Getting to Perth was a bit of an adventure. We got the late bus to
Townsville (so good they named it twice) only to discover the airport
was closed and we would have to
wait for four hours to get in. We had no accommodation and it was after
midnight. There was a time when such a situation would have panicked
me, but instead I hunkered down and slept on the pavement outside the
airport. It says a lot that this was infinitely more pleasant than the
only bed available for the night once we arrived in Perth. The G-man
christened the hostel Fawlty Towers. He was being generous.
In
Perth we visited the Swan Bells which is a tower where 12 of the
bells of St Martin of the Fields in London are kept. Together it is
one of the largest musical instruments in the world. We were lucky
enough to be there while there was a hands on demonstration and got to
chime the bells.
Since our
accommodation in Perth was less than perfect we decided to head down to
Fremantle earlier than intended. We took the scenic route by ferry,
which was appropriate since Freo is rather scenic itself. It's a lovely
town with lots to do and luckily we've arrived just in time for the
Freo festival.
Last night we did
the torchlight tour of Fremantle Prison. It was originally built by
convicts for their own incarceration but continued to be a maximum
security prison until 1991. They did their best to scare the jobbies
out of us and took us to all the most grim corners of the gaol. The place
is certainly full of ghosts.
I've got a couple more days in Freo enjoying the markets and festival while we decide on a plan of action for the west coast.
