We traveled the 12 miles up the Swan River to Perth by ferry, a 90-minute trip. It was a pleasant trip, relatively cool, with lots of nice scenery along the way. There were some very large marinas along the shore, mostly power boats because of the low bridges across the river.

The first thing we saw as we got off the ferry, was a modernistic building that looked like a giant beer barrel with a tall spire on top. It turned out to be the Perth bell tower with a peel of 12 bells. From which you can look out of the city.

Perth is in the process of reconstruction with construction cranes everywhere and glass towers rising on what seems like every block. There are some 19th century buildings such as the governor's palace, the old prison and cottages in some preservation areas, but the drive seems to be go modern

We took a bus tour around Perth but we didn't have time to really stop anywhere. We did get a tour of the botanical gardens which are really amazing. Western Australia, of which Perth is the capital, is about the oldest land on earth. Because of its isolation, there are literally hundreds of species of plants that exist nowhere else in earth. Most can be found in the Perth botanical gardens.

Most noteworthy was a 700-year-old gum tree that had been moved to the gardens from a site that was about to become a project. It's not very tall, but it must be over 20 feet around. There is a road through the gardens that is lined with gum trees, one for east Australian killed in World War II.

After going through the park, we got off the bus near a train station and took the train back to the ship in Fremantle.