Perth pics

We flew from Sydney to Perth on November 14, 2025. As you can see, the harbor is a bit smaller! Actually, Elizabeth Quay in Perth is on the Swan River and not a big ocean harbor like Sydney so it is necessarily more compact. The pic below shows the pedestrian walk on the right and a walking bridge connecting the two sides of the 'harbor'. You can take cruises up and down the Swan river and they even have swam-shaped boats you can rent and tootle about in.

Below is a pic from the pedestrian bridge looking back at the quay. There was a really wonderful splash pad for kids off to the right - the best I've ever seen - with screaming, happy children.

Above is a really unique clock tower near Elizabeth Quay. Below is a cool tree. It is really amazing to be in a place so like the US in so many ways yet completely remiss of a single tree or bird song you recognize. We loved it!

Below is the Supreme Court building for Western Australia. A short distance to the left is the oldest remaining building in Perth (I failed to get a picture). It is the Old Court House, built in 1836. It currently has one of the best curated exhibits I believe I've ever seen, showcasing the history of the justice system in Western Australia with an emphasis on marginalized populations including Aborigines and women. I had no idea that Rottnest was once a prison for Aboriginal peoples under Western AU rule. The storytelling of the exhibits was moving throughout the small museum. Matt also got to dress up like a nineteenth century judge with the white wig and the whole bit and had a blast posing for the GoPro. :)

King's Park is Perth's equivalent of NYC's Central Park. The AirB&B we rented was right by Jacob's Ladder, a set of bun-burning stairs that climb straight up from the road level to the Park level. Below is a view from King's Park looking back toward Elizabeth Quay.

Above is a war memorial to Australia's fallen in the two world wars. The poppies in the foreground are all hand-crotched memorials - each with a different button in the middle. There were thousands of them.

Below are images of some of the interesting plants we saw on our walk around King's Park. the second is a giant Boab tree.

Finally, the thing I was looking forward to most of all....the Quokkas on Rottnest Island. A picture of one we found more off the beaten path is below. Mostly we saw them though right where all of the eateries were. I'm not sure I would spend the big money to take a ferry all the way out to Rottnest from Perth again. And we actually took the train to Freemantle to save about $40 per person on the fares. We had also seen quokkas already at the wildlife park in Sydney and it wasn't much of an additional experience to see them on Rottnest - at least for us. Still, they are cute little guys. They used to also be very common on the mainland but are now only found on two islands where they don't have predators like cats and dogs.

We also spent a day in Freemantle, which reminded me a bit of Fremont in Seattle. Very hip and a little quirky, a little edgy. Freemantle had a noticeable number of hostels downtown that looked exceptional. If only we could 30 years (and somehow still have the money to do this!)