Wednesday - a trip to Fremantle, or Freo as the locals call it!

After breakfast this morning we headed out to catch the train out to the coastal/port town of Fremantle.  It was a pleasant break from the city and a picturesque coastal port about 30 minutes journey out of the city.

Of course we had found a little walking tour of the town and headed off on it at a slow pace; starting at the train station, a grand building built in 1881 we walked through the heart of town to the council office and the town hall.  Again, as with Perth none of the buildings dated back further than the late 18th century, as the land itself was only proclaimed as British territory in 1829, and then it was peopled by a small community of whalers.

The thing that struck us on the tour of Fremantle was that all of the 'historic' buildings we saw were all perfectly preserved, the Fremantle market being one of the classic structures. 

Next we headed down to the fishing boat harbour and bathers beach, the site where Captain Charles Howe Fremantle landed in 1829 and claimed the land as British territory.  Today it is a lovely beach nestled against the waves of the Indian ocean.

After lunch we had another little wander and decided to treat ourselves to half a pint of pale ale in one of the local breweries...i say treat as half a pint was about 3.50 pounds!!  Needless to say we will be cheap drunks if we do have more than a half!

A walk along the beach took us to the train station and a quick ride back into town brought us back to the hostel and dinner, and bed.

Tomorrow is the first of our 3 tours we have booked whilst in Australia; Monkey Mia, the Pinnacles and Kalbarri National park...watch this space on Monday for the full report!

P.s Dad...guess what they have in Fremantle...see picture below!!!!