Perth and Surrounds

First stop was Donnybrook, a town that was known for their apples and maybe went a bit overboard telling people this with apple street lights, apple pictures everywhere, apples carved into the park bench and the largest free playground in the southern hemisphere peppered with apple icons eg when going down the slide it split into three sections Granny Smith, Fuji or Pink Lady, not to mention the giant welcoming apple mascots.  Anyway I made use of the slide, swings and multiple climbing gyms and then it was time to go.

Next stop Bunbury, a town to stock up and move along from. Well that was the plan, however whilst walking down ‘cappuccino strip’ we spotted a blackboard advertising a Gyroscope gig that evening. Michael and I decided this was not a chance to be missed so set up in the van park nearby and wandered into town for the show. Turns out even though the doors opened at 8 and there was a supporting act, Gyroscope didn’t start playing until 10.30 - almost three hours past our usual bed time and long enough to have the pub full of rowdy young fans! The gig was awesome! We walked back to the hulk quite merry at some ungodly hour of the night (not to mention that it was less than 10 degrees).  Continuing the party in the camp kitchen with some wine, crackers and cheese complemented the night perfectly.

We're practically famous! This is us with Daniel Sanders - Gyroscope Front Man!

The next morning we wandered over to the beach and saw dolphins frolicking in the water nearby. After a heap of photos we headed north to Rockingham. Here we went to Penguin Island and traversed the seas on a glass bottom boat looking for Dolphins and Sea Lions. We only saw one lonely Sea Lion who was too fat to be interested in the female of the species (currently breeding season up north), however we did see a pod of dolphins in the bay who chose to surf in the wake of the boat, this was especially fun when the skipper put his foot to the floor doing “wheelies” and playing the Beach Boys. We also got to see little penguins being fed. Fun fact the penguins at Penguin Island are fed dead fish because they are too scared of the live ones.

We left Rockingham and headed north to Michael’s Uncle Keith’s place in South Perth. It was great to catch up/meet Keith, Ann, Matthew and Nicholas. It was also good fun to watch the local soccer game, go to the local Chinese Restaurant and sleep in a real bedroom. Yay. We also got addicted to a new game – Spot It – although potentially aimed at the young ones this game is seriously addictive and we will be investing in a deck in the near future.

Michael, Keith, Matthew and Nicholas.

The next day we visited our mate Caragh, who we met in Alice Springs. Her guest house was a welcome respite from camping and the city bustle. What was a couple of days turned into an almost week long stay as we got side tracked by the city and not completing our odd jobs. We caught up with another Alice mate – Celeste – and we all had a night on the town, side note I ate potentially the world’s best pizza that night. We visited Hillary’s Boat Harbour and explored the jetties, then went to Kings Park for amazing city views and also explore Perth.  We also went on a cruise to Fremantle (thanks Anna for the awesome birthday present!) and went on a tour of the World Heritage Listed Freo Prison. The prison was originally built by the first convicts to arrive in Western Australia and from then on was a functioning prison until 1991 when the prison was finally deemed unsuitable for inmates. Caragh also had a couple of kayaks so Michael and I went for a paddle on the Swan River – Superb. 

Caragh, Celest, Bonzai and Liora Reporting for duty!

After far too long sitting on our backsides enjoying the “finer things in life” we decided that we needed to rough it in the Swan Valley Wine region. So we said our farewells to our Perth mates, to the guest house and to Caragh’s amusing pets (Ella the hyper Labradoodle, Molly the clothes wearing elderly pup and Stew the rabbit that thinks he’s a dog) and set off. Swan Valley didn’t eventuate in any more wine( not through a lack of trying!), however our food stores are now brimming with delightful dukkah, rich rocky road, charming cheese, meaty olives and a bottle of smooth Canefire Bourbon. That night we camped by Moore River Bridge, thus ending our fancy week with a free campsite on the side of the highway and a drop toilet that was quite on the nose. Woohoo!

Goodbye Perth!

Lesson of the week: Two is company, but three (four or even five) is definitely not a crowd, It just makes more fun!