Tuesday the 29th of Dec - Kings Park and Cottesloe beach

I had texted Amy and we had agreed to meet up today at 10 am for some breakfast or "brekkie" as the Australians call it. Amy and her boyfriend James would pick me up at my hostel and then we would drive somewhere to eat.

They got a bit delayed though and arrived at around 11 am and then we drove to the beautiful Kings Park to see the amazing view overlooking Perth city skyline and the Swan River.

Kings Park is rich in Aboriginal/indigenous history as well as European history. The Park is around 400 hectares and 2/3's of the park is protected bushland. There's a visitors centre and free daily guided walks around the park and the botanical gardens.

The State War Memorial is also located in the park where an 18-meter-high granite obelisk is placed in the remembrance of the people who died in world war I. Furthermore, there's a tribute to the people who gave their life in the Boer War, World War 2, Korean War and Vietnam.

After Kings Park we drove to famous Cottesloe beach and had some lunch at a nice little restaurant a few streets away from the beach. Then we walked down to the beach and they showed me the main beach and some smaller beaches nearby that were not that crowded.

We found a post office near Cottesloe which was open… ta ta… yeahhhh… and Amy helped me set up a travel credit card. I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself because you had to have an Australian address and some other local information as well. The man at the post office was very helpful and made sure that my credit card was set up correctly and activated and I only had to text a certain number to get an SMS with my pin code for the travel card. What a joy!

Next we drove to the South of Perth and saw some of the amazing houses by the river and parks. Then walked around the area and found a cool bar where we shared a few bottles of white wine with one of Amy's friends who came by.

We then decided that it would be great fun to share some take away dinner from Amy's local Chinese shop and were on our way to Amy's house in Mosman Park. Having driven only 10 min and passing by East Perth where "my" hostel was located Amy asked if I wanted to spent the night at her place and I agreed that it would be a good idea. Instead of me having to find a bus or train from Mosman Park back to Perth city later on. So we swung by the hostel and I hopped out of the car (not really any parking spots in front of the hostel) and I went to the room and quickly packed my luggage and was on my way back down the stairs when the owner stopped me. She asked me how I was doing (arriving at the hostel I'd told her about my credit card situation) and I told her that I was going to stay with some friends for a few days.

I texted Amy and asked of where to meet up and she texted back that they were buying alcohol at the nearby bottle shop. So walked up the street and turned left and there they were stuffing the car with white wine, ciders and beers ;-)