For the last few days, we've been staying in west Perth, at the Riverview Hotel on Mount Street. We booked this hotel before our trip, based on a good deal for advance booking and its proximity to King's Park, which is a wide expanse of parkland, gardens, sculptures and memorials high above Perth and overlooking the city and Swan River. It is great for escaping the sunshine, with lots of shady areas and a lovely cafe (with free wifi).
What we didn't realise is that Mount Street also seems to be the running centre of the city. From our hotel balcony, where this is a view of the river if you peer through the trees, there are a constant stream of runners and walkers going up and down the Mount. If this was Stoke, this was definitely be called a bank and seems to be the sligthly more sunny equivalent of Anchor Road or Milton Road.
And when you get to the top of the bank and into King's Park, there are even more runners going about their training, as well as big groups of people enjoying a picnic at the end of the day. We went for an evening run on Tuesday, just about an hour before sunset. It was a little bit cooler but we were still glad of all the shade we could find. Our route took us arounfd the outside of the park overlooking the Swan River, then we snaked back through the Botanic Gardens, where the gum trees all give off amazing scents as you run by. We won't win distance awards for our running at the moment - 3 miles in the heat was tough enough - but taking in the views as we ran made for a very enjoyable experience.
Another running challenge in the area is called Jacob's Ladder - a climb of over 270 steps from river level up to the top of the Mount Eliza Escarpment (honestly, that's it's name) and coming out at the top of Mount Street. At whatever time of day you pass, there are people running or walking up and down and up and down. We included an upward climb in our run on Thursday after a couple of laps of the lake in a nearby park. I managed to get from top to bottom without stopping but it was definitely more of a walk than a run.
It's not all running though. We've spent plenty time exploring too...
- a pilgrimage to Karrakatta cemetery so Jon could find the grave of a soldier from the First World War. He'd read a book about the wartime experiences of Christopher Beechey and his brothers and wanted to find his final resting place.
- a touristy afternoon in Fremantle, including a visit it to the old prison to hear tales of escape and recapture.
- escaping the heat by riding the free air conditioned buses around the city - we've been fom Claisebrooke in the east to Harbour Town in the west and stopped off at quite a few places in the middle.
- explored the little arcades of the central business district - amidst all the modern buildings are some lovely examples of architecture from Perth's early days in the 19th Century.
- read books (just finished High Tide by Jude Deveraux) and eaten ice cream in cafes and on park benches - there is a very big cafe culture out here. Fremantle even has a "cappuccino strip". Our new favourite cafe in Perth is The Botanical Cafe in King's Park. I think my sister would like to be in charge of this place!
- explored some of the 400 hectares of King's Park - without running. Jon spent time wandering amongst the war memorials (whilst I hung out in the Botanical Cafe with an iced mocha) and we ambled our way along the tree top walkway, through the Botanic Gardens and even climbed a tower (which seemed to be another popular spot for Perth's fitness junkies).
- sung the night away at sing-a-long-a Grease at the open air cinema at the far end of the park... Jon was slightly skeptical at first but he was definitely joining in by the time we got to Greased Lightning! We were very impressed by the inflatable cinema screen and bean bag seating. Getting home afterwards was a bit of an adventure too... Jon had to show off his Spider-Man skills by climbing over a fence to get us back into our hotel after our entry code didn't work. He was secretly quite pleased with himself!
So that was Perth... We're off to the Swan Valley next for some wine tasting and gourmet food adventures, via a side trip to Canning River. Our home from home for the next few days, Fern Cove B&B, has comfy sofas, a shady garden and a parkrun on its doorstep!
Happy travels
LizT
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