Perth, Australia

After five full days aboard our cruise vessel Insignia crossing mainly open ocean, we disembarked at Fremantle, Western Australia.  We immediately summoned Uber, an Audi Q7, and enjoyed a scenic ride to the Parmelia Hilton on the edge of downtown Perth.  The location is ideal: near King’s Park, Elizabeth Quay, Perth Convention Center, and some great shopping streets (blocked off for pedestrians, in Germany called ‘fussganger’ districts) with a wide variety of interesting stores.  Little sign of vacant storefronts from the inroads of online shopping as yet.  Remember the 1960’s?  Perth has a Kmart, a Woolworth’s, a Gorman’s, and really has the feel of vibrant, in-person, 1960’s shopping, without the ‘homeless’ vagrants, trash, and aimless teenagers you find at malls today.

The first thing we did in Perth was to walk to Kings's Park.  While the initial few blocks were uphill, the path then leveled out to a pleasant tree-lined path.

We are looking back at the city center from Kings Park.  Those residential buildings in the foreground are very upscale with excellent views and a short commute to the city.

Again, we are in the park and looking across Swan River toward South Perth.  Very nice waterfront homes and condominiums on that far bank also.  We rode rented bicycles along both banks: there were separate bicycle lanes on the bridge for crossing the river.

A view of downtown Perth from the harbor entrance.  The city had many shoppers, excellent stores, and exuded vitality.  Our hotel would be about one block to the left and one block back from the harbor as viewed from this vantage point.  It was an easy walk to central attractions.

Very modern buildings viewed from Perth's inner harbor.

That is a pedestrian bridge at harbor entrance (with Dawn).  I have a compact telephoto camera while she has a cellphone which requires her to get closer.

Except for a few older buildings kept due to historical significance, the buildings are very modern.  The portion of the park on our right is welcoming with great landscaping plus open space for exercise.  Dawn and I walked this park after dark: the city seemed safe.  We did not see any people who appeared to be vagrants, loitering with no purpose.

Our first destination was King’s Park, easy walking distance.  King’s Park is 1000 acres, larger and more scenic than New York's Central Park.  The area is also blessed with a much milder climate.  For Dawn and me, one of our first thoughts was, “I could see myself living here.”  Yes, it was/is a very positive first impression.  While distant from the United States, Perth is close to many Asian destinations such as Singapore and Bali.  Australia is a large country: it stretches almost 2,200 miles from Perth to Sydney.

Crossing Swan River on our rented bicycles.

A rather unusual bridge upstream on the Swan River which we used to cross with our rented bicycles from the city to the nearby stadium.

At the portion where the Swan River flows past Perth, the river is wide, shallow, and with little current; unfit for commercial ships but well-suited to recreational boating.  These two catamarans are part of a fleet lined up on the far bank.

We recrossed Swan River on our bikes and stopped at a park.

On another day, Dawn & I rented bicycles and did a 9–10-mile circuit around a large section of the Swan River.  Along the north shore is Perth itself; the south shore is lined with high-end homes and apartments.  The entire course was on paved bike paths with parks, natural areas, and lawns.  Again, the weather was perfect. We stopped for ‘dim sum’ at a Chinese restaurant and had some amazing dumplings.

Shore of Swan River near Fremantle, very nice homes and boats.

Fremantle downtown, the city has an 'artsy' vibe.

Our final day, we took a scenic ferry ride down the Swan River, back to Fremantle, where we toured the central business district composed mainly of small shops and eateries, then were loaned free bicycles (with deposit) to ride the trail along the river/ocean front.  We took the train back to our Perth starting point.  It is much easier to get train tickets when the ticket machines are in English- unlike the ‘guessing game’ experienced when buying train tickets in Japan.

Perth has been an enjoyable destination, and we haven’t even experienced the two most highly touted activities: a day trip to Rottnest Island and a cruise to the wine country on the upper Swan River. Our idea was to avoid long boat rides and instead substitute more active alternatives.