Entries about churches

The first place we visited in Perth was the Mint founded in 1899 as a result of all the gold being mined locally in the Western Australia's eastern goldfields. It is the oldest operating mint in Australia and one of its top exporters responsible for refining nearly all Australia's annual production of gold. Unfortunately with all that gold around we weren't allowed to take any photographs but the highlight of the tour was watching gold being heated up and poured in the Melting House to make a gold bar. Apparently they have been cooling and re-melting the same gold bar for their gold pouring displays for years!

Perth Mint

Recreation of Prospectors' Campsite at Perth Mint

Me by the statue of a couple of gold prospectors outside Perth Mint

Next up was the grand "Beaux Arts-style" General Post Office in Forrest Place. The GPO building itself is now listed and the square in front of it is popular for events and festivals. Murray Street and Hay Street seem to be the main shopping streets in Perth and include London Court, a mock Tudor Shopping Court built in 1937 by a wealthy gold miner and financier. The restored Town Hall is located on the corner of Hay and Barrack Streets.

The General Post Office on Forrest Place, Perth

London Court Shopping Arcade, Perth

Shops along London Court, Perth

Perth Town Hall

We then stumbled upon the Old Perth Fire Station which unexpectedly had quite an interesting museum and heritage centre. Downstairs we some old fire engines and equipmnet but upstairs there were displays about all the different types of disasters the Western Australia Fire and Emergency Services might have to deal with - bush fires, cyclones, tsunamis and earthquakes; very well done but is it safe to live here?

Old Central Fire Station, Perth

Old Fire Tenders at Old Central Fire Station, Perth WA

Just up the road from the Fire Station was St. Marys RC Cathedral; the originally building built in 1863 is quite pretty although I think the jury is still out on the recently added extension on the righthand side.

St Marys Cathedral, Perth

Talking of jurys... it was at this point I began to notice a theme - almost every second building seemed to be some sort of courthouse! I found this quite amusing bearing in mind Australia's convict past (even if West Australians proudly point out that unlike the eastern states they were not originally a convict colony). First up we passed the District Court as we made our back down Hay Street, I didn't bother photographing that. Then we reached Perth Concert Hall, a fine auditorium built in the early 1970s - with the Commonwealth Court nestled beside it on the left.

Perth Concert Hall with the Commonwealth Law Court beside it

We then continued along St George's Terrace past Government House and the impressive Council House where had my photo taken by the statues of a mob of Kangaroos outside Stirling Gardens. Not surprisingly this is a very popular photo site with tourists!

Government House, Perth

Me by the Mob of Kangaroo Statues on St George's Terrace, Perth

Across Stirling Gardens is the Supreme Court with hidden behind it the Old Court House. This is a lovely old building (the oldest in Perth) which was originally built in 1836 and in its early years also doubled up as a boy's school, church and concert hall.

Supreme Court, Perth

The Old Court House, Perth

The Courtroom at the Old Court House, Perth

Me in the dock at the Old Court House in Perth

Our final port of call on our walk around Perth was the Bell Tower at the bottom of Barrack Street by the jetty. It was opened in 2000 as Western Australia's Millennium Project and contains bells from St. Martins-in-the-Fields in London's Trafalgar Square. The oldest bells date from 1550 and are referred to in the nursery "Oranges and Lemons" with the words "you owe me five farthings say the bells of St. Martins".

The Barrack Street Bell Tower

The Bells inside the Bell Tower

We finished off the day in true Perth style with a drink in Maylands watching the sun set over the Perth City Skyline.

Sunset over the Perth City Skyline from Maylands

Fremantle Port (affectionately known as "'Freo" to the locals) sits at the mouth of the Swan River about 25 minutes west of Perth. It has retained its old buildings and charm and apart from the Port Authority Building itself doesn't have the skyscrapers found in Perth. A lot of migrants arrived from Europe through Fremantle including my cousins from Ireland and there are several statues of migrants around the port area. Fremantle is also home to the eye catching West Australian Maritime Museum opened in 2002 with the old museum now used as a Shipwreck Gallery. Amongst the new museum's displays is the Australia II which was the first non-American yacht to win the Americas Cup and brought the competition to Fremantle in 1987.

Fremantle Port Authority Building and the Leeuwin II Sail Training Ship

Migrant Statue near the Fremantle E-Sheds

The West Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle

Sama Biasa - an Indonesian Fishing Boat confiscated for fishing in Australian waters

The 1983 Americas Cup winning yacht Australia II

On a slipway alongside the museum there is the Oberon class submarine HMAS Ovens. It was originally commissioned in 1969 and was operational for 26 years before being handed over as a museum ship. It was a fascinating tour and left with the impression that if needed she was maintained in such good condition that she could be put to sea again.

HMAS Ovens

Forward Torpedo Room within HMAS Ovens

Looking up inside the Coning Tower within HMAS Ovens

HMAS Ovens Engine Room

A couple of minutes along the sea front is an odd 12 sided stone prison called the Round House, built in 1830-31 and the oldest surviving building in Western Australia. It where the first hangings in WA took place and was also used for holding aborigines before they were taken to Rottnest. In front of the Round House there is a signal canon once used for ships in the harbour to set their time and still fired daily at 1pm and underneath there is the Whalers Tunnel carved through the sandstone and used to access the beach where whales were once landed and processed.

The Round House in Fremantle

The courtyard within the Round House

Me by the 1pm Signal Gun near the Round House

The Round House and Whalers' Tunnel

Away from the coast is Freo's biggest tourist attraction and Western Australia's only World Heritage Site - Freemantle Prison. Built in the 1850s based on Pentonville Prison in London, it was in use right up until 1991 when a prison riot and fire exposed how out-dated it was (modern fire appliances couldn't get in the main gate).

Fremantle Prison Main Block

Inside one of the division wings at Fremantle Prison

Exercise Yard at Fremantle Prison

As we were guided through the different parts of the prison - the different prison wings ("divisions"), exercise yards, solitary confinement block and the hanging room and the associated prison stories and superstitions - it felt like being on the location of a film set and I kept thinking of Shawshanks Redemption.

The Chapel at Fremantle Prison - note the 6th commandment reads "Thou shalt do no murder" rather than the more usual "Thou shalt not kill"

Prison superstition - 6 and 16 missing from a wall because they look like a hangman's noose

The Hanging Room at Fremantle Prison

I escaped! Me outside Fremantle Prison Main Gate

Our final stop in Freo was the Little Creatures Micro Brewery on the Esplanade. The beer tasted great and I could happily have spent hours getting quite merry on it but we needed to get back to Perth.

The Little Creatures Micro Brewery in Freo

The bar inside the Little Creatures Micro Brewery

Queenstown is proud of its "Global Adventure Capital" billing but I did manage to find a couple of less adrenaline fuelled things to do while I was there. For starters there is the 2,395 feet (730 metre) long and 1,590 feet (460 metre) high Gondola ride up to Bob's Peak with terrific views of Queenstown, Lake Watatipu and the surrounding mountains. Needless to say this being New Zealand (and Queenstown especially) you can also skydive and bungy jump (and a lot more besides) but I decided not surprisingly for those who know me to give these a miss!

The Skyline Gondola up to Bob's Peak at Queenstown

View of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu from the top of the Gondola

Signpost high above Queenstown, London is only 18,946 kilometres (11,772 miles) away!

The Gondola back down to Queenstown

Skydivers coming into land high above Shotover Street (note the shop names - only in Queenstown!)

Lake Watatipu at 52 miles (84 kilometres) is the second longest in New Zealand with Queenstown situated on the north shore of a s-bend about half way down its length. In the past the lake was the primary means of transport with 4 steamers plying for trade but today only the TSS Earnslaw (built in Dunedin in 1912 and transported in pieces overland) remains. She sails several times a day loaded with tourists on its popular 7 mile (11 kilometre) trip over to Walter Peak on the south side of the lake.

TSS Earnslaw berthed at its wharf on Queenstown Bay

Queenstown as seen from the TSS Earnslaw

TSS Earnslaw at full steam across Lake Watatipu

Looking back across Lake Watatipu towards Queenstown from Walter Peak

Having spent 5 nights in Queenstown it was time to make our way back north towards Christchurch overnighting in Lake Tekapo. Before we got there we passed through Twizel (a "temporary" town built for construction workers in 1968 with diggers on display on the way in - a bit bland!) but then stopped at Lake Pukaki on what turned out to be a perfect weather (and it apparently doesn't happen often) to see Mount Cook. The conditions were so good I tried to sign up for a "Grand Traverse" Flight in a small plane from one coast of South Island to the other over Mount Cook (Maori name is "Aoraki") but unfortunately by the time we reached the airstrip a quite serious weather front had arrived and the flight was called off.

Me with Mount Cook behind me at Lake Pukaki

Mount Cook

My MagicBus Crew at Lake Pukaki/Mount Cook

We then carried on to Lake Tekapo where we were to stay overnight which like Lake Pukaki also has a milky turquoise colour created by the glacial rock sediment that feeds into both lakes. Here there was the small stone Church of the Good Shepherd built in 1935 which has an awesome view of the lake behind its alter which makes it a very popular (and therefore exceptionally expensive!) venue for weddings. Lake Tekapo is also well known for stargazing from the observatories on top of adjacent Mount John but by then I was feeling too tired and cold for the climb up to the summit.

Lake Tekapo

The Church of the Good Shepherd overlooking Lake Tekapo

The view behind the alter at the Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo

The view from my where I did my blogging at Lake Tekapo YHA :-)

The final leg of our trip back to Christchurch was across the endless Plains of Canterbury, the largest expanse of flat lands in New Zealand. Not too much to report here apart from the clever irrigation machinery on wheels that seemed to be ready to walk across nearly every field. Our final stop was at the factory shop at the "Cookie Time" Cookie Factory on the outskirts of Christchurch to try some of their chocolate chip biscuits which seem to have become almost cultural icon in New Zealand since it was opened in 1983.

Irrigation machinery on the Canterbury Plains

The Cookie Time Factory in Christchurch