Fremantle & Perth Zoo

Today I decided to re-visit Fremantle so I bought a whole day ticket for unlimited use on the buses and trains. From Perth we took the train to Fremantle that took us about 30 minutes. From the station we boarded the free CAT (Central Area Transit) bus service for a city tour. There are similar free CAT's in Perth, in fact there are 3 CAT's in Perth - Red, Blue and Yellow (the one in Fremantle is orange CAT) that provide free bus ride around Central Perth in three different loops.





We dropped off at the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour for our lunch. Since we had already tried the fish & chips at Cicerello, we decided to tried at Kailis, another sea food restaurant there. This time we had the sea-food barbecue plate and it was really yummy.





After our lunch, we walked to the shopping area in town to have a look around. We took the train back to Perth so that my wife can do her souvenirs shopping. We found one souvenir shop where we found the charges reasonable and my wife bought most of her souvenirs there. This shop is owned by an Afgan with a Japanese wife. That's cosmopolitan Perth for you!
Day 11
We went to the city again in the morning and wanted to go on the cruise to Swan Valley but alas, being in the low season, the next available tour will only be on Thursday, two days away. Since we were already at the jetty, the next best thing would be to take the normal ferry across to South Perth and visit the Perth Zoo. So off we go on the ferry and the zoo was just 10 minutes walk from the jetty across the Swan River.


The zoo was interesting but since some parts were under renovation, there was less to see than what it should be. I was more captivated by the many type of wild flowers found in the zoo. Can you guess the names of these flowers?




We had lunch at South Perth before we cross back to the city centre. It was the final shopping spree for my wife as the next three days were already planned for other activities.


Ronald Kwok
http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok

Fremantle, Cottesloe, Perth

My day 2 in Perth started with a visit to the market in Malaga, another suburb in Perth. It was quite interesting to find that most of the stalls are manned by Vietnamese. We went to a grocery stall nearby and this is also run by Vietnamese and here you can find most of the Asian stuff on sale including durians!

Since I had called up my old classmate James who had migrated to Perth more than 30 years ago to meet him today, I went home to wait for him. He came with with his wife and picked us up for lunch. Since today is Sunday, he suggested to take us to Fremantle to visit the famous Fremantle Markets as they only open on weekends. On the way. he showed us his alma mater, the University of Western Australia which had an English campus look and feel.

For lunch, we went to Cicerello at the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour for their famous fish & chips. As it was a Sunday and the weather being warm (in the 20's centigrade) and sunny, there was a big crowd out to enjoy the summer-like winter sunshine. The fish & chips here are wrapped in paper in the traditional style with salt and vinegar and is a must for any visitor to Fremantle.


After tucking in the generous portion, we had a walk around the Markets. It was also crowded with Sunday visitors. I enjoyed tasting the many variety of naturally flavoured honey, for free.


From Fremantle, we went to the beach at Cottesloe, another favourite Sunday spot with fine, white sand. The beach was crowded and there were many swimmers even though it is winter here! The Aussies really love outdoor activities and there are plenty of opportunities in Western Australia as there are endless beaches along the coastline and many national parks all over the state.



James sent us home where we had a simple home cooked dinner. After dinner and more Olympics on the TV, it was time for bed after our first real tour of Perth (with Fremantle) and an interesting look at life in Western Australia.


Ronald Kwok
http://cbpirate.com/s/cbp/ronaldkwok