Perth, The Most Isolated City in The World

Despite European colonization starting in early 1800s, this area has been inhabitated for thousands of years by aboriginal people. Only miles away from the Indian Ocean shore, Perth is the most isolated city in the world as the closest city is Adelaide, in Southern Australia, located more than 2000 kms away. 

I arrived in Perth, capital city of Western Australia, on the 29th of June - hironically, on the same day I did when I first came to Australia as a student, nine years ago. My main duty was escorting the group of 49 students coming here to study on the same program I did years ago (visit www.intercultura.it for more info about this), and it was dutifully accomplished on the same afternoon. When all of them were safely with their host families, I finally relaxed and slept for twelve hours straight.

Perth Skyline from Kings Park

Now, I wasn't a big fan of Perth before coming - I had some vague memories from the 24 hours I had spent here the last time - and I was not when I left. It isn't because it's ugly, or boring, or a dangerous city - on the contrary, it has some pretty interesting spots and exciting things going on. If you are a fan of cities that are big metropolitan areas but, at the same time, mantain the quietness of the suburb areas, this is your place. There's a lovely park where one can have picnics and some beautiful natural landscapes are only a couple of hours away. I left Perth like I left Budapest: feeling that I hadn't truly explored its potential. I guess the same happens with cities and people: sometimes there's just no feeling.

Perth CBD skyline from Elizabeth Quay

At first glance, Perth recalls big, metropolitan American cities that are not New York or San Francisco: wide, open roads that lead to a skyline of tall and futuristic buildings towering over a lazy river (the Swan River) that quietly passes by. Very few old buildings (old in Aussie terms, so mid-XIXth/early XXth century) survived and, mostly, the city is new and still getting bigger day by day.

There are quite a few things to do in Perth city, even though the main attractions of this capital lie in its suburbs or a couple of hours drive away from it. The weather was miserable for 3/5 days I was there, nevertheless I found the way to stay out of the rain and try to pass the time. I was there in Winter time, so all public buildings (including malls and, sometimes, cafes and restaurants) closed at 5 pm, 6 pm the latest. I was staying right in the CBD (City Business District), so after this time of the day everyone disappeared and there was not much going on. I believe this is part of the reason I didn't enjoy Perth as much as I would have if I had visited in an other time of the year.

Some Tips Before We Start

- The Perth Visitor Kiosk is in Murray Street, in the city centre. I recommend a visit as first thing because they will give you a map of the city for free, tell you all about what is going on during your stay and help you with any other concern you may have. Generally speaking, you can find a lot of interesting free informative material in Australian's visitor centres, and, most of the times, there are some magazines with good deals and events info in it (the one in Perth is called Hello Perth and it's a brochure with events, tips and coupons in it - and it's free!).

- There are many walking tours, self-guided or joining the tour guide, that are offered by the Visitor Kiosk;

- You can move around the CBD for free: hop on a CAT bus to reach all the sightsees around the city. May you need to go out of the free zone, you can purchase the ticket from the bus driver;

- To give you an idea, you can go from the airport to CBD by bus for 4.90$. You can plan your trips and check the ticket cost on www.transperth.wa.gov.au;

- Most of state-owned public institutions (e.g. museums, art galleries etc.) are free. They ask for donations or for what they call a "golden coin fee", which is a contribution in (minimun) 2 dollars coin. It is often not mandatory to leave the donation, but of course you look nicer if you do (and you support art and culture in a way you can afford, yay!);

Elizabeth Bridge and Perth CBD 

Perth-ing around

On my first full day, sunday 30th of June, I left my room at midday to go sightseeing despite the annoying drizzling that was there to remind me that it is indeed Winter in the other emisphere. Well, being Sunday and rainy, Elizabeth Quay was almost deserted and this let me enjoy the view on the newest part of the town even more. I wandered around a little bit, ending up in Northbridge - the cultural and culinary hotspot of the town. Here, I really enjoyed Yagan square, an architectural love letter to the land of Western Australia and the people who have been living here since the dawn of time. As I was walking back to my accomodation, I noticed that many alleys and inner yards have been converted to spots where people can drink or eat - which seems to be a common trend across Australia. So I guess this is the part of town that comes to life in Summertime, as in Winter it is not really busy.

Pictures of Perth skyline from Elizabeth Quay and Elizabeth Bridge:

On the second day, the weather was much more forgiving so I took the chance to go to Kings Park. This huge inner city park (you can actually see it from CBD and from South Perth, on the other side of the river) is vital to the life of the town and its inhabitants as its the perfect location for exercising or picnicking at any time of the year. One thing you absolutely have to do if you go there is taking a free walking tour led by the park volunteers. (It is actually free for real, meaning that they don't ask you for a contribution at the end of the tour).

I took a tour with two elder volunteers - as Aussie as one can be - who were both really passionate and informed about native plants. They talked about the park and its function as a plants sanctuary (the Botanical Gardens are within it), about the aborigenal people who first lived here and the use they made of these native plants. If you happen to go with other volunteers, though, the tours could be more about history or geography or anything else that the volunteers know more about - so you can take the tour any time you want and never listen to the same story! Through Kings Park one can learn a lot about the story of the city and of Western Australia, and its view on the CBD is not to be missed. Kings park is also home to the oldest baobab in Australia (transferred here from the North, pictured on the side) and to the War Memorial of Western Australia (below). All around the park there are nice gardens and memorials (like the one dedicated to women pioneers), and an other nice view point is from the top of the DNA tower. If you want to experience walking above the tree tops, you can take a stroll along the Lotterywest Federation Walkaway. All around the park is also possible to get to know more about the aborigenal people who used to live here. 

The War Memorial in Kings Park

The oldest pavillion in Kings Park overlooking the Black Swan River and South Perth

If you, like me, are always looking for something historical, ruins and possibly good views, you can't miss a visit to Fremantle - a historical town on the coast, half an hour by train from Perth. Walking through its alleys one can go back in time and picture themselves in the 1850s' London East End - or, if you prefer, in late 1800s Western Australia, the weather is terrible either way and it is equally unlikely for a woman to live more than thirty years.

For some reason, Fremantle reminded me a lot of Northern Portugal towns - maybe it was its the decadent feeling, the ghost of past glory and wealth still lingering here, or maybe because of the deep, blue sky, but it did have an European feeling that I hardly found anywhere else in Australia.

Fremantle Visitor Centre

Trains from Perth to Fremantle are frequent, it takes half an hour to get there and its quite cheap: a one way ticket is 4.90 $. Even in Winter, when one may not enjoy the beautiful nearby beaches of Cottlestoe or Scarborough, there's quite a lot to do in Fremantle: the walk from the station to the ocean side is not long and it is quite pleasant as it goes through the historical city centre. You can have a look at the artisan shops, vintage libraries or homemade coffee stores as you stroll down the lane and think of a world were a cold could be the end of you. If you follow this route, the access to the ocean is given by a tunnel below a cliff, built to facilitate bringing goods from the harbour inside the city. This tunnel is dug into a rock above which stands Fremantle oldest building, the old prison (they did, in fact, build a new prison when they realised this building was wayyyy too small for all the convicts they got from Britain). Entrance is by golden coin donation.

Here you can have a look at the astonishingly small cells (they didn't even have a window) and at the flag pole that still welcomes boats inside the Fremantle habour. At 1 pm, if the weather is good, they fire the cannon as an historical renactment, as back in the day it used to mark the passing time for the town. Take some hours to walk by the ocean, sitting down on the beach and looking out for dolphins in the bay (I did see one when I was there), or enjoy some fish and chips in one of the many restaurants around the Fishing Boat harbour.

One can start making its way back passing through the esplanade (basically a big park) and visiting the Fremantle markets (check the opening times and days before). If you feel hungry, there's the Cappucino strip nearby - a street full of Italian restaurants - or you can just walk around with your nose up looking at the beautiful, old buildings. An other interesting activity for your day trip in Fremantle is visiting the other, newest prison, now turned into a museum, where you can join tours from 20$.

Fremantle Markets

My advice is, as always, to start your day with a visit to the visitor centre (pictured above on the left) where you can collect maps and ask all the information about what do to in Fremantle.

Old style buildings in Fremantle

Now, on Rottnest Island, where I sailed to the next day, I will make a different post because otherwise this one, which is already long enough, will turn into a poem.

Well, on my last day in Perth, when I had the brilliant idea to book a plane at midnight to Sydney, it rained like it had never rained before. Thanksfully, I could leave my big backpack at my accomodation, but I still had to somehow spend the whole day out. I managed to pass away the morning visiting the Western Australia Art Gallery, which is really worth dedicating some hours to. It is located in the cultural heart of Perth, close to Northbridge and Yagan Square, and nearby you can find other interesting places like the national theatre, or the Western Australian museum which is soon to be re-opened.

Perth CBD from the Supreme Court Park 

Once again, the entrance for the Art Gallery is free of charge. The permanent exhibition, which ranges from Aborigenal art to contemporary European and North American art, is quite interesting per se, and the temporary exhibitions (that most of the times require purchasing a ticket) complete the picture of a not-to-be-missed museum.

The art gallery kept me busy for a couple of hours, and, since the rain was still going strong, I moved to the Museum of Perth. This is an extremely small museum (just one room), but it is worth a visit if one is interested in the history of the city and has a free half an hour while they wander through CBD (it is located right in front of Elizabeth Quay).

My next stop was the Mint. It can be found at the far edge of CBD, almost in East Perth (a suburb worth visiting for its nice houses and pretty riverview). The building itself is worth looking at from the outside, and if you want to buy a diamond or some gold or silver jewelry as a memory from your time in Australia, there's a nice shop where you can do it.
If you want to have a look at the museum you have to purchase your ticket for 19$ . I recommend doing this as it includes the guided tour (you can check the schedule on the website, so you can plan your visit accordingly) where they tell you about Western Australian history, why Perth was home to the royal mint during the colonial times, and all about the gold fever in the late XIX century. The guide will also take you where the gold bars were made, and show you the process. On the way out of the museum you can feel how much a gold bar weighs (which is my biggest complain about La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) season 3, I mean, how on earth are they ever going to be able to lift that much gold????), find out how much is your value in gold according to the daily market and see the machines still producing coins. 

Some other interesting spots in Perth:

St George Cathedral

The Bell Tower (it is actually possible to go on the top)

The Supreme Court

The Government House

The Town Hall

London Court (and below as well)

So, this is what I did in Perth. You can see in these other pictures some other spots of interest around CBD. I must say that Perth is not the best Australian city to be in during in Winter, but it is certainly a blast during Summer. Nevertheless, even if you find yourself there during the cold season and you are lucky enough to get good weather, the area surrounding it is beautiful and there's plenty to do: Rottnest Island is only a short ferry trip away, The Pinnacles Desert is a couple of hours drive from the city, or if you fancy a weekend in the wineyards the Margaret River Valley is just south of the city.

What do you think of this blog post? Is there anything else you would like to know about Perth? Let me know in the comment section!