Here we are in the most isolated capital city on the planet, Perth. And what an interesting city it is. The CBD is the first thing that you see when you drive in, tall skyscrapers, but still a relatively small size. We opted to book a hostel in Cottesloe instead of the popular Northbridge since Cottesloe is right on the ocean. We drove along the Swan River and as we were coming over the ridge on Eric Street we knew we made a good decision as the ocean opened up right in front of us and our dorm room even has a view of the water. With the weather dropping under 30 degrees only a couple brief moments since we arrived and being only 50 meters from the beach has provided some much desired down time on North Cottesloe Beach. I have been swimming almost every day religiously; more to bring the body temperature down to an acceptable level than another other reason. At times, when the weather hits 40 degrees it is unbearable at the beach and the days have turned to entertaining ourselves at the hostel with intense card games.
We have ventured into the CBD of Perth quite often to check it out. The 2 main streets are nice, filled with clothing stores, restaurants, and tourist shops. The city did go all out during the Christmas season with Christmas trees and lights strung all over. Very tastefully done too I might add. We have explored a few other popular areas within Perth as well. Northbridge is the area directly across the train tracks from the CBD and is filled with an ethnic crowd, cool bars, and cheap eats. We thought about switching hostels to one in the city, but decided that the beach is too good to pass up on. Freemantle, also known as Freo, is a happening region 20 minutes up the coastline from Cottesloe. The very popular Freemantle Sunday Session (an Australian tradition that I think I have to bring back home - essentially Sunday afternoon beers!) has been frequented by us a couple of times. We always seem to fit in a trip to the ever popular microbrewery, Little Creature, with an amazing deck and great beers overlooking the marina.
I have been trying to be a little more active since arriving here in Perth. Running on the beachfront has been my poison of choice and well accompanied by a dip in the water immediately after. I have tried windsurfing once on the Swan River, getting a lesson from a German in the hostel, and loved it. I managed to get the basics of getting onto my board from a ‘beach start’, but my all technique went out the window the second the wind caught a hold of that sail and it became a struggle to not tip right over, which of course happened all too frequently! Windsurfing was a full challenge though and something that I hope to do again while here.
We celebrated New Years Eve next door at the Ocean Beach Hotel, the local hangout in Cottesloe, before walking along the beach thinking of our friends in Canada just waking up on New Years Eve!
Right now Arash is thick into the search for a vehicle to take him north up the Western Australia coast while I am trying to find a winery job anywhere. What this new year is going to bring is a complete mystery for the both of us, but as long as we can make small amounts of money to keep travelling it can’t be all that bad!
