Fremantle has its cruise port very close to the city centre (Central Business District, or CBD, as they call it in Australia) so we were able to walk off the ship and spend the day under our own steam. We had the choice of taking a thirty-minute train ride into Perth — a bigger and arguably more exciting city — or staying in Fremantle. We chose low-key and simple. It was a nice contrast to the guided tour experiences in Jakarta and Bali!
This tall ship offers sailing experiences for kids and adults. It’s just south down the harbour from the cruise dock; you can see the Queen Elizabeth through the rigging.
We continued on to Bathers Beach, a small crescent-shaped beach just south of the Western Australia Maritime Museum, which you can see in the background.
Of course Karen had to dip her toes in the water.
The Round House, at the top of this small cliff, was the first permanent structure built in what was then called the Swan River Colony, in 1831. Tellingly, it was a prison.
Whalers Tunnel was dug under the cliff you can see above, in 1838, using prison labour. It allowed products of the whaling industry to be moved more easily from the Bathers Beach harbour to the industrial parts of the city. Originally it was 57 metres long; today it’s less than 45, since the cliff faces have been cut back. It now provides convenient access to the beach, and serves as an outdoor art gallery.
From Bathers Beach (yes, the lack of apostrophes is bugging us too!) we continued to the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour. There were several interesting sculptures on the harbour, including this one that Karen befriended.
We continued walking south to South Beach, a total distance of about 4.5 kilometres. It was nice to be able to stretch our legs.
On the way back Greg took this picture of Karen taking a picture of a plant.
By this time we were definitely ready for lunch. We stopped at Little Creatures Brewery in the Fishing Boat Harbour, which does delightful beer and wood-fired pizza. Definitely recommended if you’re ever in Fremantle.
From the brewery we walked into the town centre, which was quite picturesque — but we didn’t actually take many pictures. This is the main entrance of Fremantle Prison, which replaced the Roundhouse as Fremantle’s main prison in 1855 and remained a prison until 1991.
Just outside the prison is this sculpture, commemorating the prison work gangs that constructed much of early Fremantle.
After a pause in the town centre to find a magnet and pick up some Australian cash, we headed back to the ship. From there we had another three days at sea en route to Adelaide — Australia is a big country!
