Because I read In a Sunburned Country, Bill Bryson's delightful personal account of travelling through Australia, I was under the impression that Perth, the capital of Western Australia, is the most remote city in the world. After researching to prepare to write this blog post, I found out that this isn't true. While this bummed me out, I suppose it doesn't take away from how remote Perth is. It's over 2,100km (1,300 miles) as the crow flies to the next city (Adelaide) with at least a million people. This remote-ness is evident during the flight from Melbourne - after flying over Adelaide an hour in, you don't see another city for 3 hours. However, somewhat surprisingly, it doesn't feel remote. It's clean, large-ish, and has all the trappings of a modern city. In fact, I don't have much else to say about Perth that I haven't already said about most Australian cities.
Flights in Australia tend to be cheaper than flights in the US, but our flight to Perth was exceptionally inexpensive. Linnea scored us $99 return flights. That's under a hundred dollars (or 75 USD) to go all the way across the country and back! There's something very satisfying about taking advantage of such a good deal. Anyway, upon landing in Perth, we left immediately for Fremantle, a port city a half hour south. Fremantle, or Freo, is a common place for visitors to stay. It's distinctly different from Perth, with a creative, artsy feel and architecture dating back to the 1850s when Fremantle Prison housed convict exports from England. Our time spent in Fremantle was excellent. We toured the fascinating aforementioned Fremantle Prison (sidenote: think about what it means that Australia was started as a penal colony. Really think about it. It's crazy!), we enjoyed the shops and food at the vibrant Fremantle Markets, and walked along the ocean, soaking in the views, including one notably spectacular sunset.
Refreshed by a couple of days in Freo, we began a loop of the southwestern corner of Australia. Our first destination was Margaret River, a wine region regarded as one of the best in the country. I had a lovely day wine tasting at the wineries recommended by our Airbnb hosts, and Linnea had an even better day wine drinking (she wasn't driving). After a full day of wine snobbery, we headed east to Albany, a port city on the southern tip of Western Australia. The theme of the drive to Albany seemed to be "things you couldn't do in the US without signing a waiver", with stop number one being a beach where you can feed full-grown, wild stingrays. I fed a few fish to a stingray, and I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't freaked out. Stop number two was the Gloucester Tree, the poster child for surprisingly waiver-less activities. The Gloucester Tree is a fire lookout tree built in 1947 which, along with seven other trees, were built to protect the area's beautiful karri forests. At the top of the 53 meter (173 feet) tree, there's a lookout platform. Armed with only their wits and their fear of heights, visitors must climb 153 spikes to get to the top. It was only scary when I looked down, which was every step that I took to ensure my foot was securely on the next spike. The view from the top was nice, but difficult to enjoy because I wanted my feet back on solid ground. The final stop on our way to Albany was the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk, a series of platforms that bring you into the canopies of the tingle forest. This walk was constructed to permit enjoyment of the rare tingle tree without causing damage, which can be done simply by walking near the trees as they have very shallow root systems. This was less exhilarating than the Gloucester Tree but much more beautiful.
A couple of nights in Albany were spent checking out the recommendations of our Airbnb host, including enjoying local food and beverage and spending an afternoon hiking. This hike was a stunning track in Torndirrup National Park that took us through beautiful coastal heathlands to great lookout points, from which we could see a pod of dolphins playing in the bay. This national park and this hike aren't mentioned by any guidebook that I have seen. This seems to mean one of two things: it's off the beaten path enough that it hasn't been discovered by the general public, or there is so much stunning scenery in Western Australia that it hasn't earned a mention. I tend to think it's the latter, which makes me want to spend much, much more time driving around WA.
With a couple nights left in Western Australia, we made the 5 hour drive back to Freo. Our Melbourne friends Lizzie and Billy happened to be visiting Perth at the same time as us and we had plans with them to visit Rottnest Island, home of the quokka. If you're unfamiliar with the quokka, look no further than the furry creature in my selfie. Quokkas are small marsupials found in WA from Perth to Albany and famously easy to spot on Rottnest Island. They are well known to be friendly and will often smile for a selfie, as you can see here or if you Google "quokka selfie". While spotting quokkas was the main motivation for visiting Rottnest Island, it wasn't the only thing we did. After a ferry ride from Freo, we cruised around the island on rental bikes, stopping along the way to relax on the beach, snorkel, and of course hang out with quokkas. These funtivities on Rottnest Island, gorgeous weather, and good company made for a great last full day in WA.