We’re now in Western Australia and the weather is slowly turning around; our interaction with the cyclone is getting less. Esperance was a nice day with clouds and Fremantle/Perth today was blue sky and warm but comfortable.
We visited the two areas over a three day period with a sea day between. Australia is quite large and sailing about three quarters around it as we’ve been doing has taken six sea days and six port days with sailing the night of the port days. We make about 450 miles per day so you can do the calculations to get to the neighborhood of 3,600 miles or so (450*6+150*6).
Went on full day excursions in both locations. The Esperance excursion was mostly visiting physical places over about a 200 km loop. The Fremantle excursion visited places but for the purpose of seeing wildlife in their native habitat. Both satisfied.
Out of Experance we drove a long loop through different parks and beaches. In particular, we visited Lucky Beach and Hellfire Bay. While at Hellfire Bay we had a picnic lunch and a Racehorse Goanna came to visit (see attached photo). The beaches at all locations were quite beautiful with bright white sand and deep turquoise waters. We also visited a site where glass was turned into art and a full-sized replica of what Stonehenge would have looked like if all the stones were still standing. The site was even modified so that it worked as designed in the Southern hemisphere.
Fremantle was today’s port of call. It’s the port city for Perth and that area is fast growing. The excursion today was another full-day experience and a good 60 km out and 60 km back bus ride. The main location we went to was Yanchep National Park, one of 96 national parks in Australia. The area is part parkland and part protected for wildlife. While there we saw koalas (see attached), kangaroos (see attached), and many birds. We then moved to a lake where the local iconic symbol lived: the black swan; a beautiful bird. We also saw many other birds, including an Ibis, a bird that seemed to only exist in crossword puzzles. 🙂
Another stop at a park overlooking Perth and then we returned to the ship a half hour late and only 15 minutes before the last call for boarding (it would not have been a problem to be later as it was a Princess excursion so the ship would have waited).
It’s been a busy three days but very interesting times and thrilling to see the animals in their native habitat and not behind any bars.
We have left the Pacific Ocean and there will be one more stop in Australia, Exmouth, and then a few sea days in the Indian Ocean before arriving at Singapore. Back then unless something pops up.