Wednesday 27th March 2019 - Perth

Today we decided to return to Kings Park. It is a huge area, about 1000 acres and said to be the largest city park in the world, ranging from formal and botanic gardens, cafes and gift shops to walking paths through bush country. We had seen a part of it with Anne but felt we wanted to explore further.

Instead of getting the bus across the city we walked! It was a lovely morning and not too hot when we started so it made sense. We stopped for coffee enroute and got to the park late morning. We walked in along the road that we had driven down with Anne, Frazer Avenue, a long avenue of large lemon scented gum trees with the white trunks. They were planted to commemorate the centenary of colonial establishment.

Our first stop was the DNA tower which we climbed to get some good views of the city. It has been there since the 1960’s and some of the trees around it are now much bigger, but still the views were good. It gets its name from its shape!

From here we found a shady spot with a view over the city, as we had packed up a bit of a picnic. Cheese, tomatoes, some water biscuits and fruit. Simple but tasty!

Then off we went again, following a concrete path through the bush. It was peaceful, often shady, and only a few people walking or running. In places the bush was really dense and you could see why bush country is so easy to get lost in. We weren’t following any particular route, just heading to the other side of the park where there was a cafe! We needed tea! It was good value for money. A pot each (it made 6 cups!), a cake between us, £7. Most of the time we have found food and drink to be generally cheaper than at home. We sat for ages with our tea, letting it get very cool, talking about the last 10 weeks, all that we have seen and done, and wondering where on earth the time has gone.

Finally we moved on and began walking back to where we started, but via a different route, and then having left the park headed back into the city. We were meeting up with a former colleague of Geoff’s who now lives and works in Perth. Considering they had not seen each other for 10 years, 3 hours passed very quickly and easily!