Arrived in Perth at around 3 pm Friday the 4th of January, picked up another rental car, this time, after a free upgrade, a large, comfortable SUV, and headed to our Airbnb in Karrinyup near Scarborough not far from the coast.

The 2,5 hour time difference and the 3,5 flight took its toll in the evening and we had an early night. Saturday morning we headed for the beach. Mettam’s Pool is a small beach with a reef breaking the big waves making it a great place to swim and snorkel. 30°C in the air, 25°C in the water. Perfect!

We stopped off at Hillary’s Boat House for lunch and a visit to the big AQWA, the Perth aquarium, to get some close up views of sharks and stingrays and other aquatic creatures, many of them with lethal bites or stings.

In the late afternoon we drove up to King’s Park to see the magnificent views of Perth in the setting sun. The city skyline from the park are probably some of the most stunning in the world. There is a war memorial and an eternal flame honoring the West Australians who lost their lives fighting in the first and second world war, and other international engagements where Australians have participated. With the lawns are full of people having picnics, playing cricket and generally just enjoying the scenery it is a weird combination of the the ultimate ugliness and the beauty of human nature.