Perth: Day Fourteen (2 November)

Our last day in Perth. Today we caught the train to Fremantle which is a famous port that yachts and tall ships call into when racing round the world. It is also famous for its fantastic fish restaurants so we had fish and chips for lunch!

We found a whalers' tunnel and saw one of the first jails in Western Australia called The Round House. They fire a cannon every day at 1o'clock and we were there to watch it. It was very loud!

Then we looked round St Patrick's Basilica before catching the train back to Perth via Claremont Station.

Barnaby

Perth: Day Thirteen (1 November)

Today we went on a trip to Rottnest Island. It's called Rottnest because the first settlers thought the little animal found there was a rat but it's actually a kind of marsupial (like a small kangaroo) called a quokka.

First we took a ferry down the Swan River to Fremantle. Then we got on a catamaran (a boat with two hulls instead of one) for the last part of the journey. As soon as we arrived we took a bus ride around the island which gave us the chance to see the many lovely beaches and bays. During lunch we were lucky enough to glimpse a shy little quokka.

After lunch we went on a walking tour. The island used to be a prison so we saw that as well as other original buildings. I had an ice-cream :-) before we caught the catamaran back to Fremantle - it was quite a bumpy ride!

Barnaby

Perth: Day Twelve (31 October)

We had such a nice time together yesterday that Lesley invited us to her home for lunch today and we met her husband Tony.

Although central Perth is quite small, there are lots of suburbs round about and it was lovely to see parts other tourists don’t usually visit.

Barnaby

Perth: Day Eleven (30 October)

We had a very early alarm call when the fire alarm went off at 3.25am. It had been set off by the steam from someone’s shower!

When morning proper arrived, we got a phone call from Lesley (the cousin of our friend Margaret in New Zealand). We caught a train to a suburb of Perth called Claremont where Lesley met us and took us to the famous Cottesloe beach. I dipped my paw in the Indian ocean but I didn't go swimming because there were reports of a Great White Shark in the area.

We had lunch in Fremantle Art Gallery before looking at the very unusual sculptures and drove back via the Ocean Road. On the way to Warwick Station, we stopped at the restaurant run by Lesley’s daughter, Bridget and her husband Ben. We also met her other daughter Jane.

Barnaby

Perth: Day Ten (29 October)

We explored King’s Park and the Botanic Gardens. We haven’t seen a real kangaroo yet but I liked the statues of them in the city.

We also climbed part of the Kokoda Trail, in memory of Australian soldiers who protected Papua New Guinea’s Port Moresby from the Japanese in WW2.

We checked our emails and discovered a friend in New Zealand has cousins in Perth and suggested we get in touch.

Best of all, I got to watch Home & Away (see favourite TV programmes). :-)

Barnaby

Perth: Day Nine (28 October)

We explored Perth and went for a walk along the Swan River, which flows right through the city centre.

As it was Sunday we went to Evensong at St George’s Cathedral.

Barnaby

Perth: Day Eight (27 October)

We flew overnight to Perth and had to wait to leave the aeroplane because we had a stowaway. (There was a bird in the cabin!)

Perth is the capital city of Western Australia, which is the biggest state in the country of Australia.

Our apartment hotel was very nice and we could easily walk from there into the city centre.

Barnaby

South Africa: Day Six (25 October)

It was so cold for our last game drive the guide gave us blankets. We also needed waterproof ponchos.

But we saw lots of animals: giraffes all along the road and a live zebra crossing. The gnus all crossed the road at the same place too.

We had a quick souvenir stop and then had to go back to the hotel to pack. The journey back to Johannesburg took five hours this time.

We had an early night as we flew to Perth in Australia the next day :-).

Barnaby