Australian Adventure - Part 1 Perth
There were four groups of travel agents from the UK and Europe who took part in this - and each trip covered a different part of Australia. My trip was Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne.
I started my journey by boarding the BA shuttle service from Manchester to Heathrow, where I then checked in for my Cathay Pacific flight to Perth. I was granted access into the business class lounge in Heathrow and in Hong Kong for this outward journey - which was a lovely gesture from the airline, although I have to admit I was hoping for a business class seat on board!
The lounge was a great way to start my journey - especially as a single traveller, with drinks and snacks available when I wanted. It was also a safe place to leave my hand luggage whilst I went for a wander around the duty free instead of having to carry it around with me.
The aircraft was their flagship 777 and, as it wasn't a full flight, I had the two window seats to myself, giving me loads of room. At 32 inches though the seat pitch was quite generous should I have had anyone beside me. There was a great selection of entertainment in my seat back TV, however as it was a night departure it wasn't long before I fell asleep and woke when I arrived in Hong Kong.
The stopover in Hong Kong was straightforward enough and having access to the Cathay Pacific lounge ensured I was fed and watered before I boarded the flight to Perth.
On arrival in Perth I was met by the agents running my group, and we collected another travel agent from Zurich, and together we left for our hotel. As it was early morning we had time for a quick shower and a bite to eat before our itinerary began. We were staying at the Travelodge Perth. A pretty standard hotel and perfect for a base to explore the area, close to the city centre and train station. It was pretty consistent in décor with most other Travelodges in Australia, and the rooms were comfortable and adequately equipped.
First stop was a tour of Kings Park, and a walk along the SkyWay which was beautiful. The botanic gardens and river were stunning. We then took part in a little bell ringing at Elizabeth Quay - which was exciting, loud and actually quite difficult. We had a tour of Perth city where we looked round a couple of hotels and had an interesting guided tour of the Perth Mint. We had a Lemington filled afternoon tea in their tea room - a first taste of the infamous Lemingtons for me, and most certainly wouldn't be my last - delicious!
Dinner that evening was taken overlooking the Indian Ocean at the Blue Duck at Cottesloe Beach. We had a lovely meal, but as we had had a pretty long day it was early to bed ready for day two.
The next morning, we rose bright and early and headed to Scarborough beach for an inspection of the fabulous Rendezvous Hotel who kindly provided a delicious breakfast for us. This is a delightful hotel overlooking the beach and one of the best sellers in the area for me, so was great to have a look around the spacious comfortable rooms with superb ocean views.
Next, we headed to the beach where we all donned wetsuits for our surfing lesson. We learnt the basics on land with a view to taking it into the water - however the sea was a little too rough for us to learn so we had a demo from the surf school (which I was a little relieved about as I'm not the most sporty of people!)
From here we headed inland to the Lancaster winery for cheese and wine tasting before visiting Caversham Wildlife Park. I loved it here - getting up close with the native animals such as wallabies, koalas and even getting to hold a wombat. We had a little refresher at the hotel with a chance to wander into Perth before heading to the coast again - this time to Fremantle.
This place was like stepping back to Colonial times. The architecture of the buildings, the feel of the place it was just something else. Our first stop was the fabulous Esplanade hotel. Again, this was a property I had offered, and still do, to many of my clients in the area. With its large airy atrium and lovely décor, the rooms were tasteful and a good size and certainly looked every bit as good as I had anticipated. The staff were so friendly, and I could see why guests returned time and time again.
From here we moved on to our dinner reservation at a lovely little pub where I had my first taste of kangaroo. I was a bit wary at first as it was only a few hours earlier that I was face to face with these beautiful creatures and now I was having it for dinner - but I gave it a try and it was delicious!
Back to the hotel for our last night in Perth. The next morning another early start and this time it was a trip south of the city to Rockingham, where I had another opportunity to get into a wetsuit, and this time I was going to get in the water as we went out on the boat to swim with the Rockingham Dolphins - in the wild! I had always wanted to swim with dolphins and this experience was out of this world. As it was in their natural habitat we were told not to grab or touch the dolphins - so no being pulled along by them as you would get in a Marine Park, but they interacted with us, nudging us and swimming around and under us. It was most certainly the highlight of my trip so far. And this is a trip I would recommend to anyone visiting the area. The guys on the boat were fantastic hosts as well.
From here we took our bus inland again and back to Perth to collect our belongings and a spot of free time before heading off to our onward flight to Adelaide.
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