Perth and Down the Track

Sunday 6^th Nov, Monday 7^th Nov, Tuesday 8^th Nov, Wednesday 9^th Nov, Thursday 10^th Nov and Friday 11^th Nov.

Sunday

Went up into the hills behind Perth today, basically east to the Melville Rose Nursery in a suburb or locality called Carmel.  It is quite rural with a number of wineries and a cidery to see.  The roses at the nursery were magnificent and I could tell there was a bit of a difference between them and a banksia.  They smelt a little different.  There was a coffee shop at the nursery that sold a number of things that were either based on roses or garnished with rose petals.

We took Caron with us today and I think that she enjoyed getting away and doing something for herself.  We went to the Core Cidery for lunch.  This was about 10 km away from the nursery but was entirely different geographically as this was surrounded by orchards.  This place was surrounded by apple and pear orchards and had been in the same family for generations.  It actually reminded me of the area around Stanthorpe, not necessarily because of the orchards but because of the names of the owners of the orchards.  They were mainly of Italian origin.

At lunch we tried some of the local ciders, extra dry, dry, medium and sweet.  We got a tasting tray and we each had a taste.  The extra dry was 7% alcohol by volume.  Nice tasting stuff but I think a bit dangerous because they have a bit of a kick.

It was nice to get out with Caron because we haven’t been able to do as much with her because she is such a hard worker.

Monday

A pottering day today.  An appointment at the doctor first thing to follow up on the x-ray and ultra-sound.  No DVT but a burst Bakers Cyst which is a by-product of the osteo-arthritis.  The cyst has actually burst and I will have pain until the fluid released is fully absorbed into the system.

After the doctor we returned the key to the house we borrowed.  We dropped them off at a suburb of Perth called Atwell.  It looks like a very new suburb and it was very interesting looking around a relatively new part of the city.  Big houses and no yard to speak of, some don’t even have enough room to have a path between the house and fence.  Everything to go through to the back yard must go through the house.

We went up to Kings Park for another visit, just to have a look around.  We forgot to take the cameras but we didn’t need to take any photos.  The last time we visited the park we took a lot.  I’ll put in some photos from our last visit.

Our trip home took us via Fremantle.  The GPS took us that way because we told it to.  Every time we have driven to or from Perth we have gone via the freeway.  I thought it would be nice to go a different way.  It was really good because we saw things that we hadn’t seen before and we came over the Swan River near the Port of Fremantle where we had been on our cruise down the Swan.  Stopped into Rockingham for lunch and then back to Warnbro.

Tuesday

Andrew, Deb and I went up to Fremantle.  We picked up Mat who works there and we to him to work.  Deb dropped Andrew and I off at the Marine Engineering Museum while she did other things.  Unfortunately it wasn’t open at the time so we took a walk to the Maritime Museum.  It was absolutely fascinating.  There were quite a few artefacts from the Dutch contact with the Western Australian Coast.  Sometimes I wonder why those in the west aren’t speaking Dutch or French.because of the amount of exploration done by both of these countries.

Andy and I went back to the Steam Museum and spent some time reminiscing about some of the machinery.  It is a pity that I couldn’t put some of them in my pocket and bring them home.  There were a couple of feed water pumps which were the same that were fitted to HMAS Anzac, the 1950 version that is, not the latest..

Had a nice lunch in Fremantle and picked up Mat when he had finished work.  Found some interesting trees and some tree guards.  They had been crocheted around.  It appears that there is a group of people around Perth and Fremantle and for all I know elsewhere who go around and wrapping things with wool.

Had a nice dinner with all the Warnbro Passmores and Caron’s brother in law Greg and his partner Dawn.  We hadn’t seen them since our last visit and it was really good to see them.  Up early in the morning, we have a train to catch.

Wednesday

Up early to get up to the train.  We had breakfast and were away by 7.15 am.  Andy came with us to point us in the right direction and arrived by about 8.30 am.  There was quite a bit of traffic on the freeway with some roadwork.  Dropped the car off at the drop off point and it took about 10 minutes to book it in and watch it being driven on to the train.

The car was on the train by 8.40 am and the train would be ready for boarding by 11.30 am.  We just had to sit around until the time arrived and there is just so much coffee or tea you can drink while waiting.  We said goodbye to Andrew at about 10 so he could catch a train back to Warnbro.

Indian Pacific at East Perth

We boarded the train at about 11.20 am and were shown to Gold Class Superior Cabin.  The cabin had a ¾ bed plus a normal bunk, table and a couple of armchairs, an urn with coffee and tea making facilities, a complimentary mini bar and a bowl of fruit.  There was a coffee plunger, ground coffee, coffee bags, and about 6 types of tea.

Mini Bar Area

Tea and Coffee

There were two meal sitting times and we chose the early one.  We were called to lunch at about 1.00 pm.  The trip was far from boring.  There were two big windows to watch and the scenery which changed all the time.  There was a TV with DVD player and DVD’s in the cabin which did not get turned on.

Starter Lunch Day 1

Lunch Day 1 Lamb and Rosemary Sausage

Warm Treacle Tart

 We got into Kalgoorlie at about 9.00 pm and decided to do one of the whistle stop tours.  The bus picked us up at about 9.45 and although it was night I don’t think we missed much from the experience.  The guide was excellent and we were able to see the super pit in operation.  The stories he told brought the old diggings to life.  Some were rather gruesome.

We also had to bring our clocks forward an hour.  This also meant an hours less sleep.

Cheese Platter Dinner Day 1

Whiskey Chocolate Pudding Day 1

Kangaroo Tenderloin Dinner Day 1

Pork Cutlet Dinner Day 1 

Entree Dinner Day 1 - Pumpkin and Lamb Pie

Thursday

Today was similar to yesterday with a constantly changing scenery.  Just inside the Western Australia, South Australian border there is a little town called Cook.  Cook used to be a centre for the repair of the rail line with a population of 40 until the privatisation of the rail network.  It now has a population of 4 or 5 depending on who is telling the story.  They now refuel the trains as they come through.

The Indian Pacific train that we travelled on is owned by the Great Southern Railway, the locomotive that pulled the train was owned and operated by Pacific National and the track that the train ran on was owned and maintained by the Australian Rail Track Corporation.  If you remember it all used to belong to the Australian Commonwealth Railway.

Refuelling at Cook

Cook was an hour stop while fuel was taken on.  I reckon that every second fly in Australia was waiting for us to alight from the train.  When we got back on-board they didn’t seem to follow us.  

Onwards to Adelaide.

Friday (Remembrance Day)

We were awoken early with our breakfast pack of muesli with juice for Deb, Just Right for me, juice, savoury muffins and sweet muffins, tea and coffee.

We arrived in Adelaide at about 7.30 am and were in the car driving away from the terminal by 7.50 am.  They were very well organised and because our car was higher than a sedan it was the fourth one off.  Four wheel drives and higher type vehicles travel on the top deck of the car wagons while sedans etc. travel on the lower deck.

We put the address into the GPS and off we went to the Brownhill Creek Tourist Park.  This is the caravan park that Raymond, Geoff Duckworth and I stayed in when we came to Adelaide in December 1970.  There have been quite a few changes in that time.  Even though we arrived early they were able to let us into our cabin.

We got a couple of loads of washing done and then headed off to Angaston.  Angaston is where Angas Park dried fruit are produced.  Interesting the products that are produced and sold by Angas Park.  We had lunch in the bakery at Angaston and then headed down the Onkaparinga Scenic Drive.  After visiting a couple of cheese and chocolate factories we ended up at Hahndorf and had afternoon tea at Otto’s Bakery. 

The local IGA Supermarket provided us with some bread, milk and other stuff for dinner.  We have had to drop our expectations quite a bit since leaving the Indian Pacific.

Saturday

A very quiet day today.  We went out to Longwood to see Greg, Jackie and family.  They are Deb’s cousins.  They have a really nice place that they have been working on over the past 10 years or so.  There is still some work to be done but the location and outlook are really fantastic.

Had a lovely lunch and headed off to Glenelg to have a bit of a look around.  We might go back there to have a better look and a ride on the trams tomorrow.  Had a cup of coffee at a place called Bracegirdles House of Fine Chocolate.  They have won a number of awards and one of them is for being an artistic barista.  Didn’t know what it was all about until I got my coffee.  I would have liked to see how it was done!