GUMNUTS.....AND OTHER STUFF: West Australian Wildflower Trip. 1st Day Perth 9th Sept.2014

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

West Australian Wildflower Trip. 1st Day Perth 9th Sept.2014

'When I stepped off the bus at our first stop, John Forrest National Park, my excitement nearly turned to panic when I realized that all the colours in front of me were from plants that I had not seen before, and I didn't know which one to photograph first'. My first encounter with the wildflowers.

The Ross Tour's 'Wildflower Wanderers'

This is the first day of our Ross Tour's 'Western Australia's Wildflowers 2014' trip.

Our tour leader was horticulturalist, author, Gardening Australia presenter, radio gardening guru and the world's master of the pun, Angus Stewart. Our driver was Martin, a Perth local, who was a mountain of information and, with Angus, would make this a fantastic trip I will always remember.

Our shuttle bus trip from home to the airport seemed to take for ever, the traffic through Castle Hill/Cherrybrook was chockerblock, didn't do our heart rates any good, but we still made it with time to spare. After being introduced to Angus and the other members of the trip by Royce, from Ross Tours, it was all aboard the plane to head for Perth, Western Australia.

We were met at the airport by Martin, who from the very first minute let us know that only he would load the luggage into the luggage trailer, he had no argument from me, and it was then of to the Duxton Hotel. At dinner, and WHAT a dinner, that night we met the other 2 couple that had arrived in Perth earlier or by other means.

Lynn and I spent the free time we had on the first afternoon to have a look around Perth close to the hotel.

(With some 4,500 photos to go through, and nearly all the plants being new, this trip might take some time to be completed on the blog.)

The real plants start tomorrow.

N.B. Plant names in RED have been added after page completed.

Videos have to be watched on this page.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Fleurieu Peninsula and Saint Vincent Gulf.

The tip of Yorke Peninsula with Kangaroo Island in the background.

Esperance and the Southern Ocean.

The green, green grass of the outskirts of Perth.

No swans on the Swan river.

Looking up Victoria Ave towards the Duxton Hotel (our bed for the night).

The Duxton and paws.

The Duxton's main foyer (a little like our place).

Lynn meets Lorraine, Jan, Ethel and Norma.

Not so squeezie, our hotel room.
No, we didn't steal Bob's luggage, that's our room number.

Our view over the Swan River to South Perth.

Crossing over Langley Park Lynn thought that the swallows were attacking her,
but all they were after were the insects we were disturbing from the grass. You
could hear their beaks clicking as they caught their prey.

We walked to the Perth Bell Tower.

(Video)

Ascending the Perth Bell Tower.

As long as I don't look down.

Perth Bell Tower.

Bell-ting it out.

View from the Bell Tower.

Elizabeth Quay development project at the (what use to be) Esplanade Reserve.

Perth Bell Tower.

Barrack Street Jetty and the Swan River.

Looking towards the Duxton Hotel over the Supreme Court Gardens and Riverside Drive.

Some of the 12 main bells in the tower.

The oldest bell in Australia. This bell, weighing 459 kg, was cast in approximately 1550 and was one of four bells used in the tower of the parish church at Upton Grey in Hampshire, England.