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Perth, Western Australia
When we arrive at the Hyatt Regency
Perth we are greeted at curbside and ushered in to the registration
area while our bags are being taken care of by the bellmen,
to magically appear in our room shortly. The hotel has the
typical Regency trademark of a huge open atrium that ascends
right up to the top of the nine stories. A bar/sitting area
is in the center with a large obelisk supported on the backs
of four carved marble elephants. Ummm. Maybe we are still
is Asia?
No, we aren't. The drive into
the center of this city of one and a half million people proves
that we are no longer in Asia. The wide, clean, streets with
only cars and trucks, not motorcycles, scooters, bicycles,
and camel carts, let us know that we have reentered a member
of the "Developed Countries" club. It's nice to be back.
Our room, #825, is on the Regency
Club floor. This upscale floor has its own lounge area where
complimentary breakfast is served, as well as tea and coffee
all throughout the day and adult beverages and canapés from
6:00 to 8:00 p.m. We unpack and stroll across to the lounge,
get a window seat, and have a beautiful view of the sunset
over the Swan River. Soon Pat and Ashley drop in, also, and
we share the window table.
We strike up a conversation with
a very nice couple who have "retired" onto a few acres north
of Perth and are now having a new career as vintners. The
gentleman, Lance, was an engineer during his first career
and traveled extensively, including many trips to the U.S.
He comments on how warmly he has always been received during
his American visits and how much he likes having the opportunity
to reciprocate. They both certainly make us feel welcome as
visitors to Western Australia. Married for over thirty years,
they both have the same birthday…November 19, today! That's
why they'd come to the city -- a birthday getaway break.
Pam and I are rather tired after
the long flying day and after we wolfed down more than our
share of the canapés - finger sandwiches and Chinese Dim Sum
appetizers - we decide to skip going downstairs for dinner
and head to our room. The room, although far from the Balinese
villa that has spoiled us the past few days, is a very nice,
modern, "typical" Hyatt room. Best of all, it has a High Speed,
always-on, internet connection for less than $16 per day,
so we are able to access the website and e-mail with blindingly
fast speed. Nice!
Strangely, we have no message
from our Abercrombie & Kent guide. Usually, a representative
is either waiting for us at the hotel or has left a message
verifying the meeting plans for the following day. Even the
next morning, Tuesday, there is still no word before or after
our breakfast in the Regency Club lounge room. Just about
when I decide to call the A & K number (in Melbourne), Pat
knocks on our door and advises that the guide is waiting in
the lobby.
Wanda Woodhouse is the lovely
local woman who shows us around on this full day of touring
in the area. Peter is the driver of the Toyota "Tarago" van.
Wanda teaches all the Australian national salute. You put
the arm of your choice in front of your body, the elbow about
chest high and the forearm vertical. Now you move the forearm
and hand left and right in a windshield-wiper motion. It's
designed to keep the flies away, and it does indeed come in
handy at times. The flies here are abundant and seem a little
more aggressive than at home.
At last, we have no more churches,
cathedrals, mosques, or temples to see. Hey, they were great,
but enough is enough! Instead, we merely get a leisurely drive
around this very pretty city, stopping at some nice vista
points, cruising through plush neighborhoods, having a coffee/tea
break on an outdoor terrace, stopping briefly at the Perth
Art Museum to quickly view their display of Aboriginal art
- Very nice! All of us actually would have happily spent more
time here! - and then following the shoreline drive of the
Swan River out to Freemantle, the town on the coast, a little
over ten miles or so from Perth. In Freemantle we went to
the "Red Herring" restaurant for lunch. The food and setting
were great; service was a little slow. Consequently, we were
quite rushed in taking a drive after lunch through the town
before boarding a ferry for a cruise up the Swan back to Perth.
Freemantle is very scenic, with
lots of older, restored buildings. It is also the site of
a Maritime Museum and of course is where Alan Bond won America's
Cup from Dennis Connor in 1983. We wished we had more time
there, especially since the cruise back was not a real exciting
event. The sound system left much to be desired and although
the captain was providing lengthy commentaries on the sites
we were passing, we could understand only a few scattered
words. At least the large boat was not crowded and was as
clean and neat as a pin.
Peter had driven back alone in
the van and was waiting to pick us up again as we disembarked
in Perth. All day, the weather was spectacular: Bright blue
skies, some puffy white clouds, little wind, and temperatures
in the high 60s, low 70s.
We bid Wanda farewell back at
the Hyatt, but we'll see Peter again tomorrow as he drives
us to the golf course. After the splendid lunch in Freemantle,
we are not very hungry so we order a bowl of asparagus soup
and a Greek salad, both very good, from room service and are
soon in bed. I made the mistake of having a Diet Coke from
the mini-bar with the salad and the caffeine kept me turning
restlessly much of the night. Oops! It's got to be caffeine-free
after noon, Tom, you know that!
On Wednesday morning Peter is
waiting at 7:30 a.m. to drive the four of us north out of
the city to Joondalup Country Club where we have eighteen
holes of golf lined up. Except for the yardage being in meters,
not yards, the course is very much like the ones at home and
we drive our own carts without caddies. I guess I am not a
golf snob because I still prefer going alone without the caddies.
Ashley and Pam share a cart as do Pat and I. Much of the course
is built on the remains of an old limestone quarry. It is
very beautiful, hilly, with lots of rock walls lining some
fairways. Again the weather is just perfect!
As we approach the second hole's
tee box we are thrilled to look over toward a nearby green
and see three kangaroos grazing there alongside the foursome
putting. Pat goes for his camera but before he can get ready
the "roos" go hopping off out of sight. Oh well, we think,
there will be many more opportunities. Wrong! These were the
only roos we saw all day. But we still suppose we will see
others while in Australia. Keep your fingers crossed!
I manage to play rather well,
for me, and don't lose a ball until the 18th hole. Pam and
Ashley play a scramble and have fun. Pat? Well, Pat was happy
when the 18th hole was completed. We've all had rounds like
that, eh?
We eat lunch at the clubhouse
restaurant and then Peter returns to drive us back to Perth.
Pat and I get dropped at the hotel while Ashley and Pam continue
on for a bit more sight seeing. I stroll out to a barber shop
for a trim and work on journal-writing and website- submitting.
Pam and I decide to take a taxi
for a ten-minute ride to the Matilda Bay restaurant for dinner.
We had seen this restaurant, next to a Marina on the Swan
River, during our tour on Tuesday and it had received a high
recommendation rating from Wanda. We arrived after dark. Upon
entering the hallway leading to the reception desk, what do
we see on the walls but lots of beautiful photographs of Arizona's
Antelope Canyon! Around the corner, there are more photos,
many of New Mexico and other parts of the American Southwest.
We come to discover that the Freemantle-based photographer
had just hung the pictures that very day! Small world! (We
took his card and will e-mail him this little slice-of-life
story.)
We are seated at a table for
two in a romantic corner next to the window. The water starts
just pass a twenty-foot stretch of lawn and yachts are tied
up to piers beyond. Even before the wine arrives, Pam gives
a start and points in wonder to the sight just a few feet
beyond the lawn. There, clearly illuminated by the restaurant's
lights, are a group of six fins slicing silently and smoothly
through the black water! Sharks!
Well, no, the waiter tells us
they are dolphins, and that their appearance is a highly-awaited
but somewhat rare event. Some diners come to Matilda Bay with
the express purpose of seeing them but are usually disappointed.
We're lucky, as usual!
A quick cab ride back to the
Hyatt and into bed. Tomorrow, Thursday, we plan to be picked
up at 8:00 a.m. for our airport ride. The schedule calls for
a 10:00 a.m. takeoff on the short hop to Busselton.
Perth is a very comfortable city
and the residents enjoy mild weather and a very plush lifestyle.
Everyone we spoke with was happy that they live here. I felt
that, if I had to leave the U.S. for some reason, Perth would
be on the short list of alternatives. It's a truly lovely
city.
Guide Wanda & Group |
Swan River Ferry Arriving |
Red Herring Restaurant |
Pat the Aussie |
Ashley & Pam Tee Off |
Joondalup Country Club |
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