Australia Part VIII : Western Australia – Perth, Rottnest Island, Margaret River

I have big plans for the 3+ hour flight to Perth – blog update (obviously!), choir practice, figure out how to use my new camera and maybe sneak in a movie and/or a snooze.. we’ll see!

Having accomplished very little of my intended tasks I arrive in Perth at lunchtime and am greeted by a very excited bride-to-be. It’s much hotter here and we’ve loads to catch up on so we head toward home, picking up the lovely Sean on the way. Do we look excited!!

We have a lovely evening catching up and Jason (husband-to-be) makes pizza for us. We did think we’d stay off the booze tonight but it’s my first night in town so a glass (or two) is called for and a bit of FaceTime home to Anne’s sister ahead of the big day tomorrow.

Another Saturday morning in Australia means another parkrun. This time it’s at Lake Joondalup and it’s a busy one with about 300 people. It’s flat and there’s a bit of cloud so not too hot and I manage to run my fastest to date on this side of the world… happy days. We have a wedding breakfast by the pier at Hillarys (now don’t go getting confused by my friend Hilary in Sydney, this is the name of the harbour) and I spend the rest of the day resting up until it’s time for the wedding.

Before we know it it’s time to get ready and we have a lovely afternoon with the bride getting ready over a glass of champagne…

The wedding is in a beautiful location by the sea and the sun is setting as the bride and groom make their vows:

An amazing party follows where I get to meet all of Anne’s friends who I’ve been hearing about forever. We eat, drink, dance and sing until it’s time to leave the venue and move the party elsewhere… Sunday is going to be a long recovery day.

Cheers to the newly weds:

Skipping over a couple of very slow days which involve a lot of napping and eating, by Tuesday we are brand new and we take the ferry to our first “honeymoon” destination – Rottnest Island.

Rottnest is famous for two things – the convict prison and quokkas. The quokkas are everywhere. They’re at your feet if you’re at the bakery or restaurant eating outside, they’re on the road as you walk or cycle by and they’re in your garden waiting for food. They seem very gentle and are definitely cute:

The ferry ride to the island is very choppy and a member of the crew recommends we move from the front of the boat to the back where it will be less bumpy. We stay put and enjoy the rocky bumps and let out a few squeals when it gets particularly bad! It takes about 45 minutes to get there and although the weather was really rough on the way over it’s gorgeous weather when we arrive.

We spend our first day exploring the settlement which is where the general store, restaurants and bars are. Our accommodation is walking distance from the ferry and the island itself is only 18km by 4km so it’s easy to cover the whole thing. That evening we hit the bar at the Karma resort for a spot of Trivia. We have some stiff competition and end up somewhere mid table which we’re happy enough with as one of the rounds was to name a load of Australian politicians which clearly neither of us had a clue about… and the music round wasn’t great either, usually my favorite round in a quiz, alas the Aussie knowledge was lacking.

Next day we pick up bikes and cycle around the island, there are sixty separate beaches and coves on this little island, each one more beautiful than the next.

We cycle around the coastline and take in the amazing scenery:

Fairly early on the chain comes off my bike and we have to call it in for the rescue team to come and sort it out.. they actually swap it out for a new bike… I’m mortified I can’t even get the chain back on. Well let’s face it neither of us were even going to try!!

The quokkas are everywhere we cycle:

Back full circle we end at the lighthouse and decide the beach here, called the basin, is where we should go for an afternoon snorkel.

It’s not too deep, fairly calm and easy enough to get into so I’m happy. We see plenty of fish.

No trivia tonight so we decide to take a bottle of wine to one of the scenic lookouts for sunset. The sun actually sets on the other side of the island but we watch the beautiful colors in the sky and sip a glass til it’s almost dark. The apartment has a full kitchen so we rustle up some dinner and chill out over, yes you guessed it, more wine!

Next morning we pack up and head for a big brekkie before getting the ferry back to the mainland.

In the afternoon I head into Perth on the train and check out the city.

It’s a small enough city to get around. I’m about to head to the art gallery but I get a better offer… a pint with John Hallas (Pete’s brother (Hils Pete)) who I haven’t seen probably since Hils and Pete got married so off I go to the Generous Esquire for a couple of schooners and a catch up which is great fun.

Our second honeymoon location is Margaret River. On the way down we stop at Busselton which has a fabulous jetty that’s 1.8km long. It’s a beautiful walk to the end and the color of the water and views are amazing.

We hit Margaret River and are pleasantly surprised by our accommodation. I would totally recommend Darby Park Residences, it’s central and the one bedroom apartments are really nice – if anyone is going anytime soon defo give it a go. At the top of the street is this dinosaur statue, apparently he hung out at the Margaret River back in the day!

We have facials booked for 5pm so we don’t hang around. Another recommendation- Body Bliss – we both have the same reaction which is “amazing”. The therapist gave us the most amazing face massage and we float to a bar for a glass of wine to discuss further! We’re served by an Irish guy at the bar (we are everywhere) and then move to the very popular Settlers Tavern for dinner.

Saturday morning and there’s a parkrun five minutes walk away in Rotary Park. This is my ninth so far on this trip and I’m delighted I’ve managed not to miss one yet.

On arrival yesterday we noticed some tennis courts and since I’m missing my club [hello Donabate tennis ladies if you’re reading this!] and haven’t lifted a racquet since January I convince Anne to play a few shots with me. It’s only a half size court and the racquets are not proper tennis racquets but sure we’re happy to have a bit of fun. Anne tells me she’s rubbish and I don’t believe her until she takes a first swipe and misses the ball… I know she won’t mind me saying this as she’d admit it herself but let’s just say tennis is not her game [stick to the open water swimming Anne – we know you’re amazeballs at that and you can’t be great at everything!!]. We manage a few decent rallies but are laughing so much we call it a day after about twenty minutes!

Time to hit the pool to cool down:

Next on the agenda, what most people come here for, wine tasting.

We hit two really nice wineries – Stella Bella

And Watershed:

Anne has been craving an Indian so we book Kingfisher restaurant and bring a bottle of white from our purchases today. We don’t stay out too late, after all that exercise today and all that wine tasting, sure you’d be exhausted!!!!!

We end our Margaret River weekend with breakfast at a cool hipster cafe and get on the road for home. It’s sunny and in the high twenties so we go for a walk with Sean and relax for the afternoon. I get a chance to meet up with another friend from home, Doirinne, who’s been living in Perth for a few years and have a great evening catching up over more delicious food and wine. It’s so lovely to see her so far from home and hear her accent which hasn’t changed a bit!

For my last day in Perth we go to Fremantle (aka Freo) and I do the convict tour at the Fremantle Prison:

It’s a really interesting tour and the guide is excited there’s an Irish person on her tour as she likes to tell a story about some Fenian prisoners who escaped and were taken to America.

We end my WA (Western Australia) visit with fish and chips on the beach and a beautiful sunset:

Another Australian state ticked off the list, another wedding attended and another great visit with great friends. Onwards to the Northern Territory.