Perth & Freo!
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sun 8 Feb 2015 11:43
Anyway, we set off around town, unsurprisingly it was quiet at that hour on a Sunday, and stopped at the first place, Kings Park. This is a fab place, bigger than Central Park, overlooking the Swan River.
There is a famous tree here, thought to be about 750 years old, which was transported here 5 years ago at huge cost and taking 6 days when it was donated to the park as a gift rather than be cut down and destroyed to widen the highway.
A very large tree!
After that stop, our only one in Perth itself, we drove on to Fremantle, via the gorgeous Cottelsoe Beach. This has become famous in recent years as the place where Heath Ledger's, the guy who played the Joker in Batman for all you uninitiated folks, funeral was held.
A day at the beach here was strongly recommended by a few people. The only thing is that this coast is famous for huge, man-eating sharks and lots of other nasties as well.
We arrived in Fremantle, confusing called Freo by the locals, about 10.30am with the option of a coach ride back or a ferry later in the afternoon, which we decided to do.
Freo is famous for lots of things, or at least it is if you live there! The harbour area is home to a famous fish and chip shop, and also to the Little Creatures Brewery and pub, which on a sunny Sunday afternoon was, as expected, absolutely rammed!
The little creatures brewery
Before heading straight to the bar, it was only 11am, we took a walk round the town, and a few of the tourist sights including the gaol, which the poor convicts had to build themselves when they arrived. Having visited the prison, I don't think conditions had changed from the day it was opened in 1860 (ish) to the day it closed in 1990 (ish). The drainage system had failed in 1890, yep not a typo, and was never fixed. You could not accuse these guys of having it easy.
As interesting name for a bar - it's a type of bird I am told!
The prison at Fremantle
Having done the required sight-seeing we headed off towards the harbour to try the famous beers and have lunch in one of the waterfront restaurants before heading back to Perth.
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