14 August 2024
Nicole and I have been in Perth for getting close to two weeks now. I know, that’s a big shock to you all, but we’ve been reasonably busy, and lazy on my part.
We arrived at the Karrinyup Waters Resort (caravan park) early afternoon to check in for our 7 night booking. The staff were very nice, however we got a puzzled look after a bit; not a good sign. The lady checking us in then said, “Were you meant to be checking in tomorrow?”
“Ahh, yes, that’s right. We were going to stop at Seabird on the way down to Perth” I replied.
“Well you didn’t miss much, plus you’ll be better off here anyway hidden from the wind coming tonight. We can bring your booking forward a day.”
Nice!
We were asked to stop at the waiting bay lower down in the park, so that the groundsman could help find us a spot we liked. After a very quick discussion he said, “What about this spot right here? It’s very popular as it looks straight over the lake and has a full slab.”
Sold!
And from these photos you can see why — plus also why we have subsequently made four separate extensions of our booking. It’s a really great park, and within walking distance of public transport and the absolutely massive Karrinyup Shopping Centre.
After taking in the first proper shopping centre we’ve seen for a while and getting some urgent supplies (including groceries and Ugg Boots for Steve) we made arrangements for catching up with friends while here in Perth.
Bruce
First up was Bruce, a very good friend of Nicole’s from high school. Bruce has been living in Perth for quite a long time now with his partner, however does a lot of travel to Brisbane and Hobart for work. Bruce’s birthday was on the Monday, however he wouldn’t be in Perth for it, so we caught up Friday night instead.
Bruce chose dinner in inner city Perth at a Wine Bar, meeting at 7:45pm. We had to admit to Bruce that, having been on holidays for so long, we’re in bed most nights not long after that, but we toughened up and headed into the city.
It was great to catch up with Bruce, and it was a really nice place to catch up. Bruce also offered for us to stay at the little beach house he and his partner own that’s a little over an hour south of Perth, so we might just do that. Thanks Bruce!
‘Kalbarri Crowd’
Our next social event was the next day. I’d reached out to Greg to see if he and Ray (two of the four lovely people we met whilst in Kalbarri) would like to watch Fremantle play Geelong at Optus Stadium. They were both keen and Greg very generously organised the tickets.
Shirley (Greg’s partner) very kindly drove us in to the stadium, which is close to the CBD on the other side of the Swan River. We arrived around two hours before the game started, and headed to the Camfield Pub, located just next door to the stadium, for a pre-game beer or two. And it was already packed!
We bought some beers and couldn’t find anywhere to sit, so stood somewhere. Then, miraculously, a father and son stood up to leave and I only just got the table for us. Score!
After a couple of beers and a light snack we decided to head into the stadium. There had been an extended family group just near us the whole time we had been at the Camfield (including an older lady on a chair), and I had been feeling guilty about them being there while we had proper seats. Anyway, before we left the table I orchestrated for them to ‘join’ us just as we were leaving, so they could get the table. They were extremely grateful, and this ticked off my good deed for the day.
Optus Stadium is amazing. It’s shown me what a first class sports stadium is really like, and hopefully we can end up with something similar in Brisbane as a result of the 2032 Olympics.
It was a close game, if not a little scrappy. There was on overly hyperactive (and fairly big) kid sitting beside me that used his seat as a trampoline for most of the game, broken up by his weird noises and shouting. Despite this, Greg, Ray, me and the other 54,997 fans at the game had a great time — even though the home team lost in the last minute.
The way Fremantle starts a home game, with a guy playing AC/DC guitar riffs from the rooftop – as a connection to local boy, Bon Scott.
We then caught the train back to near where we are staying. Shirley very generously picked us up to take us to dinner, and Moira did the same for Nicole. So, the lovely ‘Kalbarri Crowd’ — as Nicole and I affectionately refer to them — really did go above and beyond to catch up with us and make it as easy for us as possible, which we very much appreciate. And the dinner we had with them was really lovely. Thank you very much Greg, Shirley, Moira and Ray!
Brad and Kris
On Monday morning, very good friends of ours from Rockhampton, who’ve been living in Perth for around four years now, picked us up at the caravan park and drove us to Scarborough for breakfast. Scarborough, like its Redcliffe equivalent, is right on the water. It was very windy (a recurring theme during our Perth stay) and drizzling rain (another recurring theme during our Perth stay), but we got a very good look at the Indian Ocean and all the ships out there waiting to come in to the Fremantle Port.
After breakfast Brad and Kris drove us down the coast to Fremantle, where along the way we saw kilometre after kilometre of extremely expensive-looking houses. The Cottesloe area in particular looked very fancy. Perth is different to Brisbane in that it just has one long beach running north and south of it, as opposed to mangroves and mud flats. So the excellent beaches here are very accessible.
We had a nice wander around Fremantle; a really interesting area. It was fairly quiet on a Monday, however we were told that weekends are very popular down there, particularly in summer.
At one point I was walking along, looking at my phone, when my foot rolled over something and I nearly tripped on it. What I found when I looked down was not what I expected to see.
Someone will obviously be missing that later in the day …
After a nice coffee we got back into the car and drove back up the coast to a place called Hillarys, and specifically to the Hillarys Boardwalk. This is like a much, much bigger version of The Wharf at Mooloolaba, with lots of shops and places to eat. It’s also the departure point for Rottnest Fast Ferries, which will feature in an upcoming Rottnest Island post.
We enjoyed a drink at Hillarys, then Brad and Kris dropped us home. So, once again, we had been well and truly spoiled by friends in Perth. Thank you Brad and Kris!
Darren and Lansy
Finally, on Saturday morning we met Nicole’s old work colleague, Darren, and his partner, Lansy, for breakfast in the Perth CBD. It was a nice chance to catch up and chat, and hear more about what life in Perth is like. A common theme seems to be that property prices in Perth have been driven up a lot of late, mainly due to the booming mining sector and money in FIFO workers’ pockets.
After breakfast with Darren and Lansy we did a bit of shopping in Perth CBD for the last time until we return in late September for Katelyn visiting, before heading home. Thank you Darren and Lansy!
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