Saying Goodbye to Perth

At Kings Park by the Ancient Boab Tree

The West Australian Aboriginals decided to replant an ancient Boab tree in King's Park to save it from destruction due to a road widening project.  The tree is reputed to be 750 years old and was driven almost 2,000 miles.  This was just one of the memorable things we saw on our last day touring Perth. 

Kings Park is a beautiful place in the heart of the city.  Over 1,000 acres was set aside by the forward thinking inhabitants of the city back in 1800s.  It has spectacular views of the city skyline and the Swan River.  It has fantastic plants and fauna that are not found in any other parts of the world.

It was a gorgeous day, perfect for the park.  Check out our  Pictures.

Our hosts also drove us to Cottesloe, reputed to be one of Prince Charles' favorite beach destinations.  We could see why.  The beach was pristine with white sand and we really enjoyed having coffee at Indiana Teahouse.    As we headed home, I thought about the great time we'd had. 

Our hosts, Linda and Colin, immigrated to Australia from Lancastershire, England in 1982.  They arrived with 3 little girls and their goal was a better life for all of them.  They had to stay in immigrant housing for quite a while before they could move on with their life.  Now almost 32 years later, they are recently retired after running a successful business and Linda helping him and also being a nurse early in her career.  They have 3 grown daughters and 5 fabulous grandchildren. We could not have stayed with nicer people.  As we gave them a group hug in the airport, I had a lump in my throat because we will miss them.  We hope that they will stop by Florida for a visit the next time they are in the U.S. 

The Perth Friendship Force is a fantastic group of people - so warm and friendly.  We had a great time at the Farewell Dinner and laughed at their puppet show skit of the song Waltzing Matilda.  We joined the Texans in teaching them the dance, the Cotton-eyed Joe.  Such a good time and wonderful memories!  On to Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Outback tomorrow!

Cottesloe Beach's Indiana Tea House

Puppet Show for Waltzing Matilda



Our fabulous hosts, Colin and Linda, with Joanne

Wombats and Sea Creatures




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Wombats are protected marsupials that live in the bush.  Check out this little guy that we got to


Up Close and Personal with a Wombat

Meet the Mayor and Mint

Kangaroo Statues outside the government buildings

Up and at 'em for an early commuter train to the city.  Perth has modern trains that whisk you to the city center.  It was fun being part of the commuter rush to work.  Our Friendship Force Club had an early morning reception with 54-year old Lisa Scaffidi, the first female Lord Mayor of Perth.  She addressed our group and welcomed us focusing upon the city's ties to Texas, especially Houston with its oil and gas industry.  She then treated us to an elaborate tea taking time out of her busy day to visit with us.

There is a Friendship Force Wall complete with plaques of all the clubs that visited Perth throughout the years.  We were invited to a tree planting in our honor and to view our latest addition.  See below.

Tree Planting in honor of Friendship Force Visit to Perth

The group poses at the Friendship Force wall

Later we toured the downtown area and made our way to the Mint.  In 1899 it was established as a branch of the British Royal Mint,  Today it is the only operating mint from the early gold rush days. We watched a "Gold Pour" during which 200 oz of pure gold is heated to molten temperatures and transformed into a solid gold bar.  We saw the largest gold coin in history with a large kangaroo on it worth more than $50 million.  Later that evening we were treated to dinner at the home of a member who lives in one of the skyscrapers downtown.

Talking to the Mayor

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Photos

Mayor

City of Perth

St Mary's Cathedral

BBQ in the Bush



Bush Retreat where we had the Aussie BBQ

Les Farkas, our Friendship Force ED (Exchange Director) built a little place in the bush to escape city life. To get there, we drove for about an hour to Toodyay, through rolling hills until we spotted a balloon bouquet signaling we were there. Pork and chicken kabobs were prepared for at least 40 of us and stories were told.  Some facts...Rain water must be collected and at night, and hundreds of stars are seen twinkling in the sky.  Perth has the highest number, per capita, of self-made millionaires of any city in the world.  It's population is just over 2 million.  Astronaut John Glenn called Perth "the City of light" because it was so visible from the sky.  Perth has the largest inner city park in the world - bigger than Central Park.  It also houses the oldest operating mint in Australia.

We also toured the beautiful Swan Valley, home of many world class wineries and even better, Chocolate, Nougat, Nut Factories with FREE samples. After a busy day, our hosts prepared lemon lime with bitters, an Australian favorite drink, while we soaked in their spa. See pictures below.

At the Chocolate Factory
 



Lemon Lime with Bitters Cocktails in the Spa

Pictures

Bell Tower and Fremantle

Everlasting Love!  As we strolled into Perth's iconic bell tower, we saw thousands of lockets attached to chains circling the monument.  These lockets are inscribed with names that symbolize a love that will last forever.  Of course, we had to have a locket attached!  A tour guide took us up to the Bell Tower for instruction on bell ringing.  Each of us had "a go at it."  The tower includes 14th century bells that were a from St.-Martin-In-the-Fields (the only royal bells to have left England) and were a gift to the people of Australia for their bicentennial in 1988.

We hopped a ferry which deposited us in Fremantle, the port city that hosted the Americas Cup in 1987. At 1;00 PM the Timing Cannon shot off over the harbor.  After a fabulous lunch in Ciccerello's, we toured the Shipwreck Museum.

That evening the Perth Friendship Force treated us to a wonderful Welcome Dinner with homemade lasagnas and salads prepared by their members.  A fabulous time was had by all.

Iconic bell tower

Richard, the bell ringer
 

With Friendship Force President, Ian Cook

Colin, Joanne and Linda in Fremantle

Everlasting love locket

 

 

Making our way to Perth and meeting their Friendship Force Club

We boarded a bus for an all day journey north through the Australian countryside passing picturesque towns until we reached Gloucester tree, a great morning tea stop.  It is a giant kerri tree  about 230 ft tall that has steel rods steps that you can climb and was used as a fire lookout point. Richard made it up about 1/2 way - not bad for someone who doesn't like heights.  Check out me holding a parrot in the woods. 

We made our way to Busselton which has the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere.  Here was our first glimpse of the blue Indian Ocean and we couldn't resist putting our feet in the water.  We also had a yummy fish and chips lunch.  Back in the bus for a few more hours until Perth came into view, an ultra-modern city of gleaming skyscrapers.  The Friendship Force met us at a beautiful park, where we had wonderful appetizers, wine and beer.  A truly warm welcome!

Perth Friendship Force


Testing the Indian Ocean Waters at Busselton

The gorgeous skyscrapers of  Perth

Australian Ringnet Parrot looking for a snack



 

Richard climbs Goucester Tree

Farewell to Albany

The week has gone by quickly and tonight is the Farewell Dinner at the Lawn Bowling Club, a nice place where all the Friendship Force members have prepared a feast for us.  The menu is roast leg of lamb and chicken, roasted veggies of all kinds and their country's specialty dessert, Pavlova.  A great singing duo entertained us.  The highlight of the evening was Randy and his wife doing the Texas dance, "The Cotton Eyed Joe," with the yelling of B... Shit!    We were each presented a photo book of our week's adventures.  We set off on the bus to Perth tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m.