My last day with Lesley and Bob came around all too quickly but later in the afternoon they had kindly offered to drive me to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Perth for my overnight stay before joining the Indian Pacific Train early on Sunday morning. Before dropping me off the plan was to visit the Australian Botanic Gardens in the Kings Park Perth.
Kings Park was officially opened on 10 August 1895 and was originally called Perth Park. It was renamed Kings Park in 1901 to mark the ascension to the British throne of King Edward VII and the visit to Perth of George, the Duke of Cornwall and Princess Mary. This 988-acre park is a mixture of grassed parkland, botanical gardens and natural bushland on Mount Eliza with two-thirds of the grounds conserved as native bushland. It offers spectacular panoramic views over Perth Water, the central business district of Perth, the Swan River and the Darling Range. The 42-acre Botanic Garden includes a 629-metre-long Treetops Walkway and the State War Memorial on Anzac Bluff is dedicated to the Western Australians who died in the two World Wars. It comprises a Cenotaph, Court of Contemplation, Flame of Remembrance and Pool of Reflection.
We strolled for a couple of hours in warm sunshine through the Botanic Gardens including the Treetops Walkway. A visit made all the more enjoyable and interesting thanks to Lesley's extensive horticultural and botanical knowledge.
It is difficult to do justice to the many plants and gardens displayed in this Botanic Garden but there is one landmark that deserves a mention and that is the Giant Boab tree (Gija Jumulu). This mighty Boab is estimated to be over 750 years old and could easily live for another 1250 years! When the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority learned the tree needed to be relocated due to works on the Great Northern Highway, it was moved to the gardens. This bottle-shaped trees from the north of Western Australia celebrate the unique flora around Kimberley. The 'pock' marks shown in my photo were caused by the move but they are gradually receding.
The floral clock shown in the photo, demonstrates how Western Australian native plants can be grown in a cottage garden setting.
The final photo is of the red and green "Kangaroo Paw" which was proclaimed the State's floral emblem in November 1960 and was incorporated into the Coat of Arms of Western Australia on 17 March 1969.
Western Australia's floral emblem grows naturally only in Western Australia. The Red and Green Kangaroo Paw is striking for its brilliant red and green flowers that appear in spring and summer in fan‑like clusters at the end of red felted stems. The sturdy high stems provide a ready‑made perch for honey‑eaters and Wattle‑birds (See photo), which are often seen clinging precariously to the stem, drinking nectar from each of the flowers in turn and helping with pollination.
An interesting morning was topped off with a Fish & Chip lunch before dropping me at the Crowne Plaza Hotel close to Perth CBD.
A heartfelt thank you to Lesley & Bob for their warm hospitality and introducing me to Perth and its environs. I hope to be back to enjoy some more adventures with these wonderful friends, whom I met almost 13 years ago to the month (November 2011) on an expedition cruise in the Antarctic!
