We rolled into Perth, our final Australian destination via Fremantle.  Fremantle is just south of where the Swan River feeds into the Indian Ocean.  Many people told us we needed to spend time, even stay in Fremantle.  It is home to the major port in the area and has historical significance from its early convict prisons and many vintage victorian style buildings.

Perth is a beautiful growing city and was named the seventh most livable city in the world by The Economist (Melbourne and Adelaide are also in the top ten).  The population has grown around 33 percent in the last ten years to just over two million.  It has a vibrant skyscraper laden CBD and many beautiful neighborhoods lining the Swan River and Indian Ocean, from many multimillion dollar homes to more modest.  Real estate here is as pricey as anywhere in Australia and the world.  Commodity and mining companies power the area, its economy, and buildings in the CBD.

Much of Perth and Western Australia has an association with swans, particularly the Black Swan.  Black swans are somewhat unique to Western Australia and are the state bird.  The English were skeptical of their existence and in the early 1800’s some of them were sent to England from Australia as gifts. They are on the state’s flag and on other emblems.  

In 1962 Perth became known as the “City of Light” when residents turned on their lights as American astronaut John Glenn passed overhead while orbiting the earth.  When Glenn passed overhead on the space shuttle in 1998, the city was again lit up!

We have an excellent location to explore the area for twelve days, just on the edge of the CBD, bordering spectacular Kings Park and Western Australia’s Parliament buildings.  Kings Park is xxx acres that sits on a hillside overlooking Perth and the Swan River.  As it is spring here, it is filled with wildflower blooms, 12,500 varieties most unique to Western Australia. The 90 minute free guided tour was excellent in describing the Western Australia flora.  We did visit Parliament for an excellent tour, to learn about the history and workings of Western Australia’s government.

In our time here we explored Perth beaches, including City Beach and Cottesloe Beach.  The Indiana Tea House at Cottesloe Beach is one of the most photographed icons in Perth. The beaches are beautiful white sand, the turquiose waters are cold this time of year and the surf churning.  This doesn’t stop some swimmers and surfers.  The beach has its alien lifeguards in their spaceships :).  We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon drink at a restaurant overlooking the Indian Ocean.  On the way back to our place we stopped at one of the other most beautiful, photographed spots in Perth, the Crawley Edge Boatshed on the Swan River. 

We explored other neighborhoods, including Mt. Lawley and Beaufort Street.  Mt. Lawley seems to be an area that is beginning to buzz!  One afternoon we walked there and had a good lunch at Caffissmo.  I had an excellent chorizo, bean and egg dish.  This area comes to life in the evening and we enjoyed an excellent meal of Asian fusion and BBQ at the Dainty Dowager.  Melt in your mouth meats and dishes.  We also had a great sushi dinner at Hanami.  

Northbridge is an area with many pubs and diverse cuisines…and, of course, every type of Asian food imaginable.  This area really gets cranking in the evenings on the weekends.  On a weeknight, we did enjoy some music, fun and conversation at the Brass Monkey, a multilevel, indoor and  outdoor pub with great drink prices.

Subiaco is a neighborhood to the west of the CBD which is a mixture of old and new homes and town-homes, restaurants and shopping.  It reminds us a bit of a slice of the Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville areas of Chicago.  It also has an enormous oval stadium for their football teams.  This was the spot for our grocery store, Woolworths and a couple of dinners.  An excellent husband-wife team run a great greek influenced restaurant Lady of Ro.  We also enjoyed one of our few Italian meals in Australia at Woodpeckers, a relatively new restaurant in Subiaco.  Great service and we enjoyed talking to our young waitress from Brazil.

We did make it back to Fremantle and enjoyed lunch on the waterfront at Little Creatures Brewery.  It was a beautiful sunny day as we enjoyed the self guided ‘Urban Art’ walk through the city.

Perth also has a beautiful waterfront.  We spent a wonderful Friday evening at Perth’s Elizabeth Quay on the Swan Riverfront.  The Swan Festival of the Lights (SFOL) is occurring this weekend.  The Festival of Lights represents a celebration observed by Indians worldwide, known as Deepavali.  It symbolizes the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance.  As described on the SFOL website, “…Deepavali stands for the reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship, religious tolerance, and a celebration of the joys of life through the presentation of Indian fine arts and culture to the public of Western Australia”.

Just prior to the Festival, we made it to the Friday night “free” popup bar at Elizabeth Quay, a 30 minute cruise around the harbor on a boat that reminded us a bit like the LeBarge in Sarasota’s bay front.  You can stay on the boat for all of the evenings 30 minute tours.  It has a decent bar on board and has nice city views of the Perth as the lighting changes as dusk turns to night.  Needless to say, we made a few “rounds”.  We actually met a couple of wonderful Perthians, Danielle and Keith, that we loved talking with over the remainder of the evening.  Afterwards we enjoyed a bit of the festival, culture, food and fireworks.

Our last Saturday in Australia was spent preparing for our upcoming SE Asia trip.  We met our new found Perth friends Danielle and Keith at Kailis. This is a fun fish and chip waterfront restaurant in Fremantle for dinner, among the fishing boats. This was our last Saturday night dinner in Australia.  We spent the evening talking, eating, enjoying the companionship, until they closed the restaurant on us!  I am sure our paths will cross as Danielle and Keith enjoy worldwide travel.

As we prepare to depart Australia, the country is beginning its festivities around the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup is a “two mile” prestigious horse race (it was shortened a bit to 3200m when the metric system came about).  It is a bit like our Kentucky Derby with festivities stretching over several days… all over an approximately three minute horse race.  It is actually a public holiday in Melbourne and some parts of Victoria, with pubs and hotels across Australia hosting thousands of parties. The big race is on Tuesday afternoon so we didn’t time this one right, as our plane leaves in the morning for Bangkok.

Early Tuesday morning we wind our way through Perth and our final trip around the great Australian roundabouts, feeling a bit torn.  Sad to leave this country we have grown to love, but off to very new and different adventures in SE Asia.  See ya’s later” Australia!

And a few more pics…