On the next to the last
day, we began to
reacclimatize ourselves to civilization through a trip to
Freemantle, a
beautiful city just south of Perth. We spent a day in the
city's
historic district. Next to the coast, the district
covers
approximately a 5 square block radius and consists
predominantly of
restored buildings from the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. There
is a definite English feel to the area, which is now home to
the lively
arts scene of Freemantle. Filled with shops galleries and
the sort of
food that doesn't require building a fire, we were in
heaven. The photo
to the right shows the Dome cafe, a popular first stop on
many
student's itinerary. Fueled by food and caffeine, we set out
to see the
historical district. One popular destination were the
numerous small
malls that have been built inside the old port warehouses,
as shown in
the photo to the right.
As
these
photos attest, the historical district is a remarkably
self-contained area. In addition to the numerous
malls, there are
many galleries featuring the works of both aborigines and
Australian
artists --textiles, paintings, wood carvings, to name a
few items. The
area also serves the larger needs of the community as
well. At the end
of the main boulevard one of the numerous churches (the
photo to the
right) in the district may be found; however not all of
them have such
a colorful sermon advertised. In the photo to the left you
can see the
train station at the end of the street. There is a
wonderful uniformity
to the architecture in the area, and you can't help but
feel that you
have stepped back in time, to the colonial roots of the
region.
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|
The town was a
delightful little place. In fact, walking down
the street made me feel
like I was in Disneyland.
|
Moving
from the historic
district to the coast provides another view of Freemantle,
one which
pays homage to its nautical roots. The port city for
Perth, it is
located at the juncture of the Swan River and the Indian
Ocean. The old
port remains, along with the stretches of new marinas that
line the
coast. The photo to the right shows the view looking
southward from the
old harbor fort, toward the heart of the recreational
sailing area.
Sailors may remember that it was from here that the first
successful
campaign to wrest the America's Cup from the U.S. was
launched. Next to
the fort is the Maritime museum (the photo to the left)
which does a
fine job of chronicling the maritime past of Freemantle.
Just to the
right of the shops is a wonderful row of restaurants
serving fresh
seafood. Something for everyone in Freemantle.
Next
we headed north along the
beautiful west coast beaches (photo to the right) moving
toward Perth
and the Noalimba Recreational Center, where we would
spend our
last night. After a long drive along the coast, we arrived
in Perth,
and drove through the beautiful downtown area en route to
King's Park. The
sleek skyscrapers such as the one pictured in the
photo to the right were quite a contrast to the rural
Australia of the
past eight days, and even the colonial architecture of
Freemantle. It
served as a reminder that Australia boasts a modern
economy and culture.
King's Park overlooks Perth and the
Swan River. Perth itself owns the distinction as being the
most remote
city in the world, farther away from similar size cities
than any other
spot in the world. From the war memorial at King's Park we
were
afforded a beautiful panorama of Perth, which is visible
below. We
paused at the point for a group photo (right) before
heading to
the recreation center and our final evening's activity.
Below is a
series of 360 panoramas that offer a better
view of this section of King's Park.
360
Panoramic
Tour of King's Park War Memorial
Instructions:
You may take the tour by clicking on the round
navigation icons in each
scene, or by selecting the thumbnail option [
] from the menu at the bottom of the
screen. You may view
the tour in full-screen mode by clicking on the
"full-screen" icon [
]
on the menu at the bottom of the page. If you are
using an older
computer and experiencing some "jumpiness" in the
panorama, click on
the compass icon [
]from the bottom menu to smooth things
out.
That
evening we
visited a nearby mall to unwind and take in a movie. The
film was a
very fitting end to our stay in Australia. The Rabbit
Proof Fence
is a native Australian film that tells the true story of
three young
aboriginal girls separated from their family who make an
unlikely 1500
mile trek home after escaping from a children's home for
those of
"mixed races." It is a moving portrayal of life for
aboriginal people
during the colonial years. After this, it was a trip to
Baskin Robbins
and then to bed, bracing ourselves for a 4:30 a.m. wakeup
to go to the
airport.
