Perth

Because of flight schedules from Perth to New Zealand we had to wait another day in Australia. Our Fremantle accommodation was booked up for the extra night so we decided to go into Perth itself. We booked a hotel in Northbridge, the Acacia, and got the train over from Fremantle. After checking in we caught the free CAT bus down to the riverside. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. As we walked down the beside the River Swan, Gemma spotted a break on the surface of the water. A pair of Dolphins were hunting fish together, one looking like it was keeping the fish in a perimeter whilst the other quickly darted after them.

After we lost track of the Dolphins we continued down the riverside, passing small lakes filled with birds. The normal pedestrian overpass into Kings Park was closed because of a rock slide so we were forced to climb Jacobs Ladder. We huffed and puffed our way up the steep staircase feeling a bit feeble as fit people in shorts ran down and then back up past us. One even reached the top then dropped to the floor and into press-ups. He hardly looked to be breaking a sweat, whereas we were gasping for air at the top.

Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens is a lovely place. Lovely trees, flowers and water garden. When we came to Australia a few years ago we spent our last day in the park. My memory cut away the intervening couple of years, so that it really was almost like yesterday that we were there. Kings Park is probably one of the best places in Perth to take photographs, with it's flowers and it's view of the city. So that is what we did for a while until a swarm of Mosquitoes decided to attack Gemma. We left the park then and walked back into the city and over into Northbridge. In Northbridge there is a Hare Krishna restaurant that serves take away curry and rice for $2.50. Last time we were in Perth we ate there a number of times. We couldn't resist this time either, it was tasty.