Perth was the first city on my mind to go and live before I landed in Darwin (and never left), so now that I made it down here, I’m quite curious about western Australia’s capital city.

Our swags stay rolled up as we get to Perth. We’re staying with Daniel, Trish and Bob’s son, living in Scarborough, a suburb north of Perth. Perth is known to be the sunniest state capital, however, the first days we spend here, remind me of Dutch weather, with grey skies, occasional rainfall and heavy winds. It is winter though, so clearly winter that Christmas is celebrated by some and the pub is full of Christmas decoration, to my contempt.

We visit Kings Park, one of the main attractions of the city, what we find here, is beyond anyone’s expectations; an a-poke-lypse. We hit a traffic jam to get into the park and see hundreds, if not, thousands of kiddos (not only kiddos) searching for that particular pokemon. As we walk through the park to get that spectacular view of Perth’s skyline, it’s like a game dodging the poke-lypse zombies, their eyes fixated on their phones like cats eyes following a laser-dot.

As many good things I’ve heard and read about metropolitan Perth with its funky bars and sunny beaches, hip neighbourhoods and colonial architecture, all I see that day are glittering skyscrapers.
Therefor I head for its historic seaside port of Fremantle, the small, excentric, creative and relaxed historic port town on the mouth of the Swan river. ‘Freo’s’ harbour serves as the port of Perth and was the first area settled by the British colonists in 1829, taking possession of the land which was then “New Holland”. Later that day I learn more about Dutch quests in Australia, but first I go to prison. 

In about a decade’s time, the Brits manage to quadruple Freo’s population by shipping in convicts. It takes 43 voyages to get more than 9000 men in to help build the town. The prison they built themselves, is now a world heritage site and well worth a visit. I do my time, and follow Moira, our guide on ‘the Great Escapes’ tour, bringing the eerie prison blocks to life. From the minute we start she gets our full attention, the kids as assets, illustrating how prisoners would walk, sneaking tools through the place to dig tunnels or break bars. She tells us tales of the many attempted escapes, some with triumphant endings, others run aground before even sniffing freedom. As lively as Moira makes it for us, this prison was no happy place. The prison originally held some of the most notorious and violent criminals in the country.
The building is very eerie and cold and the cells are small and dark. Strolling along the walkways is an experience and simply being in the prison gives you an eerie feeling. Some people even refuse to enter the building as it is so spooky. There are reports of strange noises and lights, doors opening and closing by themselves, ghostly shadows and strange feelings that someone is behind you. With mixed feelings I step through the gates and enjoy my freedom.

I choose to do cultural stop in Freo, the shipwreck galleries. I have very little patience for museums, but when it comes to maritime archaeology, I’m all eyes and ears. Op top of that, this museum boasts the Batavia Gallery, where the hull of the original Dutch merchant ship Batavia is displayed.
It also boasts the full history of Dutch landings in West Australia, the first one back in 1616. Most of the vessels literally bumped into “Nova Hollandia” when missing their turn for Batavia (nowadays Jakarta). And by bumping into it, the ships got wrecked, later found by divers as immense treasures. I won’t bore you with the nitty-gritty details, but can say that I learn more on Dutch maritime history here, than any schoolbook ever taught me.

To forget my gained knowledge, I visit one of the many micro-breweries found in Freo. As soon as I step into the ‘Little creatures’ brewery, I fall in love with the place. It has the perfect mix of industrial looks and creative corners. While drinking my heavenly award-winning pilsner I wonder ‘am I a hipster for liking a place like this?’ I don’t drink much of the delish brew, as I’m all alone (damn I miss my friends!) and tomorrow is an early rise.

As much as I want to stay under by warm blanket, I need to get up to catch the ferry. It’s a frigid 2 degrees when I leave the hostel, not very promising for an island day. The island I’m visiting is Rottnest, a little gem just 18 kilometres off Perth’s shore, famous for its big surf, relaxing hikes, bottlenose dolphins, white beaches and the happiest animal on the planet; the quokka. Enough reasons for the annual 500.000 visitors to explore tiny Rotto with only a hundred residents, named by yet another Dutchman in 1696, who called it “rat’s nest” after the quokka population.
Anyhow, when I mount my bike, happy to be off the choppy waves, I start peddling the 22 kilometres cirquit of Rotto. The island reminds me of the Schiermonnikoog, a Dutch car free island with tall sand dunes and silty air. Luckily, temperatures are not like Dutch winter and it becomes a beautifully sunny day. A perfect escape from the big smoke, all I hear are the seagulls, the wind and thethunder sound of barrel-waves smashing into the reef. I even spot some lost dolphins in one of the twenty turquoise bays, happily doing some jumps over the waves.

Now what are these quokka’s the island’s called after? Google quokka-selfie and you’ll see why they’re called the happiest animals in the world. They’re about as big as a cat, hop like a wallaby and have the cutest little faces, looking at you like you’re the first human they’ve ever seen.

Being here in the cold months doesn’t allow me to swim or snorkel in the bright blue waters. But I can still go to the beach! When I do, I realise I need to reconsider my initial verdict on Perth as a grey-office-town to surfer-town-with-funky-beachcafes. Perth might be just the right place for an office job, since after work you can change the grey to a wetsuit, and catch some waves. Then again, no worries about jobs mate, I’m on holidays 🙂