10 May 2014
Anzac Memorial at Kings Park, Perth
The Indian Pacific arrived in Perth on time, sadly we said our goodbyes to fellow passengers, and staff who had looked after us so well. We only waited a short while until our luggage arrived, then made our way to the coach that would take us on a 3 hour city tour. Our driver had lived in Perth for many years and expertly navigated his way around the city that, like many of our capital cities, has one-way streets that can cause you so much frustration when you seem to go around in circles – local knowledge is valuable.
After we explored the streets and buildings around the CBD, we were taken to Kings Park, set in many acres and overlooking the Swan River and the city. This is a beautiful area but we only had half an hour to spend in the Park, and we will certainly return before we leave Western Australia. The native gardens are superb (we discovered a family of noisy magpies among the plantings), and we were drawn to the beautiful and serene Anzac Memorial with the Swan River in the background. There are many sections of the Park, and I can’t wait to get back to explore Kings Park again.
Our next stop was South Perth where we had a photo opportunity to record the CBD skyline from the other side of the Swan River. There is so much building and construction in the city, and more on the drawing board, it is a beautiful city, well planned and I was pleased to see that some of the heritage buildings are being retained and restored.
The heritage Wesley Church is dwarfed by a modern skyscraper (left) and (right) a tiny heritage building is lost among modern structures in the CBD.
I was looking forward to seeing Cottesloe Beach, so was pleased that this was on the itinerary, and we were introduced to The Red Spoon with its numerous varieties and flavours of icecream, frozen yogurt and sorbet….of course we had to try some! We were driven along “Millionaires Row”, it is incredible the prices being asked, and paid, for some of these properties. Naturally these homes also have fabulous views out over the Indian Ocean. The coach then began delivering its passengers to their respective hotels, and we were duly dropped off at the Mantra on Murray.
A lovey old pub that has been restored in Williams Street, Perth
I had organised a hire car from Thrifty, but when I phoned them to advise that we would be collecting the car at a later time due to the Perth coach tour, I was advised that their office closed at 12noon, so we had to postpone the collection of the car until Sunday morning. This created an opportunity for us to have a walk around the area and get our bearings, and take some photographs. Saturday night is a busy time in the city, so we decided to dine at our hotel (yes, I did take photos that will appear soon in the Tastes section).
A really enjoyable day for our first day in Perth – and tomorrow we have planned another full day – to drive south to the town of Dwellingup and ride the Hotham Valley steam train – don’t forget to join us.
