Lap of Oz: Days 100-101 Perth

Days 100-101

We actually spent four nights in Perth, but I am going to break them up into two posts as we did so much and have so many photos!

The first day we drove from the free camp in Wannamal to Karrinyup Waters Resort. This park works a little different to many of the parks we have stayed in. After paying at the reception, you drive down to a caravan ‘rest area’. Then you are picked up in a golf buggy and shown all the available sites available and then helped into the one of your choice.

We chose site 30 which was all paved. It had enough room for our van, our awning and a car park as well. It was quite close to the amenities, laundry, camp kitchen and one of the lakes.

On our way in, we followed a family of ducks, who later that afternoon, chose to visit us again. This time the boys fed them a few crumbs.

That night we were in bed early, having to be into Ford very early for our car service in the morning.

Day 101

After dropping our car off at Ford, we caught the train into the Perth CBD.

Then we headed our into the main street. The first thing we saw was this bright green sculpture.

Then we headed to the Bell Tower. This Bell Tower includes the 12 bells of St Martin in the fields. They are one of the few sets of royal bells left and the only ones that are known to have left England.

This place was surrounded by road works and with the admission price, we decided to look from afar. Then we headed to the Perth Mint.

On the way we came across these metal paper planes that the boys thought was awesome.

And this old tram pole. There were lots of historical moments all around the streets of Perth. It was quite good how they did it.

Finally we arrived at the Perth Mint. There was a sign at the front, saying that no photography was allowed inside, so I have no photos of inside, sorry.

Another thing was the price. You can only go through the Mint if you pay for a tour. We didn’t bother as we have walked through the Canberra Mint for free. So we had a quick look and headed off for Kings Park.

Kings Park is one of the largest inner city parks in the world, sitting at just over 400 ha. We only had time to see a little bit of it, before we had to pick up our car.

First, we walked the Kokoda Track up the side of a mountain to reach Kings Park and then had a short walk through some of the Botanical Gardens.

This was where we saw our first real Kangaroo Paw. This plant is the floral emblem of Western Australia and when the boys researched it, they found that it only grows wild in Western Australia. They have been looking for it the whole time we have been in WA, and haven’t been able to see it until now.

Then we stopped for a bit of morning tea before heading to see the war memorials.

The view of the city from the top of Kings Park is amazing!

After a quick stop at the visitor centre, we headed for the DNA Tower.

The view from the top was quite amazing too.

Then it was off out of the park to pick up our car.

On the way out, we came across a Fireman Memorial,

A South African Memorial,

Some cannons as part of other memorials,

An an awesome Dragon Tree.

We walked back through the mall to the train station and back to Ford to pick up our car.

Then it was off to a late lunch to Hogs Breath Cafe. We had received a voucher for this place when we had our windscreen replaced and as it had to be used in WA and the only Hogs Breath we could find were in Perth, this was our one and only chance to use the voucher.