Perth

While in Freemantle we rented a car and explored up and down the coast an hour or so from the city.  We found large residential apartment developments, and a very large marina and apartment development near Hilarys.  The city and its nearby towns are home to a much larger population than I realised.  Both there and in Freemantle we saw ferry services which run out to Rottnest Island, a tourist destination not far from the coast.

On Wednesday we moved into Perth, to a hotel close the middle of the city.  From there we were able to explore the city, the waterfront, and the botanic gardens on foot.

The city skyline from the waterfront.

The "Ascalon" sculpture near the cathedral.  Ascalon was the lance St George used to slay the dragon.

The "London Court" mock english arcade.

Lots of development along the waterfront.  Perth is on the Swan River.

A flash pedestrian bridge!

"First Contact".  The indigenous locals first thought sailing ships were giant white birds in boats.

The Swan Bell Tower, 80 metres high.

While we were there a new "Anzac Bell" was installed in the Swan Bell Tower, to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.  It was made locally and at 6.5 tonnes is the largest ever cast in the Southern hemisphere.  The bell tower is already home to the "Swan Bells", a set of 18 which came from England and some of which date from 1725.  The tower was originally built as a "milleneum" project and opened in 2000.

Some colour in the botanic gardens.

Wildflowers - these ones in the botanic gardens, so actually not so wild.

The giant Boab tree, brought here from the Kimberly, 3200 km away.

The giant Boab was transported here to the botanic gardens in Perth in 2008 after it was decided it was in the way of a bridge development in the Kimberly, 3,200 kilometres to the north.  The trip was a major exercise because of its size.  To us it looks fairly lifeless now, but perhaps it's just resting?

These weird plants looked like huge spiders!

Looking back at the city and the river from the gardens.

As you can see we did enjoy some nice weather during the week, and it was just a bit warmer than New Zealand so we found it very pleasant.  On the other hand it is a long way to go - we were on the move for 12 hours returning from Perth to Wellington (via Melbourne).  Also we did not adapt particularly well to the five hour time difference, which meant we woke in the early hours and wanted dinner in the middle of the afternoon!  It was great to get to know Perth a little, and to discover that like most things in Australia it is bigger than I expected at over 2 million people; but I would need a good reason to go a second time!  It is one of the most isolated big cities in the world.