Australia Day Twelve: A Wonderful Morning In King’s Park And A Late Night Plane Flight

I awoke  just up before dawn  on my last day in Perth and took a taxi to King’s Park to await the rising sun. I was lucky,  it was a clear and cool morning for Perth. A strong southerly wind had broken the heat wave they were having. I took in the Perth skyline, as watched for the sun to rise at the War Memorial.  It  didn’t disappoint me, it never does. I have watched a thousand sunrises and never saw one that didn’t leave me in awe.  It was beautiful . After watching the sunrise I spent some time exploring the park and it’s famous botanical gardens. Here are some more photographs of the beautiful sunrise. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-twelve-perth-kings-park-sunrise-february-15-2015

King’s park is one of the largest parks inside of  the  limits  of any city in  the world, larger  even than New York’s Central Park. So I knew I wasn’t going to see all of it.

I walked around some of the information centers in the botanical gardens and observed the many new, and strange species of flowers that are native to Australia.

What is more surprising is the lack of flowers. Australia, except in the rain forests in the north is a dry country and many of the plants had small leaves for conserving water.  I love learning about the different plants that are found in different climates all around the world.

And the trees, they are even more special. There were many representatives   of the hundreds of species  eucalyptus trees. I learned about how they shed their bark when I visited the Blues Mountains near Sydney. There were also areas with ponds, grasslands  and area  representing all habitats found in Australia. I even got to see one of my favorite trees, a baobab. I loved these trees since I first learned about them in grade school. Here is a link to some more photographs of the many plants, trees and flowers I saw at the botanical gardens. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-twelve-perth-kings-park-botanical-garden-plants-february-15-2016

I walked down a bush trail,  a large area of the park was never developed and remains as it was when only the aborigines lived here. It was interesting to see what the lands looked like, and again, I noticed how dry all of the leaves and plants were, so unlike the leaves in the Northern Hemisphere.  An added treat to the hike was the many beautiful views of the Swan River and the suburbs that surround Perth.

I hiked back up to the War Memorial taking in all of the exotic plants, trees and flowers. I also saw quite a few birds in the park, many eluding my camera but I was able to capture a few. Here is a link to some more photographs of the birds I saw on my walk. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-twelve-perth-kings-park-february-15-2016

I left the park, through a long line of beautiful eucalyptus trees planted by a woman’s group on September 29 1929, a week after my mom was born. I than walked back through downtown Perth, through bustling Monday morning traffic and back to my hotel. Here is a link to some more photographs of my walk through the park and back to my hotel. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-perth-day-twelve-kings-park-botanical-garden-walk-february-15-2016

At my hotel ran into a little, well a major problem, with my lap top. It wouldn’t hold a charge. I was in a panic and spent a few hours with the warranty company. I was surprised they would cover a repair even in Australia  but was told it would take a day for them to send someone to look at it. Not good. I found a repair shop that worked on Lenovo lap tops and took a taxi to it’s location.  The lobby of the store had a replica of the lost In Space  robot,  I loved this show as a kid and should have headed the robot’s warning . Danger, danger! The young lady there was very helpful but told me she thought the battery or charger was probably damaged by a surge and there would be nothing she could do. Not what I wanted to hear. No more blogs or photographs sent home. Que sera sera. I took a taxi back to the hotel, checked out and decided to walk to the Perth Art Gallery to spend my afternoon. 

It was very hot again, near 100 degrees, as I walked through the busy streets of midtown Perth. I took a few side streets to take in the local scenery and pasts some homes, businesses and a hospital along the way. 

I got a little off path but was finally  directed to the Art Gallery. Once again time was my enemy. I found so many interesting paintings, sculptures exhibits I knew I couldn’t take all in. 

I like to sit, reflect and enjoy the various works of art in a gallery. I try  to imagine that the artists was thinking and trying to say when they produced their works of art. I was glad the museum allowed me to take photographs. I have not watermarked them since they are not mine but the artists who produced them. I can’t identify all the artists I saw and photographed but please check out the museums’s website to assist you with any identification.  I am privileged  to be able to share the talent of the artists, since it was created to be shared.  Here is a link to some more photographs I took in the museum.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-twelve-pert-art-museum-february-15-2016

There was so much to see in such a short time I had to rush through many rooms of exhibits since the museum was closing. .  So many works caught my eye and could only give them a fleeting glance. Here are some more photographs  of the many wonderful works of art I saw at the museum.https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-day-twelve-pert-art-museum-february-15-2016

I walked back, stopping at the Natural museum only to find it closing too. It was still hot and a long walk back and   I was so was able to shower at the hotel pool when I got back.  Here is a link to some photographs I took on my walk to and from the Art Gallery. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/australia/nggallery/australia/australia-pert-day-12-walk-to-art-museum-february-15-2016

I still had a few hours to kill, since my flight didn’t leave until midnight and I sat down, plugged my lap top in and it started to re-boot and recharge.. I was delighted and spent the next few hours editing photographs. I left the beautiful city of Perth as the sun set in the west. I was only here for a few days but I feel in love with this isolated town near the shores of the Indian Ocean.

“Alone of all the races on earth, they seem to be free from the ‘Grass is Greener on the other side of the fence’ syndrome, and roundly proclaim that Australia is, in fact, the other side of that fence.”
― Douglas Adams