Perth

Perth

On Saturday last (Apr 2), the Indian Pacific pulled into the Perth Station on schedule at 3pm Western Australian Time. Instead of taking a taxi straight to my hotel, I opted for a three-hour tour of the city. The tour took us (a few of the passengers) all through the city which gave one a good feel of Perth and what it had to offer. One thing I noticed when touring through

 the residential areas that the houses were of two types of architecture: the old two-story style with columns supporting a veranda at the second floor and newer California style of one-story with a terracotta roof. At the end of the tour, the driver drove us all to our respective hotels...mine being the Pan Pacific Perth. It was a nice way to be introduced to the city. Regarding hotels, all six hotels that my travel agent picked for me have all been first class (she did an excellent job.)

After checking in and not being too hungry, I ordered a hamburger and a cup of coffee at the hotel restaurant and was shocked when the bill came to $40. Food is costly in Australia.

The next day being Sunday where everything (except for the odd restaurant) is closed, I had to be content with just exploring the city on foot. With a map in hand, exploring the City of Perth commenced. The city centre is very easy to find one's way as everything is on a square grid. It is a bit hilly though. For the most part it is built around the Swan River which at Perth widens out to become like a lake. There is quite a highway system as a number of freeways feed into the city crossing the Swan River at the Narrows, the Causeway and the Windan Bridge.  There was a bit of confusion on my part when I didn't notice the name change of the street "Goderich" that I was on, to "Murray". Also, later when going out from my hotel, the street name changed from Adelaide to St George. Other than that the city seems to be easy to get one's bearings. On St George Street there sits a

 very large St George Anglican Cathedral. I went in and took a picture as it was very ornate. Next to it was a nice looking Presbyterian Church but one couldn't get in as they were repairing its roof. Finally I saw St Mary's Cathedral, although it had been built 90 years ago, it had been modernized inside (very modern). Since Mass was going on, I stayed and received communion. The

Communion Service from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the Catholic Mass are almost identical. One wonders which one is copying whom? They both sing the same hymns and if there are half a dozen verses to the hymn, the Catholics only sing a couple of verses while the Anglicans sing a whole half dozen. As Wendy (my sister-in-law) told me one time, that Anglicans like to sing.

Water front parks cover both sides the Swan River, especially where the river widens between the Narrows at the West and the Causeway to the East. Kings Park (a park larger than Grand Central Park in New York) is located on a hill at western end of the city and has a commanding view of Perth. It is a venue well worth visiting. There are many sport fields and parks scattered about the city as Perth is noted for it sporting activities.

The next day, an all-day tour (7am to 10pm) to the Margaret River Region was made. This area is southeast of Perth. A very modern tour bus picked us up at each individual's hotel for a three-hour journey first to the Town of Busselton a town of 20,000 which is approximately 220 km south from Perth. The Busselton

Jetty (the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere is located here. The jetty is not used for commercial shipping anymore. Its main use is to convoy tourists out to its end on a little jitney train for site-seeing and picture taking. After Busselton, our driver (who gave us a continuous commentary) drove us to Margaret River a town with a population of 13,000. We did some wine tasting there as this region seems to be the center of grape growing. Lunch (with complimentary beer and cider tasting) was available at the Bootleg Brewery nearby. (I tried the kangaroo and emu sausage at lunch. It was good.)

After lunch we were given a guided tour of the Mammoth Caves which are limestone caves similar to those found at Wookey Hole near Wells in the South of England. (Irene and I visited those caves when we visited Bill and Wendy, when Bill was stationed in Warminster England in the 1970s.) The Mammoth Caves are said to be composed of a number of caves and only recently more and larger caves have since been found in the area. After the cave tour we were driven to the Leeuwin Lighthouse which is the dividing point between the Southern and Indian Oceans. It is also the most Southern Point of the State of Western Australia. (Like all tourist centres, they like to find a superlative to quote. I found this area to be very windy and cold. I would not recommend going there.)

Finally, we were given a stop in the town of Margaret River Township where we could shop for souvenirs. Afterward we enjoyed an excellent and inexpensive dinner at a winery nearby.  (There are some places where one can have a good meal at a reasonable price.) As all things come to an end, we were driven back to our respective hotels arriving there a bit late at 10pm.

On my last full day in the Perth Area, a Captain Cook Boat Cruise was taken from Number 3 Jetty in Perth on the Swan River for a windy 40km cruise to Fremantle and back where the river empties into the Indian Ocean. (The river snakes around the hills of the Perth area.) It was very relaxing (no walking which I had done considerable lately) and just watching the shoreline as our commentator pointed out items of interest. At noontime, a splendid buffet (with free wine) complete with dessert was included in the tour. This tour was a very good deal.

The following day ended my time in Perth by flying to Sydney where the Holland America Ship “Norrdam"  will take me home to Victoria.

Statistics and Observations:
o The majority of the clerks (in all places visited even in Alice Springs) in the retail and hospitality business are Asian.
o The majority of tourists in Perth are from Japan and China. It seems that every second person is Asian...I kid you not.
o Most of the cars and trucks at Alice Springs are white.
o The minimum wage is $20 an hour (more in some states) so tips are not expected.
o Correction...the Opal Pass is only good for Sydney.
o Perth (with a population of two million) did not seem like a metropolis; rather it felt like a tourist town.... very laid back. Sydney felt like a city.
o Many shops (when one pays with a credit card) add 2% to the bill.
o All ATMs charge $2 to take your own money out.
o My tour consisted of four air flights, three train trips, one bus ride, two sight-seeing bus trips, one ferry ride, one sightseeing cruise, six hotel rooms, many subway rides and five taxis. Finally, there will be a 22-day cruise back home to Victoria.

Bon Jour

Dave