Finally, on Friday 28th March we were able to get our holiday back on schedule. The one thing we hadn’t had to cancel or rearrange was our stay at the Aurea Hotel in Perth City Centre. So after our last breakfast at Rosebridge we were back in an Uber and 30 mins later arriving well before check in at our final stop.
We had to wait in reception for our room to become available but it was very hot outside and we liked the Air Con. It looked like they weren’t going to relent and let us in before 3pm so we made a decision to go out. All of a sudden room 202 was ready for us to occupy. Lovely. We’d chosen this hotel because it’s relatively newly refurbished and got great reviews on Trip Advisor. It didn’t disappoint as our room was very spacious, with a restful picture of a beach as a backdrop to the beds, great Air Con and a balcony that overlooked trees and the city skyline beyond. It was so modern that we couldn’t actually work out how to turn the lights on!
We did a bit of unpacking and then headed out following the Receptionists guidance to catch the free bus to Elizabeth Quay (all buses in Perth CBD are free 😀). It was only a short bus ride and walk away and is an area that has seen massive redevelopment into a trendy waterfront attraction on the Swan River. It was named after Queen Elizabeth II in honour of her Diamond Jubilee year, following her visit to the area for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. It was opened in 2016.
Today, it was very quiet really and our first destination, The Bell Tower, which had been recommended to us by the boring chap back at the BnB was closed for a private function. Never mind, we could do that another day and meanwhile we wandered about taking photos of the skyline and modern pedestrian bridge and the Spanda Sculpture which is 29m high. There are quite a lot of restaurants etc in the area but I did notice that not all of these premises were occupied. Generally, I’d say that Perth had aspirations to be as cool and trendy as Sydney but had a way to go but all of the Uber drivers were very keen to tell us how thriving the city is and how much development is going on.
The city skyline is very impressive and over our few days here we saw it from various different angles. Lots of the buildings have company initials and names on them. I was intrigued to know who these were and what had lead to the economic development in Perth. Without doubt it’s been the focus on resource industries- mining and in particular – iron ore as well as Agricultural exporting. Many of the signs on the tower blocks are mining companies such as BHP, Rio Tinto, Chevron, South32 as well as the usual suspects of the world of finance EY, Deloittes and numerous banks. I also discovered that the richest person in Australia is from Perth. Gina Rhinehart is a mining magnate (Hancock Prospecting) and her net worth is Aus $ 29billion. And guess who she’s friends with in America?
Perth is diversifying and has a highly educated workforce and known for its innovation. Its location on the Indian Ocean within the Asia-Pacific region gives it access to fast growing economies. It looks like the future is bright for ‘The City of Light’. It also looks like I’m giving the boring man at the BnB a run for his money.
It was a very hot afternoon and The Island Brewery seemed like a good place to stop for a cold one. It tasted very good indeed and then we walked up Barrack Street to the ‘Best Fish and Chip Shop’ in Perth. Despite a slight mistake in ordering fish without batter (😇😆) it was indeed very good. And the mushy peas were suitably stodgy. This tatty little place is in a slightly seedy area, so we were soon back in an Uber and heading back to our haven beneath Kings Park. That makes it sound like we were sleeping on a park bench which obviously we weren’t.
Where shall we go to next? 