Go West

The discovery of gold made Western Australia what it is today

Our move to Saudi Arabia happened very quickly, once all the pieces came together and it became clear that we were going we only had a couple of weeks to pack up and leave. There are so many things that are involved in a relocation of any kind, even more so when moving overseas. I dreaded the packing, but I'm the type of person that hates packing even for a two week holiday! I don't mind the holiday, but the thought of deciding what to take, fold, pack, screaming and jumping to make the suitcase close... No thanks.

On top of packing we had a long line of things on our relocation to do list. So what do we do, we go on a holiday around Australia. We like to get our priorities right :)

First on our list was Perth in Western Australia. Imagine flying for six hours straight and you are still in the same country! The trip to Perth wasn't strictly speaking a holiday as my husband had to go there for the induction for his new job.

I on the other hand had all the time in the world to roam around. I must say that it seems like a Swedish lady called Maud has had a great influence on Western Australia. You see the Miss Maud cafes all over town and in the city center they even have a Swedish Hotel!

As I do like my architecture one of the places I visited was St Marys Cathedral. The building was started in 1865, but the cathedral in its current shape was not finished until 2009! That too only after receiving 5 million dollars worth of state and federal funding.

St Marys Cathedral

The first two stages of the cathedral were built in a gothic style. But fast forward about 80 years and it is decided to finish it all off...

St Marys Cathedral

... with something far from gothic! It's very modern with clean lines and one can argue whether it is a fit or not. When you walk around the cathedral you do get the impression that you are looking at three different buildings.

Another thing to see when in Perth is the Perth mint. After all, gold is what attracted thousands of white Australians and immigrants to settle here. Back then people were tripping over gold nuggets the size of human heads (if not larger), I would have been there in two shakes myself! But it seems that very few of the locals realise the importance of the Perth Mint. The bus driver did not know what nor where it was. A mature aged fellow passenger was also puzzled and could not understand why quite a few passengers (tourists I presume) were wanting to go to this place!

View from Kings Park

Perth, like any other major Australian city sits on the water, with the lovely Swan River flowing through. Had I not already developed this nearly exclusive relationship with Sydney, Perth could have become my favourite Australian city!

Gum trees

In Perth they are taking the concept of parks in the city very seriously. Kings Park is an area that covers 4 square kilometres (nearly twice the size of London's Hyde Park) and a majority of it is natural bushland. It is a park that you can get lost in. That's nearly what happened to us and we were travelling with a local! 

I would definitely go back to Western Australia, just to see other parts of the state. There is some amazing wildlife to be seen and there are people who say that the coral reefs in Western Australia may not be as famous as the Great Barrier Reef, but they are more spectacular. Oh well, another time maybe...