Mandurah to Perth 29/5 to 4/6

Rockingham Bay

Boats at Rockingham

After leaving Mandurah we stopped briefly at Rockingham, another holiday destination/ satellite city for Perth.  Trains leave from Perth for Rockingham Beach every fifteen minutes.  One of the islands close to Rockingham Bay is Penguin Island and as we walked to the foreshore you could hear penguins in the bushes near the sand dunes.

We then drove to Perth, where we stayed in the Advent Park (7th Day Adventist Church) at Maida Vale.  To stay in this park run by the Adventist Church you must adhere to the following rules – no smoking – no drugs – no alcohol – no swearing.  The advantage is that it’s a very quiet park, even Mark was a lot quieter during our stay here, even though he still enjoyed a drink or two in the confines of the caravan.  Our first few days here were quite wet, however we could still venture out into the city and beyond.

We enjoyed a day touring the Swan Valley.  We started at the suburb of Guildford, where most of the buildings are heritage listed and then ventured forth to a few wineries, chocolate factory and galleries.   

Cottosloe Bathing Pavilion

Restaurant in Pavilion

We also enjoyed a trip to Perth Beaches but found Cottesloe so interesting that we spent most our time there.  On a fine Saturday afternoon it seemed most of Perth had also gone there.  People were enjoying cycling, skating, walking the foreshore, sitting on the grass terraces or having a coffee while enjoying the spectacular Indian Ocean Views.  For us the most impressive sight at Cottesloe was the historic Bathing Pavilion that is still serving the needs of the local swimmers. To us this building represented the iconic beachside visit and coupled with the tall pine trees made this area one of the prettiest beach settings we have seen on this trip.  Adjoining this impressive structure was a series of grass covered terraces and many people had arrived at this beach, complete with their picnic baskets and blankets so they could sit on the grass and enjoy this picturesque part of Perth.

View across Swan River

 Perth City itself is built on the banks of the Swan River and is flanked by the Darling Ranges to the east and Kings Park to the west.  The city centre is based within two city blocks and was easy to explore.  We caught one of the free city cat buses which travel to the main attractions and enjoyed a lazy day sightseeing – no driving today!  Of course we also visited Burswood and spent a few hours in the casino – unfortunately we didn’t win a fortune! 

Boats on the Swan

Cyclists along the Swan

The Swan River is clean and alive with a lot of boating activity.  Perth caters for cyclists ensuring that each freeway has a bikeway beside it and the cycling track beside the Swan was very impressive. 

How much would you pay for this house

 

Like most major cities the houses that are built on the river are prestigious and range from several million, up to one large home that is on the market for about 85 million dollars.  It was impressive but not my cup of tea!!!  However travelling along the Swan River there were places that reminded us of the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean Style Housing

View of Freemantle Small Boat Harbour from War Memorial

Maritime Museum and Submarine

 For both of us the highlight of the past week was our visit to Fremantle.  We went there on a market day so the place was really jumping!  The blend of the historic buildings, busy harbour, museums, artisan stores and coffee strip was exciting. 

Fremantle Gaol

The prison tour was very informative and quite confronting at times.  Our tour guide advised that `the colony’ had requested that England send convicts to help develop the new Swan River settlement; so the first prisoners in this gaol actually helped build it.  Luckily for some of them as they received training in building skills that led to them becoming well respected and successful businessmen after they completed their ticket-of-leave (Sounds like a TAFE to me).  Many of the buildings still in use in the township were built by these convicts.  When this gaol became a prison for the general population, the stories were much less positive and in some case rather unpalatable. 

Convicts used local limestone

19th Century Convict Cell

It was a place where hangings occurred and the conditions were less than third world – no toilet facilities – up to six criminals locked in one small cell that had been originally designed for only two.  No wonder there was a riot!  The story that intrigued me was of the prisoner who escaped – not once – but so many times that they built him a special cell that was supposedly escape proof; but he still managed to escape.  I believe that this “Postcard Bandit” is still incarcerated in a Queensland Jail.

Convict gaol to modern gaol?

 The Freemantle dock area is large and is alive with activity.  There were numerous cargo ships unloading their containers and or refilling with goods and produce that would be distributed elsewhere throughout the world.  Many of the old buildings had been originally constructed by convict labour and many of these had now been renovated to create extra home units and up-market apartments.

Renovated Dockland

Freo's Main Business

One of the bays at Rottnest

Views over the salt lake to the mainland

On our last day we took the ferry from Barracks St Terminal in Perth to Rottnest Island.  It was great to travel along the Swan River to the mouth and see the parks and buildings on the water’s edge.  We always say that the weather colours your view of a place and it was a shame that on the day we visited the weather turned quite windy and cold.  We decided against cycling, opting instead for a leisurely coach tour of the island.  The island is about 11 km long and 4 km wide and drops to only 280 m wide at narrowneck.  The island has a number of salt lakes and this was the original industry. Rottnest is now a thriving tourists destination in southern W.A. and it is impossible to obtain accommodation during the peak periods.  Because Rottnest is so close to Freemantle and Perth, their National Park authorities have made available 700 boat moorings and these aren’t sufficient to cover the demand from the locals.

Church at Rottnest

 We knew that Rottnest was noted for its spectacular beaches and snorkelling, however we didn’t know that it was originally used as a prison for aborigines and then also as a home for wayward boys.  The aboriginal prisoners built their own gaol from the local limestone and every cell in the quadrangle faced the central building – designed for executions.  Many of these men had been convicted of crimes including – stealing a sheep, insolence towards a police officer, stealing a pipe, etc.  They were then transported (some from the tropical north) with a heavy chain around their necks to this isolated island.  They were given one blanket and Mark and I had a lot of sympathy for them as we were reading their stories wearing thermal shirts and windproof jackets and still feeling the cold!

Gun Turrent protecting the mainland

Another historical aspect of Rottnest is that it was the last line of defence for the city of Perth.  There were gun torrents around the island which could fire shells as large as a small family car.

A very sleepy quokka in the eating area

Another highlight was catching up with people we had previously met in Pemberton.  Tee and Le kindly invited us to their home for a wonderful meal.  Hopefully we can repay their generosity in Brisbane sometime in the future.  We also enjoyed hearing of their travels both in Australia and overseas.  Samarkand is definitely on my list of places to visit in future!  As we farewelled Perth we looked forward to continuing our northward trek.

Yes they did let us out of the prison eventually!