Tuesday May 22nd

Packing up day! :-(

Wednesday May 23rd

Really sad day today as I had to leave Adelaide! It was so hard to leave the lovely house, my neighbour and all the friends I have met.  Managed to get past Virgin's eagle eyed check in staff, but far too much luggage. A very uneventful flight; three and a half hours and no snacks from the Ryanair like Virgin, and we were in Perth. Although there was not much time for sightseeing by the time I arrived I did walk down to the river side (the Swan river is huge- 4and a half kilometres at the widest point) and have a picnic dinner as I watched the sun go down.

Thursday May 24^th

Decided to visit the Perth Mint first as it is nearly opposite the hostel.

We were given a brief history of the mint by our guide and shown a tableau of a gold mining camp in the early days of the gold rush. The grave in the corner was a stark reminder of just how hard this life was, and what difficult conditions the prospectors worked under (often for no reward at all).

We were then shown various nuggets of gold and went to watch a demonstration of pouring gold into a mould to make a gold bar. Exceptionally hot, it cools very rapidly when poured and can be handled within minutes. We were invited to calculate our weight in gold   (no details!) and were able to try and lift a bar of gold valued at over $200,000. Finally we were shown how coins are minted and viewed some of the coins made by the Perth Mint- notably the Olympic Medals, and the most valuable coin in the world, a one ton gigantic gold coin.

After the Mint I went on one of the three free city circular bus routes to get an overview of the city, and followed it with a more detailed city tour. A commentary was provided giving information about the various points of interest.

Kings Park is definitely the jewel in the crown of Perth. It is a 400 hectare expanse of parkland, at the heart of which is the Botanical garden containing over 2000 indigenous species of plants. Kings Park has numerous  tracks and pathways winding around the hillside, including one with a 222m long glass and steel bridge which passes through the canopy of a stand of eucalypts.

The park is situated on a hillside and therefore provides staggering views over Perth. I include a couple but none really do it justice.

There are water gardens,

 a womens memorial garden,

 cenotaph,

and a structure built to commemorate the 26 people from west Australia who lost their lives in the Bali bombings in 2002.

and an impressive avenue of eucalyptus one planted for every soldier lost in the two world wars.

Originally the idea was to have an avenue of oaks like the one in Windsor Great Park, but the acorns sent from the Great Park failed to grow in the Australian climate and now only one oak tree remains. From Kings Park I went down into the city and saw one of the few older buildings in Perth; this church the Uniting Church, built with convict labour

and the Town Hall.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Mary was the final stop for the day, an unusual mixture of old and new, both inside and outside.