So much to see and explore in Perth

Well I didn’t sleep too well, it was a cold night and both kids ended up joining us in bed.  At least they acted like hot water bottles, but I think I was worried we were going to sleep in and miss our ferry.  I shouldn’t have worried as the alarm did go off and then I didn’t want to get out of bed, instead Jason got up and turned on the heater to help warm it up.  Eventually I dragged myself out of bed and had a coffee, and then it was all stations go.  It was still dark when we left the caravan park but you could see the sun starting to rise. 

We managed to score a park easily; I mean I can’t understand why there weren’t a lot of cars around at 6:30 in the morning!  Then it was time for breakfast at the café whilst we waited for our ferry to arrive.  Before we knew it we were on the ferry and making our way across to Rottnest Island.  It is a relatively short trip but quite exciting as we passed lots of big ships waiting to come in and dock.  Hamish also had fun practising using his goggles.  Once we were off the boat we headed straight to the information centre to buy our hop-on hop-off bus ticket for the day and get a map of the island.  Then we made our way to the bus stop to wait for the first bus of the day.

Checking the gear is working.

Hamish having a paddle.

The creation the kids and Jason made.

Little Salmon Beach.

I think the hardest part was that we really didn’t know what to expect and what were the pick of the places and where to get off.  The bus also only operated every 30 to 45 minutes and was a one way loop so you really didn’t want to get it wrong as it would be an hour trip to get back around again.  You can hire bikes and cycle the island or bring your own, and this seems very popular.  We had considered it but then we would need little buggies behind us to pull the kids and then it all started to become too much of an effort.  I wish they hired out golf carts as that would be great for us.

The walk between two beaches.

All ready to go.

Just like one another.

Salmon Beach.

Our bus driver was fantastic though and recommended we get off at Little Salmon Beach as he thought it was the pick.  It certainly was very beautiful and calm so a great place for the kids to have a paddle.  The march flies though were shocking there and really ruined the idea of sitting on the beach and enjoying it.  My advice would be that you get off at the Parker Point stop and walk around to Little Salmon Beach and then onto Salmon Beach.  They are short and easy walks and you get to take in some beautiful coastline along with way. 

Pristine beauty.

Having fun in the water.

After a while we decided it was time to move on so packed up and thought we would wait for the bus.  Though the march flies were annoying us so we decided to just walk on and that is when we discovered Salmon Beach and thought it was beautiful too so decided to miss this bus and just enjoy this beach for a while.  Jason and the kids went out for a swim whilst I watched over everything.  That is also another tip, there aren’t toilets at every stop so you need to pre-plan getting into your swim suit and there isn’t drinking water and food once you leave the main areas.  Jason even managed to get out for a bit of a snorkel.

Jason took the underwater camera out.

Selfie under water.

Jason said it was spectacular.

We then caught the next bus and I thought we were going to go back around to the start for lunch, but Jason decided we should get off right at the half way point and check out that end of the island.  It was a good thing we did as there were some wonderful lookouts down this end, and one looked out over some New Zealand Fur Seals.  They were cool to see, but by now the kids were getting tired of walking and we were all getting hungry so onto the next bus we hoped and went all the way back to Thomson Bay.  We even got to pass by Longreach Bay – such a nice name.

More rugged and beautiful coastline.

Lots of New Zealand fur seals.

Oh the life of the rich.

We thought we would have lunch at Aristos Waterfront Restaurant which is right on the water and has a playground next to it.  I went in and ordered, and it wasn’t exactly the cheapest fish and chip shop we had been to.  Though hopefully it would be nice.  As we waited there were some friendly local quokkas around and one certainly seemed to enjoy our table.  The kids thought he was cute but didn’t want him to touch them as we had told them you can’t touch them.  He certainly was cute until he shat everywhere under our table and then weed there too.  Just lovely. 

Kayla found a new friend.

Cute little fellow.

Our lunch then came out and I can’t say mine was worth the money at all, rather disappointing.  I also had Kayla sitting on my lap as she didn’t like the quokka coming near her and felt safer on her Mum’s lap.  Once we had finished lunch we decided we had time for one last decent swim at a beach, so Jason decided we should go to “The Basin” which he had read was beautiful.  Even better was that we could walk to it as it was only 1.2km away.  It was a slow walk with the kids and stopping to check out some more quokkas and then giving way to bikes, but we eventually got there.

Getting hungry and over it at the point.  Still smiling though.

 

It isn’t a large beach and was certainly the most popular, probably because of its short distance but it was still beautiful.  Jason took the kids down for a swim and I was down taking photos.  That is when Jason realised we had left our towels at the place where we had lunch.  So off I went for a return 2.4km walk to fetch our towels, which were still there and back again.  At least I was walking off lunch so that has to be good.  Before we knew it we thought we should pack up and get everyone dressed again and ready to hop on the ferry.  We didn’t want to rush back so left plenty of time to stop and have an ice cream and a little play in the park before hopping back on the ferry.

Enjoying our ice creams.

I really thought Kayla and Hamish would fall asleep on the trip home, but I think the ice cream kicked in for Kayla and she was dancing to the music and playing games the whole way back, showing off to anyone who would give her a smile.  Maybe I was the one that could have slept, but at least she was happy and laughing.  Before we knew it we had docked and we loaded everything back into the car (i.e. just threw it in the back) and headed home.  We noticed the caravan park seems to be filling up a bit more and as we drive past we always check out the licence plates to see where they are from.  It is funny all the things we take in now. 

Then it was time to quickly whip up some dinner, shower the kids and settle in for the night.  The caravan park was running a movie night but I honestly didn’t have the energy to take them.  I think I would have fallen asleep.

Oh my gosh.  What is going on, the second day in a row that we have woken up to an alarm.  This time it was because we had the car booked in for a minor service and we needed to be there by 8:30am.  The plan was to drop off the car and head into the city to explore and then one of us would come back out and pick up the car.  However that all changed when we got there and they said we had to be back by 11:30am at the latest to pick up the car and they could push ours through and it would be done by 10:30am.  So naturally we agreed as luckily I had packed a bit of school work for Hamish so we might as well do it there.

Hamish's show off wall in the van.  All the sight words, certificates and letters and sounds he knows.

Three hours later I wasn’t very impressed but we got the car back and were out of there.  Honestly, why promise a family with two kids that you will have a job done by 10:30am when you can’t and it ends up being 11:30 anyway.  It isn’t like a service centre is an exciting place to entertain kids.  Still we got the school work done but there goes our morning exploring the Perth city centre.  At least it was a short drive in and then we had the task of finding a park near the Bell Tower that I wanted to see.  Of course we had to have lunch first as we were starving so had lunch at a place overlooking the water and then made our way to the Bell Tower.

Family photo up top.

In front of an old bell.

The bell tower from ground level.

Construction zone below.

A picture of what it will look like when they are finished.

 

As we were arriving the bells were ringing so we headed straight to the fourth floor where you can see the bells ringing.  They even have tv monitors showing the people ringing the bells.  It is a really beautiful building and once they finish all the work on the quay area and it is no long surrounded by construction it will be even better.  At the top we even paid the $2 to hear the little bells up top chime which was cool and even managed to get a family photo (double bonus). 

The bells that played a lovely tune.

The view from the top level.

Looking up to the top.

Bit of traffic down there.

We decided against trekking around the city centre as we thought we could leave that for another day when we catch a ferry or train up the river.  Instead we headed to Kings Park to check out more of it.  Honestly I knew this park was big, but when it has its own information centre just on it, you realise it is really huge.  Still we managed to do the main outlooks and the sky walk up in the trees (all free).  I did enquire about the Dawn Service up there but the guy really didn’t seem to encourage our attendance making out it would be very hard to get to.  I don’t disagree with him at all but it would be cool to do something special for it. 

Making our way into the park (Kayla was asleep in the stroller).

Nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Taking in the city.

Hamish loved the green, green grass.

By now the kids were over walking and so headed home which took a little longer than expected as one of the main roads was closed with no detour signs out helping direct us another way.  Eventually we managed to get home and just chilled for the afternoon.  After dinner and showers we made our way over to the movie night the caravan park was running and enjoyed the movie Zoo Keeper.  A nice way to end a big day.

The war memorial.

Boys being boys on the tree top walk.

About to go across the glass bridge.

Obviously there was something interesting in there.

A duck and a pond could entertain these two for a long time.

Sunday, the last day of school holidays, saw us start the day with a yummy cooked breakfast and wash all the sheets in the caravan.  So yes not exactly the ideal way to end a school holiday but since we are on a massive holiday it still needs to be done.  We are also excited as it means that most people and kids are back at work and school tomorrow so the weekday crowds will be a lot less.  We also got to call home and have a chat with our families.  Something we just don’t do enough. 

Hamish made a new friend but they were leaving that day.  I was chatting to  his Mum and I think I accidently insulted her as I mentioned how Hamish doesn’t always see kids and she offered for us to come to their house (they live in Perth) but I said it was fine.  It wasn’t like I didn’t want my son playing with hers but with everything else we have going I knew we wouldn’t do it anyway.  I just didn’t really portray that message across right and didn’t know how to pull my foot back out of my mouth. 

Once all the washing was on the lines drying we headed into the Fremantle Markets to see what they were like and to also meet up with Jo and Liz.  It was great seeing them again and swapping stories.  Liz’s friend had also come along so she could give me a few tips that I wasn’t aware of so that was nice.  As for the Fremantle Market, they were a lot smaller than I expected but still good all the same.  From here we headed to the E Shed Markets but these weren’t as good and not very good at all so before we knew it we were heading home for lunch.

Checking out the Fremantle markets.

Kayla waiting for some food.

Hamish found a transformer.

Kayla fell asleep on the way home so we just enjoyed the peace and quiet and mange to remake all the beds in the caravan and put away all the clothes.  Jason then took Kayla out for a drive to pick up some wheels for the kayak.  I wasn’t overly keen as I wasn’t finding it hard to carry and this is just another thing that we will be lugging around adding weight to the van (even though it only weighs an extra 2 kilograms).  Jason on the other hand believes it will be easier to drag the kayak and all our beach stuff down to a beach / river when our caravan is close to the water, rather than being like pack horses!  I hope it gets used more than the hose broom to clean the outside of the van.  Still the rule is that whatever weight you add you need to remove the equivalent so this will be interesting to see what he removes.

Hamish having a go on the laptop while Kayla licks the bowl clean.

We made a plaster mould of a foot print to find out who had been in our campsite.

While they were gone Hamish and I did a school lesson and swept the floor of the caravan.  It was nice to have a slower paced day and just relax at the caravan.  Mind you it doesn’t help us get through the long list of things we want to see but every now and then you need days like this one.  I even met another family from Brisbane travelling around Queensland with their two kids. 

Well our first full day back at school was not exactly the best one to start the school term with.  Hamish took a fair bit of convincing that it wasn’t the end of the world and after a while he started to get back into it and participate more.  We thought we would make it easier by taking a break and going to the Shaun the Sheep movie and it was a welcome break but I don’t think Hamish was very appreciative of it.  Maybe it was just the lack of sleep or something but everything seemed to be a struggle with him and if we did one little thing or asked him to do something we were the worst people in the world. 

Nice way to end the day.

Taking it all in.

Kayla found it fun to roll down the hill.

Slowly getting dark.

In the end we tried to savour the day a bit and I took the kids for a paddle in the pool.  There was no way I was going to take them for a swim in that cold water.  I can’t even believe that they hopped in at all.  After that we packed up the car and dinner that Jason had made earlier and headed into Kings Park to watch the sunset and enjoy dinner overlooking the city night skyline.  It was a great way to end what wasn’t exactly a brilliant day.  My kids though seem to be developing this ability to stay awake for a very long time.  Kayla didn’t even fall asleep on the drive home, even without having a day nap.  Luckily she fell asleep reasonably easy as she was certainly overtired and cranky.

Perth city at night.

Loved the cloud over the city.

Great view from our spot.

Tuesday morning saw another beautiful day here in Perth.  Honestly we have been really lucky for weather since we have been here.  It is hard to believe that we are half way into Autumn and getting closer to Winter.  I am happy to report that school today was so much better and even though we got out and did heaps we managed to get through the sessions with no drama and everyone smiling.  We did the on air lesson first and then headed straight into Fremantle.  The plan was to catch a ferry into Perth and then a train back.  Well we were in for a shock as there are no normal passenger ferries running between Fremantle and Perth, only tour ones.  Well that was going to be a bit costly but it was something we wanted to do.  However they didn’t leave until later.

So a quick change of plans saw us catching a train into the city.  We knew one was leaving soon so we had to rush to the station, and even with dramas buying the tickets we made it with time to spare.  It is so bizarre trying to work out how to buy tickets when you are in a rush and don’t know how their system works, or what zone or the name of the station you want to go to.  We survived and it was so cheap compared to Brisbane public transport.  Only $5.10 for us to all get into the city.  The train ride seem to go so fast, probably because we were knocking over some school and before we knew it we were in the big city again.

Doing some school on our way into the city.

Hamish at the main train station in the city.

We stopped and had a quick bite to eat and grab a map so we knew where we were going.  Then it was a matter of just walking around and checking out the city centre for a while.  We came across what I originally thought was an old English building but it actually led through to an open arcade with more old English architecture and shops.  It was so cool.  From there we decided to start heading towards the Perth Mint but got side tracked and called into the Perth Fire Station Museum.  This place blew us away.  For one it was absolutely free, but most importantly it was awesome with great displays.

Hmm someone doesn't look impressed.

Look what we found.

Now this got his attention.

Kayla trying to work out how to get in.

The kids (both young and old) were allowed to dress up and hop into a fire engine.  This was so cool and of course the kind gentleman allowed me to dress up as the chief.  Mind you no one really listened to me!  Still Jason, Hamish and Kayla had fun in the engine whilst I wore the old chief hat.  I made a comment to the guy helping us that it was heavy and he then said check out my helmet and pick up one and put it on me.  It was just as heavy, but what got me more was that he had retired last year and now I am guessing volunteers here and his helmet is one the adults can dress up in.  He pointed out all the old knocks and dints of where a roof fell down and hit him.  He was fantastic and great to talk to.  I just wish I could have stood around longer and ask a million questions.

My three fire fighters.

Guess who was driving.

See I got to be chief.

A cracked hat from where a roof fell down on the fire fighter.

There is also an upstairs section of the museum that is quite educational for children to also show that fire fighters don’t just fight fires.  We got to walk through it quickly whilst the kids played in the kids toy room (another fantastic idea) but then we had to rush off to make the next tour of the Perth Mint.  It was another relatively easy walk and we made it just in time.  It was certainly interesting and I bet that place is locked up tight at the end of each day as there are some very expensive gold nuggets and pink diamonds. 

Out the front of the Perth Mint.

Hamish has found his piece of gold.

So has Kayla.

Unfortunately we don’t have any photos of inside as they don’t allow you to take any.  I am guessing this is so people can’t scope out the place for a robbery.  The tour provided some history of gold in WA and how the Mint came about.  Then we got to see a demonstration of gold pouring and find out our weight worth in gold.  Yes it was a lot but unless I suddenly turn to gold I am safe from Jason and the kids trying to sell me.  The Perth Mint no longer makes coins for everyday use, they specialise in more investment type coins, so I am guessing these are the special print ones.

From here we went back and got some lunch and then made our way to the park to enjoy it whilst also doing some more school.  Before we knew it we had to make our way down to get our cruise tickets and head back to Fremantle.  Cruising down the river you get a whole different perspective of the city and realise just how big it is, not to mention how big and expensive some of the homes on the river are.  Seriously some of them are huge and others have a group of four homes in one area so all their kids and their families live there too.  Yep talk about money.

School in the park.  Hamish has the biggest classroom.

Kayla pretending Hamish is a horse.

I think Hamish was too big for his horse.

Still good mates.

After docking we headed straight back home to unpack the car and then repack it ready for tomorrow.  We have a big day planned so the more we did then it meant we could sleep in more the next day.  Hamish and Kayla have made friends with some other kids in the park so they played water bombs and ran around until Jason brought them in for a shower. 

So to live in this area you need to have at least 10 million dollars.

That is mothering, this area is the billionaire area.  The big house in the centre sold for around $58 million.