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Part 10 of 10Western Australia, 2017

Perth Zoo and Saying Goodbye

Back to Perth by coach, an afternoon at Perth Zoo for the children, and a late-night flight home at the end of almost two weeks in Western Australia.

By Thawaio1 min read11–14 April 2017 · Perth

A giraffe walking across a sandy enclosure in front of a tall wire fence and dense green trees, behind a low rope barrier.
A giraffe at Perth Zoo.

On 11 April, our time in the South West came to an end. We returned the rental car locally and travelled back to Perth by coach.

Back in Perth, we stayed at our friends’ house, probably until we left.

Perth Zoo

On 12 April, we went to Perth Zoo. We went mainly for the children: our son and our friend’s daughter.

A pond shaded by a large palm and spiky tropical plants, with dark water and a pale rock on the bank.
Inside Perth Zoo.
A black-headed python resting on a log in a glass-fronted enclosure painted with a rocky landscape, above a sign headed “Snake Eater!”
A black-headed python.
A glass-fronted enclosure of dry leaves and logs, with a sign reading “Common Death Adder” along the bottom.
Looking for the death adder.
Penguins standing in the shade of a large rock cave beside a long green pool, with more penguins swimming in the water.
The penguins.
A still, dark pond with dead branches and wading birds perched along the water’s edge, framed by reeds and trees.
Wading birds by the pond.
A black-necked stork with an iridescent green and purple neck and a long black bill, standing among tall grasses.
A black-necked stork.
A large crocodile lying on a grassy bank beside a green pool, half hidden behind clumps of tall grass.
A crocodile.
Three bush stone-curlews, mottled brown birds with large eyes, standing among branches and leaf litter.
Bush stone-curlews.
A black-winged stilt, white with black wings and long pink legs, standing on a rock among leaf litter.
A black-winged stilt.

Between the animals, there were wide lawns.

A shady path between large rocks and trees, with an adult and a small child walking ahead past a sign marking a dingo encounter meeting point.
Walking through the zoo.
A wide, sunny lawn edged with tall trees, some just turning yellow, under a blue sky with wispy cloud.
One of the zoo's lawns.
A sunny lawn with a small child, an adult in a grey jacket and a person in a pink top, with a gull nearby and food kiosks under the trees behind.
Time on the lawn.

Our friend and his wife joined us in the afternoon, after work.

A white rhinoceros standing in a dusty enclosure beside a log and an old tyre, in front of timber fencing and green trees.
A white rhinoceros.
A giraffe walking across a sandy enclosure in front of a tall wire fence and dense green trees, behind a low rope barrier.
A giraffe.
A small grey monkey with a long white moustache, an emperor tamarin, sitting on a branch among leaves.
An emperor tamarin.
A grey baboon sitting on top of a large flat rock in an enclosure of boulders, logs and trees.
A baboon on the rocks.
A wide green lawn in late afternoon light, with picnic shelters under large shady trees and a tall palm at right.
The lawns in the late afternoon.

Going home

I don’t have a strong memory of what we did on 13 April.

What I do remember is saying goodbye to our friends and travelling to the airport. Our flight left Perth at 1:10 in the morning on 14 April.

Looking back

Western Australia left a lasting impression on me.

Cape Leeuwin and the coastline around it stand out most strongly, but we enjoyed the different places throughout the holiday: a night on Rottnest, the quokkas, the sheep-shearing show, the Swan Valley, the sunset at Cottesloe, our quiet chalet in the woods, shark and chips in Augusta, the train out along Busselton Jetty and the zoo.

Even now, almost ten years later, I would happily return to Western Australia and explore it again.