Perth/ Fremantle

We had amazing weather for the first 51 days of our trip. Hot, sunny weather and we went weeks without seeing a single cloud. Then we hit Perth....and he heavens opened. The South West region of WA has had miserable wet & extremely windy weather for the last 7 days. When the weather guys are putting out warnings saying damaging and destructive winds are on their way and to move farm animals into barns, that means no staying in a camper trailer for us! So we got a cabin in a tourist park near Fremantle to wait out the storm and enjoy what Perth has to offer.

The luxury of a cabin to wait out the storm

Chris was working one day in the office and our car was also in being serviced which meant the girls & I had a day to explore Perth by public transport. We caught a bus to Fremantle and then a train to Perth City.

We then visited Scitech, a science and technology museum/centre for kids. It was FANTASTIC! The girls enjoyed it more than Questacon in Canberra and they really love that place too. I thought we would be there for an hour or two at most as it is not all that big, but it is very interactive and we stayed there all day. So much for a day to explore Perth, we only explored the inside of a kids museum! But the girls learnt a lot- they love science and they had something for all ages. The highlight was a who-dunnit mystery that you had to solve by being a spy and cracking codes. Definitely recommend it if your kids like discovering how things work. On our way home, we met Chris in Fremantle who had now finished work and picked up the car along with 4 new fancy 4WD tyres (that cost the same as the GDP of a small nation!) Fremantle is also fabulous. Lots of cool shops, cafes and restaurants and the town is absolutely buzzing with Fremantle in the AFL grand final. We were there over the weekend that 'Freo' played the Sydney Swans for a spot in the final. Everything was purple. Every shop had balloons and posters in the window.

Everywhere we looked- Go Freo signs. If I only I had bought the girls Swans gear with me!

 Every shop mannequin was dressed in team gear. The ponds in the parks were dyed purple. Even the beer in some of the pubs was purple (it sold out quickly apparently). So we knew we were in enemy territory as Sydney-siders and while I threatened the girls that I would yell out 'Go Sydney' in the main pedestrian area, the horrified look on Sophia's face was enough to let me know that was NOT a good idea ;) But Freo won and the city celebrated and it was fun to witness.

The other great thing Perth has is Kings Park. It's a huge parkland area right next to the city, similar to Sydney's Botanic Gardens but much bigger. It has lots of great areas for the kids. We visited the Naturespace playground which isn't a playground as such, but a natural area set out with log bridges, treehouses, streams and things for kids to jump over and under. 

They provide the basic structure and materials and then it was up to the kids to build the cubby- cool idea.

Fun on the 'rope tangle'

Then it was over to Synergy Park where we had a nice cafe lunch and a play in the park as the rain held off for a few hours. So glad we had the cabin as the wind was howling at night time.

All in all, a good time in Perth and somewhere I'd like to revisit with some more time. We always knew the last part of our trip would be rushed with not enough time for the South West corner,but its a good taster and we will be back to explore more in the future.