Our second day in Fremantle began a bit more comfortable than yesterday. It was warm, but there was a fresh breeze that kept the temperatures down. A great day for a walk, of course.
Most everyone at breakfast had slept late, since we were the first ones there near 8am. Slowly but surely, the rest of our group wandered in before 9am, and closing time.
Today would be the final day for the Australian Biosecurity Alert concerning taking food off of the ship. We may be searched for any food, plant and animal products, shoes or clothing or equipment used near animals in rural areas. If you break these laws, you could face penalties up to $5,500 and your visa could be canceled. We wonder if this has ever happened to any guest? You would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to be aware of these rules.
For those folks that had spent a lot of money in Australia, they were able to get their passports to get their tax refund. An area of the terminal had been set up for a line of folks applying for this refund from 1 to 3:30pm. Then the passports would be returned to the front desk once again.
We stayed onboard until 9:30am, then went off of the ship for a more detailed walk from yesterday. We had missed a lot due to the closure of the pedestrian overpass. Just as we were exiting the gate of the terminal building, we ran right into Christel, Henk's sweet wife, and our former Guest Relations Manager from many past world cruises. Henk had mentioned she would join the ship yesterday, flying from their home in the Netherlands. It was so nice to see her, since the last time we said goodbye, was from here as we were leaving the ship. There was a fear in all of us that we may never see each other again. None of us knew what laid ahead with the Covid virus taking over the world. And it was uncharted territory for everyone…passengers and crew alike. But here we are, once again, three years later, and back on yet another world voyage. Christel hopes to be on at least until Amsterdam, but if all goes well, she could sail until the end in Ft. Lauderdale. Good news either way…especially for Henk.
So we headed towards the rest of Victoria Quay and the Ferry Terminal for both Rottnest Island and the boat to Perth up the Swan River. It was located at Shed B where tickets could be purchased. We walked past the old masted sailing vessel, Leeuwin II, as well as the Western Australia Maritime Museum. It s home to the America's Cup winning yacht, the Australia II.
Following the harbor path, we located Bather's Beach, which is rather small, but convenient for locals. Some sunbathers were out and about with small kids, and a few fellows were in the water. This is one of the beaches that has a restaurant licensed to serve alcohol to the beach-goers. The famous Round House is located here too. It is the oldest public building and was used to house the earlier prisoners sent here.
Continuing on, we came across a boardwalk that led to the working harbor where many fresh seafood restaurants are overlooking the marina. It is also the part of town we went to yesterday for lunch, Little Creatures Brewery. Since it was only 11am, we kept walking until noon time. From Esplanade Park where we sat in the sun for a spell, we headed into central Fremantle for a walkabout. We recalled several restaurants where we had dined on past trips, and found that many of them were closed. Some were being renovated, other were just plain shut down. Guess Covid hit this part of Australia hard.
At noon, we headed back to Little Creatures for a repeat lunch like yesterday. Except this time, we took advantage of a beer special, which was a pint of Spezial beer for $10. Then we ordered a pizza topped with parma ham, which was quite a generous portion. Sitting in the back patio, we found it was actually cool today. By the time we finished, the entire patio was full of hungry guests. Obviously a popular place for tourists and locals too.
The next job was to locate an ice cream shop for dessert. We found a gelateria on Market Street and had one cup and one cone full of vanilla with cut-up Twix bars. Really good. Our former host Tom M came along and gave us directions to a money changer and a possible grocery store. On the way we passed by the square where the port bus stopped. To our surprise, there was a fight in progress with some local homeless women. A rolling on the ground fight, where not one person intervened. This morning, Lynn had told us about a group of men exploding into a brawl near Target. The police came and broke it up, but she advised us to stay away from that area. However, it was up this street where the money changer was, which took a few minutes to cash in some New Zealand dollars we had left over. There were a few more things we needed at the pharmacy, so with all of our collection of coins and paper money, we managed to spend all but 60 cents.
We played with the idea of taking the shuttle back to the ship, but just as we began walking up the street, the door closed and the bus took off. That was a sign we needed to walk and honestly, it wasn't that far. Crossing the LRV and railroad tracks once again, we got back to the terminal just as the bus was arriving.
We were back onboard by 2:30pm and relaxing on the veranda and dealing with photo downloading. The sun was gone on the portside, so it got chilly. Between 3 and 5pm, we were required to check in at our emergency muster station. Since it has not been 30 days since or last muster check, or it does not appear to be another segment, we wonder the reason for this drill. It must be required by the local port authority. We expected our room TV to be shut off, but it was not until during our dinnertime. We had to run the video to completion, or our TV would not work.
There was a sail away party on the promenade deck, right below our veranda at 4:30pm. Usually they are on the Seaview Deck, but it may have been too windy today. A drink station had been set up for those who wished to imbibe. And it sounded like many did just that. It was interesting watching the gangways being removed from deck 3 by the local dock crew. We missed this three years ago, because we had all been sent home. The ship left after 5pm, and sailed out of the harbor and into the Indian Ocean. We will have seven sea days to reach Mauritius. We also hope that the sailing will be smooth, since it isn't always that way.
All seven of us were back to our table with stories to share. The fellows had been gone for 2 days and told us all about their day in Perth yesterday and Fremantle today. Susie and Woody said they liked the dinner cruise, although getting in and out of buses was difficult for Woody. A very nice passenger helped him, but not the Explorations team.
For appetizers, three of us had the chicken noodle soup, and chicken tenders. Mains were stuffed cannellinis with a small chicken breast and one barramundi entrée. We told the four missing from last night's dinner that they lost their chance for the excellent veal chop one of us ordered. Perhaps it will hit the Club Orange menu again in 10 days.
Ellen and Aart celebrated his birthday (2 days later) with a specially-made banana cake…..ice cream on the side was optional. They shared it with all of us.
We cannot say enough about visiting Australia….it is a fabulous country and we hope to be back again someday.
Bill & Mary Ann
