Days 19, 20, 21  & 22 Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday 07, 08, 9 & 10 August 2026

 Drive to Fremantle, the only time I have come across anything like busy traffic so far in Perth, added at least 5minutes to my journey.  Of interest to my many Victorian readers I still haven't seen or felt any, anr I repeat any, potholes.

Seamless check in to the hotel, The Esplanade Hotel, which appears to be comfortable enough with a bar and restaurant.  So far I have stayed in a number of hotels & motels of various prices and quality but they have all been clean with comfortable beds, plenty of hot water and friendly and helpful staff, what more could one want.

Some folk have been slightly critical of my failure to update the blog in what they believe is a timely and regular manner.  I have no excuse to offer apart from the fact that I have been busy with touristy stuff and earing and drinking, getting caught in hail storms and suffering mal de mere on the voyage to Rottnest.

Over the last few days I have visited the following;

• WA Army museum - old fashioned but with some good big stuff outside; pointed out an incorrect date on one of their displays which was accepted in the manner in which it was offered.  Not so kindly accepted was some advice as to how their regimental colours could be displayed and my opinion that Monash was a far more important soldier in Australia's history than WA's favourite son Gen Talbot Hobbs.  

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•  Maritime History Museum & WA Museum of Shipwrecks - these were both good modern museums with lots of interesting stuff, including the yacht Australia II that won the America's cup in 1983.  Both museums had snippets of information about the SS Georgette, of which I will tell more in a future blog.

The Winged Keel

Storm approaching

1. Today (Monday) I visited the Fremantle Gaol.  This gaol started out as a convict prison in Perth's early days, something like 1851, and remained in service as a prison until it's closure in 1991.  This place was incredibly primitive and brutal and was closed after a riot by the prisoners in 1988.  They were still using toilet buckets in the cells up until its closure.

Freo Prison

Cell Block

On Sunday I took the ferry trip across to Rottnest Island.  Due to storms the previous day the sea was very rough that day my friend.  I was quite happy to get off the boat at Rottnest and wasn't looking forward to the return journey.

Rottnest's claim to faim is the quokka.  A small rat like marsupial that is found all over the island.  Rottnest is Dutch for rat nest and was so named by the earlier Dutch navigators.

Once on the island you can do a bus tour of the island or hire a bicycle or walk around.  There are no private vehicles allowed on the island.  After the boat trip I wasn't feeling like taking the bus around the island so I walked to some of the local points of interest.  12,000 steps all up on Sunday.

I also had a seagull try and steal my sausage roll out of my hand, and then a crow had a go at the same sausage roll.

The quokkas and the birds have no fear of people and wander around the settlement amongst all the tourists.

I thought that if I ever got a pet quokka I would call it Davey Quokka.  

Couple of compulsory quokka pics

Sausage roll thieving seagull, lucky if I don't end up with bird flu.

Fortunately the return trip on the ferry was a lot smoother than the outward journey.

I partook of a delicious meal of prawns & ribs at Aussie ribs on Saturday night, and guess what, at the front door was a big sign forbidding the taking of food photos, how unfair I thought but rules are rules.

I will put this in bold so that certain of my readers don't miss it.  At the maritime museum there is a comprehensive display on the "lobster" industry in WA.  This display explains why the "crayfish" is now called lobster.  It is to avoid confusion with the American "crawfish" which is an inferior product.  So gentle reader and doubting Thomases the term lobster is purely a marketing ploy.  Apologies accepted from all.

I am enjoying Freo but it has been very windy with rain squalls coming through.  On Saturday afternoon I was walking along the foreshore and I saw these massive dark clouds offshore and I could see the sea getting rough and I thought this will make a great photo.  By the time I got my camera out I was standing in the middle of a rain and hail storm and the big dark clouds were all around me.

Freo is still an active fishing port and a busy port for large container ships.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, I have a reasonably short drive to Bunbury.  On the way there I intend to stop and have a look at the thrombolites (look it up).

I slight interruption in finishing off the blog for today as I had to go and get my laundry out of the drier.