Some were more delicate than others after our night out down the pub but undeterred we all had a bit of brekkie and James drove us to Mandurah station - exploring was the name of the game today.
We were in good hands as James is a train driver on the very line we were travelling on towards a station in suburbs of Freemantle. It only cost Lynn and me £6 for a day rider ticket that would give us access to the train, bus and ferry if required, that's for both of us. Public transport is very cheap here.
We alighted at Murdoch and a circular service bus was waiting to pick up passengers. It gave us a chance to nosey into people's houses and businesses on the way into town. Our destination Freemantle Convict Prison.
The prison complex is part of the original convict infrastructure that was introduced into Western Australia in 1850 and is a monument to the engineers that built them and their workforce - the convicts! Yes, you were forced to sail to a far off foreign land for committing a crime in Britan, hauled up a jetty in chains through the local population, told you are going to serve your sentence in a jail then forced to build it. It was a facinating tour round an establishment that had changed little in all those years. The guides are knowledgeable, candid and humerous - that made the tour for us.
After the tour the ladies needed some retail therapy, Freemantle Market was just a stones throw away from the prison. Built in 1897 this is one of those places you could get immersed in for hours either buying things or eating. It was packed with shoppers but we managed to purchase some gifts and sample some of the food, it would have been rude not to.
Freemantle is a great place to walk around as you stroll through the covered walkways that give a colonial feel to the place. We were heading for the harbour and a trip down the Swan River and despite the rain (yes, it does rain in Oz) we were in good spirits as we walked down the gangplank, well, there was a free wine tasting on board to attend to!
We slowly made our way towards Perth, Lynn and me marvelling at the properties and boats and obviously the free wine. In a booth behind us a young lady got into conversation with us and she asked where we were from. I answered Lancashire. She wanted more info than that and I answered Morecambe, thinking she wouldn't know where that was. The gentleman that I had down for her dad (he was), looked up as she said - "my dad's from Morecambe", what a coincidence.
Leonard Wild left Morecambe 48 years ago to set up home in Adelaide in S Australia, he lived in Higher Heysham where I did as a young boy and even more spookily, his wedding reception had been in the York Hotel - you couldn't make this sort of a chance meeting up.
Needless to say the rest of the journey into Elizabeth Quay in Perth was one of catch up and reminiscing. I made Facebook contact with his daughter, Tracey so he would be able to be informed of this blog entry then we departed, new friends, and you never know, destined to meet again in the future.
Our first port of call for a beer and a bite to eat was the innuendo riddled riverside pub The Lucky Shag. (Don't get all hot and bothered under the collar folks, a Shag is a bird out here). What a great place to spend a dull Sunday teatime it turned out to be. Great beer, good food, excellent company. What more would you want?
Elizabeth Quay was all lit up when we ventured out towards the train station, a project that had been finished this January. The skyscrapers that were its backdrop are a testemant to the success of the mining industry, gold and iron ore, not coal.
We got back to Mandurah in time to watch the Leicester v West Ham game on the Aussie satellite network - half eight kick off - in the evening. Perfect end to the day in my book!
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