Now, much as I hate being predictable, I'm afraid we have to begin our jaunt through Scarborough and beyond with a walk along another of the ubiquitous Perth beach front walking trails.
Apart from anything else, we needed the exercise. It is dreadfully easy when camped in one spot for any length of time to become somewhat complacent of the need to keep the calories intake and expenditure in some sort of balance, particularly when Test Match and One Day International cricket telecasts demand our serious but unavoidably sedentary attention. In fact it is a little odd to realise that a total of over two weeks of our stay here in Perth have been taken up with the cricket....we haven't missed a ball!
But back to the beach, where we headed off south along the trail which begins life here at the southern end of the Scarborough beach foreshore, and as you can see, it initially wends its way through the coastal buffer zone.
It took us past some interesting apartment blocks with equally interesting 'direct beach access'
and then, to our surprise, we found that we could have actually been back in Adelaide!!! Is there any city which doesn't have a 'Brighton'?
To our annoyance, we soon found ourselves walking along the edge of the West Coast Highway as the trail left the sand hills. Inhaling traffic fumes was not what we had come here to do.
Out of due diligence (read serious potential pangs of conscience!) we plodded on for a few kilometres before returning to our starting point but not before we had passed yet more of the typical and numerous beach side car parks.
Our return views included this group of old flats right at the edge of the trail through the sand hills with the contrasting high rise buildings in the background.
Coming off the trail we walked past the lawns of the southern end of the Scarborough beach front
and on to 'Scarborough Central', where the king of the castle is the Rendezvous Hotel, an edifice the birth of which was shrouded in controversy as we understand.
One thing which is remarkably noticeable by its absence along the Perth coastline is highrise development. This, we have been told, is a result of planning decisions to ensure that Perth does not become another 'Gold Coast'. But of course, what are planning rules to a bloke like Alan Bond? Somehow he managed to get around them and the Rendezvous is the result. It would appear that the Scarborough planning authorities have given up....we noted quite a few new largish buildings under construction to go with those already in situ. Let's hope this is where it ends.
Actually the highrise buildings, the beach front infrastructure and the Norfolk pines which are a feature of Scarborough all combined to remind us a great deal of Glenelg,
notwithstanding the fact that the lawn areas are terraced
and the 'sound shell' steps which directly abut the sand are a far cry from the Glenelg seawall. Mind you this will make a wonderful presentation point for the forthcoming Australian Surf Lifesaving championships which are to be held here in late March - early April.
The impressive sea wall at Scarborough features a series of these odd circular 'observation posts' which give a real 'medieval fort' effect. We have never seen anything quite like this elsewhere and they did prove quite useful
in providing a vantage point from which to photograph the northern part of the Scarborough beach.
And so before we move on, let me conclude our whistle stop tour of Scarborough with this aerial shot of the beach, club and associated infrastructure which I managed to glean from the Surf Club website (obviously taken during a surf carnival).
City Beach, or more correctly, the City of Perth beach, holds a special place in my memory. It was the venue of an Australian Titles way back in my youth (the year completely escapes me now) and the focus point of my first trip west. The Surf Clubhouse seemed so much bigger then!
As the name obviously suggests, City Beach is the nearest to the Perth CBD and, like Cottesloe, is bounded at its northern and southern ends by quite significant rock groins as can be seen here looking south,
and here, from the opposite direction north past the surf club. I invite you to note the dark brown staining on the pathway. This a a Perth 'signature'. A large part of Perth's water supply comes from aquifers which are contained in ironstone (there is the odd kilo or two of iron ore in the West!). Unfortunately this water causes severe staining after sustained use,
as can be seen even more graphically on the side of the surf club building. This type of staining can be found all over Perth, on footpaths, walls, park tree trunks and in fact everywhere the watering systems hit anything solid. It really does spoil the landscape, but of course there is really no alternative worth seriously considering. Perth is dry and sandy enough as it is.
To Cottesloe beach...the grand old lady of the Perth metropolitan coast and the most southern of the main city beaches,
where again the beach is contained between groins. Here, as we look south along the lawn terraces which overlook the Cottesloe beach, we can see the southern rock wall and, beyond that, on the horizon at the left of shot, the wharves of Fremantle.
The seaside infrastructure here at Cottesloe is almost 'formal' with its rock walls, steps and terraced lawns,
and its wonderful old seafront restaurant and cafe, seen here looking to the north past the very well accommodated surf lifesaving patrol of the day (why sit on the beach when one can put the shelter up on a fine lawn).
The SLSC set up here at Cottesloe is different to say the least. I initially thought, with pangs of extraordinary envy, that the grand old beach house was the Surf Clubhouse. Not so.
The lower part of the building does house the Club's surf craft and patrol equipment, but that's it.
The Cottesloe clubhouse is actually to be found high on Mundurup Rocks, the rocky headland which forms the southern boundary of the beach. The contrast between the two facilities could not be more stark,
and looking north along the beach from the clubhouse it is easy to see why the local clubbies have taken advantage of the older building in which to store their patrol and competition gear.
Even along this good cement path through the park which separates the two club facilities, it would be a real drudge to have to haul patrol and other equipment back and forth on a daily basis.
My curiosity took me past the clubhouse further south on the point where the proximity of the Port of Fremantle became much more obvious.
And it is along these cliff top paths that another local surprise awaits the sightseer.
This extraordinary looking structure had me completely fooled.....believe it or not it is a sun dial....and it actually works. Why? No idea! Somebody with influence and money obviously had a 'good idea at the time' (sorry...irresistible)
From here the route back to the Cottesloe beach area took us past the very up-market looking Cottesloe golf course and clubhouse which are well established on the low hills immediately across the road from the Surf Club. Heaven only knows what this land must be worth but the course is rated as one of the finest in the country and membership, from what I could discover, is very tightly controlled and highly prized.
Now the upper storey of the beach 'pavilion' beckoned. What an extraordinary building this is. The 'Indiana Tea House' actually began life here on the Cottesloe beach as an icecream shop and has since been completely refurbished.
Let's take one more look from the beach level and this Cottesloe landmark before heading upstairs.
From the roadway, access to the upper level bistro is gained through this rather 'British Raj' style archway.
For those wanting something a little less formal and expensive, the courtyard situated on the middle level of the building offers cafe style meals and refreshments. This area can be accessed either from the stairway at road level, just beyond the main entrance,
or through this archway leading off one of the beach side terraces.
As we have seen previously, the lower level of the building houses the Cottesloe SLSC boat shed, board and ski rooms and equipment lockers. What a grand building for a patrol shed!
We were very nearly enticed into a cone of fish and chips at the cafe, but decided to cast our eyes a little further afield before treating ourselves to a seaside lunch. The Cottesloe Hotel, the shop buildings along the Esplanade,
and the architecture on this typical street running off the Esplanade, all have a comfortable 'slightly used' feel about them consistent with the fact that this was one of Perth's first popularly used beaches.
And we did eventually have our fish and chip lunch. Our only real problem was to decide which of the four venues within the space of 500 metres would attract our custom. We decided on one which we had noted had a constant turnover of clientele including a number who were obviously local workmen.
It was a good choice. Not cheap, (nothing in WA is,,,bloody miners!) but two of the biggest and best cooked 'fish and chips' baskets we had ever seen. Liz was quick to make much of the fact that even I couldn't get through all put before me, a rare occurrence indeed.
So, after a lovely wander around the major southern beaches of Perth we made our way back to our park along the roadway which took us past Swanbourne beach and an area of the coastal sand hill and scrubland which are completely surrounded by a somewhat menacing barbed wire and cyclone fence. There is a good reason for this as this sign explains...Campbell Barracks, the home of 'The Regiment', the highly trained and stunningly efficient group of soldiers otherwise known as the SAS.
Next on Liz's 'to do' list is the Swan Valley historic town of Guildford and a good look at Perth's famous Kings' Park which will be scheduled in between the last of the International cricket and the oppressively hot days, a number of which seem to have become a feature of every week here.
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