A couple of days in and around Perth

Our brief stay in the Perth area is over this morning, as we fly to Broome and temperatures in the 30s, but we’ve made the most of it with Aid & Ed, our friends who flew over from Sydney.
 
There has been significant development in the WA capital since we were here in Feb 15, most notably the Elizabeth Quay, which has extended the Swan River closer to the city and provided a fantastic resource for all the family, including state of the art children’s playground. Here are some views - the birds are cormorants, local name shags(!):

It’s been quite different experiencing Perth in the winter, where the temperatures have been mid-teens during the day, albeit with lots of sunshine, rather than 40 on our previous visit. It has meant walking around has been far more comfortable including the must do visit to Kings Park for its view of the Swan River and the city skyline, along with its amazing botanical gardens:

This is a 750 year old boab tree transported to the park from the Northern Territories 8 years ago:

On Monday night we had one of the best meals ever at Matilda Bay restaurant in a bay along the Swan River of the same name. It’s rare when all four diners reckon every item of a 3 course meal and coffee is exceptional, but this was the case. I can’t say the same for the lunch in Freemantle today!

We visited one of our favourite places in Oz on the way to this port city, Cottesloe Beach (where we are staying later in the trip for our last 2 nights). Previously we have witnessed it in the summer with hordes of people enjoying the sun, beach and sea. This time, it was very quiet but still beautiful under a bright blue sky:

I always look out for Aussie straightforward language, such as “Wrong Way” rather than “no entry”. At Cottesloe Beach, I spotted a dispenser with the sign “Doggie Dumping Disposal unit” – I am sure you can work out what that is for.

Last night we visited another popular and lively area of Perth, Northbridge, for a bottle of Aussie Sauvignon, a Thai meal and a san churro desert with coffee. Looking around the chocolatier cafe, you would have struggled to guess which country we were in, with all sorts of nationalities – those who advocate an Australian points system for immigration would be surprised to see the result!!