629 on its maiden voyage to the East Indies.  [Question:  Where are the Abrolhos Islands?]  The aftermath of that disaster and mutiny in terms of appalling human behaviour and misery and suffering are almost too awful to contemplate.  The Gallery has reconstructed part of the Batavia’s hull from timber recovered from the wreck site.  As well, 37 tonnes of stones for a portico which was to be built in Java have been assembled and many other items that were recovered from the wreck site are on exhibition.

This Gallery also has exhibitions on the Zuytdorp [pronounced zowt-dorp], which was wrecked on the WA coast in 1712 and a number of other maritime disasters.

We also enjoyed spending an evening with Kanishka and Cailey, their daughter, Lucy, and their dog!  We had a lovely meal and our conversation ranged over many topics as we caught up on years of activities.  It is now 14 years since Kanishka moved from St Matthew's, Wanniassa to St Matthew's, Shenton Park.

After a few days enjoying Perth, we cleaned Chaunticleer, packed all our things and prepared to start our journey north up the coast of WA.  Kerryn said 'Goodbye' to her friend, Helen.