Post #157 2 November 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Perth, Western Australia, 14 - 19 September 2017.

The main reason for visiting Perth was to see old friends Graeme & Cora Stephens and Sean & Alexandra O'Shaughnessy.

We had 5 days in Perth, then a couple of days in Sydney before finally driving back to Canberra.  We'd been away 2 months, saw lots, met many old (and new) friends, had a great time.

As much as we enjoyed our trip, it's always nice to come back to home sweet home, familiar surroundings, sleep in our own bed, etc.

Spring in Canberra this year was amazing, cool nights but warm, clear, sunny days, very little wind and rain (so different from when we arrived here one year ago).  That will be covered in subsequent posts.

 Perth is the capital of Western Australia (the largest State in Australia).  It is a great place, but isolated.  The nearest big city is Adelaide, 2,130 km and Perth to Sydney is 3,280 km. Our flying time from Bali to Perth was 4 hours, which explains why so many Western Australians go there for holidays.

With its population of  2 million, Perth dominates all aspects of Western Australia (total population 2.6 m).

Perth is almost the ideal city (except for its isolated position): situated on the beautiful Swan River; its port is picturesque Fremantle; many accessible beaches, parks and gardens; there is little pollution.  It has a comfortable climate; annual rainfall of about 80 cm, enjoys much sunshine, mean maximum temperature of 25C, mean minimum temperature of 13C.

We stayed 3 nights with old friends Graeme and Cora Stephens.  We first met them in 1980, in Rio de Janeiro.  I was at the Australian Consulate, and Graeme was CEO of an American oil company. We kept in touch and managed to see each other in different places around Asia.  They visited us in Beijing in 1986, and we visited them in Kuala Lumpur in 1989. Later we met up in Perth and in Canberra. This was the first time we had seen them for about 8 years. Graeme started as a rock geologist before switching to oil & gas; successful career - he had a knack for finding "black gold" ! 

Graeme & Cora's impressive modern home in the suburb of Beerliar in Perth.

Graeme in one of the lovely living areas in his house.  They have extensive collections of Chinese blue & white porcelain; rare coins; old books; and fossils.  

Graeme used to love playing squash and tennis, and riding his bike, but with two knee replacements he has had to slow down.  Now often takes his pet bird "Sunny" on walks around the area, to the great delight of neighbourhood kids (and adults).

Graeme and Cora invited neighbours Ian & Robyn around for dinner.  They are all mad-keen Aussie Rules fans; we watched the Quarter finals: Geelong Cats beat Sydney Swans tonight, and then Western Sydney Giants beat the Perth Eagles the following night.  Graeme and Cora's son, David, was a very good footballer, he is now a budding film director.

One day Graeme took us down to Mandurah, a rapidly-growing area about 60 km south of Perth.  We had lunch by the marina, lots of nice boats.  A good freeway makes for an easy drive down the coast (there is also a good rail service between Mandurah and Perth), the infrastructure here is really good and they plan ahead, impressive.  

Then we stayed with Alexandra and Sean O'Shaughnessy.  They live in the suburb of Winthrop.  They have two married daughters, Nicole and Karen, and 4 grandkids (all girls!). I first met Sean way back in the 1950s when we were both students at St Patrick's Primary School in Cooma NSW, and we have stayed friends ever since. Sean has a great sense of humour and is a great joke-teller.

Sean took us up to Kings Park which has wonderful views of Perth and surrounds. It was a Sunday afternoon, and the Park was crowded with locals and visitors enjoying a lovely Spring day.

A view of Perth CBD from Kings Park.

Monday Sean & Alexandra showed us around parts of Perth: Booragoon, Applecross, City Beach (coffee), Cottesloe Beach, then lunch at Calangelo's Restaurant at Fremantle. 

Cottesloe Beach.  It was only Spring, but there were quite a few people on the beach with some even swimming and surfing. 

We saw this beautiful eagle.

Some more bird life at Cottesloe Beach.

Saying goodbye to Alexandra and Sean at Perth Airport on Tuesday 19 September 2017.  Our flight left at 9.45am and arrived in Sydney at 3.55pm (time difference).  We had a couple of days in Andrew's apartment (they were away) and then drove back to good old Canberra.  Our two-month holiday was over.

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So ended our two-month trip (Sydney, Bali, Java, Bali, Perth); now back to the East Coast.

It has taken a while to catch up with my blog - but good to re-live recent events again.

My next post will be about 'normal life' again.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
2 November 2017