Perth is the capital and largest city of Western Australia.
It is also the 4th most populous city in Australia, with a population of ca. 2 million people.
The first areas settled were on the Swan River, where we today find the city's central business district and the port, Fremantle.
Perth was originally founded by Captain James Stirling in 1829 as the administrative center of the Swan River Colony and gained city status in 1856.
During Australia's involvement in World War II, Fremantle served as a base for submarines and Matilda Bay near Perth, based the US Navy Catalina flying boat fleet.
An influx of immigrants after the war, predominantly from Britain, Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia, led to rapid population growth.
This was followed by a surge in economic activity flowing from several mining booms in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, that saw Perth become the regional headquarters for a number of large mining operations located around the state.
The house was nice and the couple and their dog, who lived there was really friendly and welcoming.
The little dog was Maddie.
Carina and Maddie in front of our house.
We stayed a bit east from the city center in an area called Burswood.
Nearby was located a huge Crown casino,
some nice parks and the Swan river squirming trough the city. Great place for nice bicycle trips.
We bought second-hand bikes and new gear. It is so much easier to get around with bikes.
It was not so easy to buy the bikes.
Sometimes the shop was closed due to fishing... :) But we got them.
But we often just walked around because even that it takes about 10 min. to bike to Perth Center, we had everything just around the corner in Burswood.
One day we found this black swan and red kangaroo - 2 of Australia's many animals.
Often we see
small green parrots live in the big palm trees. They are everywhere. We love them...
There are also a lot of white parrots and black swans.
When we bike around
we see different birds and
pretty views.
From our house in Perth we often go for an evening walk to see the sunset over the city. We live just across the river, so we have a perfect view.
We also often go to a little island called Heirisson Island.
Where wild kangaroos lives.
They come out from their hiding to eat, when it gets dark.
They are cute, but wild. So no touching.
From this tiny island there is such a pretty sunset over the city.
We bike to Perth center and around.
One day we went all the more than 20 km to Point Walter, which is a point in the Swan River, and back.
It is located on the southern shore and is notable for the sand bar that extend over 1 km into the river, sections of which often submerge under high water.
Around Perth city, there are some pretty nature.
On our way around Perth city, we see a lot of old buildings.
This one is one of the many churches.
Here is a hole street...
The Perth historic "London Court arcade"
The London Court arcade is today a shopping arcade located in the central business district. It was built in 1937 by a wealthy gold financier and businessman for residential and commercial purposes.
It received a National Trust of Australia classification in 1978 and was recorded in the Register of the National Estate in 1982. At last it was included in the State Heritage Register in 1996
In Perth city they have a lot of statues...
This is the biggest kangaroo we have seen.
But there are more smaller kangaroos around town. :)
This is the old "Barracks Arch" we see every time we go to Kings Park.
The Barracks were originally built in 1866 to house the retired Enrolled Pensioner Force. The Enrolled Pensioner Force came to Australia as guards on convict ships, and were given small land grants in return for part-time guard work.
One of our favorite places in Perth is Kings Park. The park is four km2 and is located on the western edge of the Central Business District. The park is a mixture of grassed parkland, botanical gardens and natural bushland with 2/3 of the grounds conserved as native bushland. The park is home to more than 300 different native plants and 80 bird species. The park is one of the largest inner city parks in the world and the most popular visitor destination in Western Australia, being visited by over 5 million people each year. The park is larger than New York's Central Park. Beside tourist facilities Kings Park contains the War Memorial, the Royal Kings Park Tennis Club and a reservoir. The streets in the park are lined with individual plaques dedicated by family members to Western Australian service men and women who died in World War I and World War II.
The panoramic view over Perth city and the Swan River is amazing.
This is the old Swan Brewery, where we later went for a beer :) It was build in 1857 and was named the Swan Brewery after the black swans on the river.
In the park they build a tree top bridge. The walkway reaches a maximum height of 16 meters and is 620 meters long.
Due to the park is partly on a little mountain, there is a great view from most places.
This Giant Boab tree traveled 3200 km in July 2008. It came from the Kimberley Region in the north of Australia to Perth. This iconic tree is estimated to be 750 years old, weight 36 ton and stretches 14 x 8 meters. Its trunk measures 2,5 meters in diameter.
This is the DNA tower, which is build on the highest point of the park in 1966. The DNA tower is a 15 meter high double helix staircase that has 101 steps and it is designed to be a DNA molecule.
From Perth we visited the neighboring, today city, Fremantle. The place was declared a city in 1929 and has now a population of approximately 25.000 inhabitants. The Fremantle Harbour still serves as the port of Perth.
We went in the afternoon so we could see the place in sunlight.
Markus found a statue of Bon Scott, the original Singer of AC/DC who passed away in 1980. He spent his younger years in Fremantle.
We went to see some of the beautiful old buildings which are still in use in Fremantle.
We stayed and saw the sunset before we tired took the train "home".
We went on river/wine cruises on the Swan River.
It was the best to sit on the back of a boat, drink wine and enjoy the good weather and the lovely view. This kind of trip to Fremantle would take us an hour each way, and cost us 5 dollars each, because of Carinas work.
Lovely view from back of the boat.
We were not the only ones on the water...
Mainly sailing boats were on the water, but also kite-surfers and other small boats were on the river.
Many other boats joined us on this beautiful day.
This is the museum of transport in Fremantle.
First sight of Perth city.
On the left on this picture you see Kings Park.
Perth is beautifully placed on the shore...
We went to Rockingham together with Helen and Allen (our Perth family), and from there we went to see the little penguin's at Penguin Island.
Penguin Island is primarily a conservation park for the wildlife and this unique island with its reserve is home to Western Australia's largest home of little penguins- the smallest species of penguin in the world.
The island is located about 45 minutes south of Perth and a 5 min ferry ride across the Shoalwater Island Marine Park, Penguin Island is blessed with beautiful beaches and surrounded by dazzling and crystal clear water, where we had a swim.
The star attractions of Penguin Island are the wildlife.
Approximately 1000 pairs of little penguins nest on the island over winter. During the rest of the year, they spend most of their day feeding in the waters of the marine park and do not return to the island until after dark. These fascinating birds are very shy and can be difficult to see in the wild,
We visited Rottnest Island and brought our bikes. Because of Carina's job we got boat tickets really cheap.
Rottnest Island is 18 kilometres off the Western Australian coast. The island is called Wadjemup by the aboriginals (the Noongar people), which means "place across the water". The island is 11 kilometers long and 4.5 kilometers where it is widest.
In 1917 Rottnest Island was declared a reserve due to Australia wants to conserve its natural environment and cultural heritage.
Here we are, ready to go on a Rottnest Adventure tour in a hi-speed boat.
On this tour we explored Rottnest Island's remote and wonderful coastline, secluded bays and beaches.
We saw New Zealand fur seals and an Osprey nest.
The fur seals are taking a nap. The way they sleep is with their fins over the water. That way they can easy hold the balance.
During World War II, cannons were installed at Olivers Hill.
The view from Oliver's Hill.
We found a secluded beach, away from all the tourists.
A little visitor at our beach. This little quokka disturbed our peace.
On our way back to the boat "home" to Australia mainland we biked next to this lovely bay.
Markus got a couple of different jobs.
One of them was this sales shop where he for a weekend sold heat packs. Not the best salesman and definitely not the best product. It also took ages to get the salary and the payslip from the rather angry owner of that business.
Eventually Markus found some work as a roof cleaner and Carina from a river Captain Cook Cruises. That didn't last long though because after couple weeks of working Markus fell from a ladder and hurt his heel and same time the river boat company had to let Carina go because the tourist season was coming to an end and there was no need for that many staff.
So then we decided to start our road trip.
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