Day 67 – Tue, 14 Sep to Perth

I am in Perth the capital of the W and the city that is further from any other city in the world – well I think that is their claim. I have always liked Perth from the couple of times that I have been here on business many years ago, and initial impressions is that it is far bigger but still has that good feel.

To get here I headed out of Jurien Bay E then S down the Brand Hwy. I set the address of the Perth YHA into the GPS, right in the heart of the City and it navigated me right to the front doorstep – as it should.

Grass trees started showing up along the side of the road and the further I headed S the more often they could be seen. I also passed by a wind farm that ranged along about 6km of road. They actually fitted into the environment and this was the biggest wind farm I had seen on the trip, although a number of towns had them as a full or partial supply to their area.

On the way down I took a detour for morning tea to a little town called Gingin, about 80km N of Perth. It was a total surprise and a real delightful place to stop. Just a real nice ambience for a stop and a short walk through the park.

Heading further S the grass trees continued and I then entered the Swan River Valley passing through the wine growing region as I headed into Perth. As expected traffic increased the closer I got to Perth.

About 8km out of Perth the funniest thing happened. I was riding in the middle lane of the road, and a Falcon had pulled up at the lights in the outside lane. The driver was winding down the passenger window and waving at me. At the next set of lights he stopped again and this time I pulled up beside him and we were both laughing our heads off. I asked him, Steve are you stalking me, and he was laughing saying, its a small world.

You see I met Steve for possibly 1/2 hour in Derby, he was riding a KTM N for about a month and lives in Perth. He had even offered his shed to store my bike if I needed somewhere. Talk about coincidences! I’m going to call him tonight just to have a chat.

So here I am in Perth awaiting the arrival of (as Rumpole would say) “she who must be obeyed”. Robyn arrives on Thursday and we have a couple of nights in Perth before we take delivery of a hired Britz motorhome. We then head out for a tour of the SW, Margaret River, etc. More on that later.

I am staying in the Perth YHA for two nights and what a terrific place. My own room with en-suite, right in the heart of the city, with all the facilities you could ever want. I joined the YHA, should have done this weeks ago, to reduce the nightly cost, and I just had a great steak with mustard cream sauce, veggies, chips and a beer all for $15. What more could you ask for, the steak was great, the first for many weeks.

So for now enjoy the day and make the very most of it, and if you get a chance enjoy this fabulous country that we live in. It is simply magnificent!