AUSTRALIA ~ Fremantle & Perth

The Princess band energetically played us off the ship.

We caught a free shuttle to the Fremantle Train Station where a helpful employee advised us the best way to get to Perth and see the King's Park Botanic Gardens. He suggested the bus, the driver was a bit off but it turned out well for us as he couldn't be bothered to sell us a bus ticket so we rode the hour long journey for no cost. 

We immediately liked Perth very much. It was clean, busy and easy to get around. All buses in the core are free! Consequently there is very little traffic. We chose to ride all the way to the bus station where we found transit information to guide us to the right bus to the gardens. Easy.

We were thankful to have another cool day. The park is high on a ridge affording great views back into Perth.

Another war memorial.

The Queen's Tree

Queen Elizabeth planted this tree one month before I was born.

A weeping willow with great character!

Gandjandjal aka Pandanus Aquaticus

Boab tree aka Adansonia gregorii

Amazingly this tree was transported 3200 kms from northern Western Australia. It is estimated to be 750 years old, it needed to be moved to allow a highway to be built.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Botanic Gardens

Keith waiting for the ramp to be lowered.

After an enjoyable time in Perth we boarded the train to return to Fremantle.

Clean cars and wide aisles, great for strollers, bikes and mobility scooters!

The cost ~ Only $4.

We arrived back to the ship just in time for tea!

From our cabin balcony, the train station is visible on the right hand side. 

PERTH DAY 2 ROTTSNEST ISLAND

One advantage of the cruise ending in Fremantle is that the Majestic Princess stayed in port for a couple of days to allow passengers to wait for their flights in the comfort of the ship. I had arranged for us to fly out on the evening of the 23rd so we had one more day. 

We had booked an excursion to Caversham Wildlife Preserve while in Perth but unfortunately Princess had cancelled all Perth excursions. Consequently we were to leave Australia without seeing any of its unusual wildlife. However, there was one small excursion that we could do on our own. Fellow passengers at breakfast had mentioned that they were going to spend the day at Rottsnest Island seeing the QUOKKAS. I had not previously heard of these lil creatures but I was excited to see at least one Australian animal.

Luckily the ferry that runs to Rottsnest Island was just a short walk away from the ship. Mom elected to rest her tired legs by staying onboard so Keith and I set off. It was tricky as we needed to get back to the ship by 3pm in order to shower and finish packing to catch our transport to the airport at 5:30PM.

On Rottsnest we made a beeline for the TI, yes! no line up! The Aussie volunteer (at every port there were always many friendly and helpful volunteers!) called over a colleague who took us on a private walking tour. A short distance from the small centre is an isolated area where the quokkas like to hang out. They are the size of a huge rat, in fact the name Rottsnest is due to the Dutch believing that the quokkas were rats, with a rat tail. They are nocturnal marsupials and look like miniature kangaroos! The first ones we saw were asleep.

They sleep with their tail under them, sticking out in front. Head down, not afraid of anything as they have no predators. 

They love to hang out under the brush.

It was not easy to take good photos but we did have a wonderful time communing with the cute little guys!

This wee quokka left his/her attentive mother's side to come very close and check me out. I could have touched it but that is not allowed. Besides I believe that one should avoid touching a wild animal, one never knows how they will react.

Now happy that I had seen my quokkas, we went for a short walkabout to explore this touristy island. Bikes were everywhere, there were several bike rental companies. Not all the riders were competent.

The ravens were intriguing. Often their calls sounded like cats meowing but louder, more like cats screeching.  

One of the infamous Australian spiders ... no idea if this is one of the poisonous variety.

One can take the train to the other side of this small island.

There is a small population of permanent residents, they all work on the island.

Goodbye Australia!

  

Princess kindly provided free transportation to the airport, an hours journey from Fremantle port.

Here we are, with all of our gear (so much, this was no camino!) waiting for the bus.

It was a 30 hour journey home with 3 flights and long layovers in between.

Walkers are great for transporting our carry on.

The only time Mom used hers was in the airports.

I am using Keith's walker while he uses airport wheelchairs.

I was not as disappointed as Keith was to have our journey cut short. I felt that the last 3 ports would be unbearably hot and then of course there is that whole corona virus thing. Princess definitely made the right decision.

We were happy to arrive back home and reconnect with Chip. He was happy to see us too but we could tell that he was sorry to leave Les and Jean who had been looking after him during the third week. He had obviously been treated very well!

So now to deal with the insurance company.

AUSTRALIA ~ Busselton

We had 2 sea days between Adelaide and Busselton. Fortunately the weather finally improved enough to walk the Promenade Deck. Unfortunately there is not quite a promenade deck on this ship. On the higher decks there is a short roundabout but it is necessary to go through doors into and out of the basketball court. I just did not want to handle possibly germ laden door handles! So I ended up going back and forth, enjoying the warm sunshine and the music on my phone. On the promenade deck one can walk partway up and down one side only and much of it is narrow so is not convenient to walk it when there are other walkers.


Busselton is a small town just 2.5 hour drive south of Perth, it is overwhelmed by the cruise ships that swell their population. There is a long pier, at 1.8 kms it is the longest timbered jetty in the southern hemisphere. Our ship anchored out in the bay and passengers were tendered to the pier. There is transport from the tender the short distance to the edge of downtown. From there one can catch a free Hop On Hop Off bus around the town.

Keith was not eligible to catch the tender ~ no mobility scooters permitted ~ so without him, Mom and I set out early to beat the heat. We walked along the waterfront enjoying the creative play area complete with pirate ship.

We stopped and talked to a few locals who all raved about the wonderful lifestyle of residing in this isolated corner of Australia. There were many cyclists, dog walkers and families enjoying the area. I have to say that this was the friendliest place by far of anywhere that I have traveled. 

Time to remove our shoes and enjoy a walk on the beach.

The water is clean and warm enough.

Yet another Australian Pied Cormorant

We talked to this group of 4 friends that swim regularly in the sea. There is a roped off section that is safe from predators... or is it?

"Whilst the City of Busselton makes every reasonable attempt to ensure your safety at this location, there remains the possibility that marine species may enter the enclosure.

Your safety is your responsibility.

Entry to the water, at or in, the beach enclosure is at your own risk."

YIKES!

We wandered into town...

Many women had very difficult lives in early Australia.

It was still early but getting very hot. We cooled down in this little art gallery for a while and invested in some art cards. A few artists were busy creating in the back room so I was able to ask questions and appreciate their art in progress. 

Mom and I finally found where to catch the Hop On Hop Off Bus, it only took 20 minutes to tour the entire town. We were let off near the jetty and Mom decided she had enough and that it was getting too hot.  She took the transport back to the tender and I headed back into town to check out a quilt store that had been mentioned on the bus tour.

Impulse buy,

I know a sweet little girl that will will look cute in this ...

if I can figure out the pattern that is.

My Happy Place

From the tender heading back to the ship.

It was so hot that the woman sitting across from me on the tender passed out.

She eventually seemed better as water bottles and a cool wet facecloth were passed to her husband.

Our wonderful servers, both from the Phillipines

Laurence and Jesse

Overlooking the piazza.