Kings Park Perth

Saturday, April 7

Good Friday was an official holiday so we stayed home and didn't do very much - recuperating from our late night out Thursday.

Today we decided to head downtown to visit Kings Park. We had seen the edges of it briefly when taking the bus around Perth last week. We took the train to town and then a short bus ride to the park. By this time, it was noon so we had seafood and chips in the park overlooking the city.

Kings Park is the most impressive city park we have ever seen as it covers an area of 1,000 acres - Central Park, New York City could fit inside it and there would still be 1/3 of Kings Park left. After lunch we gathered up a map at the Info Center and set off on the Federation Walkway through the Botanic Gardens. The park was not at all crowded and we strolled along the walkway at a very leisurely pace looking at the amazing variety of Australian plants, shrubs and trees. A sign boasted that 1/2 of Australia's 25,000 species are represented in Kings Park. There were labels on many of the plants and most were unfamiliar to us. Since it is fall here, there were very few flowers - I can only imagine what the gardens look like in spring. The walk follows the edge of the park overlooking Perth center and the Swan River. The views were magnificent! There were lookouts along the way for taking photos and an unusual bridge that goes up to treetop level at one point. There are many areas for picnicking on the grass or in gazebos with ponds, waterfalls and fountains. Several areas were available for weddings (they are free to use) and they were all busy this day. At the far end of the walk we strolled through the grassy areas back to the Info Center. We then took a short (25 min) tram ride through the park since we weren't up to covering all 1,000 acres on foot. There is a lot of room for future development but the park is fabulous just as it is. I will be posting some pictures shortly. The day was somewhat overcast but pleasant for walking.

We caught a city bus inside the park which took us back to Perth Center where we strolled through some of the pedestrian shopping areas including London Court - a passageway of shops with English type facades. Finally, we browsed in Border's Books where I bought a book I had been looking for.

We headed back to Joondalup on the train just in time to fix a light supper and relax for the evening.