Perth, Fremantle and beyond (Western Australia)

We are on a road trip around South Australia, Northern Territory, and Western Australia in our motorhome we call Ixi. After seeing some dolphins, dugongs and stunning beaches in northern Western Australia (WA), our next stop was Yanchep National Park on the Swan Coastal Plains, to see the koala colony there.

Snoozing Koala at Yanchep NP, WA

The large Yanchep National Park (2,799 hectares) is known for its woodlands, wetlands and wildlife, which includes a colony of koalas. We walked through the woodlands looking for koalas, and spotted a large male snoozing high up in the branches of a gum tree, another sleeping behind the gum leaves, and a mother with baby – soooo cute.

The beach at Yanchep, WA

We had lunch at an historic pub in the park then drove to Yanchep township and beach. The town is quite small and the beach is gorgeous, with lovely clear water. Leaving there, we drove south to Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, the capital of WA. Freemantle (pop 39,000), is known as the ‘Old Town' of Perth.

Some of the heritage buildings in Fremantle, WA

We found a lovely camp in Freemantle and the next morning we walked into Fremantle township to see the ‘old town’. Our sightseeing revealed some well-kept Victorian architecture and a vibrant town centre. We walked around for ages, enjoying the small side streets, and this historic centre’s ambience.

The Roundhouse, Fremantle, WA

One of our favourite places was the Roundhouse. Built in 1831, it served as a jail for the Swan River Colony from 1857 to 1900, and is now the oldest surviving public building in WA. It overlooks the town on one side and on the other, has fabulous views to the water of the fishing boat harbour.

Fremantle Prison (UNESCO), Fremantle, WA

Also a favourite, was the Fremantle Prison, a UNESCO world heritage site built by convicts in the 1850s and now the best-preserved convict-built building in the southern hemisphere. The original prison was mainly used for convicts sent to Australia from the UK during Australia's days as a British penal colony. We took a tour that showed us the harsh living conditions that the convicts suffered, often for a very minor crime. It was still a prison up to 1991!

South Beach, Fremantle, WA

After a full-on day in Fremantle, we figured out how to use the bus system and managed to catch the bus back to our camp. The camp was close to Fremantle’s renowned South Beach, and as it was a beautiful day, the beach was well used. The next day we visited Perth, the capital and largest city in WA with a population of around 2 mil.

Skyline of Perth, WA

But before getting into the city centre, we had to get Ixi repaired as her house battery was flat. We'd discovered this at our last free-camp when she left us without power for lighting, showering, etc. After making arrangement for the repair, we dropped her off on the way into Perth, then spent the day sightseeing around this pretty city. 

Top: Supreme Crt, Govt Hse. Below: St Georges, Perth Mint, Perth, WA

We walked all over Perth and loved it, particularly its historic buildings and greenspaces. Some of the places we especially liked were the Supreme Court and its beautiful gardens, Government House, St Georges Cathedral, Perth Mint, St. Mary's Cathedral, and the Town Hall.

The oldest building in Perth, WA

One gem that caught our fancy was labelled as the oldest building in Perth. It is a modest and relatively unadorned building that has an interesting history. Built in 1836 as a court house, it was then at various times a school, a church, the immigration depot, the supreme court, a home, and various other things. If those walls could talk, what stories they could tell.

The Bell Tower, Perth, WA

We also came across an interesting piece of architecture that looked a bit like a bulging glass spire, and learned that it was a bell tower. We entered and went to the 6th floor at the top of the spire, getting fantastic views of Perth’s Swan River, Elizabeth Quay, and Barrack Square. In the centre of the spire, we saw some huge and impressive bells.

The Swan Bells, the Bell tower, Perth, WA

The bells are called the Swan Bells. They date back to the 14th century when they were in St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. In 1988 they were gifted to WA for Australia’s Bicentennial, and now, accompanied by a huge 6.5 tonne ANZAC commemorative bell, they chime weekly. After a good look around Perth, we picked up Ixi, now fixed, and returned to our Freemantle camp.

War memorial with knitted poppies, Kings Park, Perth, WA

The next morning, we drove up to Kings Park. Set high above Perth city, Kings Park is one of the largest inner-city parks in the world. The park hosts the State War Memorial and as it had recently been Remembrance Day, we saw heaps of red poppies around the gardens there. Then we realised that each poppy had been hand knitted – they were amazing.

Marg in the Botanic Gardens, Kings Park, Perth, WA

Kings Park also hosts the Western Australia Botanic Gardens. While we didn’t walk right through the gardens, the native plants and gardens that we did see reminded us of how diverse Australia’s flora is compared to at home in New Zealand. We loved Kings Park and thought it one of Perth’s greatest assets.

View of Perth city from Kings Park, Perth, WA

While in Perth, we caught up with long-time friend, Alison and enjoyed a great meal at her local eating spot. It’s been absolutely ages since Alison and Mark (who we caught up with a few weeks ago in Port Hedland), moved from NZ to WA, and it was wonderful to catch up with both of them while we were here.

Thrombolites in Lake Clifton, Yalgorup NP, WA

After several days in Fremantle/Perth, we headed south. Our first stop was Lake Clifton to see some ancient thrombolites; micro-organisms that are considered to be some of the earliest forms of life on earth. The micro-organisms at Lake Clifton have formed rock-like thrombolites that live in the shallows of the lake. We found them really interesting.

Sunset from our free camp, Bunbury, WA

Our next stop was in Bunbury on the coast of Koombana Bay. Once an historic port town, Bunbury is now a town of 74,000 people. Unfortunately for us, it was also very busy and all of the commercial camping grounds were full. But we eventually found a free car park and camped there for the night, enjoying a spectacular sunset.

The beach opposite our free camp site in Bunbury, WA

Our free camp was opposite a beautiful beach and the local surf club, and we felt that we could not have picked a better spot to stay. The next morning we prepared to move on, but Ixi had other ideas. The repairs to Ixi’s battery done in Perth had not held and we were again without power. So after we called the Perth repair place, a technician arrived at our free camp to fix it.

The lighthouse in Bunbury, WA

We were at our Bunbury beach free camp for another night, but it was eventually sorted. Then, because we’d spent two nights at the Bunbury beach, we thought we’d better have a look at Bunbury town. Glad we did, because it’s an attractive and vibrant place, and we just loved its checkerboard lighthouse. 

The 1.8 km long pier in Busselton, WA

Leaving Bunbury, we moved on to Busselton, known for its very, very long pier. In fact, it’s so long that it wouldn’t all fit into our photo. It’s actually the longest wooden pier in the world stretching 1.8 km out into the Indian Ocean. The town is also quite vibrant, and we stopped there for lunch. But it was the weekend with lots of people about, so we moved on fairly quickly.

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, Geographe Bay, WA

Our next stop was the sturdy and attractive Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. This beautifully restored 20-metre-high limestone lighthouse dates back to 1903 and sits on a high cliff overlooking Geographe Bay in the southwestern corner of WA. It was the last manned lighthouse in Australia and is now automated. The lighthouse keepers’ cottages have also been restored and are quite lovely.

Ngilgi Caves, Yallingup, WA

Our final stop on this drive was the Ngilgi Caves, a spiritual place for the Wardandi people for over 60,000 years, and now a tourist attraction. We wandered through a series of large and small caverns, admiring the beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and other formations. Leaving the cave, we headed to the Margaret River wine region, but that’s in the next blog.

This post is the eleventh in a series about our travels through Australia’s south, centre and west. The first post was about Adelaide and can be found here.