October 5-6, 2023 Perth to Cairns, Australia

10-5-Travel day!  We had to leave early to return our car at the airport.  We flew from Perth on the west coast to Cairns on the northeast coast.  We had a 5 hour layover in Brisbane that turned into 7.5 hours.  That meant we arrived at our hotel very late, after 1:00am.  We took a taxi to our hotel/apartment, Waterfront Terraces, across the street from the Coral Sea.  We had notified the hotel, so they had a key waiting for us. 

Cairns is close to the Great Barrier Reef, so the airport was decorated accordingly.

 10-6 We had the luxury of sleeping in.  Our hotel had a tour booking service, so Anthony booked us on a tour for the next day on a train through the rain forest.  We walked to a grocery store, liquor store and bakery.  I swam in the pool that was right outside our door.  We actually planned some down days on this vacation.  It was so nice just to relax.  

our ground floor patio with the pool in the background

 

I like to try local chips and beers

we love local grocery stores and eating a couple meals in our room

 That evening, we walked the esplanade.  There was a nice park along the shoreline, a large swimming area that was blocked off from the sea because of crocodiles, and an amusement park, besides restaurants and shops.  We found an Italian restaurant, FLynn's.  We had the Tavlovo per Due, a 4 course meal with wine pairings for each course.  It was a set menu with 2 choices for each course.  The waiter suggested we have one of each and share.  We took his advice and had a fun, wonderful meal.  The waiter also explained each wine, but his accent was hard to follow.  After the second one, we didn't care.  

October 4, 2023 Fremantle, Australia

Fremantle, Western Australia is a port city on the outskirts of Perth at the mouth of the Swan River.  It is known for it's maritime history.  During WWII, it had the largest submarine base in the southern hemisphere.  The area was renovated with boardwalk restaurants and shops before they hosted the 1987 America's Cup sailing competition.  

We rented an airbnb and were able to walk to attractions in the area.  We started at the shipwreck museum, which was fascinating.  This museum is recognized as the foremost maritime archaeology museum in the southern hemisphere.

our room was on the right and towards the back

odd walkway to our door

we had never seen an instant coffee with a bag

our kitchen area

It was 2 rooms and very cozy

the bathroom was at the other end of the main room

beautiful springtime flowering tree

always think of my friend Martha the archeology enthusiast

 

 

We walked to the Gage Roads Brewery on the Swan River.  We enjoyed watching the boat traffic on the river while we had lunch.  We shared lamb tacos and a brisket pizza.  The children's play area would never have been allowed in the USA.  There was an old car that kids loved climbing on and pretending to drive.

 

At the Western Australia Maritime Museum, they had an wonderful exhibit commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Australia II winning the America's Cup in 1983.  It started with a great video including parts of the races.  Being sailors, it was fascinating to watch.  Dave remembers the event.  

 

 

Lego version of the Australia II

the actual Australia II

 

There was a great exhibit about Jon Sanders who circumnavigated the earth 5 times in the 1980's.  Once with circumnavigating 3 times without stopping.  His actual boat was on exhibit.  Kylie said he is still a member of her yacht club, the Royal Perth Yacht Club, and she has met him.  It would have been fascinating to have met him.  

Jon Sanders Parry Endeavor

 

We drove to a beach south of the city to watch the sunset on the Indian Ocean.

interesting rig ready for the outback

October 3, 2023 Coastal road trip back to Perth, Australia

We spent the morning exploring the farmland.  It was described as a small hobby farm and they were trying to be self sufficient.  We also had a yummy breakfast with our purchases from yesterday in Margaret River.

Kylie was enjoying nature waiting for us to get up, lol

 

 

view as you drove onto the property

 

 

the house from the garden side

our end of the house

the water tank

gardens

 

Our first stop today was at Kevill Road Waterfalls on the Margaret River.  We saw more kangaroos on the way to the waterfalls.  It was a beautiful stop, and fun to see Kylie explore the water.  If she were in a swimsuit, she would have kept doing deeper into the water and up to the falls.

Dave guiding Kylie from the parking lot to the falls

 

 

 

Next stop was Surfer's Point on the coast of the Indian Ocean.  It is famous for surfing in the summer.  There was an awesome viewing area to see the ocean waves, or surfers in season.

 Our next beautiful stop was Canal Rocks.  The crashing waves were amazing.  Kylie really enjoyed listening to the crashing waves and the thunder as the water rushed under the bridge.  She would have stayed there all day if it she could.   

always exploring the surroundings

This was at the far side of the bridge.  Dave was explaining the terrain, but he didn't feel comfortable taking Kylie any further onto the rocks.

We stopped at Clancy's Fish Pub for a late lunch.  I tried a local fish called Barramundi.   Dave had snapper fish and chips and a pork belly appetizer.

Barramundi

Our last stop was at the Busselton jetty on the coast.  It is the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere at 1.8 meters.  You could walk it or even take a train to the end.  But we were running out of time to be tourists.  You could even scuba dive to see the wildlife under the pier.

 

There were some interesting plant life along our drive.

We were planning to spend a night at Fremantle on the coast near Perth.  So when we returned to Perth, Kylie insisted we let her take an uber home, vs driving back into the city to take her home.  After all, she uses uber all the time.  It really did save us some time.  And we were pretty road weary from driving all day.  But it still felt strange saying good-bye to her and sending her off.  The least we could do was pay for the uber.  We really enjoyed spending time together.