Parks – Travels with Ali

~ A Trip to the Claremont Museum ~

This little outing was taken during the last school holidays and it’s also just down the road from me. The Claremont Museum is somewhere I’d never visited even though we’ve lived here for 20 years. I thought I would check it out with my two munchkins.

The building was actually a school once upon a time, called Freshwater Bay School opening in 1892. It was subsequently used for a place of worship, a boarding house for young men and also a police station.

There is no entry fee which was surprising and when we entered the kids were given clipboards by the lady in charge with photos of tiny lego men which were hidden all around the museum.

After spending a good hour in here we wandered down to the small river beach and as it was a hot day, they decided to have a paddle and build sandcastles.

Sand and water provide endless entertainments for kids.

After I had taken this photo I zoomed in and was taken aback at how creepy and ugly these mini sculptures were!

“Kids, hallowed be thy youth. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
― DON SANTO

Oh! to be young again is many a lament you often hear from old people, but I’m not sure I would want to be a child again. I’m very happy I don’t have to go to school anymore, especially not hundreds of years ago anyway.

“No matter if you’re 14 or 90 years old, you’ll never be this young again.”
Matt Purcell

Tina from Travels and Trifles is the host this week for Lens-Artist and the topic if you haven’t guessed is “To be young again”.

~ Postcard from Perth ~ 28 October 2023

The last week here in Perth has been pretty busy for me and last weekend I was out and about in the hills of Perth. On Saturday I went on an art trail with a friend. In the hills and surrounding areas there are many small galleries, featuring all kinds of crafts, artwork and sculptures. There was an open day so we took the chance to have a glimpse at the work. It was also a great way to see some of the countryside. The weather has been fantastic, but I haven’t put away all my winter gear just yet as it is still very cool in the evenings.

Some of the artwork in the gardens

We saw some beautiful houses, all very different, I couldn’t live up there though with the danger of bush fires throughout the summer.

On Sunday we had our winery date and once again drove out into the countryside, this time to the Wheatbelt region. About an hour and 15 minutes drive from our house. I had booked lunch at Stringy Bark Winery. In the middle of the state forest (luckily we didn’t get lost this time actually in the forest itself as we did the week before!).

It doesn’t look much more than a shack but nice and cosy inside and a good menu too.

**Chicken liver pate with cranberry relish**

This was absolutely delicious which I had with a glass ..or two.. of their Verdehlo.

**A bottle of their Cabernet Savignon to take home**

🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫

Monday I drove over to Elena’s and had lunch with her and Rosie in a cafe on the river. I saw some amazing murals on the toilet block. Better than having them look like a concrete grey block. My feature photo is looking across the river.

Beautiful mosaic decorated box

The parks and reserves on the river banks in Perth are great places to visit. There are always bbq facilities, picnic areas and of course intricately designed playgrounds for kids. There are also purpose built playground equipment for wheelchairs. A day out doesn’t have to be expensive, who doesn’t love a picnic.

Linking to Pull up a Seat and Weekend Coffee Share/PPAC

~ It’s a Good Week to have a Good Week ~

Ju-Lyn from Touring my Backyard has asked us to share our Happy Places and Spaces.

This week for me has been exceptionally busy with all kinds of things. I haven’t had much time at all to sit and blog, although I’ve been reading a few. My posts all seem to stay in my head and when I do get to sit at the computer, they’ve disappeared!

I’ll start with Friday. A friend from my Zumba class was hosting an Abba Party at her house on Friday evening. It was such a fun evening, everyone dressed up and danced for hours. I danced like a teenager but forgot to tell my body. Aches and pains followed the next day.

Most Mondays are now spent looking after my two precious grandchildren while my daughter works. It’s hard work for sure but such a privilege to be with them. This week I had Maddy’s help and we were able to go to Lake Claremont for a little walk and play.

Of course we had to stop in the cafe for a treat on the way back, Rosie mesmerised by herself!

Monday evening we met up with some very dear friends from South Australia on their last night in WA. We have been playing catch up for years and this is the first time in 17 years that we’ve been able to see them.

Tuesday and Friday are Bridge playing days. Tuesday was good, Friday bad! The mornings playing Bridge go so quickly and this is one of the things that I can completely focus on. Wednesday I was also at the Bridge Club having lessons! The weather on Tuesday and Wednesday was atrocious, high speed winds and heavy slanting rain. Such a difference to Monday.

I walked to the Bridge Club on Friday, a drastic improvement in the weather.

Wednesday night was also out for dinner with Laurence and Maddy. I must say that is the only good thing to come out of Covid that they have managed to get back from Melbourne to stay with us for a couple of months.

We are having a bathroom renovated and also some trees cut down in the garden, so people have been coming and going all week with trucks and vans. Scaffolding has been put up so Laurence could get to the trees easier! Well he has to earn his keep somehow.

Happy places for me are anywhere my family are and my happy spaces are on a dance floor or at a Bridge table!

Day Trips from Melbourne – Ballarat Wildlife Park

There are so many places to visit just outside of Melbourne, just an hour or two away, so it’s easy enough to fit in a side trip during a four day visit.

Our first day trip was spent at Ballarat Wildlife Park. It takes around 90 minutes to drive from Melbourne and it’s a beautiful park to spend an afternoon in, especially as they have koalas. You do have to register your names at the entrance and pay a bit extra for the koala experience, but as these cuddly creatures are becoming more extinct I thought it was worth it. The park is situated on 37 acres of bushland and has more than 100 free roaming kangaroos.

We spent a couple of hours here looking at all the different animals and it is a very hands on place, being able to feed the kangaroos. Judging by the amount of food on the ground I think the kangaroos are pretty bored with it and definitely not hungry.

Our encounter with the koalas

These are just a few of the photos I took of all the different animals there, and the ones I could get decent shots of! The other animals they have are penguins, birds, crocs, Tasmanian tigers, snakes, emus, wombats, quolls and aligators. There are also two Sumatran tigers there.

There is a licenced cafe there where we had lunch. In my opinion though it’s probably better to bring your own picnic.

PARK INFORMATION

Opening hours: 9-5 pm daily. Closed Christmas Day
Admission: $35 for adults – $19.50 for children. There are group discounts for families.
Animal Encounters: – $40 – $80, I believe for groups of four or less.

As you can see it makes a great family day out, admittedly not cheap but it’s good to see the animals well cared for in a natural habitat.

🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘🦘

On our way back to Melbourne we had a quick pitstop at Lake Wendouree. A beautiful spot to have a picnic and a walk. Then it was back to the city for dinner. A very tasty Korean.

Until our next trip!

A Gem in Perth, Kings Park

As I live in this beautiful city of Perth I thought it was about time to do a post on Kings Park. It’s great for a short stroll or a longer walk, a picnic or a play with your kids. There are a few cafes and restaurants there where you can eat and enjoy the fantastic view over the Swan River. There are many memorial services performed here each year and it’s here they have the Remembrance Day Service in front of the Cenotaph.

Kings Park and Botanic Garden is one of the largest inner city parks in the world and is visited by over 6 million people each year. It’s larger than Central Park covering 400.6-hectares.

It first opened on 10 August 1895, and was originally called Perth Park and was renamed in 1901 to King’s Park – the apostrophe was later dropped. This was to mark the ascension to the British throne of King Edward VII and the visit to Perth of George, the Duke of Cornwall and Princess Mary.