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Getting to know Australia.
By Dramak | April 30, 2008
IT has taken us almost two years, but we have now visited all the states and territories of Australia - a feat which was completed by our recent holiday to Western Australia.
Our five-month trip round Australia had taken us through the other four states (New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia) and the two ‘territories’ (Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory) - plus of course we are well versed in the highs and lows of Queensland.
But WA was the biggie - making up almost a third of the entire country, it is a continent-sized chunk of terra firme on its own.
In fact, Western Australia is as big as the Indian subcontinent, but instead of a billion people, it has only two million.
We didn’t even try to see all of its attractions in our two-week break, but tried to see a few highlights of Perth, the state capital, and its surrounds.
Our flight from Townsville, via Brisbane, took a total of eight hours - we got jet lag on the way back and had not even left the country!
Perth is best known for its silver skyscrapers set against the green of King’s Park and the deep blue of the river.
It is also full of English people, who seem to outnumber the Aussies. It was so British that if you asked for a beer at the pub they would give you a pint instead of a ’schooner’.
The weather was also much more British (cold and raining) when we arrived late on a dark night, but reached about 23-24 degrees during the day.
We spent a day wandering the CBD finding our bearings, having sushi for lunch (you just can’t get good sushi in Townsville) and taking one of the tourist tram buses up to Kings Park in the afternoon.
The park covers 4 sq km and also includes walking paths through bushland, with elevated views over the city.
It was an hours’ walk back, and down a huge set of stairs known as Jacob’s Ladder - where Perthites work out by going up and down the stairs.
We spent three nights at a Swedish-themed hotel called Miss Maud’s, where the buffet breakfast was called a smörgåsbord and the rooms were much more European.
One of the day trips we had was to beautiful Rottenest Island, where there are no cars and you hire bicycles to ride round past incredible white beaches.
There are native marsupials called quokkas which are so tame that they come hopping up to you looking for food - the island is one of the few places in Australia where they are found.
The first white men - Dutch explorers - to visit the island thought they were giant rats, and so the name ‘Rat’s Nest’ (Rottenest in Dutch) was established.
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