Fremantle 13 – 16 January 2007

On Saturday we moved down to a caravan park 3km south of the city of Fremantle so we could explore it at ease. Fremantle - “Freo”, is a charming city with a huge number of preserved historic buildings. Even those not formally preserved are intact and create a strong sense of history. On Sunday we visited an old house, Samson House, which reminded us of our home and made us a bit homesick. Toured Fremantle Gaol which is the largest gaol preserved in Australia and was still used until 1991! Crikey! It is very primitive and would add to lots of material for anyone’s nightmare.
Had a drink in an Irish Pub, listened to some Irish music and saw some Irish dancing – great fun and then headed to the jetties. Sunday family outings were in full swing down at the wharf which was very crowded. We indulged in traditional fish and chips next to moored motor cruises indulging in the same menu. A touch of envy ended with the thought of our “land yacht” moored on the other edge of the water!
One of the strange aspects of Perth and Fremantle is the plethora of parking meters which we discovered still operate until midnight on a Sunday! Only 1 hour permitted during the day and only 3 hours after 5pm at $1.20 hour. It has been expensive to just park and difficult running around making sure we are legal! This is the worst we have every seen, though maybe we don’t really know Sydney?
On Monday we visited the op shops around town, however there was not much there. They are on to us and there are no bargains any more!
For once the weather is worthy of talking about, as it keeps changing - two grey days and a hint of rain followed by a fully sunny day with a strong afternoon wind. We took a 2 hour cruise up and down the Swan River and it was really enjoyable and gave us a veracious encounter with big money including $85 million property of a Rio Tinto shareholder for sale, Rose Porteous’ bulldozed property being subdivided, one of Kerry Stokes beach houses and multiple grand homes! The river reminded us of the Lane Cove River and was pleasantly wide in many places. Lots of big boats every where and Fremantle wharves were very busy and of great proportion!
We spent some time in the Maritime Museum and came to the realisation that the museum was built around our America’s Cup winner, Australia II, as this is WA’s biggest claim to popular fame!
Left “Freo” late in afternoon to find the best vantage point to observe McNaught’s Comet at sunset. Settled into a big carpark on City Beach with a growing crowd and were delighted to see the comet (with an amazing white tail), hurtling towards the horizon.