Still in Perth

We've done quite a bit of exploring of Perth in the last week. King's Park is a wonderful area over 1000 acres in size, walking distance from the city centre (as shown in the photo on the left). It is a terrific reflection on successive city councils that the park has remained intact, I'm not sure that other governments would have resisted the temptation to nibble bits off here and there for housing and other development. We spent half a day walking various trails, admiring numerous memorials, fountains and gardens, and being stunned by the spectacular views across the Perth city and suburbs and out to the far hills and sea.

On another day we caught the train into town and did a boat cruise down the Swan River to Fremantle. The trip included a circuit on the tourist tram around the historic port city, then lunch on the boat back up river. It was very enjoyable and compared well with the other boat cruises we have done on this trip. While at the Fremantle jetty waiting for the boat

for the return trip, we were quite taken by the series of whimsical sculptures depicting various aspects of Perth and Fremantle life. At first glance the one pictured here is just a cute diver, but the title of 'Bottom of the Harbour' and description of it being a businessman taking his briefcase for swim would bring a wry smile to the face of any Australian who remembers the tax avoidance scandals of the 1970s.

We also visited several more wineries here in the Swan Valley in the last week, as well as the local ice creamery. It hasn't all been fun though, we spent a morning washing down the outside of the van, the first time it had been done since we were in Port Lincoln 8 months ago. Hard work, but the white bodywork gleaming in the sun gave us quite some satisfaction.

Of course, the main thing we've done here in Perth is play on some of the fabulous golf courses in the area. For those interested. in our 17 days here we have played The Vines (both courses), Rockingham, Mt Lawley, Hillview (both courses), Kennedy Bay and Lakelands.