Perth Plus November 2011

 Eight years ago I didn't study the camping guide well enough to pick a nice spot to stay in Perth so we passed through and went on to Burns Beach .So this time I was determined to see Perth , Kings Park, the Carillon and generally check out Perth and some of the surrounding area, including Fremantle.
 As we were coming in from Toodyay and Goomaling I chose a Caravan park out near the Swan Valley. We stayed at the Vineyard Park near Guildford.It was a short trip to the train station and then a quick run into Perth. It was also not far from major shopping centres at Midland .

Our first foray on the train was a trip to Fremantle where we ent to the Maritime Museum and saw Australia 11 among other displays. We really enjoyed it and the setting by the river.  After spending a few hours there we wandered up into the Town Centre . I found the most amazing shop near the Post Office which had lots and lots of  open bins with all sorts of things in them including spices, flours dried fruits, coffee beans  and also fresh vegies. It really was amazing!!!!.



 Fremantle



Australia 2



 As I have already mentioned in my previous  blog we celebrated my birthday with friends and after lunch we walked down to the river to the ferry terminal and the carillon, which I particularly wanted to see.

 Another place on my " bucket list" was Kings  Park and we spent an enjoyable few hours wandering around there too. Unfortunately the wildflowers were past their best but some of the different areas were still good including the elevated boardwalk with lovely views back to the city.



 Perth from Lookout in Kings Park

  Cats Paws and Kangaroo Paws in Kings Park

 Mundaring Weir

 Mundaring Weir was another place we came across when we went for a drive up into the Hills area. Lynn was very interested in the engineering of the place. We went for a walk across the dam wall.  Driving back to the Park we went via Kalamunda which looked like a town that needed more time to explore but as it was about 4pm on a Sunday afternoon not much was open. Maybe another time.

 As we had time to kill before meeting Martin and Christine  for our south west trip we ended up at Pinjarra as previously mentioned. While we were there we had a look around the historic village and walked along the riverbank with it's nice parks.

 On the day that we headed to Mandurah the weather turned awful with cold and rain. We had decided to take a circuitous route to get there via Waroona , Yarloop and Cape Bouviere, as our friends weren't expecting us till late in the afternoon.

 We stopped at Waroona to visit the information centre but it was closed so we had a cuppa and checked out the totem poles in the park.

 Totem Poles at Waroona

 Lynn has a real thing about steam stuff  and as we had a panmphlet on the Yarloop Steam museum we took the opportunity to check it out and He was suitably impressed. However because it was a weekday the Live steam engines weren't in operation. It really is an impressive display and so many engines have been  lovingly restored. The whole place is like walking aound in a time warp.



  Steam train and workshop

 Little engine







Big Engine

 A very happy Lynn!!!!!