Exploring Perth

Here it is: our last week in Australia. A literal flying visit to Perth to tick off Western Australia from our 4 month Australia trip. Perth has plenty to offer and we had a blast. Next time we visit WA we’ll try and make it further north/south. Oh, and if you’re reading this then please message Mike to upload the snorkelling montage!

Thursday 15th May: Melbourne to Perth

Damn. 6.30am flights require a blooming early start! But it did mean we still had a full day in Perth when we arrived. Crazy to think a 4-hour flight and you’re still in the same country. We headed straight to our apartment in Mosman Park and dropped our stuff before heading for a little food shop.

We stopped on the way at the Phyll and Tom cafe for 2 toasties as our brekkie and a cheeky choccie brownie to wash them down. Tiredness isn’t good for the waistline! We finished the day with a gorgeous stroll along the beach for about 4km, it was a beautiful sandy beach with such clear water. We can’t wait to have a swim in it but forgot our togs today. We were pretty shattered after our 2am start so a REAL bed by 8pm was the most we could muster.

Friday 16th: Perth

Despite an early bedtime we made sure to have a lie in too and had a relaxed morning planning our visit in Perth. We hopped on the train towards the CBD and called in at Kings Park which had plenty to see. A visit to the war memorials and the Rio Tinto Naturescape was shortly followed by a tasty ice cream, and we then strolled through the botanical gardens overlooking the Swan River.

After our visit to Kings Park, we continued our royal sightseeing by stopping at Elizabeth quay, and walking through the London Court: an old school shopping arcade. For dinner we treated ourselves to a delicious middle eastern restaurant and then rounded off the evening by watching the opening night of the ballet and orchestra at His Majesties Theatre! (one of us was under 30 so got in for cheap!)

Saturday 17th: Fremantle

Another relaxed morning after our late night at the ballet, we chinned off some travelling admin (including a much-needed haircut!) before we headed into Fremantle for the day. Fremantle is full of lots of shops that we took a glance around, but the main attraction is the Fremantle markets which sells everything from raw produce to food to odds and ends. We made sure to try out the Bratwurst place and also a yummy hot jam donut too!

For the afternoon we jumped on a trip to see the Fremantle Prison and learnt all about how the inmates lived and worked in the now world-heritage listed site. Our guide Ken was very passionate, but we think his think Scottish brogue may have been lost on a few of the other tour participants!

After our prison visit, we picked up some yummy fruit from the end-of-day Fremantle market stalls and headed over to Gage Brewery for a quick drink and to watch the sunset. The place was heaving and after one drink we decided to simply have a chill night back at the AirBnB, and eat a very beige oven meal… Sometimes you just need one!

Sunday 18th: Swan Valley

We started the day with a little stroll to the Breakfast Bus in Mosman Park to meet a really old friend called Gemma. I (Chloe) hadn’t seen Gemma for probably 15 years, but we got on just like we used to and after some delicious Acai bowls, we ended up spending the whole day with them and it was awesome to have the local knowledge.

Gemma and Steve took us to the Freo Rainbow arch first, we have no idea why on earth it’s there, it is literally just coloured shipping containers but either way, it made for a good picture!

The next stop was the Swan Valley where they treated us to some of their favourite spots - coffee tasting at Yahava KoffeeWorks, then we headed to the Margaret River Chocolate Co for some tastings, and finally we headed to Ugly Duckling Wines and Lancaster Wines. The best part was everything was free! Knowing we were flying out in a few days (and would have to carry our bags around Perth all day!) we didn’t buy anything, but coffee tasting is epic and even Mike found out he liked coffee in the end!

We then headed back into Perth and visited Cottesloe Beach with them, went for a lovely walk up/down the breaker wall and along the beach before they kindly dropped us home. A lovely day and so great to catch up with an old friend, we really should have got a picture but alas we had too much fun!

Monday 19th: Rottnest Island

Another day, another ferry to another island. This time we went across to Rottnest Island for our own triathlon. We took the earliest ferry possible (7am!) and spent a full day on the island. We spent the first hour exploring the local settlement and buying some tasty snacks from the Bakery to fuel us.

We hired bikes for the day - I know right, twice in the holiday Mike has ridden a bike! We took the main route round the island to explore all the little coves, the light house and go for a few snorkels. But the main reason, was to see the Quokkas. These cute small little wallabies are known as the happiest animals as they look like they are smiling in photos. There were heaps of them on and around the island but my fave by far we’re the ones in Basin Beach as they were super inquisitive and cute. As they are wild you aren’t allowed to touch or feed them, but they sure know how to explore your stuff and check out every bag you leave around and love a good selfie. Very very very cute!

We snorkelled at Parker point and basin beach. Parker point had a snorkel trail which was fun to follow, we saw lots of fish and some pretty blue/pink corals but also A LOT of jellyfish (note from the blog editor – we saw a super cool scintillating jellyfish and a very pretty sea slug). Basin Beach was just a case of swimming around the reef area; we saw a beautiful and huge parrot fish along with lots of other smaller fish and some black and white stripy ones. The island itself was just stunning with the most incredibly beautiful and clear water and fabulous views. Despite it being somewhat hilly and it being on a road even Mikey admitting to enjoying the cycle by the time we dropped the bikes back!

• PLEASE MESSAGE MIKE TO ADD A SNORKELLING VIDEO

We were hoping for a sunset on Cottesloe Beach, but a storm came through suddenly which made for a slightly rough boat ride back and a very cloudy, and slightly rainy end to the evening. We topped off our day with a pub dinner anyway and enjoyed reminiscing about our time in Australia. Still can’t believe we leave tomorrow.

Tuesday 20th: Perth

Today wasn’t really the day to be feeling under the weather as we are travelling to Japan at midnight so a long day ahead but we made the most of it…kind of! After packing and sorting, we went straight to Perth to a luggage stop area as we didn’t want to cart our big bags round all day. We found some delicious pastel de natas at the bakery next door so got a couple to have with our sammies in ‘Hyde Park’. We then spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly and saw the cathedral, the royal mint and a gift shop to buy our final Aussie magnet.

We did however end our time with an absolute beauty of a sunset at Cottesloe Beach with some drinks and a view. It was a clear sky and the glow over the horizon was phenomenal. WA really knows how to do a sunset. We headed back to Perth centre to enjoy a Korean meal before getting the train to the airport at about 9.30pm. We boarded at 11.45pm and we are officially leaving the southern hemisphere!

And that’s a wrap on Australia!

Our time has come to an end in Australia! As you hopefully saw, we had a blast and made some major memories while travelling the country. We’re sad to leave, but excited to explore Japan next!