Perth

Well, it went well. I rode up from Yalgorup to Mandurah with no problems. The later is on the Old Coast Road and used to be the main route into Perth from the south, and followed the coast I guess. But now there is a freeway which does the job better, missing out the bottle necks and traffic lights on way. It’s not spectacular or anything, just quite peaceful and wooded. Sort of pleasant.

Then I reached Mandurah, which is a bit manufactured. It’s like one of those developments around the old docks in the UK - Eastbourne, Portsmouth, Southampton. Places that were formerly ship orientated but got bit tatty when things moved way from shipping, but have since been gentrified and poshed up into shopping boardwalk areas, and recreational sailing places. Pleasant enough in a sort of Neighbours way, but not really my thing. And what with various northern pommie sounds screeching  out across the water, I had a quick coffee and went on my way.

There was a bit of traffic lining up to get into Perth, and the freeway was very reminiscent of the M25 on any given day. 

But I’m not sure what the filtering rules are here, so I sat in line which to be fair, did move fairly quickly, although a few people zoomed up the hard shoulder to cut in, while a few more switched lanes to gain an extra metre or so. Neither are great and I watch them like hawks when I clock them because these people don’t see any other road users, let alone bikes. And it is irrelevant whose fault it is; I’m on a bike, so I’m always going to lose.

Since I’ve been in WA, I have got that sense that it's a bit different from the rest of Australia. I don’t know why because its nothing particularly tangible, but there is something definitely different in the air. Several people mentioned it but I’ve generally regarded it as a bit of a spin on the ‘ they’re not nice in the next town/state/country’ theme that frequently comes to the fore when travelling. This place just seems more remote yet more together in terms of its own identity; maybe its because it is so isolated and detached from the rest of the country that it feels like that.  Its almost akin to an island, but separated by open, scorching land rather than water, with a distinct identity and a separation. Whichever way you arrive in WA, you do so through or across many kilometres of nothing. 

It is also the biggest state, covering half the country, and was the last one to join the federation of states that makes up Australia. Interestingly, it also tried to leave and go it alone not long afterwards. But that was back in colonial days and the bid was ignored. So maybe its not just me feeling it.

So Perth then. Named after the hometown of Sir George Murray, then minister for War and Colonies by founder Captain James Stirling in 1829, he of the Stirling Ranges and more. It actually sits at the confluence of the Swan River and the Canning River and was originally known as the Swan River Colony.The aboriginals called the area Boorloo, in the tribal lands of Yellagonga.

According to locals, the place has changed greatly over the past few years too, thanks to money from mining. It certainly looks quite affluent, with impressive big glass buildings and spacious pedestrian areas, interspersed with preserved older facades. 

There's a Lambeth palace look a like up the road, and an old school front down the end of the street. It's well done though.

The rifle range aka Lambeth Palace look a like, is the old Eliza Rifle range, which bwas used by the enrolled guards and the enrolled pensioner guards - essentially old soldiers pensioned off from the British Army and reemployed to guard convicts on transport ships. And Australian historian people please note - it's been Britain since the early 1700s ( about 1707 I think) Britain is NOT interchangeable  term for  England or Scotland, and if you really don't get that, ask any English or Scottish person; we will soon put you right. It's been that way since 200 years before you even existed, so make an effort and get it right please, particularly on your official history notices and boards because otherwise you look like tarts. OK?

How hard is it? It's even colour coded people!!!

Fremantle is not far down the road either. It’s Perth’s port, and the place where most of the passenger liners and freight ships used to dock in the days before air travel and air freight. It still has a working fishing fleet but is now more of an arty farty place; galleries, cafes and street art all just yards from fish gutting and net repairing.

Street Art festival in progress

Arty Farty cafe

Street Art

Three French blokes doing water drumming in the harbour.

An old sub

Those things they tie ships to

The botanical gardens in King’s Park is good, although I was very unimpressed with the weird Australian custom operating at the cafe of charging extra for basics on public holidays. What is all that about? Yes, staff pay is more, but so are takings because people are not at work so go out and spend their money in cafes and restaurants. I did hear several weedy excuses like ' its always been like that' or ' it costs them more to open on public holidays', but, nope, neither work on me, and both are vacuous rubbish straight from the mouths of tight arse greedy business owners who can bugger right off because I'll never buy from them once I know they indulge in that ripoff. Gits.

Seriously?

But the garden bit is cool and is right up on a hill overlooking the Swan and Canning Rivers, with a free led walk and Raised glass walkway through it. 

Western Australia has its own unique fauna and flora system and finally efforts are being made to preserve and encourage it, re-establishing the native plants and removing introduced species. They’re working to put indigenous plants back  because that's really what is supposed to be here, suit the climate and all that sort of thing. 

Banksia

Kangaroo Paw

Top fact learnt from there is that ‘eucalypt’ means covered bud, and members of the eucalypt gang are not denoted by leaf shape as are other plants but their bud design. It’s all to do with preserving water.

Eucalypt pods

And again

Again

Last one

And some old trees, like this old Boab, moved down from up north where it was in the way of road works. The tree is about 750 years old and the marks on it are scars from when it was in transit south.

And the State War memorial is up there, overlooking the city. prime spot and impressive.

This travelling thing is a weird old thing though. Jakob form the Czech Republic was in Mongolia the same time as Nadine and I were in 2012, driving an old banger car about but despite that, we kept missing him. But amazingly, he showed up in Perth a few days ago, on a bike, and as part of a two month zip about tour. It was great to finally put a face to a name and to swap tales about places visited. And like me, he has panda eye look - common to bike riders,the world over.

I managed to tick a few jobs off the list in Perth too, bank things, bike things, phone things. But then I got bit sick and have holed up for a few days, hence the lack of blog input and the paucity of pictures; walking or riding around have not really been options. But that will be sorted soon and I’ll be back on track.