South-West WA

Our couple of weeks in the Perth area has gone by so quickly.  We were kept very busy with only a day to catch up on washing and cleaning before flying to Melbourne for the wedding of Cherryl's niece.  We had a great time catching up with relatives - weddings are good for that!  The ceremony and parties were wonderful too and made the long trip worthwhile.  We stayed at the Alphington Apartments which are only a few minutes walk from Cherryl's brother's place and are within striking distance of the many local restaurants in Fairfield.

Once back in Perth we only had a couple of days before taking off again.  We took the opportunity to drive to Fremantle, only about a 30 minute drive.  We have been there before when we were in WA in 2011.  We had hoped to catch the ferry to Rottnest Island but the weather was against us - windy and showery.  Fremantle is steeped in history and we walked around looking at the well maintained and renovated buildings.  It's also a city of sculptures and murals with plenty of public art.  Wartime Prime Minister John Curtin was the MP for Fremantle.  We had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf - fish and chips of course - eyed hungrily by the local seagulls.

After lunch we walked along the foreshore to the Shipwreck Museum where we saw the salvaged hull of the Batavia which was wrecked off the WA coast in June 1629.  On the way we passed the Round House which is WA's oldest public building.  It was built as a jail in 1831.

When we left Perth we travelled an hour to Mandurah, on the beach.  Perth is on the Swan River inland from the coast.  We spent our time in Mandurah visiting more family and friends - they have certainly kept us busy in WA.  We always knew Cherryl had plenty of relatives here and it's be a lot of fun seeking them out.  They have all made us feel very welcome and we have invitations to catch up on our next visit to the west.  We found time to visit the Mandurah Markets on the esplanade on Sunday morning.

Tuesday morning we packed up and ventured towards Albany on the southern coast.  Albany is about 350kms from Perth and we've decided to drive through the Jarradale State Forest to Kojonup, about 100km north of Albany.  It's been a while since we've seen forests like these.





Kojonup, population a bit over 2,000, has plenty to do for a couple of days.  We visited the Kodj Place at the Information Centre which has exhibits representing the Noongar and Wadjela cultures and traces the development of the area to recent times.  The exhibits were excellent are well worth visiting.  The mural painted by Craig McVee represents the Six Noongar Seasons.

Next to the Information Centre is the Rose Maze, a lovely fragrant walk along paths bordered by over 100 species of roses.  Across the road in the Apex Park is the Brigadier AW Potts and Kokoda Track Memorial.  In 1942 Brigadier Potts and his heavily outnumbered troops carried out a strategic fighting withdrawal along the Kokoda Track which resulted in the Japanese retreating before they could reach Port Moresby.  It was a significant turning point for the Allied Forces in the Pacific War.

The Old Military Barracks was built in 1945 and has been used as a school, meeting hall, dance hall, church and private residence. In 1850 it was occupied by the Pensioner Force until they were disbanded in 1880.







This morning we drove to the Towerrinning Lake, about 50kms away, for morning tea before returning to Kojonup with it's lovely flowering street trees.  Tomorrow we're off to Albany for a few days before beginning the long haul eastwards.