FREMANTLE (Perth), AUSTRALIA - February 17

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FREMANTLE AND PERTH  - (written by Steve)

Our first day In Fremantle we decided to head to a beach on the train somewhere close to Perth. I don’t the name, but the pictures of us in the water in Perth are all from that beach. We when first got there I noticed that no one is the beach, so I walked over to the lifeguard and started to pick his brain. I saw the 2 flags (that you are supposed to swim between) but I was concerned about an undertow and which area would be best for Nikolas and Danika to swim in. The gent (Lifeguard) told me that they had a little scare in the morning but everything was fine now and it was 100% to swim in. I asked him“what kind of scare” and he replied “A shark was sighted about 100 metres down the beach from where we standing.  He could sense the look on my face (Not a hope in heck my kids were getting in the water today look) so he went on about how he swam out on his board and checked it out. He said it was most definitely fine and he would be watch and yada yada yada. He actually kind of balled me out and basically called us a bunch of chickens.  So I did what every afraid father would do, sent his 2 little kids in the water first, just to make sure, because I was not going anywhere near the water. Just kidding, Nana (my mother-in-law) is most likely reading this right now and saying “I knew she should not have married him”. I went down and we played and soon the water was full of other people (shark food) to cut down our chance of getting eaten. Happy now? The day was wonderful and thanks to Hala (our friend form the ship) for showing us this wonderful place and the rest of our friends from the ship for making that day one of our best in Australia.

A funny thing happened later when that same lifeguard came by to rough us up some more about swimming.  He walked up us and was giving us shots and talking about how even if there was a shark, it would not do anything, and yada, yada, yada.  So I said, “Have you ever seen a shark”? And his reply was “loads of them’. He told us a story of how he was on his surf board and a guy was getting mauled by one right beside him. O.K. I am thinking who looks like the fool now; this guy was not playing with a full deck. If he had of told me that first thing I don’t think we would have gone in. The story happened years ago, but still one minute he seemed total competent and the next a complete nut bar. I may not have used my best judgment asking him in the first place.

O.K. I can hear my mother-in-law again.

We then went into Perth and went to the Art Museum and it was really cool. I said later (using my great eye for fine art) that there was obviously a constant theme that all the artist had to follow. Helen shot me down by telling me that all the art was done by the same person. O.K. maybe I am not that smart. We then headed for a walk down into the restaurant district, but found ourselves walking the adult part of town. Bars, girly shows and washrooms with sharp (needles) disposals in them. We walked and walked and when we were about as far away from the train station you could get, Danika gave up and said “are we close to the ship yet”. We were about as far away from the ship as you could get, and very tired. So after buying a dozen books from the book store walking all the way back to the ship and then meeting our friends John and Suzanne, we hopped on a train back to Fremantle.

That was our day in Perth and Fremantle.

I will let our 9 year old son tell you about the next day.

Whiteman National Park

And Game reserve - BY: NIKOLAS

We drove about an hour from Freamantle to big park called Caversham Wildlife game reserve. This place had kangaroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils and much more. 

We went to see a this huge koala looking thing called a Wombat and it was huge my dad and mom held him but I didn’t.

Then we went to see rabbits and feed this Lama, went it ate out of your hand and it felt really weird. 

On the way to the kangaroo area we saw these huge Camels and you can ride them but we didn’t have any time so that would have been cool but we will do it in Egypt.

We came to this very large gate that let you into this huge park that had Kangaroos we fed them and pat them it was sooo cool!

 The Kangaroos were pretty soft but one of them had sharp teeth. After we fed one of the fat kangaroos farted! 

I really like the Kangaroos a lot!

If the kangaroos were wild they would really hurt you so you had to be carefull. There were heards of them and you were not allowed to run, because it would scare them away and that wouldn’t be very good would it?

This place was really  really coooooooool!!!!

After we went to see the Koalas and they were all sleeping they actually sleep 20 hours a day and wake up at night and eat then they sleep again.

The Tasmanian Devils were sleeping as well and they looked a bit vicious.

There was this bird that was saying hello! Hello! And he sounded like an old lady!

I really really liked  this place and after I got a kangaroo pen that had buttons and when you pressed the buttons it would punch and it had boxing gloves on its hands so it was cool.

(written by Steve)

We here we are somewhere out in the Indian Ocean slowly moving up towards our last visit in Australia, Exmouth. The cruise director told all of us he had bad new for us all. It appears the zoo will be closed in Exmouth, someone had eaten the chicken. Basically there was nothing to see and he just wanted to give us the heads up. The main interest for us choosing a cruise when looking at different options to get around the world was the easiest way to see Asia. I did not even think about seeing Australia, but boy am I glad we did. I am sitting on the deck right now looking out into the Indian Ocean and trying to spot the flying fish that Helen keeps seeing, but no luck. I think they are just big flies.

The funny thing about Australia is, when we first showed up I just thought I was going to fall in love with it. Every Canadian that I knew who had been to Oz always came back with the same story. Laid back, Cheap, nice people, beautiful country and most of all super safe.

I don’t know if you could tell in our little story about Sydney but our first impression was not that great of this huge country. Did you know that Australia is the same size as the continental United States? it’s a massive place, another part I must have missed in school.

I can tell you now that we have been in Oz over 2 weeks; we just love the beaches, surfing and most of the people. Adelaide is our favorite because the folks were real nice but from Sydney to Perth its completely different. Like Newfoundland to Vancouver I guess, but for some reason I just did not expect it to be that different from place to place. Once again that what we have noticed more than anything, is how different all the people are. Traveling is not about the places you see, but more about the people you meet.

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info from - http://www.auinfo.com/fremantle.htm

Fremantle is a lively historic port just 20km along the Swan River from Perth. The city is the largest port in Western Australia and its major claim to fame was that it hosted the Americas Cup Yacht race in 1987. Many historic buildings were restored and The Challenger Harbour was developed for the event which has remained as a fine addition to the city. Fremantle is a relaxed place with a quaint cosy feel similar to the historic Rocks in Sydney.

Fremantle has its heart and soul in the harbour and its boats, yachts and cruisers which fill it. The harbour complex comprises three harbours - Challenger ,Fishing Boat and Success Boat Harbour.

Challenger Harbour is to the northern end and was built to house the teams taking part in The Americas Cup. Now the facilities have been converted to cater for recreational boats and expensive waterside apartments.

The Fishing Harbour in the centre of the harbour complex and the larger of the harbours . This is the base for an over 400 strong fishing fleet and is lined by restaurants (many are seafood so you can enjoy particularly fresh food), cafes and bars.

Fremantle Success Boat Harbour is to the southern end of the complex and is the location for the historic Fremantle Yacht Club.