Perth 24-25th August 2011

Day 1
More rain overnight but has fined this morning. After a drive along the Swan River along Mounts Bay Road, we lunch in the WA University precinct before proceeding to King' Park & Botanical Gardens which is one of the largest inner city parks in the world. Our drive through the entrance is passed Eucalypt trees which honour the fallen from WW's.
A wildflower lovers paradise here with species from both the Northern & Souther regions of WA. Federation Walk takes us on a walkway above the treetops with interpretative Aboriginal history. The stroll takes us through various memorial gardens and onto the DNA Tower. 
Day 2
Our first sight seeing venture today is the Perth Mint. An enthusiastic guide provides us the opportunity to experience the excitement of the early gold rushes showing us replica nuggets found in WA including the Golden Eagle & Hand of Faith nuggets. We watched a gold pour in the original Melting House & handled $500,000 worth of gold bullion. We discovered the value of our weight in gold before heading into the vault. As we exit, we note that there must have been a change in the value of bullion as people are lined up to exchange bullion for cash.
An accidental discovery of the FESA museum sees Angus in his element. It is here that we see a number of exhibits pertaining to fire, storms, earthquakes, cyclones and rescue. A very interesting  place which is also used for school excursions.
A stroll down Hay St Mall takes us to London Court.  Built in 1937, one is able to step back into time in the setting of Tudor England. Copper coloured ships decorate the classically moulded ceilings at both entrances; and containers moulded with lions & unicorns line the walkway. At one end is a blue faced clock which chimes every 1/4 hour. The clock face is a replica of one of the dials in the clock tower that houses Big Ben in London. At one end of the court are four knights circling in the window when the clock chimes & isknown as Tournament of Armoured Knights, and at the other entrance is a miniature of St George doing battle with the dragon.
To finish our day, we move on to visit one of the largest musical instruments in the world - a set of 12 bells from St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. These bells are housed in the 82.5m high Bell Tower. The Oldest Bell in Australia dates back to 1550. The day finished we head back to the caravan park.