Day 58: Wed 15 May 24 - Rockingham - @KJ's (Perth)

Wed 15 May 24 - Rockingham - @KJ's (Perth)

15 Deg C reaching 25 Deg C, clear, and a slight E to SE breeze most of the day. An absolutely glorious day.

It's been a long day, and I'm tired, so the narrative is short. I woke at 01:00 to Kingsley and Edna arriving back home from Perth airport by Uber, and after going out to greet them, I went straight back to bed. Noel and I were up again at 06:00am, and by 07:00am we were driving into Perth to return the hire car. If I had known it was going to be so busy, I would have returned the car yesterday outside peak period traffic, because the  53km took more than 1.5hrs. After eventually handing back the car, we set off for coffee to discuss our plan of attack for the day. 

We had coffee at a nearby cafe, then went for a pleasant walk around the city centre and through Elizabeth Quay, until we got hungry and made our way up to the Hay St Mall where we sat down at a nice cafe for sustenance. From here, Noel went and explored the inside of some shopping stores while I walked the streets and visited the Perth Mint. Here I did a one hour Perth Mint Gold Tour, which was very interesting. Feeling very peckish after the tour, Noel and I met up again for lunch, then walked back to the Elizabeth Quay Railway Station to catch a train back to Warnbro. What a very efficient rail system - only 35 minutes from Perth to Warnbro, and cost only $4.60 for 2 x senior concession tickets. On arrival, Kingsley and Edna (and Nikon) kindly picked us up from the station and drove us back to Kingsleys house (about 2.5km away), where we chatted and caught up on their week away on Norfolk Island. Unfortunately, Kingsley had to go to work at 5:00pm for a photo shoot, so we had dinner followed by our night-time routine in the van.

Perth - A day in the city

Perth - A day in the city

Perth - A day in the city

Perth - The official residence of the Governor of WA built between 1859 and 1864

Perth - A day in the city. The old and the new.

Perth - A day in the city

Perth - Sculptures of Western Grey kangaroos in different natural positions, `drinking`, `alert` and `in flight'.

Perth - Sculptures of Western Grey kangaroos in different natural positions, `drinking`, `alert` and `in flight'.

Perth - The towering glass spire of the Bell Tower ( or Swan Bell Tower)

Perth - The 82.5m copper and glass bell tower with famous bells 
Bell Tower History 

Perth - The Bell Tower

Perth - Elizabeth Quay Pedestrian Bridge

Perth - Elizabeth Quay

Perth - Elizabeth Quay

Perth - Elizabeth Quay

Perth - Breakfast / Mornos in the Hay St Mall

Perth - Ye Olde London Court. A quirky shopping arcade running between Hay St and St Georges Terrace 

Perth - Ye Olde London Court.

Perth - Ye Olde London Court. Reminiscent of Elizabethan England, London Court was designed in 1937 for a wealthy gold miner and financier. Built as a combination of residential and commercial premises incorporating Tudor design elements and a replica of Big Ben at the entrance

Perth - The Town Hall took some time to construct with the foundation laid in May 1867 and not opened until  June 1870. Prisoners played a major role in building what was then Perth’s tallest building.

Perth - A day in the city.

Perth - A day in the city.

Perth - A day in the city.

Perth - A day in the city.

Perth - A day in the city.

Perth - The Perth Mint established in 1899, is the oldest operating mint in Australia, and Australia's only remaining gold rush mint.

Perth - The Perth Mint 

Perth Mint - The largest legal-tender gold coin ever produced, the One Tonne Gold Kangaroo Coin. Containing 99.99% pure gold it is approximately 80 cm in diameter by 12 cm thick. It is the biggest, heaviest and most valuable gold coin in the world.

Perth Mint - Watching a Gold Pour. Turing molten gold into a solid Gold Bar

Perth Mint - Watching a Gold Pour. Turing molten gold into a solid Gold Bar

Perth Mint - My weight in Gold at today's price. I'm about 67kg. 
The One Tonne Gold Coin is almost 15 times my weight, so do the sums to work out how much it's worth 

Perth Mint - The historic King Henry gold nugget, a 93kg gold and quartz nugget

Perth Mint - Gold nuggets

Perth Mint - Gold Bars

Perth Mint - 2000 Sydney Olympics Gold Medal

Perth City

Perth City

Perth City

Warnbro - Picked up at the Railway Station by Kinglsey and Nikon who is excited to see his dad again after his week away.


Comments

  1. Steven BarbMay 16, 2024 at 6:12 AM

    Once again, fantastic pics 👌. Looks like a nice place.

    ReplyDelete

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