Bobtail signage

After a number of trips up and down the river we had a day visiting Swan
Valley which is very similar to Margaret River with the usual wineries,
chocolate shops, cheese outlets etc. We felt that we had "done" that
recently at Margaret River so we diverted to Whiteman Park which a friend,
Malcolm Lumsden, had told Peter about as it had a tractor museum that he had
visited.

On the road into the park we saw this sign - I have enjoyed photographing
the various wildlife signs as we have travelled, and this one was new to us.

The boat we took to Rottnest Island

The distinctive boat that goes to Rottnest Island - we returned from
Rottnest to Fremantle on this boat and then had to change boats at Fremantle
to complete the trip back to Perth. We arrived in Perth around 6 pm and
then had to walk over the park to the train station and take the train back
to Warwick and then the short trip to Carine where we were staying by car.
It was a full day but really enjoyable.

Adventure Park at Rottnest Island

There were plenty of water activities to keep families entertained. We
understand that many families with boats sail to Rottnest and stay on their
boats moored close by. There was also this "adventure playground" of blow
up shapes which was providing plenty of fun for kids of a variety of ages.
We have never seen one of these before.

Second lighthouse with holiday villas at Rottnest Island

Lighthouse on the island with holiday villas in the foreground - the villas
come in a variety of sizes.

Signage - no quokkas in general store

The quokka is protected on Rottnest Island. We thought this sign was
interesting - protected they might be but the quokka are not welcome in the
general store. Hope the quokka remember to read the sign.

Quokka out for a wander

This was the second quokka that we saw - it was out wandering along the sand
dunes and took absolutely no notice of us. The quokka sit up similar to a
kangaroo but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough with the camera to get that
photo.
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Quokka Rottnest Island

The quokka is a small rat like animal in the kangaroo family. They are
found on the island and we saw a couple. This one was sitting under the
picnic tables at one of the outside restaurants. The quokka didn't come up
to you but certainly wasn't afraid and didn't run in the opposite direction.

Rottnest Island Holiday villas

Holiday villas on Rottnest Island

As it was the week following Easter the accommodation was booked out.
Talking with some folk we learned that it is expensive to stay on the island
yet very popular and sometimes the accommodation is balloted. There are
lots of day visitors but much quieter when the boat leaves. The small
amount of vehicles on the island are very restricted in their use and can
only be used in an emergency after 6 pm and before 8 am.

Families arriving on the boat we travelled on seemed to have everything but
the kitchen sink - large containers of food etc. We soon learned why as the
general store on the island had limited stocks and these were at about
double the prices paid in Perth. They check in with their baggage at either
Perth or Fremantle and then the baggage is delivered to the door of their
holiday villa. Pretty good service really, but I guess you pay for it.

Salmon Bay, Rottnest Island

The water was lovely and clear and surprisingly got quite deep very
quickly.

Gill swimming at Salmon Bay, Rottnest Island

Proof that I did get wet, and not just my big toes! I didn't stay in too
long though.

Swan Brewerie with walk way at Kings Park in the background

We last visited Perth on holiday in about 1992 or 1993 when as a family we
had holidayed from NZ to Bangkok, Bali and Perth. During that visit we
hadn't taken the opportunity to visit Rottnest Island so I was keen to visit
now. Peter has visited Perth many times since we came to live in Australia
but those visits have always been for work purposes so this week he has got
to know Perth so much better.

Although we had spent a couple of days cruising we decided that we would
definitely visit Rottnest Island. This is a full day trip with the boat
leaving from The Esplanade in the city at 8.45 am and not returning there
until 6 pm. So we were back on our trusty train, this time along with the
commuter traffic at 7.45 a.m. We were not surprised that the train was full
when it arrived at our station but we were shocked when two people
immediately stood to give us their seats. Why were we shocked? Firstly
that we are obviously now in the category of seniors (or worse disables) and
therefore should be given seats by younger people, and secondly that these
younger people had manners to give up their seats. We were most embarrassed
but glad not to stand on the train into the city.

The boat trip firstly goes up the Swan River to Fremantle and then out to
the open sea and takes a further half hour to reach Rottnest Island. Soon
after leaving the Esplanade the original Swan Brewerie building is on the
banks of the river opposite Kings Park with the walkway. The Swan Brewerie
building is now five star apartments and a shopping precinct.

A reasonably large boat is used and as it is school holidays the boat was
very full. We were fortunate to get good seats in the outside area.
Rottnest is a subtropical island with secluded beaches, salt lakes, two
lighthouses and with the exception of a very few "island" cars (police, bus,
rubbish trucks etc) there are no vehicles. There are a large number of
holiday villas and houses, a camping ground and various shops and
restaurants etc. The main method of travel on the island, which is about
ten kilometres long, is bicycle and these can be hired or brought on the
boat.

It was a hot day, thirty degrees, and as my knee wouldn't take kindly to me
cycling, we decided to take the hop on hop off bus. A good choice as the
road around the island is undulating and I am sure I would have soon ditched
a bike. The bus is a very popular choice and circles the island every half
hour stopping at all the bays with a commentary. Firstly we stopped at
Salmon Bay, a popular snorkelling bay. The bus driver said that the water at
Rottnest was six degrees warmer than the water in Perth or Fremantle so I
decided it was time to test the water. I must say it could have been
another six degrees warmer for my liking.

Shopping mall in CBD Perth

We didn't spend a lot of time in the main shopping centre in Perth - we
try to keep clear of the shops! However, we were running short of Nespresso
coffee capsules and although we can buy these on line direct from Nespresso
we haven't a postal address here in Western Australia so that doesn't work
for us. So after checking that there is a Nespresso Boutique in Perth we
made our way into the city to Murray Street. The central business area is
quite small but we soon found the shop. Would you believe that we had to
wait in a queue to be served? I did want to take a photo but didn't think
others in the queue would necessarily be happy about that. We are now fully
stocked with a great selection of coffee capsules so drop by the caravan
sometime for a coffee!
After shopping at Nespresso we spent some time watching street theatre.

Cruising the canals from Mandurah

The weather in Perth over the Easter holiday period was wonderful with
temperatures in the low 30's each day. We seemed to spend the holiday
period on the water. Our days included catching the ferry, the Fremantle
cruise, cruising the canals in Mandurah and later in the week a visit to
Rottnest Island.

On Easter Monday we caught the train from Warwick to Mandurah - this is an
easy commute as we were fortunate that the closest station to where we were
staying was on the line that went direct to Mandurah. If we had taken the
car it was a distance of 85 kilometres each way yet the train journey was
fast and direct, took just over an hour and cost just $9.30 return for a
family ticket. If we had five kids we could have taken them on that ticket
as well! No ideas anyone, we don't need your children to join us.

Mandurah has a beautiful foreshore with large picnic facilities, playground,
restaurants etc. We decided to take a cruise of the canals - over the last
ten years multi-million dollar homes have been built along canals and a lot
of these homes have large cruise boats tied up on the canals. The cruise
certainly provided a good opportunity to see many of these homes. Tucked at
the end of a couple of the canals were series of restaurants and bars which
were packed as it was Easter Monday. As we sailed we were entertained by
pods of dolphins which are regularly seen in the bay.

After the cruise we were happy to wander along the foreshore watching the
large family groups enjoying a day out. It sometimes reminds us that for us
family and friends are a long way away. After a full day we were happy to
have a stress free trip home on the train.

Busy canal restaurants Mandurah

It was Easter Monday and families were out enjoying the beautiful weather.
This is one of the restaurants on the canal in Mandurah. The boat we were
on wasn't very big with just ten seats upstairs, and two areas downstairs.
We sat right on the back on the downstairs section so had a great view of
the canals and the dolphins playing in the water.

Luxury homes with luxury boats tied up

There were so many beautiful homes on the canals it was impossible to come
up with favourites. However, I liked the glass fencing on this one and
although boating and I don't always agree I thought this one looked good
tied up out the front!

Even space for the tennis court

We didn't want to take photos of every house but this one certainly caught
our attention as it had sufficient land to have a full size tennis court
beside the house. A couple were playing tennis with the children and they
looked as though they were having fun. Moored out the front was the leisure
craft.

Emailing: 3512 The ANZAC memorial at the entrance to the canals

Australia has some amazing displays in commemoration of ANZAC and we had
the opportunity to see this interesting display at the commencement of one
of the canals (it was next door to the house with the tennis court). The
display looked amazing from the water and it was good to see that the park
was being used by families for picnics.

Taura waking up from her sleep

Taura wasn't too keen on sleeping inside while we were house sitting in
Carine. She seemed to much prefer this comfy sofa in the undercover area in
the garden. We were pleased to see her there each morning!

Breakfast time for Taura

It took three days for Taura to get used to us staying in her home - up
until then she quietly let herself in to have her meals in the hope that we
wouldn't hear her. However, we are now friends and she "talks" to us when
she comes in to make sure that we know she is inside and ready to be fed.
She always eats her meals up on the stool as the family also have a dog (who was being cared by family members) so we kept to her normal routine and fed her there as well.

Navy boat moored at Fremantle

Apparently the Navy boats come into Fremantle for rest and relaxation for
the crew. On the day we visited Fremantle there were two boats tied up.
Pretty impressive!