Down And Up

Specifically, down (south) and up (north) the Stirling Highway. This morning a member of St Philip's drove us around to help widen our grasp of Where Places Are and How To Get There. We started by heading down to Fremantle, where we walked around the cafe-strip and found where the weekend markets are located (top tip: turn up an hour before they close on Sunday afternoon for fresh, local fruit at knocked-down prices). On our way out again, we stopped by the docks to pick up timetables for ferries to Rottnest Island or whale-watching (we've arrived at the start of whale-watching season!).

Then we headed back north, past where we are living, up to Kings Park. Kings Park is a massive area right on the edge of the Central Business District, which incorporates the Botanical Gardens, open space, play areas, bush - burtsting with wildflowers - and more memorials to Historic Persons Of Note and those who fell fighting for their country than I've ever seen in any one place anywhere else. The park is an amazing asset to the city - like Central Park to Manhattan Island - and I'm sure we'll be back to explore it at more leisure on several occasions.

• Plants of note: there is a local species of flower known as Kangaroo Paw, which looks - unsurprisingly - like kangaroo paws on long stems; we've seen red-and-green, dark red, and black-and-lime-green varieties, and all three are very striking.
• Memorial of note: roads run through Kings Park, and these are lined with native trees; each tree is named for someone from the State who fell in battle or died as a result of wounds sustained in war, on a little plaque infront of the tree; and whenever one of the trees dies, it is replaced with a new one, so that there always remains a tree for each person remembered. I think that is a really nice touch.