Fremantle — Day 4

Another low-key day planned today. First off, we have Donna’s registration to renew that’s actually only one place in Perth that will renew a New South Wales registration so that’s where we need to go. It’s also time for me to get a haircut, so we seek out a hipster barber and get a really nice haircut.

Looking fresh and looking for lunch and a drink we come across a pub called running with thieves. While we’re here I get a phone call from Jason and Brett about a job offer so I talk with them for a little while about changing jobs when I get back home. This is nice but it’s also kind of a distraction from my holiday feeling.

We walk back towards home snooping at houses along the way there are plenty of fun houses to look at and Anna and I enjoy commenting and discussing them.

On the walk Home we booked dinner at Wildflower it’s our first fancy dinner for quite some time (and aptly named given our recent nature experiences). Before getting home we  come across the Old Synagogue where we take a brief stop in the sunshine to look at the view from a rooftop bar.

At wildflower we eat a properly fancy meal in probably the most dressy clothes we have for what’s ostensibly a camping road trip. It is obviously extremely delicious.

Donna is due for her major service, so we have her booked into a dealership in Perth. That is the first top of the day and luckily the dealership is near Kings Park, so we walked through the park looking at the view and the flowers meandering without pressure.

Since we lost the Canon camera at the end of August to water damage from the El Questro Gorge hike. I purchased a new mirrorless Canon while we were still in Broome and today is the day I get to pick it up. I’m pretty excited about this! The camera house staff are also interested in taking a look at the R6 when we come to pick it up and sell it with some pride that I take ownership of it.

We find another dumpling place for lunch (hard to go past Authentic Bites Dumpling on Newcastle Street!) before picking Donna up freshly serviced and renewed to finish our final practical task of the day: our second Covid vaccination!

It’s a slow start to the day and a slow day overall. We walk through Fremantle wandering up and down the streets and taking in the sites and the mood. We have a Yum Cha brunch at Bun Mi.

We take Donna to a well-deserved carwash and bring her back to sparkling glory.

After that, we walk to the harbour to have some beers and food at the Little Creatures brewery. It’s extremely freeing not to have to drive long distances or meet any deadlines, so with light shoulders and light feet that we take in the Fremantle area and enjoy a bright cool and pleasant day together.

Today we will reach Perth. That’s a pretty exciting achievement. We follow the road south sometimes the ocean is in view other times with further in land. Our main stop today will be just north of Perth at the Yanchep National Park where there are a collection of caves.
We arrive in Yanchep at about midday where we go on a guided tour of some caves enjoying the static tights and the stoic mites and the cool air underground.
Once we get into Perth, we stop at a fried chicken place called Drasko‘s and eat spicy, spicy chicken and waffles. With lip tingle unabating, we head into the Fremantle markets to buy fresh food for the next few days that we will spend in Perth. Then we settle into our accommodation, unpack Donna, have a shower, and celebrate our arrival on the other side of the country.

We set off from Jurien Bay down to Lesuer National Park. It’s been raining and the roads are muddy but possible and as we drive, we can feel Donna enjoying some more time on the dirt roads. Lesuer National Park has a loop call the Park Drive Trail. As soon as we turn in we can see colourful patches of flowers along the roadside. We crawl slowly along this drive at maybe 10 to 20 km/h taking in the bright pops of colour next to the earthy road and the low green bush rolling out across the hills in every direction.

The grey clouds overhead are not threatening but they make the colours of flowers even brighter against a dark backdrop. Occasionally we stop to explore a section of flowers or to let a more impatient car pass us by. The range of colour and shape of the flowers is beautiful, though it’s Anna‘s exclamation and joy that brings me the most happiness on this drive. In small moments on the drive the road may turn and dip leading us into a grove where new or different plants and flowers will come into view. Each one is exciting in its own right. The flower are sometime are right alongside the road or other times they extend deep into the brush.

After taking a couple of hours to drive only a few kilometres we reach the end of the Trail. Donna is covered in red mud up to her windows and is looking very proud. We head back to Jurien Bay where we warm ourselves up with clam chowder.

On our way down to Cervantes, we drive past the Lake Thetis Stromatolites. By the time we arrive at our accommodation for the night we’re hungry again for more West Coast seafood and the local hotel really meets this desire with lobster muscles and squid, which are all absolutely amazing.

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