Monthly Wrap-up - September

Joining Tom for SIGNS - please follow this link f0r 0ther signs from around the world.

September - the start of Spring, my favourite season.

It was a mostly wet and cool month, but towards the end the sun shone and all was well with the world 🌞.

On Saturday 10th we celebrated Jose's birthday (which had been on the 5th) with dinner at a Chinese restaurant with some friends and family. I took a cake to have after the meal and one of my friend's brought Portuguese custard tarts she had baked.

Twiggy celebrated her 16th birthday on the 17th. All she does now is sleep and eat, but she seems content with her life.

A sunny day on one of the weekends saw us doing some gardening or rather weeding....

I bought 2 cans of spray paint and painted 5 pots that were given to us by a friend in blue and turquoise, to go with my garden and house decor.

Friday 23rd - Friends from Sydney travelling around Australia arrived to spend a few days with us. They had been in Perth twice before, but had never visited Rottnest island,  and that was on their wish list. 

With a very long weekend upon us - Thursday 22nd was National Day of Mourning, for Queen Elizabeth II,  Monday 26th we had a scheduled holiday to celebrate Her Majesty's birthday, and because I usually don't work Fridays....I had a 5 day mini holiday. 

But being school holidays too, the ferries to Rottnest were fully booked from Saturday to Monday, so for $12 more per person I booked a flight to Rottnest for Saturday 24th.

 

The pilot's car had a great number plate advertising his business

On the way to Rottnest with my friends

It was a windy day, not the best to be on a tiny plane, but as it just took 15 minutes it was ok. We loved flying over Fremantle and then over Rottnest.

The 19 sqmt (204sqft) island, got its name when a Dutch captain mistook the quokkas for giant rats, so he named the island "Rotte Nest" (Rat Nest).

The island is a diver's paradise, with beautiful beaches, limestone reefs, marine life and of course another great reason to visit is to see the iconic quokka - a tiny marsupial, herbivorous and mainly nocturnal animal, with a population of around 10 thousand on the island.  The island was also home to army barracks, an Aboriginal penal colony and a prisoner of war camp. 

During WW II, the island was part of the defence of Fremantle port, and military features which include the railway, barracks, concrete lookouts, bunkers and four large guns positioned at Oliver Hill, were then known as the "Rottnest Fortress". Today the barracks and guns can still be visited by train.

Nowadays the island is a much loved holiday destination for Perth residents and tourists.

When we landed we walked 10 min down the road to the "settlement" (area where ferry arrives and where most restaurants are), had a coffee, then bought tickets for the hop-on/hop-off bus that takes people around the island.

It was the best way to see the whole island, and we got off at 4 or 5 main spots to take photos and then caught the following bus.

I won't bore you with dozens of photos of turquoise sea and white sand...so just a few photos so you get the idea how beautiful and special this island is.

Salmon Bay

Wadjemup Lighthouse on a hill in the centre of the island

Geordie Bay

Longreach Bay

Another lighthouse on the island - the Bathhurst lighthouse

Back at the "settlement" where the restaurants and some accommodation is located, the quokkas are plentiful. We saw a couple around the island, but they know where the food is...even though it's prohibited to feed or touch them. 

For the first time I saw 2 baby quokkas, one sharing a leaf with mom, and then a tiny one in mom's pouch. So adorable.

Mom and Baby share a leaf

This Mommy quokka with her joey in the pouch

Signs and Sculptures at Rottnest:

The island as seen at the airport

A whale sculpture

A large rock held by a "stiff" chain

Sunday 25th - my visiting friend and I went to see the Kings Park Botanic Gardens wildflower festival, which occurs every September.

A boab tree that was transported from the Northern Territory

Wildflower field of everlastings

Visitor Information Centre covered in flower decals

This years theme was Crochet flowers and 2 mannequins inside the Information Centre dressed in flowery regalia.

The views from the park over the city on one side of the Swan River and the suburb of South Perth on the other side are amazing!

Signs at Kings Park:

When we arrived from Kings Park my friend and I baked a Lemon cake, since we have so many lemons from our tree. It was simple, not too sweet but delicious.

One evening my friend cooked us a Portuguese dinner - with codfish I had in my freezer.

On Monday 26th, we took our friends to Fremantle so they could meet up with other friend's of theirs, and while they had breakfast together we wandered around the port area where I found some cute signs.

The next ferry leaving for Rottnest island at 11am :)

On an umbrella at a pub

The green and the red lighthouses in Fremantle

The Maritime Museum and Immigration wall 

Next week I'll go back to my trip to Europe - this time in Portugal.