Australia - Perth

Well it's up and off we go to Hong Kong Airport to catch our next flight which is in two parts. First flight Hong Kong to Singapore approximately 3 hours 15 minutes then Singapore to Perth approximately 4 hours with a stop over in Singapore for 2 hours 30 minutes.

The stop over in Singapore was something we weren't looking forward to but on arrival there we first discover the butterfly garden, an amazing glass conservatory in the transfers lounge area. What a great idea having something like this in an airport to look at to pass the time.

From there we have a walk through the airport we have plenty of time to kill.

Whilst walking around we also come across the Cactus Garden which is a roof top terrace with an outside bar, wow how cool is that. We sit at the bar, have a beer where we can take in the view of the planes and also enjoy the garden.

After that we continue through the airport and see some seats with foot massagers in front of them which were free of charge so give them a go. It was a very unusual feeling while the machine pummels your calves and feet. Well now it's time to board the plane and set off for Perth. As we set off that evening there is a lovely sunset we can just about glimpse from the plane.

Day 1

We arrive in the early hours of Monday morning at Perth Airport and its very quiet so we don’t have to wait long to collect our bags.

At passport control and immigration they have an e-passport electronic system for commonwealth countries that scans your passport, issues you with a ticket and scans your face which works great and you are straight through.

We take a taxi from the airport to the outskirts of Perth to our hotel. We are staying at The All Suites apartments which is a self catering set up.

The room is great and has a lounge and kitchen area, large bathroom with Jacuzzi bath and the bedroom has a very comfy large double bed which we soon get into and fall asleep as it’s been a long day.

We wake up by 9 o’clock and head down to the café for some breakfast only to discover it is closed due to it being a bank holiday in this area. It is Western Australia Day.

We head down to the end of the road and luckily there is a very nice coffee shop which is open so we have a Full English Breakfast in there which is fantastic, it’s the best we have had in ages. Afterwards we head back to the hotel and freshen up then head out to explore the city.

We head down to the water and along to Elizabeth Quay which is overlooking the river. The area is being developed with some new hotels, shops and a walkway along the Swan River. In the park they are having a family fun day so there are stalls and marquees set up and live bands playing. There are lots of people about even through it is rain on and off.

We have a walk around the quay area and then head into the city to explore more. There is a real mixture of old and new buildings and sculptures that we see along the way. Most of the shops are closed but eventually we come across a nice micro brewery in the old party of the city called Northbridge Brewery Company that makes beer on site. We decide to have a drink and escape from the rain for a while.

After the beers we head back to the hotel to relax before heading out that eve for dinner. Its still raining so we don’t go far and find an Indian restaurant that is open just across the road from our hotel. Its an early night as tomorrow we are being picked up by Auntie Jan who will be taking us on a tour from Perth to Augusta where she lives.

Day 2

Today the café downstairs in open so we go there for breakfast which makes it easy. We are being picked up today by Auntie Jan at 9.15 from the hotel.

Jan arrives as planned and it’s great to see her, it’s been over ten years since I last saw her. We have a bit of a journey today with her to where she lives which included a train out of the city to start and then picking up her car to travel back to Augusta which will be about a 3 hour journey.

Along the way to Augusta we see rolling fields which at this time of the year the grass is green and lush, these fields are used for dairy farming. There are also many vineyards as Western Australia is a good wine making region.

We also see trees that look like they have black bark, it turns out that in some areas wild fires swept through and devastated the landscape and also destroyed many houses. The Bush and trees are recovering and have quite a lot of green showing. Its amazing how quickly it is all recovering as it only happened some six months ago.

We continue on our journey and arrive at Augusta. Jan has arrange for us to stay in a motel so drops us off and we settle in. She will be back at 5.15pm to pick us up and take us back to hers for dinner.

We have a little time on our hands so wrap up and go for a walk around the town and down to the sea front. Its 8 degrees at night and about 17 degrees in the day so a bit cooler than we have been used to.

The town has one main street with a few shops, petrol station and hotel with a bar.

As arranged Jan picks us up and we head back to hers for dinner and to meet her partner Keith. He is doing a barbeque for us for dinner and we provide the wine and beer, very Australian. The food is great and we have a lovely evening chatting about their life and travels in Australia and our travels so far. After a few hours Jan takes us back to the motel and we pop to the bar down the road for a pint.

Its very quiet here at night at this time of year as it is their winter and the pub only stays open if there are people around. Tonight it is closing at 9pm so after our drink we head back to our motel for an early night.

Day 3

We are up and out at 8 o’clock and back to Jan’s for breakfast then head out for the day to explore Augusta and Margaret River area.

We head off the main road and onto a gravel track that takes us into the Bush and up to a great view point over looking Augusta and the Hardy Inlet. There are many interesting plants in the Bush and one of the oldest is the grass tree palm.

From here Jan takes us to Augusta Community Tree Nursery where she works as a volunteer and they propagate and grow many native species of plants that they then plant in the local area.

Jan is very in involved in the local community on projects to improve the area by planting up and rejuvenating the road sides, river walkways, and beaches around Augusta and to help over see and implement new projects like the Heritage Walk and Ocean Walk and planting at the new Augusta boat harbour.

We then continue onto Flinders Bay which once had a large wooden pier jutting out some 1100 feet into the sea so that large ships could dock here and be filled with the timber that had been harvested from the surrounding forests.

It was a lively port with a stream railway which was used to bring timber cut down from the surrounding forests to the large ships and then be exported from here to all round the world.

From here we head to Cape Leeuwin lighthouse which was built on this rocky coast line in 1895 to warn ships of the hazards. This is where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean so there are many choppy currents and tides that make this area difficult to navigate. The views out to sea are stunning.

On the far side of the lighthouse there is a natural spring which would have been used to supply water to the lighthouse. The wooden water channel and calcified waterwheel still remain.

We continue along the west coast taking in the lovely ocean views and stop for lunch at a lovely café overlooking one of the stunning bays.

After lunch we continue on to Cape Mentelle which is where Margaret River flow out into the sea.

This area is well know for surfing competitions which are held here every year due to the good surf that comes in on this coastline. Many areas have been beautifully landscaped to provide parking, shower and toilets facilities and wooden decked viewing areas.

We when start to head back and go through Margaret River town and follow the road through Leeuwin National Park where we see areas of Karri trees. This area would have been where the early settlers harvested many of the massive karri trees that where then transported by the stream trains down to Flinders bay.

The trees grow very tall and straight and are therefore ideal for timber production. The trees you see in this area now are only around 150 years old and nowhere near the size of the ones that where harvested from here back in the 1800.

We continue along the main road through the Bush and see more vineyards and dairy herds and a group of Kangaroos in one of the fields which we were hoping to see.

Well we are back at Augusta and Jan drops us off at the motel for a rest. Later that evening it’s back to hers for dinner and after Jan drops us back, it’s been a great day seeing all the beautiful scenery.

Day 4

Today we are up by 7.30 and pack our bags ready to be picked up by Jan again and off for breakfast at hers and to say goodbye to Keith.

We are heading back to Perth along the Bussell Highway and our first stop is at Cowaramup which down the main street there are fibre glass cows positioned along the sides of the road to highlight that this town and surrounding area is a dairy producing region, in fact the town is known as Cow Town.

From here we head to Busselton which is famous for its wooden pier which stretches out over the water some 1841 meters. It is the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere and was originally started in 1853 and extended later in 1865 to its final length.

The pier also had a railway along it to haul timber and farm products up it to be loaded onto the ships to be transported from here up the coast and to the rest of the world.

We continue our journey onto Freemantle which is an old town right on the edge of the sea with an important port for fishing and trade shipping.

The town prospered from this trade in the early 19th century and much of the town has lovely Victorian architectural buildings that are well preserved.

Jan drops us off and we have some time to ourselves to explore along the harbour front where there are old fortifications and a building called the Round House that was once a prison.

We spend about two hours walking around here and the town enjoying the architecture and have a spot of lunch before meeting back up with Jan and heading off again.

Our next stop is at my cousin Jodie’s, (Jan's daughter) and it’s the first time that we have met her husband Warren and son Cameron. We stop there for dinner and have a great evening catching up. We also Skype Mum (Lorna Tate) in England so she can have a chat to her sister Jan, Jodie, Warren, Cameron, Andrew and myself.

After a great evening it’s time to leave so Jan and Jodie drive us to Sanno Marracoonda Hotel which is just next to the airport where we will spend the night before we get our next flight in the morning to Sydney.

The roads to this area and around the airport are all being changed and many of them are new routes so Jodie is a bit unsure of the route we need to take.

It turns out not to take us long from their house and Jodie has no problem finding the correct route. Great job.

Its been fantastic to spend time here and meet up with family. Thanks to Jan we have seen some beautiful places and learnt a bit about Western Australia, It’s a vast area and we have only just scratched the surface.