bikes shoorams

I’ve done it! I’ve checked my last Australian animal off my list! Yes, I have now seen many many adorable quokkas.  QUOKKA! How did I get to see so many of these cute marsupials? By taking the Rottnest Express to Rottnest Island! Woo Hoo! Going to Rotto! Cathie and I took the train into Perth to catch the ferry this morning (this was also my first time taking the train). We had also hired bikes when we booked our tickets. Look at all those bikes! We arrived about 10:15 on the island. We got our bikes, and Cathie grabbed a helmet from the crate (helmets are mandatory in Australia). I brought my helmet with me. The bikes were 3 speed with belts (like Tilmann). You wouldn’t want to load them up with panniers or anything, but they are serviceable transportation. We picked up a map at the Visitor Center, and planned our circumnavigation of Rottnest. The wind was blowing pretty good, but it was sunny. Our first quokka sighting was just after we started riding. Cathie gave the quokka the ...

We may have gotten a little bit of a late start, but it worked out beautifully. We started out by heading back to King’s Park where I had ridden the other day. I had wanted to go to the DNA Tower, but I couldn’t find it (there was a sign on the footpath, but not on the road...well, not on the road I went on). I don’t feel too bad because it still took us awhile to find it in the car. But find it we did! Can you guess why it’s called the DNA Tower? Marlene joined us today. Even though she is afraid of heights, she climbed the tower!  Marlene making her way down. We still had some time before our next stop, so we made our way over to the Treetop bridge. I took a photo of this bridge from the river when I rode into the city before. See the bridge above the building? Up on the bridge From the bridge The building below is the old Swan River Brewery The Pioneer Women’s Memorial (on the way to/from the bridge) Our next stop was the Perth Mint.  They don’t mint currency there. They mi...

...”I’m just taking Jared to Fremantle for his painting class.” Sure, I’ll go for a ride. So begins another unplanned, but full, day of sightseeing.  After dropping Jared at his painting class, Cathie says we could just have a little tour around to things we haven’t seen in Freo yet. We tried to get up to this tower thing, but we decided maybe the public isn’t allowed up there. Okay...moving on. We drove by Arthur’s grandparents house in North Fremantle. One of the houses is still there. Then Cathie decided we would go up to the Fremantle War Memorial. On the way up the driveway, I saw a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets. I got out and tried to sneak up on them for some photos. I came up behind a tree. This one poked his head around the tree. Oh...hello We continued up to the Memorial. Arthur’s uncles are on the plaques of the Memorial. The War Memorial As we were walking back to the car, I could see an even larger flock of Rainbow Lorikeets. Again, I snuck up on them. Here’s more photos....