We had a restful night at our campground. Fell asleep immediately, but woke up at 3:30 unable to sleep longer. I got up to use the facilities just as the sun was rising and to my delight a quite large kangaroo was grazing on the grass in front of the men's room, unfazed by my presence. I ran to the car to get my camera, but of course, as I returned, just a minute later, he had left and left no trace. But he (or she) would not be the only one we saw today. Kangaroos, it turns out, are quite common in Southwest Australia.
Before heading to Fremantle, we stopped at Ngilgi Cave, one of several caverns located along the shore. Our guide pointed out the most interesting facts about the place, named for a Spirit sacred to indigenous people of the area.
The cave is located in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and some of the views were lovely.
But we had a bit of mileage to cover and could not give in to the temptation to spend some relaxing time on the inviting beaches.
We had lunch at a locally renown jetty in Busselton where there exist a submerged room where one could view the underwater fauna in a completely dry, pressurized environment, which we also had to forego.
Eventually we made it to our destination, Fremantle, which is to Perth what Cambridge is to Boston or St. Paul to Minneapolis; and now we are in jail. Figuratively, that is. The Fremantle State Prison is the city's biggest tourist attraction; it dates back a couple of centuries and housed some of the most dangerous inmates in Australia's history. A section of it has now been turned into a hotel, and the guestrooms are actually old jail cells, re-modernized and refurbished, of course. It is also our hotel for the day.
It's a cool experience for sure, quite unique in fact, populated by a very eclectic group of people, mostly millenials.
Some cities are not photography friendly, but they offer so much in the way of excitement, vibrancy and entertainment. Fremantle is one of these; I would liken it to New Orleans, if you know what I mean. Here, music is everywhere and the streets are teeming with people; restaurants are full and serve excellent food. There are very interesting museums and a delightful market, but again, it is camera shy, so we'll just take in and cherish the experience.
Well, the warden is indicating that it is now curfew time and we must return to our cell, so I have no choice but to bid you a fond goodbye, until tomorrow, of course. Ciao!
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