Perth – Fremantle (Day 10)
Today we packed a picnic and then set off to Fremantle for the day. Fremantle is where a lot of immigrants came into Perth on boats, this included Bob and April who arrived in 1971 on the £10 emigration scheme that was advertised in the UK for people to move to Australia for just £10. We asked him why he choose Australia and he said because of the sun – we are not sure what he means after our last few days here!
Bob told us it took them five and a half weeks to get there on the boat. In Fremantle, they have lots of plaques with the names of those people that arrived on these schemes. We found Bob and April’s names before heading into the museum that was also on site. We wanted to go into the submarine but all of the tours had sold out for the day, so we only got to look at the outside before it started raining. But it was a lot bigger than we expected and we were not sure how comfortable it would be.
We then had a look in the market, which had loads of cool stuff. There were lots of old things for sale like gumball machines, records, antiques, and video games. We had a go on the old Pacman machine before spending some of our money on sweets, thanks Gran and April for giving us some dollars. Alexander got a huge lolly and Bethany was very pleased with her blind bag (lucky dip).
After the market, we went to the playpark near the big Ferris wheel (Fremantle tourist wheel). It started raining quite hard while we were here, and Bethany flew off the wet slide she went on and landed a good 2 meters away from the end of the slide. Adam also slipped over on the skate park, so we decided to hunt for ice cream instead as it would be a lot safer. This didn’t go to plan, but we did see some crabs in the water before heading back to our accommodation.
Even though it was wet it didn’t put us off having a play in the pool as soon as we got back whilst Dad went for a run, which he says he loves as it gives him the chance to see what’s around, we think he’s just having a break from us all for 30 minutes 3 times a week! (see pictures)
Dad then made a speciality of leftovers for dinner (one pan of baked beans x3 tins, vegetarian sausages x6, potatoes all on toast topped with cheese). We didn’t think it would be as delicious as it was!
After dinner, Dad surprised us by taking us for a night swim whilst Mum worked and finished packing our cases ready for our flight to Sydney tomorrow morning.
Perth – Perth City Centre & Elizabeth Quay (Day 9)
The morning started with another swim and after we saw our lovely reception lady and asked her the best way to get into the city centre, and she said car, so off we set. About a 15 minute drive, first to a play area at Langley Park, by the water which we remembered from our last visit as the stage for Matthew who spontaneously created some impressive dialogue and video when he was 3. The play park is on a lovely green field that is used for lots of different events, this week the circus is in town.
We then parked in an all day car park ($4 dollars an hour) and set off to find the centre of Perth. About a 10 minute walk and we were on the main stretch, noting that at crossings when the little green man goes green, you only got about half way across before the red man comes on solidly. This made us rather nervous as we weren’t sure if traffic was being sent or not. (We think that if the crossing is clear then the traffic can start going, but if not then the pedestrian has the right of way)
Once in the centre we found a square that brought back fond memories from 2015 of playing in water jets in December and also watching the nativity in the square which included a real camel. Although after 10 minutes of reminiscing we were ready to move on. Into Myers for some retail therapy, 4 floors of everything. For us, as a largely Amazon family (apologies, we just find it easier and more practical – although we always do search the internet for price comparisons) this was a really good experience looking at lots of different items in the shop from fashion to electronics, from kitchen to beauty and of course toys! Bethany was particularly disappointed that both Mum and Dad (she did ask both quite a few times) wouldn’t let her buy a big doll that was on sale. Apparently, we haven’t got the weight or space in the cases.
Our final stops of the day was the Perth Bell tower and then onto the Elizabeth Quay area. Dad spotted Bryan Robson from Man Utd/Middlesbrough and England fame walking about with some others wearing a Man Utd tracksuit – Man Utd along with, Crystal Palace, Leeds and Aston Villa were in town playing some football friendlies to raise the profile of the Premier League.
The Quay area was lovely even though the ground was still wet, we had a good look around before heading over the bridge which is a gateway to the Quay. We tried for a picture on the bridge in between cyclists going through the photo frame (which they were entitled to do, just as it was the end of the office day there were a lot of them). That done there was another play area with a lovely dam/water area to play in which was good as it was still wet.
Then we proceeded to head back to the car, back to our accommodation, and you’ve guessed it back into the pool!
Perth – Wanneroo Tavern and Our New Accommodation (Day 8)
Our final morning in our budget accommodation in Perth, and we all had to be up early to pack ready to fill the bus. This is the part that we all hate, packing bags is never easy and for some reason, our stuff never fits back into where it came out from! Everyone helped and we left with 10 minutes to spare, so we used our time wisely and had one final play in the play park over the road from the accommodation, which we will defiantly miss. We wondered what Dad had booked for our final 3 days in Perth? He said he had a surprise for us.
From here we drove 20 minutes to meet Bob and Acorn (aka April) again but this time going for a meal. The local pub; the Wanneroo Tavern, they had picked was lovely and spacious with a play area attached to it too. The food was nice too so for the next 2 hours we played, ate, drank and talked. Although we had met them before it was 6 years ago and we cannot really remember them it was very nice to catch up again – we were even given a portrait of us all as April is also an artist. We said our goodbyes got back into the van and set off.
We drove South through Perth and alongside Kings Park where we had been a few days before. We stopped at the Broadwater resort, Como. Suspiciously in the car park, we were not the only people that had rented a Sixt bus, as there were 4 others in there too!
The resort looked A LOT nicer than our last accommodation. The lady in reception was very welcoming and recommended places for us to visit and gave us lots of leaflets to take with us. We then went to find our accommodation for the next 3 days.
As we turned out of reception we were met with our surprise, a pool!!!! Dad encouraged us to test the water which we did, and it wasn’t cold! It wasn’t warm either, somewhere in the middle of both, but enough for us all to want to jump in as soon as possible.
We found our room which was up 2 flights of stairs and when we walked in we were met with a lovely duplex apartment. First impressions: no ants and insects, it’s newer than the first place, both inside and out, the beds seem a lot comfier, there’s heating and a dryer and a dishwasher (Mum wanted me to add that) and have we mentioned there’s a pool!
After 10 minutes we went to the pool and had a great time, Mum and Dad particularly liked the hot tub, although it was quite deep when we sat on the seats. The pool is half undercover and half outside with a great little island to jump in and no lifeguard to tell us off. We were also joined by some hockey teams that are staying here, which explains the buses.
After our swim, we went to grab some supplies, had tea, unpacked, and chilled before bed whilst Mum finally managed to get our clothes dry!
Perth – Cottesloe, Scarborough & Mullaloo Beach (Day 7)
On our final day in the North of Perth and the sun was out again so we planned a tour of 3 coastal locations by driving up the signposted “tourist route” which is 22km of road winding up the coastline.
Starting at Cottesloe, Matthew had done some research and this was a quiet and calm coastal stretch which was great for us to swim in the sea. Matthew, Adam and Bethany ventured into the sea bravely and Matthew released Bob; the clam, back into the wild after observing him/her/them for a couple of days. The sky was blue and the resort was small and beautiful, with a small spluttering of shops and buildings around the main car park.
Onto Scarborough which was far more built up than our first call and geared towards surfing and had a definite resort type atmosphere. There were a lot of apartment blocks, but it was hard to see if these were for locals or holidaymakers.
As the sun was out, once again Dad had brought lunch in the form of a BBQ and there were 3 lots of 2 BBQs. Unlike our first experience when it was just using a BBQ, today 2 out of 3 were being used. Dad rocked up like a pro and cooked hot dogs once more, whilst we played in the play area that was just beside the cooking area and picnic area. We also helped to fend off seagulls that were far too close for Dad’s liking.
Once lunch was eaten, just before heading to the beach we came across a solar powered bench that had a built in phone charger, of course, Dad had to try it, it was free and as soon as the phone touched the spot for charging off it went. Quite a smart idea!
The sand was lovely but the sea was a different animal here, even the lifeguards were on duty. It seemed to be split up into 3 sections, looking out to the left was for the intermediate surfers, the middle section for the beginners, and to the right for the more experienced. Mum realised that this is why we didn’t go to the beach much when we were here in 2015 when we were toddlers – it was too rough for us to paddle back then.
We watch for a long time, as the surfers were watching over their shoulders waiting for the right wave to come along, we must admit we thought you just swam out, caught a wave immediately, rode the wave, and repeated the process. But on closer inspection we could see they were looking for larger waves which appeared to only come along every 4-5 minutes, then it depended on where you were waiting for the wave. We mean that when a large wave came it didn’t come across all the surfers it maybe only was perfect for 3 or 4 of them out of 15…..surfing needed some calculations to start with and that was even before you got on a board.
We watched for a while and then played in the sand again, and we even buried Adam up to his neck, but he got out!
We then made our way back to the bus, but on our way, we found outdoor exercise equipment which we were all advised by Dad that we were using incorrectly. We realised this was definitely true when there were 3 of us trying to lift a set of bars up!
From here we followed the coast North, back to Mulaloo as we had enjoyed the park, play area, and beach last time. We spent an hour playing on the beach as sunset came down upon us. Such a lovely beach and location. We got wet again due to jumping over the waves, but that was fine. Some local people stopped to talk to Mum and guessed we were English, as it’s only usually English people that would go in the ocean in the Ozzy winter. We thought it was a great time to be in the water and really enjoyed our swim, well all except Alexander who prefers to sit on a towel and not get sand or sea on himself – just like Mum and Dad.
After we left we went up the coast and headed home, lovely to be out in the fresh air all day, we are all tired now.
Perth – Kings Park (Day 6)
Our destination today was the lovely Kings Park, a National Park up on the hilltop looking down over the city of Perth.
We first visited the May Drive Parkland which had a large play area, water walk, 3 large sculptures (see photos) to explore. In the play area, there was a large above-ground walk way with slides and firemans pole to explore. The sun was out so it was a great start to the day. We really liked this play area.
We then moved around the park by car to the DNA tower. This is a tower that had been constructed in the 1960’s and allowed for great views across the park. Each side of the tower had separate steps (100 on each side) and like a picture of a piece of DNA the staircase wound up the central pillar.
At this location, there was also a tribute to the firefighters of Western Australia that had lost their lives protecting others. There was a nice statue and a reminder of what a dangerous job fire fighting is. It hasn’t put Matthew off!
We then moved onto the main part of Kings Park and after driving around for a car parking space for a while we parked up and found some trees that smelt of lemon and some eucalyptus trees too! Here we had ice cream and then had a wander through the Botanic Gardens which were beautiful. We came across a red sun shaded structure which Mum and Dad informed us that we had pictures of from before and was also where we had a picnic.
We now saw a sign for the Lottery West Federation Walk, which mum and dad were trying to find. This included an elevated glass bridge that made a great spectacle of the view (see photos). We were expecting the floor to be glass too but it was wooden.
We then walked back to the main part of the park to look at the main viewing point over Perth and also a sculpture that tells us to take time to reflect and remember, which coincides with the war memorial that is also there.
Bethany then wanted to look at the art gallery which housed lots of expensive crystals and it was all about nature. There was also a sign that made Dad smile as the gallery had been broken into and the sign explained that due to this the door had been “buggered up” in the process. It made Dad smile because of the informal language used that you just wouldn’t see in the UK. A bit like the road sign: “Wrong way, go back!” on the exits to motorways joining roundabouts. In the UK this would read “No Entry” or Entry Prohibited”.
After the art gallery, we drove past the Rio Tinto Naturescape park area which was unfortunately shut on a Monday, and then onto the Poolgarla Family Area which included a great play area for hide and seek.
Kings Park is such a nice place and a must do when in Perth, with plenty of different areas and walks to do. Every tree on all the roads within the park has a plaque for people who have been lost in wars over the years, it again makes you think about things that have been lost.
Please find a link to the parks map https://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park/visit/maps-and-transport/venues We left just after 5pm and made our way with Dad being impressed that the sat nav was sending us North and up the coastal road to avoid the rush hour traffic.
Perth – Family Catchup and Target (Day 5)
6 years ago when we were here (before Alexander was born) we had stayed in Perth and had met up with our Grans, partners brother, and wife. Today we went for brunch and a catch up. Dad always says although the world is a large place, he loves the fact that we are able to see people we have met before almost wherever we go. Lovely food, drink and chat, we even borrowed some DVDs as it gets dark in Perth at 6pm each day so it’ll give us some things to watch while Mum and Dad worked in the evening.
We then headed back to our local shopping centre as weirdly, Bethany really, really wanted to go to Target, blame too much YouTube watching (equivalent to Asda home with toys) to do a bit of shopping. After buying as much as Mum and Dad would allow (apparently we have weight restrictions on our cases), we went home to play both inside and at the local play park, and then we relaxed, and after dinner, we all settled down for a DVD and some popcorn before bed.
Perth – Yanchep National Park (Day 4)
Today we set off to find some more wild Kangaroos so we went exploring at Yanchep national park. A beautiful large park with flowers, trees, water, caves, tea rooms and a high wire experience. Entrance fee per car up to 12 people of $15.00.
We spent the first part of our trip by the water, taking photos of the birds and Bethany found a snake in the reeds, which turned out to only be a frog much to our parent’s delight.
We then found the signs for Koalas with a lot of excitement we found their compounded and a ranger who was very nice at telling us about the 5 Koala they had housed there. Koalas have been in the park for about 70 years after being brought in from Perth Zoo all those years ago. So whilst not technically free they were in the wild, and quite high up in the trees for a good photo opportunity. We were a bit disappointed to learn they sleep most of the time and are nocturnal so we just didn’t get a chance to see them move, as you can tell from our video: Koalas in Yachep National Park
A quick stop for ice cream and then Dad told us about a walk he wanted to do…….so we set off following a guided walk of 3km around the national park (others were available but we fought off the 5km and 10km offers).
After about 5 minutes we encountered wild kangaroo’s in the undergrowth. It was a wonderful experience and we got a few photos of them eating before moving on, 10 minutes later we walked past the park’s campsite and found 15 kangaroos (mob, troup, court). We spent a long time here as they were eating and we couldn’t believe our luck. We think some had joeys in their pouch or they were just a bit fat. Mum and Dad wouldn’t let us go up to them though in case they attacked us.
Back to the walk, which Dad thought was a nice way to get some exercise, (we weren’t so sure), and even with the sun hiding behind the clouds it did make for a nice afternoon. We passed the 2 cave sections in the park but couldn’t go in them as the guided tours were on earlier on in the day. We did meet a group that had been down there, they had said it was very spooky and also there was loads of spiders – so from wanting to go into the caves we swiftly changed our minds.
Finally back at the car park and happy with our experience of encountering wild Kangeroo’s and also finding semi wild Koala’s and having the walk made for a lovely day we were all tired now.
Perth – Mullaloo and Mindarie Marina (Day 3)
Another lazy morning as we went to bed later last night and once the washing was done the sun was out so we packed up and off we went. Mum and Dad have told us many times about barbequing in the local parks which we have seen loads of. Today we set out to find the place we stayed in back in 2015 when we first came here, we failed to find it first of all and then drove past park after park which didn’t have BBQ’s much to Mum and Dad’s dismay.
We finally turned onto the coastal road and found a lovely (very clean) location with a play park and beach at Mullaloo. Dad had already packed the picnic bag and after it being double checked by mum (at dads frustration) we set about working out, how to use free BBQ’s in the park. We were the only people using them, although there were lots of people enjoying the sun, sunbathing, picnicking and having birthday gatherings.
We found a BBQ with very easy instructions that went from being turned on to warming up/sanitising and then green when it was ready to cook, you got 20 mins which was enough to cook the sausages that we had. Check out Dad (master chef) cooking. It was very edible with ketchup!
After the BBQ, and another smaller play area, we walked down to the beach. We walked on a cycle and footpath and past a small stop which was for cycle repairs and included a stand to lift your bike onto, all the tools you would need, and also a foot pump (see photo) you can see why a lot more people cycle here.
Once on the beach, we had a good hour playing in the sea and waves, if only we had brought our swim gear! Mum and dad have promised tomorrow come rain, wind or shine we would be back. Matthew found himself a pet clam that he popped in a bottle with sand and seawater to look after until we returned.
We then went to the Mindarie marina where, apparently, we welcomed father Christmas on a boat when we were here in 2015. We had a lovely walk around the marina and found a pub that had a nice play area attached to it where we had a drink and played with some local kids who were very nice and complimented Adam on his curls.
Dad and Mum also then found the old addresses we had stayed at in Perth and it took about 30 minutes to visit both properties which none of us can remember but was still good, especially as we went to the Cheesecake shop where you have guessed it; they sell cake either by the slice, half cake or full cake. Mum and Dad told us a story about ordering one for Christmas in the year we were there and picking it up at 8pm on Christmas Eve. We selected a full cheesecake (see photos) it was delicious (but not as nice as Gran’s)….and will properly last for 4 days it’s large.
As a final bonus Dad wanted to show us a drive-through off license and we pulled the van into the drive-through part of the shop and were greeted by a lovely lady who asked us what we wanted, she then proceeded to pick out Dad’s Australian beer – Heineken (dad is giggling again) and she put it into our vehicle and off we drove. Kind of like Mcdonald’s but for all forms of alcohol!
Perth – Hilary’s Boat Yard (Day 2)
Adam and Dad awoke first, after laying in, and disappeared out to get some breakfast for us all and some essentials for our week in this property. We were all cold when we got up as it was only 15 degrees and there is no heating in the property except an aircon unit in the lounge that also blows out warm air. A bit like we don’t have aircon in the UK for when we have 35 degree heat waves like the UK is having currently!
It was forecast rain all day today so we were pleased when Mum and Dad said we’d have a relaxed day, as we were all still tired despite some of us not getting up until 11am. After we had finished breakfast we unpacked and then got onto our bus to go and find Hilary’s boat yard and the nearest food shops.
At Hilary’s boat Yard Mum and Dad said we came here before during our time in Australia in 2015 with Gran. They said Dad swam with each of us to the pontoon (see photos) in turn as we all wanted to go. Turns out that was in the summer, and on a rainy Wednesday on one of the coldest weeks in Perth, none of us wanted that to happen. Dressed in our raincoats we wandered around the lovely marina window shopping and taking in the sights and sounds of our first trip out.
We also managed to get a frozen yogurt where we picked the flavour and dispensed our choice into a tub, decorated it with a choice of toppings and then the cost was calculated based on the weight.
Then onto Sterling shopping centre and a week’s worth of food shopping from Aldi was purchased along with some coat hangers and a couple of books from Big W (there are 2 wardrobes in our rental and each only has 2 hangers).
Then, most importantly, some new sim cards with some data for Mum, Dad and Matthew’s phones so that the rest of us could tether to the phones so we could use our iPad and keep in touch with our friends when had any down time.
Mum and Dad had worked out that Vodafone would charge them £6 per day each to use their UK allowance over here, which works out at…….£648 over the duration of our stay…..and not very brightly our first rental in Australia didn’t have any WIFI.
When we got back, we had a play in the play park opposite our home and spotted some green and red parrots before it turned dark, which it does at 6pm, given that its winter here. Mum made us some dinner and we relaxed while Mum and Dad did some laundry and tried to work out how to get the new sim cards to work.
Perth – We have arrived (Day 1)
The plane journey from Dubai to Perth was just over 10 hours, as it was overnight (at least at the time we left) everyone got some sleep. Although Matthew stayed up watching movies until a couple of hours before we landed.
We landed in Perth around 5:30 pm. Once inside the airport, we queued a couple of times for over 20 minutes for various things and finally joined the queue to have our bags scanned before we could depart the airport. This queue was snaking around quite a bit, but from watching “Australian Border Security” on TV on many occasions and as a family laughing at the main food items that people tried to bring in we were comfortable that everything was as it should be (well after we told Mum she wasn’t allowed to bring all of the snacks and food we’d left from our plane meals which she saving for later for us). We were right; straight through and onto the car hire.
As we walked to the outside car park it was cool but not cold and we looked at the possible vehicles we might get, some of the larger SUVs looked very cool and like ones we don’t have in England. Dad was smiling and after a short while we had the keys for our convertible sports car we were going to ride around Perth in, or so we thought……..a bus is what we were given. A 12-seater bus and we loved it, it is so spacious! We think we could live in this bus.
Dad told us that the lady in the car rental company had said we had defiantly gone for value, but he did remind us that we had 6 large suitcases and 6 carry on bags. A few moments later and we were on our way following the built in sat nav onto our accommodation.
Now, having been in Perth before Mum and Dad were having a discussion about distance and how surprised they were about how far up the coast we had travelled, so we stopped for some food at McDonalds. After looking at the self-service machine, Matthew couldn’t see his usual McPlant Burger so he spoke to a staff member who kindly made a recommendation of having a McChicken sandwich, with the chicken substituted for a hash brown…..we never knew you could do this…. Definitely a hit with Matthew! McDonalds cost us a 3rd more in Perth than it usually does in England, Mum says this is because Perth is the most remote city on the planet and everything is more expensive here.
Anyway on returning to the bus and double checking the address had been typed incorrectly, Mum said, “that’s not the address I used for the border force paperwork on the plane”. It turns out Dad had typed in the owner’s address for where we were staying and we were about 30 minutes past where we should have gone. Well done captain compass. To be fair to him as we navigated out of this small town we were in we all saw some wild kangaroos which was really nice hopping at the side of the road and in front of the bus as we slowly drove past in amazement.
Finally, we arrived at the accommodation in the district of Balga. It is a 3 bedroom bungalow (they all seem to be bungalows here in Perth) which Dad described as a bargain. He booked it via bookings.com around 4 weeks ago. Mum, after looking around said, “you get what you pay for”. Us children were not impressed especially as there were bugs in the kitchen and lots of supplies of ant killer. Mum says this is normal for Perth, “wait until you see the size of the ants in Brisbane”.
Once we’d looked around and allocated beds we went straight to bed as we were all very tired and it was around 9 pm local time.