When I was planning my trip to Australia after reducing the time I could stay there (in favour of staying in Kenya for longer), I needed to decide where was important for me to go, Perth, although not always top of many people’s lists, was key to my trip. I have a close friend (Caitlin) who lives there and I love seeing where people are from and what their lives are like. I didn’t end up spending much time in Perth in the end, as she had planned so many exciting things for us to do elsewhere in Western Australia, all of which I loved, it’s a beautiful part of the world!
In Perth, we took a drive around the city, visiting King’s park, which has lovely views of the city, beautiful flowers and a treetop walkway. There is even a ‘place of reflection’, a moment to reflect on my trip so far just had to be taken. We also took a drive to a waterfall and to a lookout point to watch the sun setting over Perth.
We visited Fremantle (Freo), a city nearby, and wandered the mouthwatering markets (delicious fruit and veg, cupcakes, cookies, everything!) and then caught up with some friends over a drink at a lovely waterside bar (although we were sat indoors people-watching so I didn’t actually see the water). Add in some very tasty, cheap dumplings for dinner and I liked what I experienced. The only downfall being that everything is so spaced out in Perth that it’s a pretty difficult place to get around, especially without a car.
Whilst I was in Perth, it was Melbourne Cup day, a public holiday in Melbourne..for a horse race! Yep, you read that right, in addition to getting the Queen’s birthday as a public holiday (this upsets me that we share a Queen but we don’t get that!), all those working in Melbourne get a day off to dress up, gamble and drink! When in Rome and all that.. I placed a bet and Caitlin and I had a chilled out day at home, planning the rest of our trip, drinking homemade cocktails (random mix if things that turned out pretty yummy) and waiting for the race.. Sadly I didn’t win, I’m just not meant to be a gambler (I must remember this when I reach Las Vegas), but Caitlin did, so that was nice (no, I’m not jealous..honestly!)
After a couple of days in Perth, we took a trip down south, to Yallingup, Dunsborough and Margaret River. This area is known for its ideal wine-making conditions and therefore there are a lot of wineries to visit..and it would be rude to not taste the wine while there! We spent the days driving around, tasting wine/cheese/ice cream and pretty much anything else that was offered to us. I have no idea why I liked this area so much. Joking aside, it is a beautiful region, very peaceful and pretty, with gorgeous beaches (soft, white sand and clear blue seas), tall trees lining the roadways and colourful flowers everywhere, and all this was topped off with an amazing sunset overlooking whales playing in the sea, with a kangaroo bouncing by us on the walkway. This was very close to what I would consider paradise, and I could have happily spent more time there..however, I had a different paradise to get to.
Rottnest Island is just off the coast of Perth, there is next to no transport on the island and it is the only known place where Quokkas can be found. Quokkas are a rat-like creature after which the island was named (Rottnest is rat’s nest in Dutch) and can be seen all over the island, they’re strangely cute creatures, despite looking like giant rats! Along with some of Caitlin’s family, we spent a couple days exploring the island by foot and by bicycle (so much fun, but such hard work, I need to do more exercise!) and I’ve never seen views like those we experienced – the waters were ridiculously clear and dotted with colours, spectacular. When we weren’t on the move, we were chilling out on the beach, with wine and cheese and taking dips in the water surrounded by fish.. it doesn’t get much better than that!
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