Thursday March 12th 2009
Its a early start and a very close shave to missing my flight. My flight it due to depart at 6.05am and the first train to the Airport is at 5.02am, but its only a 15 min journey to the airport station so I should still make it 30mins before the gate closes, no sweat. Anyway all seems to be going to plan and I manage to catch the train but at 5am in the morning I think the brain has yet to kick in. I end up getting off at the stop before the domestic airport, why I don't yet know, and just as the train doors close I realise this...sh*t sh*t sh*t! I make my way up stairs to the see if I can get a taxi and the lady behind the ticket sales says, "Not at this time in the morning, you'll have to get the next train at 5.29am". Jayus this is going to be tight. It's only a couple of mins down the track so there is still a chance I might just get it. At this point I'm just thinking, right I'll either have to fork out for another flight or I'm just going to have to knock the West Coast on the head. At 5.29 the train arrives and like clock work it arrives 5.31am at the airport. From there its a mad charge up two flights of stairs and in doing so I realise any fitness I ever had has been well and truly lost. I get to the check in desk just after 5.35am out of breath and probably looking like I am in a state of panic... "Is there any chance of checking in for Perth?" "Ya, no problem at all mate", it was music to my ears.
Flying in on the plane to Perth is a pretty baron sight. Coming closer to the city you start to notice how big the place is, the suburbs stretch for miles outside of the city, then again all houses seem to bungalows. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Perth, I always thought of it as a big mining community, bars full with mine works and a real isolated feel about it...arriving into the centre you could be anywhere. It has the same feel as any other city but certainly things move a little slower here, its hard to believe that this is the most isolated city in the World! Just outside the city centre, walking distance, they have one of the best National Parks I’ve seen so far. How they can keep a park looking so good under such extreme weather is pretty impressive. Another plus for it is that its on a hill which over looks the city giving fantastic views day & night. One great thing about the National Parks here is that most of them have a BBQ facility provided. Anyone can rock up and use them and they all run on gas supplied from the mains, how good is that...get some food & beers in and head to the park from a barbie!!!
Just south of Perth is the city of Fremantle. I decide to go there for a day and for one check out Fremantle Prison. The prison was built by convict labours from the UK & Ireland and operated from 1855 to 1991.
The tour guide we have is a old boy originally from Dublin and like most Dubs was seriously witty. If you’ve ever seen documentaries of today's prisons well this is so far from it. Its was seriously basic when you considering it was still open in 1991! The town of Fremantle is quite different to Perth, its full of historic buildings, pubs & cafes. Its seems even more relaxed than Perth...that’s pretty laid back. Fremantle also has quite a few micro brewery's which generally have a bar and restaurant on site. The beer and what they call Ale are second to none. The Ale they have couldn’t be any more different to what they have in the UK, it tastes similar but is served ice cold & is carbonated, its has to be tried.
The first couple of days around Perh temperatures are pretty reasonable, high 20''s but on the third and fourth days it jumps to a different level, 39 degrees, and this is its Autumn time!
My plan after Perth is to travel across the Nullarbor to Adelaide and the easiest way to do this is to take the Indian Pacific which will take almost two days. It only goes twice a week, Wednesday & Sundays so I book in for the following Wednesday. A couple of days before I leave Perth I end up bumping into someone from home. I'd no idea this fella had moved out to Australia so it was a bit of a shock when I saw him walking up the high street, you can travel this far away from home and still see the same faces!!!
Its a early start and a very close shave to missing my flight. My flight it due to depart at 6.05am and the first train to the Airport is at 5.02am, but its only a 15 min journey to the airport station so I should still make it 30mins before the gate closes, no sweat. Anyway all seems to be going to plan and I manage to catch the train but at 5am in the morning I think the brain has yet to kick in. I end up getting off at the stop before the domestic airport, why I don't yet know, and just as the train doors close I realise this...sh*t sh*t sh*t! I make my way up stairs to the see if I can get a taxi and the lady behind the ticket sales says, "Not at this time in the morning, you'll have to get the next train at 5.29am". Jayus this is going to be tight. It's only a couple of mins down the track so there is still a chance I might just get it. At this point I'm just thinking, right I'll either have to fork out for another flight or I'm just going to have to knock the West Coast on the head. At 5.29 the train arrives and like clock work it arrives 5.31am at the airport. From there its a mad charge up two flights of stairs and in doing so I realise any fitness I ever had has been well and truly lost. I get to the check in desk just after 5.35am out of breath and probably looking like I am in a state of panic... "Is there any chance of checking in for Perth?" "Ya, no problem at all mate", it was music to my ears.
Flying in on the plane to Perth is a pretty baron sight. Coming closer to the city you start to notice how big the place is, the suburbs stretch for miles outside of the city, then again all houses seem to bungalows. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Perth, I always thought of it as a big mining community, bars full with mine works and a real isolated feel about it...arriving into the centre you could be anywhere. It has the same feel as any other city but certainly things move a little slower here, its hard to believe that this is the most isolated city in the World! Just outside the city centre, walking distance, they have one of the best National Parks I’ve seen so far. How they can keep a park looking so good under such extreme weather is pretty impressive. Another plus for it is that its on a hill which over looks the city giving fantastic views day & night. One great thing about the National Parks here is that most of them have a BBQ facility provided. Anyone can rock up and use them and they all run on gas supplied from the mains, how good is that...get some food & beers in and head to the park from a barbie!!!Just south of Perth is the city of Fremantle. I decide to go there for a day and for one check out Fremantle Prison. The prison was built by convict labours from the UK & Ireland and operated from 1855 to 1991.
The tour guide we have is a old boy originally from Dublin and like most Dubs was seriously witty. If you’ve ever seen documentaries of today's prisons well this is so far from it. Its was seriously basic when you considering it was still open in 1991! The town of Fremantle is quite different to Perth, its full of historic buildings, pubs & cafes. Its seems even more relaxed than Perth...that’s pretty laid back. Fremantle also has quite a few micro brewery's which generally have a bar and restaurant on site. The beer and what they call Ale are second to none. The Ale they have couldn’t be any more different to what they have in the UK, it tastes similar but is served ice cold & is carbonated, its has to be tried.The first couple of days around Perh temperatures are pretty reasonable, high 20''s but on the third and fourth days it jumps to a different level, 39 degrees, and this is its Autumn time!
My plan after Perth is to travel across the Nullarbor to Adelaide and the easiest way to do this is to take the Indian Pacific which will take almost two days. It only goes twice a week, Wednesday & Sundays so I book in for the following Wednesday. A couple of days before I leave Perth I end up bumping into someone from home. I'd no idea this fella had moved out to Australia so it was a bit of a shock when I saw him walking up the high street, you can travel this far away from home and still see the same faces!!!
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