Perth - the 'heart' of Western Australia

Feb 20: We use our last day in Australia to do some sightseeing in Perth. The kids aren't really excited about the upcoming day trip and would rather stay at the 'awesome' campsite. With the giant trampoline, playground, and big pool. We take the bus and train to go into Perth because we don't want to take the big camper into a big city. This earns us points with our four-year-old who loves all kinds of vehicles. So far, all the kilometers we've traveled in Australia (a little over 1000km) can be credited to the good driver Bo (Thanks;-), because I find this camper too intimidating in terms of its size. I only sit behind the wheel once in the wilderness, and shortly after that I voluntarily give up driving when the gravel road suddenly ends on the beach and I see us getting stuck in the sand in a panic.

Our concerns about driving the camper to Perth turn out to be completely unfounded. Perth presents itself as a big city that doesn't give the impression of being a big city at all. Completely relaxed and laid-back, no trace of hustle or bustle or crowds of people that could make you nervous. Only the skyline of the city center shows that Perth is the center of Western Australia. We visit the fancy Elizabeth Quay right on the waterfront, where a lot is still being built. And from there we take the ferry across the Swan River to South Perth to get a feel for the river and admire the skyline. After that, we have a short picnic with fruit and crackers and ice-cold Coke lights for us. We then continue to Kings Park with one of the most beautiful botanical gardens I have ever visited and a magnificent view of the city. In the middle of the park, there is an impressive glass bridge. After so many kilometers and impressions in Perth, we go out for dinner in the early evening and the kids write postcards. Unfortunately, we later realize that we have lost them on the way. So, there won't be any postcards from Down Under from us. Unless a good person finds them and sends them for us. On the way back, we relax for a while at a small open-air concert at Elizabeth Quay. With delicious wine for me and cold beer for Bo. The big kids are exhausted and Baby Le is peacefully sleeping in the stroller. We would have loved to 'chill' there for much longer - that's how a day should end. However, we had to catch the last train to avoid having to pay for an expensive taxi afterwards. And in the evening, packing is on the agenda, as we will be boarding the plane to Kiwiland the next day. We really liked Perth, and we could have stayed here even longer.

Our time Down Under turned out differently than expected because we had to shorten the road trip due to Fa's cast, but we still enjoyed it very much. We were lucky that it wasn't too hot, with temperatures averaging just over 30 degrees. The Aussies also referred to it as a 'cold summer' this year;-)