Escaping the Black Hole

Okay, so Melbourne isn't a black hole. I actually quite liked the city. It was interesting and there were a number of interesting things to see and do there. But it felt like a major coup to get out of there after the troubles with Tiger Air.

So it was on to Perth at long last. I was met at the airport by my cousin, Kelly. I haven't seen her in a few years and we have always gotten on well together. She is currently working on her Ph.D. and has returned to complete her field research here in Australia. As I have been more or less in the area for a while, I thought it would be a shame if I didn't stick around long enough to see her and catch up.

We spent the first evening chatting and then it was time for bed. The next day, she headed to her office at the university to get some work done and I headed out to check out the center of town. I visited Perth as well on my trip all those years ago, but I was just starting out doing some travelling and I didn't actually see much of Perth itself. I certainly didn't see much of the river through town and my knowledge of the downtown area was somewhat sketchy. I wanted to find the museum on this day, but I took so long in getting to town from where Kelly was staying that I didn't have enough time to make a good go of the museum.

Instead I spent some time along the river, the Swan River, which runs through the middle of Perth. There are parks all along the shore of the river and it must be a very nice place to spend a lunch hour or take an evening stroll. Of course, it was winter during my visit and so not many people were out enjoying the riverside, since it was so cold. Chortle, chortle. I mean, chortle, chuckle it was only, ha ha, ahem, around 15 or so degrees outside. So I can see how they wouldn't want to enjoy that kind of freezing temperature. They ought to visit Canada sometime.

So I had the shore mostly to myself. Except for these guys.

Also along the shore, is a tourist jetty where some of the scenic cruises from Perth start out from. Included in the jetty area is a recent addition, Perth's answer to the Sydney Opera House. It is a bell tower. It is fantastic and offers wonderful views of the river and surrounding area. Well, actually that's what they say on their sign as they try to entice people to pay the sum of 13 dollars for the privilege to ascend about halfway up the tower for the view. And I'm sure it is fantastic. At least in their own minds. I passed on the opportunity.