"Keeweechic's Perth - Western Australia " a Perth Travel Page by keeweechic

When it came time to move from Hong Kong where I had been living for 2 years, I decided to try Perth in Western Australia. I had only been there once before and only for 4 days but what I saw in that time, convinced me that it would be a great place to live, and I wasn't disappointed.

I previously lived on two occasions in Melbourne and my friends thought I was crazy to move to such a remote city such as Perth (it is said to be the most remote city in the world!!), but I knew from my previous visit that this place was something very special and I liked the climate. Most people who go down to Australia on holiday head for the East Coast - Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne but they are truly missing a wonderful part of Australia. The people were so friendly, the weather great. It took 2 weeks after arriving before I saw a cloudy day. the skies were always so blue. The beaches unbelievable with the white sand and the expanse of them with the ocean disappearing off into the horizon. The whole layout of the city and suburbs just seems so well planned.

From Perth there is so much to see and do. Travel south and you find the wonderful wineries of Margaret River (see my Margaret River page). Travel north and find the amazing Pinnacles (rock formations). Western Australia is a huge state of Australia. Many tours can be taken from Perth. It is indeed a lovely place to visit and to live.

My first experience of Perth, I was living in Melbourne at the time, it was my birthday and my brother had flown over from NZ to join me on a trip to Singapore. We flew British Airways via Perth. Not too far out of Perth we struck storms. The plains below were flooded and there were flashes of lightening lashing all around the plane. Suddenly there was a very loud crack. An announcement from the captain explained that the plane had been struck by lightening. After circling for quite some time with the possibility of heading back to Adelaide, the Captain was finally able to land the plane in Perth. The plane's electrics were checked out thoroughly by a cherry picker which had great trouble completing the job in the high winds. After a couple of hours we were allowed to board again only to sit on the runway waiting for cross winds to be favourable. In the meantime all the lights at Perth's terminal were turned off, there was only darkness. We joked at those in the past who make fun of New Zealand - "the last one out, turns all the lights off". Spending a whole birthday in a plane was compensated by wonderful crew who gave us both bottles of Champagne and signed a special BA birthday card for me. Memorable to say the least. I don't really count that sighting of Perth as a visit but the next time I landed in this state I stayed with some dear friends who showed me a lot more of Perth and life there.

Facts:
Perth is the sunniest capital city in the world, with an average 8 hours per day sunshine 365 days per year.

Perth has the largest inner city park in the world, Kings Park, "Yes", bigger than even New York's Central Park it was also the first park to be designated for public use in Australia in 1872 and host to Australia's largest wildflower show and exhibition.

More in my Travelogues