Since leaving Australia 10 years ago I’ve dreamed of coming back for 4 things. Three in Melbourne - the Queen Vic Market, Your Thai restauran, and Madame Brussels bar (read about them here) - and Perth.
I always imagined Perth as I imaging the American frontier in the 1800s. A small town with few traffic lights and the desert creeping in, throwing tumbleweeds and dust down the wide streets everytime the wind blows. Turns out the only thing that was accurate in my vision is the wind.
Perth is on the Southwest corner of the country and subject to the fiece winds swirling up from the unbroken path around the Southern Ocean. When I arrived it was blowing 25knots steady and hasnt let up yet! The water in West Australia is Indian Ocean and so far every vista has shown red rocky cliffs and headlands suddenly becoming white sand before meeting an ocean who’s color would rival the most picturesque trapical island.
Perth is stunning.
It’s also a delightfully modern, comfortably sized city. My first morning found me in the Prestige? Eating toast with diced raw beef, avocado, a perfectly poached egg, and hollandaise sauce while admiring the old brickwork and architecture of the State House it’s locates in. I love Melbourne‘s diverse scene but this was the first meal and ambience that took me straight my to Charleston.
Perth is full of activities for all interests and is a short day trip to Swan Valley’s wineries, snorkeling and other water activities on beaches North and South, and the more laid back beer loving Fremantle. You can ride a camel by the waterfront. It is also the jumping off point for expeditions up towards Broome and the famous Ningaloo Reef and down to the forests and surf beaches surrounding Margaret River.
For the next week I am driving up the west coast to Exmouth, a 1250km trek through the vast expanse of Western Australia. Stay tuned for tales from the road!
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