Impressed by Perth

Perth and the Swan River March 10 - 15

I didn't know what to expect from Perth. It is much bigger than I imagined. 2.5 million in the greater metro area. At the confluence of the Swan and Canning Rivers about 20K upstream from the ocean. Scenic river waterfront. Great walking and biking paths. The architecture is a mix of old Victorian brick and mortar and high tech steel and glass. Many parks, museums, galleries. 

John's photo from downtown Perth

Our first morning we got up early (as usual) and walked up to Mt. Eliza and Kings Park (not far). Along the way we had a very stylish yet simple breakfast. We continue to be impressed at how much cheaper food is here.

Spent the whole morning exploring trails in Kings Park Botanic Garden. Lovely views of the rivers. Such unusual plants and birds. The plaintive coo of the Australian magpie roaming the grounds was very cool. Screeching galahs, corellas, ring necks, and lorikeets flew around us. Perfect walking weather.

John captured an Australian Magpie in Kings Park

Uber'd to pick up a package (plug adapter) then took the train again (I love the Perth transit system). The main station downtown borders a carless open air mall where we went grocery shopping at Woolworth's. Made slow-cooked lamb shanks  with cannellini beans for dinner. 

Thursday before dawn John went out on a photographers tour. I slept in and caught up on various online projects. 

Old and new architecture from the rooftop of AGWA

When John got back we walked to AGWA (Art Gallery of Western Australia). On the way I took a short vid of the tall statue of Yagan, a legendary Aboriginal resistance fighter. A passerby stopped us and excitedly told us the story of the famous Noongar warrior, all entwined with his family's history and his whole life story, how his grandmother had also fought the British and how, because he was fairly light-skinned, he was shunned by both cultures. He wasn't trying to hustle us, just seemed genuinely grateful we were taking notice of native cultural icons. I later read that Yagan was hunted down and beheaded by British settlers. His skull was kept in the British museum in London for decades.

The Bell Tower on the Perth waterfront

The gallery had an impressive exhibit of contemportary Aboriginal artists. We are noticing steps toward reconciliation here, such as signs in First Nations languages and many interpretive installations. It may just be lipservice like we are seeing in Canada--baby steps. We strolled to the downtown river front near the Bell Tower and had lunch at the Oyster House. Back in our room we took advantage of Netflix and watched Marty Supreme ahead of the Oscars.

Roos are everywhere. Have to be careful driving at night.

Friday the 13th. Another beautiful day. Uber to Langley Park. Walked over the bridge to Heirisson Island, the kangaroo sanctuary in the city. Circumambulated the island and saw about 6 roos. These were our first, but there are many more to come. We crossed the Swan and strolled along the shoreline to Optus Stadium and the big wavy Matagarup Bridge with its zip line. Thru several lovely neighbourhoods and local parks. A lot of walking. Shopped then napped before dinner. I stayed up until midnight for a Zoom lecture from Ireland about researching emigrant ancestors from the mid-19th century. Still looking for documentation of the Martins from Ulster who left in the 1830s. Impoverished flax weavers.

Matagarup Bridge across the Swan

Saturday was a train ride to Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River mainly to see the historic public market--a big old Victorian building with dozens of small stalls selling mostly tourist tchotchkes. Lots of pastries, some veggies. Got an interesting t-shirt and a spicy handmade salami. Fremantle is Australia's industrial port to the Indian Ocean. Cargo ships and cruise lines. We ate fish and chips at Cicerellos and took the little ferry back up the Swan to Perth about 20K. Many rich folks have their houses on the river.

After napping we headed out to dinner amid throngs of basketball fans, most of the city it seemed, in red shirts streaming to the stadium, being rowdy. Highly rated Karla restaurant is Asian fusion, heavily Vietnamese. It was excellent. One dish was a paw paw salad, which confused us North Americans who think of the custard-like fruit native to the US. Here paw paw means green papaya. The meal included "duck cigars," thin lumpias. Most wine stores were closed heading back to our room, but we found the only one open and bought a couple of bottles from Margaret River to take with us to Kalbarri. We will go to Margaret River, a wine region, south of Perth at the end of our trip in April. This was our last day in Perth.

John's photo of the reddish glow at Karla