After a few months in remote areas we saw our first city skyline approaching Perth.
After arriving in Perth, we went straight to one of the higher vantage points, Kings Park. From the park we had great views over the city and Swan River.
Kings Park is also home to the flame of remembrance and the pool of reflections at the State War Memorial. The flame lit from the eternal flame in Canberra War Memorial in 2000 by Queen Elizabeth ll, is still burning .
Kings Park is also home to the Western Australian Botanic Garden.
The park is a popular tourist spot. Many tourists as well as locals were rolling out their picnic blankets and soaking up the serenity. It was also the ideal spot for us to have lunch.
The botanic garden features a massive boab tree.
The interesting history of the boab, is on display next to the tree. The tree was removed from the Kimberley in the northern part of Western Australia and transported 3200km to the botanic garden in 2008. The 750 year old giant, weighing 36 tones was loaded onto a lowbed truck for a two day trip. Due to the size of the tree the logistics were critical and powerlines along the way had to be lifted, road signs removed and trees in metropolitan areas trimmed. Pilot vehicles and police escorts were used to clear the road for the truck and tree.
The photograph by P. Stain was on the information sign at the boab tree. Stain’s photo provides an insight of the scale of the operation.
Although Perth does not have the ideal climate for boab trees, the transplant was successful and the boab continues to grow. The deciduous boab was unfortunately leaveless when we visited the gardens.
Perth offers a free CAT bus service covering four different loop routes to explore the city. We left the car at Kings Park and opted for public transport into the city. We took the bus to Elizabeth Quay. We got off the bus at the Spanda Sculpture, from where we started walking the river bank.
The Bell Tower in Perth stands 82m tall, cladded with copper and glass. The sound of the clock breaks the hustle and bustle of the city traffic.
We got our next bus at the Elizabeth Quay Bridge.
The Art Gallery of Western Australia was our next stop. One of the main exhibitions when we visited was the backlit exhibition capturing the Turkish history. The Fault Lines by Hale Tenger is a post-modern display of the Turkish unrest.
The ceramic exhibition by Pippin Drysdale was also on display at the Art Gallery of Western Australia when we visited.
The What Time Is It display by Hale Tenger sends shivers down your spine walking past it.
The display dubbed I don’t like it, I love it by Paola Pivi included an installation of 999 moulded resin trays. Trays are filled with liquid coloured glycerine suspended from the roof. This was the first time we had a safety briefing before entering an art installation.
The Balloons on The Sea video by Hale Tenger was another immersive display.
On the way out, we passed the Re-Play exhibition by Maxxi May.
After completing our Perth CBD tour, we went back to Kings Park to get the car to visit a few places of interest further afield. Before leaving Kings Park we went to the highest view point in the park, the DNA Tower.
We followed the river in the direction of Fremantle.
The iconic Crawley Edge Boatshed is on the river and has recentry become a bit of a selfie hotspot. The shed is commonly referred to as the blue boathouse on the Swan River.
We located the final giant, Billy Bob. Billy was the last giant to complete our Mandurah giant search.
When driving into Fremantle it feels as if you are stepping back in time. Cliff Street in West End is lined with Victorian classic and Gothic style buildings. All these heritage buildings are still active operational business with many pubs and restaurants to choose from.
We visited the popular historic Fremantle Markets. Despite the markets bustling with tourists, it felt way smaller than we remembered it from 20 years back.
The Fremantle Prison constructed in 1850 is the largest intact convict-build prison in Australia. In 2010 it was one of 11 prisons listed as World Heritage sites. Australian prison sites were in operation between 1788 and 1868 and housed approximately 162 000 convicts.
The Round House on the Swan River was the first permanent building in Fremantle, dating back to 1830. Initially designed as a jail, the building had many different uses before being opened to the public as a tourist attraction.
After we spent the afternoon in Fremantle, we travelled in the direction of Rockingham, and stopped for sunset near Henderson Cliffs.
The sunset over the Indian Ocean signified the end of our visit to Perth. From Perth we started heading east towards the Wheatbelt and the Goldfields.
Our first stop was Brookton. We camped next to a southern branch of the Avon River.
A short drive south took us to Pingelly where the Among Us Mural by Jerome Davenport caught our eye. The mural was done to honour the town’s emergency services volunteers.
The detail of the mural is incredible, with the fire reflecting in the volunteer’s eyes.
From Brookton we moved to Beverley. Our fist stop was the Tourist Information Centre where we were welcomed by this massive sign.
We spend quite a bit of time in this area, as we were waiting for a parcel delivery.
Our first camp introduced us to the Rose Tipped Mulla Mulla wild flower, thriving in dry conditions.
We did a daytrip to the Yenyening Lakes. Our plan was to have a picnic at the lake but upon arrival the attacker ants were onto us. These were the most aggressive ants we have ever seen and we left in a hurry.
On the way back to Beverley, we visited County Peak.
Christmas Decorations lit up Beverley at night. The town even had a bus taking visitors on a tour to see the lights.
Our next stop on the Avon River was at the York RV Stop. This RV Friendly town offers a free 24-hour stop for caravans with a suspension bridge across the river to the main business area.
York is up there with one of our favourite towns. Friendly restaurants and coffee shops spills into the main street. The relaxed atmosphere and friendliness of York’s locals were memorable.
York’s Town Hall is a mix of architectural styles but does reflect 1911 opulence and success.
York Motor Museum is another well known attraction. The once private museum is now community owned. If automobilia is your thing, this is a must see.
Northam was our next stop. Northam has all the major grocery outlets we needed to stock up before hitting the more remote eastern areas. Next to the Avon river is Bernard Park. The park has a life size horse sculpture and is also home to a white swan population.
This is one of the only places in Australia where the white swans flourish in the wild. Many local volunteers help to care for and protect the white swans of the Avon River.
After we replenished the essentials, we headed south-east to Corrigin. The old town pool is a body of water on the outskirts of town, called Gorge Rock Pool. We stayed at the pool for a few days.
Gorge Rock Pool has a capacity of more than 2 million litres of water.
Corrigin’s history has many close ties with man’s best friend. On the way into town, we drove past a large dog statue marking the dog cemetery. The cemetery started in 1974 with Paddy White’s dog Strike, and soon other locals followed suit.
The cemetery has tombstones, inscriptions, favourite toys and even fresh flowers. Some of the outback humour made us smile a few times.
Still on the theme of man’s best friend, this small town holds a world record for the most dogs in utes. In 2002, 1527 dogs in utes lined up for the world record, raising money for the Royal Flying Doctors.
Corrigin unveiled their 100th Ag Show mural in 2023. Consisting of 30 panels, with every three panels representing a decade and measuring a total of 45 meters. Understandably this mural does not fit into one frame.
From Corrigin we took a trip south-east following the salt lakes. One of the farms we passed had lake art, visible from the road.
We spent a few days in Kulin. Kulin has become synonymous with the annual Kulin bush races. The horse racing theme is prominent throughout town.
The annual horse races were introduced in 1994 as an event to place the declining town back on the map. This race offers 4000 tickets to the races, generally selling out in less than a minute.
The race track is close to Jilakin Rock, next to Lake Kulin. The town has a population of 300. Most of the town participates in the annual races as volunteers.
The small town has a general store, a garage, post and pub. There is also a pre-paid, unattended servo.
The Kulin Hotel was completed in 1919 but embroiled in a bitter dispute to get a liquor licence. After an inconclusive Royal Commission on the licencing, Kulin kept its license. When the pub finally opened on 1 April 1919, nobody attended the opening as everyone assumed it was an April fools joke.
In 1975 the pub ran out of beer resulting in the community taking it over until 1981, when it went back to private ownership. In 2020 the Hotel returned to community ownership. While we were there the publican was a volunteer from the community. Even on a public holiday there was no additional charges or penalty rates, just a Kulin volunteer serving beer on behalf of the community. Good on you, Kulin!
Kulin may be a small town, but it has a big heart and a big Aquatic Centre. The town bought a giant water slide from Queensland. The slide is 18 meter high and 180m long. After the refurbishment and reinstallation it attracts many visitors to town.
While in Kulin, we followed the Tin Horse Highway. This highway is lined with tin horses at farm gates. There is no lack of creativity amongst these farming families.
Our next point of interest was Hyden to visit the Wave Rock. On the way we spent a few day in Karlgarin. This small town has a population of 105. We found a camping spot just outside of town, amongst the wheat fields.
Buckley’s Breakaway was just around the corner from our camp. The breakaway has colourful walls exposed by erosion. In the centre of the washouts are a few eroded sandstone structures.
In one of the side streets of Karlgarin we passed a mural depicting bridled Clydesdale horses.
Our next trip was to the well known Wave Rock and the areas surrounding Hyden.