Perth Road Trip Day 3.....

I have spent the last 8 months (yes only 8!) reading my Lonely Planet guide book and panning what and where.  Today it was Rockingham and Mandurah, south of Feemantle.  First stop, Pengiun Island.  Yes, to see Pengiuns!

It is a very small island, only 1km long and it is a nature reserve so nothing to do than to look at the flora and fauna and hopfully see some of the wild penguins, sealions and pelicans.  I was at the ferry for 9 so I got the first one across with the staff!  It turned out to be a great move as I ended up being the only person there until the next ferry at 10!  It was fabulous having the island to myself as it was gorgeous, and as I stepped onto the first little beach and headed towards a group of rocks one of them rose up and grunted!  It was a bloody huge sealion!  We chatted for a while and then I left him to his morning and carried on.

After I had stopped on a beach on the other side for a bit, I was walking up the boardwalk when I just happened to glance under one of the steps and bugger me if there wasn't a little Pingu!!  So cute and quite rare to see them out of the bushes.  So me and Pingu bonded for a bit, too cute, and then I headed back tl the little visitor centre for the Penguin feeding (they have some that live in the centre and have done for years.  There are 10 I think)  There was a really lovely volunteer there called Bill who I chatted to for ages and it turned out he has been in Aus for over 40 years but was originally from Dartford!! He was so sweet and really loved the island and he went to restoring my faith in the Aussie friendliness which had been seriously lacking up till then!

The Penguins got fed and then it was on to a cruise round the next island to find the sealions.  We saw plenty and they even had a swim for us.  It was so lovely and great to see all the wildlife in its natural environment.

After the cruise and saying goodbye to Bill, it was back to the mainland (took a whole 5 mins!) and I parked up with a view of the island and put the kettle on for a brew.  Coffee in hand and camping chair out, a couple of people stopped for a chat and then I decided to have a drive into Rockingham itself.  Needn't have bothered, ok little town but nothing to note other then it is quite industrial, albeit pretty.  Off go Mandurah then.  Even less to note and even more industrial!!  Decided to cut my losses and head back to Freo, it was a Friday night after all.

Then something happened to me that has never happened in all the other places in Oz I have been.  I hit a rush hour traffic jam!!  How rude!! And with the Western Australians being the worst driverd I have ever come across, I was finallt glad to get back!

I headed straight back to the centre of town, and my nose and stomach (and wallet!) took me to Old Shanghi.  It was heaving and really buzzing.  I managed to decide what to have and then found a seat, to be joined by a lovely couple from Lancashire who have been in WA for nearly 40 years, and come to have their dinner there every Friday!  They were really lovely and we chatted for ages and they invited me for my tea when I get back to Perth!  I shall surely take them up on that!

After wandering the buzzing streets for ages I decided it was time bed and to bid farewell to Freo.  Off to my next campsite tomorrow in Bunbury.