Perth

We arrived in Perth in the early hours (1:30am!)...staying with an Irish friend of Patrick's here, called Domhnall (bet he has to spell his name out even more than me!)


I did my usual 'running city tour' in the morning, which was really nice...there seem to be loads of parks, rivers and lakes throughout the city, which make it a lovely area. Kings Park has loads of trails, and it was really nice down by Swan River as well.






The three of us got the train to Freemantle (known as Freo), and spent the afternoon wondering around there - it was a really nice town, lots of old buildings and architecture. We went to the shipwreck museum, and found out about the Dutch ships that played a major role in starting the large trading industry between Europe and Indonesia. Many ran aground off the west coast of Australia, Batavia being one of the most famous stories. We were warned about the seagulls down by the port too... :)
On the way back we walked along the beach at Cottisloe, and Domhnall even had a swim (pretty good effort...the water's not that warm yet!) Certainly didn't feel like we were 15 mins away from a major city though.