Wednesday 9th January 2008

As we only have a couple of days left in Australia, we thought it would be nice to catch one of the boats down the Swan River from the city to Fremantle. We thought we'd planned it all - and found that the boats left at 11am... we were gonna be fine... not! Despite our planning, and setting the alarm nice and early, we didn't end up leaving the hostel until about 10.45am, giving ourselves not very long - to run a pretty long way.

Thankfully, we made it down to the boats at about 10.59am and there was no queue - so we were able to buy our tickets straight away and then board the boat with Captain Cook Cruises. The trip to Fremantle was really nice and smooth, with running commentary and free tea and coffee. Some of the houses on the banks of the Swan River were stunning - one of which was for sale... for $85 million!

When we got to Fremantle, we went for a walk around the shops and after a while headed down towards the harbour area. On the way, we stopped for some sushi before going into the Maritime Museum. The museum was really cool - there are two in Perth, and this one is the Shipwreck Gallery and, as well as containing things found on sunken ships, it actually contains an actual shipwreck. We got to go on a free guided tour, which was good - because there was far too much to read.

This evening, after we'd had another look around the shops, we decided to go for a drink and something to eat before returning back to the city. As we were walking down the 'Cappuccino Strip' we came across a Mexican restaurant which had a fajita night on... so in we went. The food and drink was pretty good and the place was packed - so there was a pretty good atmosphere - a nice finish to a nice day.

If it's still for sale the next time we're in Fremantle - we'll buy that house for $85 million!