Last week, some wonderful, adventurous members of my family made the long, long journey to this remote corner of the planet to pay me a visit. Mother Nature was kind enough to give us sunny, blue skies and not too much wind. We had a fantastic time and I think they got to see most of the highlights on offer down here in southwestern Australia.
A long Sunday drive took us to beautiful, and crowded, Cottesloe Beach, where the Sculpture by the Sea exhibit was on display. We ended the afternoon at King's Park, where we took a long walk with some great views of the Swan River.
Monday, we journeyed down the river and across the sea to Rottnest Island. We headed down to wine country in the middle of the week for some wine tasting, cheese sampling and chocolate devouring. We were fortunate to stay at a friend's house in Mandurah, overlooking the estuary with its many birds. Back to Perth and some culture at the Western Australia Museum, learning a bit about the Aboriginal population. Then we traveled across the river to the historic port town of Fremantle for some good food and beer at Little Creatures Brewery and some shopping in the cute streets. We ended the week with animals at the Caversham Wildlife Park. Not only can you have your picture taken with a very funny looking wombat, but you can pet a koala bear and get up close and personal with a kangaroo. Good times.
The Corner House Jazz Band at the underground Jazz Cellar is a very popular Friday night activity in Perth, so we survived the three-hour wait that's required for a table in this tiny, cave-like venue and enjoyed some great jazz on our last night together.
Photos in the "family fun" gallery.
