Back in Perth

30/03/12

Perth, one of the world’s most liveable cities. A fabulous outdoor lifestyle with parks, rivers and beaches and a beautiful historic port, Fremantle.

Perth is probably the most outdoorsy of all Aussie cities. The climate, Perth’s brilliant setting along the Swan River and the Indian Ocean, and the abundance of parkland mean that it’s almost obligatory to get outside and enjoy the sun and fresh air. Perth has a wonderful Mediterranean climate that gives it more hours of sun than any other major city in Australia, from October right through to April. 

We were unlucky for our first week back at the sunshine capital. It rained for days, it was freezing cold. Living outside, sleeping on car parks, staying cooped up in our vans for shelter and warmth, and worse of all cold showers, was not fun at all. The temperature was around 16°. Brrrrr! The next week the weather changed drastically: bright sun and 35°! Time to get the shorts back out!

There is a Pesky Sea Breeze though.

In the summer, Perth gets an easterly offshore breeze in the morning; then, as the land heats up, it switches to a south-westerly on-shore wind. This is called the ‘Fremantle Doctor’, because it blows up the river from Fremantle and provides relief on hot summer days. The timing and strength of the breeze varies and it can be almost gale force, whipping up the sand on exposed beaches.

Opossum

We didn’t actually do much during our 3 weeks in Perth. Most all of our time and energy was used to get our 4WDs ready.

We wanted to go to the Fremantle prison, but the price was way too high for just a small 1h tour.

FREMANTLE Prison

Even jails boasted attractive architecture in the 1850s. this limestone jail, built to house 1000 inmates by convicts who no doubt ended up inside it, was Perth’s maximum-security prison until 1991.

We did however get to spend quite a bit of time with my aunt and uncle, Wally and Carmel. They very kindly let us stay with them for a couple of nights. What a great time! Lots of chatting, nice music, lovely meals… I do hope that I will get a chance to see them again!

I also had a bit of time to do a bit of shopping! I hadn’t been shopping for so long! It was too hard to resist!

I also had to go to the orthodontist to get my stupid retained glued back on!

The day before we left Perth it was Anzac day! A bank holiday!

Anzac day (april 25), which commemorates the Australian landings at Gallipoli in 1915 that helped define the nation, is the most poignant public holiday in Australia. The Perth Dawn Service is held by the War Memorial in Kings Park. You arrive in the dark and ease your way into the throng. The muffled tapping of a drum marks the official procession to the memorial, and then the real service starts as the predawn light reveals a hushed crowd of up to 40 000n yound and old. The sun rises behind the memorial silhouetted against the Swan River, and the Last Post sounds.

Australia Day (Jan 26) is another public holiday (I wasn’t in Australia to attend it this year). It commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia. The Abororiginals call it ‘Invaision Day’…

Le Carnet de Voyage

(cliquez sur les images pour agrandir)