Day 74: Perth, Western Australia

After more than a day of desert and wilderness, then the forest of the Avon National Park (below), all of a sudden civilisation appeared in the form of roads, shopping malls and houses.

Aboard the Indian Pacific, it was lunch time. Alison and Roger (a couple from London who I had met on the first night), and Donna (from Adelaide, who I’d met this morning), asked me to join them, to mark the successful completion of my journey. The waiter called it “the last supper”! Although the waiter was being dramatic, I was sorry to leave the train. It was full of really friendly and interesting people, and I enjoyed meeting many of them.

However, it was time to explore my final destination, Perth. I collected my cases from the platform and asked one of my companions Lorraine to take a photo of me with the Perth sign at the station. This is what two and a half months of travel had led up to!

I dropped my bags at the hostel and went straight out. Looking at a map of the city, Hyde Park (where have I heard that name before?) was just up the road from the hostel. It was calm and peaceful, and quite unlike the busyness and tourist frenzy of Hyde Park in Sydney.

After being on the train, I felt like stretching my legs. So I explored a bit more of Perth and went down to the River Swan, which runs through Perth. By the river is Elizabeth Quay, Perth’s alternative to Sydney’s Circular Quay.

There was a big event on for Christmas, but it was still not the tourist frenzy that Circular Quay is. Although it does have a bridge!

My first impressions of Perth were really positive, and it’s ranked as one of the most livable cities. I should stop comparing it to Sydney where I lived before, as they are very different, which is a good thing. After living in Edinburgh, Sydney and Gibraltar, all tourist cities, I’m happy to be more off the beaten track.

And Perth certainly is that. Despite a population of 2.3 million, Perth is one of the most isolated major cities in the world. Perth is closer to East Timor and Jakarta than Sydney! This is handy for me potentially travelling in Asia. Although it hasn’t sunk in yet that my current journey is over, I’m sure I’ll be looking to set off on a new adventure soon!