June 2 ... Perth City

During all our visits here, Garry and I have spent a lot of time around Perth but never much time in the actual city. We had had glimpses but never actually "done the walking" so on this warm and sunny day we set off. Perth has an excellent transport system and we caught the bus from Palmyra. It took about 30 mins for us to get to the city with a ticket costing $9. This was essentially a "day rover" on all transport for a family. In the city itself, there are 3 different CATS (City Area Transport System) which are buses that run on various routes every 10 mins and are free. We used these to get to all the main areas during the day and we thought it was an incredibly convenient and well organized system.

Bronze Kangaroos

Bridge "Pylons" - Central Perth

The city has two main pedestrian malls and numerous arcades and walkways linking it all together. What surprised us was the character of these places, and the use of many parks and gardens to break down any congested "big city" areas. Even though it is the capital, it never felt crowded or rushed. Everyone we dealt with was exceptionally helpful and friendly. There was a lot of construction work taking place , some due to CHOGM in October, and some associated with the new underground rail that is being put in throughout the city, but it was not an inconvenience.

Entrance to London Court Arcade

London Court Arcade

Perth Mall

Perth Mall

After wandering around for a bit up and down the malls, and buying myself a trendy watch, we walked over to Northbridge. This area is on the edge of the city and it contains a number of "people spaces" as well as the State Museum, the Art Gallery and the State Library. We decided to have a quick visit to the first two and both were excellent. Again these were free and we had a delicious lunch at the Art Gallery overlooking a lovely garden.

The Museum housed in the old Library

The Art Gallery Garden

Painting - "Rainbow"

Painting-"The Bungle Bungles"

Next we jumped on a yellow CAT and went around to East Perth. This whole area borders the Swan River and has recently been redeveloped with townhouse/villa style housing. There is a real Mediterranean feel to the architecture and they have used the local sandstone effectively to create lots of steps throughout that link streets, parks and pedestrian areas.The shopping area has a "village' design and there are trees everywhere. It would be  a great place to live, very quiet and peaceful but minutes from the city. It would also be very expensive!!

East Perth

Housing in East Perth

From here we went for a walk through the Queen's Gardens which are near the WACA. They were a small oasis with two nice surprises. Firstly, the black swans had a number of cygnets, and secondly, there was a statue of Peter Pan there which is an exact replica of the one in Kensington Gardens Park. We felt like we were in London again!

Queen's Park

Peter Pan Statue

 Then we caught a red CAT and travelled its whole route criss-crossing the city, until we got off at the main station to catch a train to Fremantle. This line went down the opposite side of the river to the one we usually travel so we were seeing areas that were unfamiliar to us, including lovely views of the Indian Ocean. From Fremantle it was a quick bus ride and we were home.

What a fabulous day ... almost all free, and we felt we had really explored the city area. Again we were totally impressed by the planning and organization, and the natural beauty of Perth.