Perthfect

After a great 13 weeks in Asia our Australian adventure started in Perth. Rob's cousin Paul, his wife Anne and their son Dylan live in Perth and kindly let us stay with them for the week. They live in a beautiful house around 30-40 minutes north of Perth CBD in Darch. On our first day there we just relaxed, caught up with Paul and Anne and got to play with Dylan after he finally got over his initial fearfulness of us. We saw in our first night in Australia with a few drinks and a 'Barbie'...Perfect!

The next day was a Saturday so Paul was off work and they kindly treated to a great breakfast at 'The Blue Duck' which over looks Cottesloe beach. After breakfast we all took Dylan for his first beach experience and our first in Australia. It was a beautiful beach, the water was a little cold but as it was around 40 degrees it was much needed! Luckily we didn't get attacked by any sharks - only last week a man died in the waters off Perth due to shark attack.

Cottesloe

We also managed to get to see 'Sculptures by the Sea' an annual outdoor art exhibition on and around the beach. It was pretty cool to see. Paul and Anne had already left to go home as it was really hot for Dylan but Paul kindly let us use his car so we could stay and explore a little more, on our way home we had to stop at get ice-cream at this van...

The next day we had a picnic and walked around Kings Park which is a huge park that at some parts overlooks the city of Perth.

Paul, Anne and Dylan

It was another blistering hot day and after an afternoon spent playing with Dylan at home, we took Paul's car and drove to Hillary's where we had a drink and watched an amazing sunset. Not a bad way to spend our 4th year anniversary!

For dinner Paul made an amazing lasagne, despite all the amazing food we had in Asia I (Rob) had been craving a good lasagne and this hit the spot!

We visited Fremantle or Freo' which is a smaller city south of Perth. Freo had a great atmosphere and a hippie vibe to it; we walked around Fremantle markets, visited the old prison and had lunch and a drink at 'Little Creatures' which is a brewery. We had chili tomato mussels and bruscetta, it was delicious. On the way back to Paul's house we stopped off at North Fremantle beach, another beautiful stretch of beach for a sunbathe and swim.

There were also loads of people doing exercise and running along the beach, felling bad about not doing a single bit in 3 months I (Rob) joined in and had a little run up and down the beach, the best part was the refreshing swim in the sea to cool down after. Leanne also felt bad about doing no exercise but still couldn't be bothered so just slept on the beach!

Another must-do in Perth was a trip to Rottnest Island - Rotto in Aussie speak. It was another day of 30+ degree heat we hopped from snorkel spot to snorkel spot, including one called Geordie Bay (Note to James - and Armstrong Bay but that was a bit rubbish, no surpise really with a name like that!). We had a lovely picnic on the beach in between snorkelling. I (Leanne) even caught a lucky glimpse of the island's famous inhabitants, a quokka- a rat like marsupial. Rob didn't get so see one and bitterly disputes that I actually saw one, he is just a bad loser!

We were spoilt for choice on which beach to choose

The following day we visited the Swan Valley region, famous for its vineyards. Anne took us to a Chocolate factory where we gorged on handfuls of free chocolate buttons; we visited Houghton's winery where we sampled their wines and had lunch; then to Supagolf a pitch-and-putt with oversized clubs and balls (Rob won-no surprise there) and we finished off the day to a visit to Mash Breweries for a local pint. What a great day!

Chocolate...

...wine...

...and golf, a perfect day!

 Paul and Anne treated us once again to lunch at the revolving 'C Restaurant' with scenic views of Perth from high above the CBD.

Casper

In the afternoon we injected a little culture to our day by visiting the WA Museum. Followed by a little walk down the Swan river during sunset. With beautiful views of the city over the river. We also got a chance to go to an outdoor cinema to see "The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo", where we sat on beanbags and had a lovely picnic dinner.

Can you spot which one isn't a Kangaroo??



'Swan' River



We spent our last full day in Perth in a suburb called Subiaco, as with most other places in Australia it has a nickname - 'Subi'. We walked around the local markets, had a look in a few shops and to recharge we sat watching the world go by in San Churros a famous chocolate cafe. We spent the rest of our time soaking up our time with Dylan (and Paul and Anne) as we would not know when we would see them all next.

During our week in Perth we quickly realised how expensive Australia is, even more so to us coming from Asia. Travelling around Australia will be very different to what we experienced in Asia, we will be making our own food a lot more (even if its just once, that is once more than Asia), staying in dorms and trying to stick to a budget.
We left Perth with a mixture of feelings, we were sad to leave Paul, Anne, little Dylan and Paul's amazing cooking but at the same time very excited at the prospect of continuing our Australian adventure on the East Coast.