Yanchep National Park

Today we head north to visit Yanchep National Park north of Perth.

We go to the Tea House for scones and flat white coffees.

Yum!

Catch a koala napping.

And then there are some things not so cute and cuddly...



The wetlands...

Beautiful flowers.

The bush fires were here!  The firefighters managed to save the buildings but quite a large portion of the woods went up.

We attend the Aboriginal Cultural experience.

This map shows how many tribes there are in Australia.

Our tour guide explained about the Noongar culture.  He was very informative.

Amazing tools and weapons.

Rockingham

Today we decide to revisit Rockingham as it was such a beautiful beach.  We catch the train and it takes almost an hour.  You have to catch a bus at the train station in Rockingham that takes you to the beach.

White sand...blue water

Getting ready to launch.

Of course...fish’n chips!

Can’t resist my toes in the picture!

Good day for a sail

We head back to The Vines and take Scrappy for his walk.  On the golf course there are so many kangaroos.  I count 27!

They are so fun to watch.

Pass me my sand wedge!

These beautiful grey and pink cockatoos are always flying around. They are so pretty.  We head home and tomorrow going to Yanchep National Park.

Perth, Leederville and Kings Park

Today we head to Perth.  The weather has improved.  We are going to ride the free bus line and explore the area.

The station in East Guildford where we start our journey.

The furthest point of the Green Line bus is Leederville.  We decide to have lunch here

Great lunch at the outdoor patio.  Very tasty.

Cute restaurant.

We then get off the bus on our way back into Perth at Kings Park.

What a beautiful park...great views of Perth

Exploring more of Swan Valley

It’s a rare rainy day so we go to a chocolate factory and also jams and sauces.

Yum.  So good.

Went to this winery but didn’t tour it.  They do more group tours so we left.

Beautiful grounds. 



Wish it was better weather.  Might go back.

Then we went to East Guildford.  A favourite place.  Great history.

The Guildford Hotel for lunch.

Recently restored after a major fire years ago.  They left the burned rafters exposed.

Lovely place.  Good food.

The trees are amazing in Australia.  Never seen so many varieties.

This is Mercia.  Mercia invited us to come chat with her.  She has lived in this same house in East Guildford since she married her husband Ben at age 20.  Ben’s parents owned this house so they moved in with them and had three children here as the in-laws tacked on an extra room!  There was a bakery attached to the house.  It was built in the 1800’s.  She’s never lived anywhere else and Ben passed away 1-1/2 years ago..  Mercia is very independent and quite entertaining.

Mercia asked if we had ever seen a half penny. She gave me a penny dated 1952 (my birthday by coincidence...

And a half penny dated 1899!  My best souvenir so far!

Back to Perth

We leave Sydney and fly to Perth.  We then checkin to the Flag Motel as we are expected at Melanie’s to look after Scrappy starting tomorrow.

The next day we pick up our rental car and drive to Swan Valley.

The next day we catch the train to Fremantle to explore the Prison.

Cells were 7x4 feet and I’m sure not as clean as this appears.  A bucket was your toilet.



These works of art were discovered when the plaster covering them was removed.  This convict went on to become a famous Australian artist.



A flogging post that was used up until the prison closed in 1991!



Fremantle is a charming town.

And back on the train to go home.  Only costs $2.10 each way.