Perth, WA

It seems so long ago now but back at the end of November 2006 I was given a great gift of a trip to Perth Australia by G who was going there for work and invited me along. I was very busy the last half year with my work and could really use the break. After a very long flight and a stopover in Kuala Lumpur I arrived in sunny Australia. Perth being the most remote city in the world you would not know it as we drove into the centre. Immediately it reminded me of a mixture of Vancouver and Victoria, with the tall glass skyscrapers and smaller turn of the century buildings.

I arrived at the hotel where we were staying in the CBD and freshened up before going out for dinner.
Having had very little sleep on the way over I was already in a bit of a jet lagged state so sitting down to eat was a relief until I looked out the window and saw that the cement wall enclosing the gardens across the sidewalk was moving. I asked the server if they were large beetles or something more nefarious. He laughed and replied, yet those are WA’s finest cockroaches, but they aren’t half as bad as the flying ones. Yuck and oh joy! There is one insect that I cannot stand and that is a cockroach.
Anyway I had a full two weeks to get to know all the creatures and critters in the town.
I think the first full day after I arrived I just walked around and got to know the place and acclimatize to the weather, that evening we went out to the Swan valley to a wine tasting tour and dinner. The Swan Valley is actually the oldest wine region in WA. There was some good wine to be had and I even bought a couple of bottles from Lancaster Vineyard (Chenin Blanc) and Windy Creek (Old vine Shiraz). Day two was much the same, wandering to the beach and exploring the city but in the evening I went for a traditional BBQ at Neil’s place; he being British and his girlfriend Canadian. But I was introduced to Dukka a dry dip made of almost anything but usually spices, nuts and held in place on the bread with extra virgin olive oil, which I make at every opportunity since I have been back.

Sunday Geoff had the day off so we went to the beach, Cottesloe beach to be exact. Apparently The beach to see and be seen. I just love salt water and being able to swim in a warm ocean. We had to go and find G some Crocs for his for poor feet. Sitting on the beach and reading, listening to music and swimming. After some hours we walked back to the train and took it to the end of the line and went to look for some food in Fremantle or Freo as the locals call it. The thing we did not know on that Sunday was that there was some kind of carnival / parade throughout the whole town. And it was extremely difficult to find a place to eat that was not jammed full. So we decided to head back towards Perth to find some food after a long day. One side note was earlier in the day we had gotten off at the wrong station and happen to walk past a small church (there are MANY in WA) that had a sign out front Free WIFI to God.
The following weeks went something like wake up when G was heading off for breakfast I would join him and his colleague then usually get ready and head out. I rented a bike for a very good deal and spent most days riding around and outwardly from the city.
I visited the Museum of WA, very interesting to see stuffed animals from my home town. My favourite part being the butterfly hall. It was amazing! Some bigger than my hand spread wide, and I have quite large hands for a woman.
I rode out to City Beach, Cottesloe, Freo, Hilary’s Boat Harbour where the Western Aquarium is.

The one thing I have to say is after living in Holland for so long is that it was hard work getting used to hills. I ride my bike everywhere, but there are no hills just small slopes here. So riding some of the big hills I found around Perth was good hard work.
The following weekend we were invited by Neil to go and see some small village outside Perth called York. It was quaint and apparently a favourite for weekend getaways. Personally I did not really get it but hey I guess out there in such remoteness you take what you can. And there is a couple of good pubs and restaurants there. Neil even put an offer down on a house, which I guess is something you can do when you earn expat salaries and the AUD is so low.
Every night we ate out and tried as much of what Perth’s finest had to offer. I can promise you there were some amazing meals to be had, and of course some not so wonderful. Frasers at the top of King’s park where we had kangaroo steak and two amazing bottles of wine, Voyager Estate Shiraz and another that I can’t remember the name of. Another might we went to Kings no. 44 and also had very good meals, with a recommendation from the sommelier to not go for the 65AUD bottle but a 33 AUD bottle from Shield Estate. It was an excellent choice I must admit. Not to forget the lovely Subiaco where I spent several afternoons and even dinner one night while we listened to the Robbie Williams concert from the Oval near by.
While G and his colleagues had to work most days I was free to get out and about on my bike and explore as much as possible. I must have ridden over 250 Km in total the entire time I was there.

Another day the boys took free and we decided to do what not many people in their lives do, swim with wild dolphins, but not after getting up at the crack of dawn to meet the bus. It was kind of silly as it was so commercial but really cool to hear there little squeaks and clicks cause they just swam away if they were not interested in your being around. And I think the team that makes up Rockingham Dolphins knows they have pretty special jobs. After this we went to Penguin Island nearby to see some little fairy penguins and other odd creatures, and another opportunity for me to swim in the sea. Then we headed back to Freo for a drink and some food. We ended up at Little Creatures Brewery for some great beers then on to an Indian Restaurant Maya for food which was also very good. Then we headed home.
On our last weekend we decided to rent bikes for G and Bjorn and take them on the train out to the Swan Valley for another wine tasting tour and a visit to the Animal/ Safari park where we got to pet Kangaroos, wallabies and koalas. As well as see another host of very unusual creatures. by bike. Unfortunately we were either to late for some places or they just were not open for visitors. But we did try some more wines and ended up at a really good pub for some food and wine before making our way back to the hotel after the long day.
My last few days seemed to fly by, but not without one last trip to Freo and Little Creatures Brewery for that delicious Pale Ale.
So before I knew it I was was packing and heading back to NL. It was really a wonderful trip with some much to do. I was sad that I did not have more time to explore more north and south of the city and Western Aus.