Perth

After a 411 km dash back to Perth from Albany we chose to stay in the same caravan park in Freo as we did a week ago.  The van had to be delivered back to the rental company, clean (inside and out) and full of fuel.  We packed our rucksacks again and even though we had sent back 5kg of stuff, they seemed heavier than when they went into the van.  The next day we cleaned the inside of the van trying to remove all traces of red dust that might be potential evidence of our not allowed, off road excursions and then went to a car wash for a much needed de-bugging (the van, thankfully not us!).

To save a lot of hassle we decided to deliver our kit to the hostel before relinquishing the van and so had to navigate the Perth city centre road system.  With Navigator Coates in full effect we found the hostel first time with no detours and then drove out to the rental company compound near the airport.  We dropped the van back and following a thorough inspection by the rental company and with no problems found we secured the return of our large deposit.  Yeah….drinks are on us!  The final count on the odometer was a massive 8,150 km in 5 weeks.  To put that into perspective it’s the same distance as driving from London to Istanbul 2.5 times.

Perth is a very spread out city with a relatively small population of only 1.6 million.  The city centre or CBD (central business district) is compact with everything within walking distance.  Perth boasts the largest inner city park in the world and with lots of water also running through the city via its rivers and of course the amazing beaches on its coast it gives the place a very open and clean feel to it.

That’s probably why Perth was voted the most desirable city to live on the planet.  I can‘t tell you who voted or how the questions were asked, as I think Slough came in a close second.  At lunch time the green spaces of the city fill up with office workers coming out to exercise, with some of them having instructors to help them get the most out of their short stint in the fresh air.  Also wandering round the city you see loads of people at all times of the day cycling or running or the favourite around these parts speed walking.  These guys love being outside even in the height of winter (it was a typical low 20s that day).

Of course as we were staying in a hostel we were nowhere near all this nice stuff but north of the CBD in an area called Northbridge, although it was just about walking distance into town.  This area is where most of the hostels are located, also with many cheap dinning establishments, bars and some strange looking venues with blacked out windows and lots of neon signs outside.  I’m not sure what went on in these very low key retail outlets however they seemed very popular with the male office worker at lunch time!  What we couldn’t work out was that many of them seemed to emerge from these places looking very red faced, and flustered, but yet it is relatively cold out.  Must be some kind of sauna in there!!??**!!  Compared with the rest of Perth, Northbridge is rough (granted not as rough as bits of MK or London), which is also evident by the large police presence around pretty much all the time.

So another major conurbation meant more jobs to do.  First was to buy some warmer clothes especially for our up and coming outback camping trip.  You will be pleased to know that everywhere from here on in will be much colder than the 30 + we have had so far, so we will no longer be able to keep harping on about just how hot it is.  Next Emma’s camera had been taken over by ants in the Perhentian Islands and they had left dust (or poo) on the inner lens which meant she kept getting dark blobs on every picture (no, they weren‘t pictures of me).  We found a camera repair shop and put it in for a clean, although we weren’t sure what the results would be as the camera repair man had the shakes like he had been drinking solidly for 20 years and so it would have been rather interesting watching him manage the tiny screws. 

The rest of the time we meandered the streets, rode the free buses, drank plentiful amounts of tea and watched the world go by.  Compared with the rest of WA, Perth is a multicultural place with most nations represented within its population.  The only exception to this is the Aboriginals, as we could count on one hand the number we had seen in nearly a week of being in and about Perth.

Our hostel was the aptly named Witch’s Hat, as quelle surprise, the building was shaped like a witch’s hat.  The place was your typical hostel which we selected from the hundreds of others in this area based on the Hostelworld reviews stating it was a “quieter alternative”.  Hostels here get full quickly so we had booked some weeks in advance to secure a private room but we opted for a shared bathroom which would save us some money.  As we checked in we were served by a very smart young Indian gentlemen wearing a suit and tie and matching gold tie pin and snazzy watch, which looked very out of place in a backpacker hostel.  As he finished checking us in he passed over his business card and said if we needed to book any trips just to let him know.  As we left the room I looked at the card and in a rather loud voice said to Emma “He was the Operations Director!, looked like a receptionist to me”.  I have seen some trumped up job titles in my time, but receptionist to Operations Director has to win some kind of award.  As we walked to our room we spotted on the notice board a list a every class A drug you could imagine including ones I had never heard of and the price you should expect to pay in Perth.  We think it was a joke, but to be honest neither of us was sure!  I wonder what the Operations Director would say about that! 

Besides having never visited Perth before we also had another reason to visit this part of Australia.  Fifteen years ago a good friend of mine met a lovely girl in the UK and decided to return with her to her native Perth to start a new life together.  Due to the distance and general life happening we lost contact.  Well knowing that we were going to be in the area I got back in contact and organised to see Rob and Antonella and their young family.  So on our last night in Perth we went over for dinner and to chat about old time’s, as well as find out about what we had been doing with ourselves over the last fifteen years.  The highlight of the evening was being shown how to fly an indoor kite by Jack (Rob‘s eldest son) and the surprise visit by Spiderman who entertained us all night by magically disappearing when Luke (Rob’s youngest) walked into the room.  Your secret identity is safe with us Luke!  We left slightly merry after trying to decide just what was the best wine to go with the Indian food and promised not to leave it so long before the next time.

We both liked Perth, a very sporty/outdoors, laid back place and by the looks of it a great place to bring up a family.  We can see why people love it so much.

Next morning, with thankfully only a slightly blurry head, we flew 2.5 hrs west into the Red Centre and Alice Springs for an outback camping adventure.