Perth Part 2: Kings Park, Perth Hills and Ikea

Kings Park is a very beautiful green space in the middle of Perth. It covers over 4km2 and incorporates a treetop walkway and glass bridge, Botanic Gardens and 3 pretty cool playgrounds. There were wild flowers galore blooming in the Botanic Gardens and they were so stunning. Unfortunately I only had my phone to use as a camera. I intended to go back with our digital SLR but never got the opportunity. The views from the tree top walk over south Perth and the old Swan Brewery were lovely. And, of course, we spent quite a bit of time at one of the playgrounds for the kids. We went to the nature playground, which included a stream and pond where you could build dams and catch tadpoles, climbing ropes in trees and towers. The kids loved it and were very sad to leave, which is kind of funny as they have had lots of opportunities for nature based play (except rope climbs in trees) throughout this whole trip.

This is a gum nut just starting to blossom

 We drove up into the Perth Hills one afternoon and found Mundaring Weir. This is pretty amazing because it is the water supply for Kalgoolie and Coolgardie, 530kms away! It is located in a really pretty valley and was a very pretty place to explore. It was a little bit of a lucky find.

 

We also drove along the coastline from North Freemantle to Scarborough Beach, taking in the famous Cottesloe Beach, and while it was all very pretty it was too windy and cold to truly enjoy. It seems like it has been very windy on the coast ever since we left Exmouth about 6 weeks ago! I have to say, the WA coastline is beautiful but we haven't been able to really enjoy it because of the wind.

The caravan park we stayed in was about 5kms from Ikea. That was rather exciting for me, as a trip to Ikea is a good 2 – 2.5 hours from home normally. So, we found ourselves having dinner there twice during our stay – a dinner of meatballs, of course! The second night we went, we arrived at the restaurant just in time for Toy Story 4 to be starting in the kids area, so we all had dinner while the kids watched the movie. Part of me can't believe we sat in the Ikea restaurant long enough for the kids to watch a full movie! (I kinda want to hang my head in shame)