FREEMANTLE (PERTH), AUSTRALIA

We had a wonderful day in Perth.  It all began in Napier, NZ, when we took a private tour and were joined by Bob and Bev from Perth.  They asked us to join them in Perth for a guided tour.  We've been in touch several times by email, so after a very enjoyable Captain Cook cruise up the Swan River from Freemantle to Perth, we arrived and were greeted warmly.

Bob and Bev said they were "shouting us", which is Aussie slang to mean they were paying for everything, and we were to keep our hands out of our pockets!  We walked through the Supreme Court Gardens, drove to King's Park and walked and drove to various viewpoints.

Then we went to a waterfront venue on the Swan River for coffees.  We drove to a large shopping complex along the ocean, looked in shops, admired boats in the marina, and then watched the sunset since we were in Western Australia.

Next we went to their home for a glass of wine and a tour of their home.  It was "just an ordinary home" according to Bob and Bev, but it was lovely.  Their furniture was made out of a lot of native Australian wood, and we liked it.  Then we were off to a restaurant for a very fancy dinner graced with Australian wine, and our favorite dessert--Tiramisu.

They then drove us back to the ship in Freemantle, which was 20 km away.  We were the last ones to arrive at about 10:15 pm.  What a great day!  We were thoroughly spoiled!

We joked that if we missed the ship, we'd stay overnight with them and catch up with the ship in Bunbury.  Not a good idea, as it turned out.  Today, our stop in Bunbury was cancelled, because there is too much swell and it was not safe to attempt coming into port.  Consequently, we have a sea day before Albany, tomorrow.

g'day!