Sunday 1^st April, 2012

The hostels are very full as there should be about 20'000 backpackers coming from the east coast to the west coast. When we had booked Sandra had not known if she would not like to travel a bit southwards. So I then just had booked for Dominik and me and so we had to change again rooms. Sandra met a former workmate as we lodged our luggage in the storage room. As soon as we left the hostel it started raining. After breakfast it got better and we went up the hill to Kings Park. We walked in the park and I saw black and red cockatoos. Then we went to the DNA Tower and climbed it to enjoy the view. The afternoon we were again riding bus and then we could get to our room. In the evening we walked through Northbridge and found a cinema screen with many cushions to watch the film. We watched the animation film Planet 51. As a few drops of rain fell from the sky we took our cushion and moved below a big umbrella. After the film we went to eat at Outback Jacks and enjoyed the last evening together with Sandra.

Saturday 31^st March, 2012

After a relaxing night Sandra and I were really refreshed. Dominik also slept better even as he was in a room with 8 beds. In the morning we visited two different markets in Freo. Both had mainly souvenirs and junk to offer. Towards noon we drove back to Perth and in a park we laid in the sun as it was to early to get to the accommodation. In the afternoon we went shopping and enjoyed the street artists in the pedestrian area. The rest of the day we were riding with the city bus. There are three lines which are free. Two of them we took to see Perth.

Friday 30^th March, 2012

Sandra and I had a bad night. One of the ladies in our room snored like a chainsaw. We slept very bad and after midnight Sandra left the room armed with the duvet to go to the common room. But there were still some guest watching TV, so she came back. In the morning we immediately decided to get another room. First the receptionist told us they are fully booked, but our insistence to check if there is not other possibility was successful: there was a free double room. We immediately booked it as we did not want to spend another night in that room. After breakfast we went to the harbour. We reached it at last minute to get a place on the ferry. After 30 minutes we reached Rottnest Island. The island is 4 km wide and 11 km long. Here we chose to take the bus which drives across the island every hour. After the first tour we wanted to hike a bit. So we walked along the coast and enjoyed the rocks, the sand and the green landscape. At 1pm we joined a quokka tour and could see these cute animals for the first time. Quokkas are about 20 cm tall and are like kangaroos marsupials. After the tour we observed these small animals everywhere and until Dominik said that we have now certainly enough pictures. We continued with the bus and walked to the light house. To get to the harbour we took the last bus and had to wait for 2 hours for the last ferry. Back in Freo we first went to the hostel and after to the prison. We joined the night tour and could listen to some scary stories about this place. Unbelievable that this prison was in operation until 1991 and a few month later the first tourists came to visit it. It is anxious that only 20 years ago there were nearly unimaginable conditions.

Thursday 29^th March, 2012

After taking breakfast together we departed for Fremantle. The locals call Fremantle Freo. The train brought us in 30 minutes to the destination. We left the luggage in a backpacker which until lately has been a youth hostel. A short look made me clear that it is not the cleanest house. But it will be OK for two nights it. Freo has many old houses from the Victorian time. We walked through the town without destination and looked around. We went to the old prison and had a look at the exhibition. We did not want to make a tour today. In the late afternoon we went along the shore to the harbour. On the harbour entrance there is a light house on each side. We observed two tugboats leaving the harbour and Dominik thought that they would accompany a ship in to the harbour. We continued walking as this would probably not be that soon. Later we we could see how a war ship was tugged into the harbour. Freo has a big container harbour. It got fresher and fresher as the the sun slowly was about to set and we were glad about long clothes. At the shore promenade we enjoyed fish and chips and the evening atmosphere.

Wednesday 28^th March, 2012

Already early in the morning we swept the camper to remove as much of the remaining sand as possible. Then we started out to explore the Swan Valley. I was here three and a half weeks ago and told Sandra about it. Now she wants to experience it by herself. So we started in Midland and went first to the Nougat House. I missed that one last time. An Italian family prepares nougat with different ingredients like nuts, blue berries, cranberries, chocolate, etc. We bought a bit of nougat and granted ourselves a real hot chocolate. Then we went to the honey shop, but there was not much offered. I did not want to buy honey as I did not have space in the backpack. But we observed the highland cattle. Along the road there are many cafes, wineries and some art shops. Next stop was the Lavender House. They make and sell oils, jam, body lotion, cakes and teas with lavender. I tried the lavender tea and it was not bad. Sandra refused as she does not like the smell of lavender. After this refreshment we went to the Chocolate House. Here they sell self-made chocolate. A few pralines won gold at a exhibition in Perth. We tried the chocolate and have to say that it is not bad. Then we continued on the road and stopped at a small park to visit it. A few flowers looked strange, but we are a bit early for the wild flowers. As the sun was strong, we stopped at the Honey House. We visited the shop and took a break. We enjoyed ice cream and honey ginger water. It is just very delicious what they produce here with honey. After a small detour to the to the Swan River we went to the car wash. Here I cleaned the camper at the outside and Sandra organised with the kind help of an employee the required water and strawberry soap. As I was a bit slow the kind man helped me a bit and then the camper was very shiny. With the clean car we drove to the petrol station, but we first did not find the diesel and thus produced a bit of traffic jam. But there was one already before. Also here there were nice Australians explaining us where to find the diesel. To thank we let them drive first. Now, as this was completed, we drove to the hostel to leave our luggage there. Dominik (my brother) stand already behind me when we arrived at the reception. He was quite lucky today and found also a free bed here. Similar as 4 weeks before Perth is nearly booked up. We drove the camper to the rental company to bring it back. We soon realized that the lady was from Germany so we could have our chat in German. She explained that we already got one and a half day of rent back as we had trouble with the first car. This was not enough for us as they promised on the phone that they will pay the taxi, the accommodation and the clamping set. Then we expected that more days get refunded as we stood still for three nights. The lady advocated at the headquarter. Now we got 4 days of the rent, three nights of accommodation, the taxi, the new tire and the clamping set refunded. With this offer we were happy. Back in Perth we met Dominik and planned the next two days when we want to visit Fremantle and Rottnest Island.