A trip to Fremantle
Today, and another sunny one, was my last full day in Perth and so I decided to take a trip out to Freemantle on the train that took around 30 minutes. Fremantle is a port city with a nice sandy beach and part of the metropolitan area. It has a rich maritime history that is very apparent when you arrive here. It also has Victorian architecture and houses the infamous Fremantle Prison.
On arrival in Fremantle, I headed out towards the coast and walked along the seafront where I soon reached the lovely Bathers Beach House café and bar. This is apparently Fremantle’s only main beachfront restaurant, bar, and function room. It has a great location, great food, and plenty of outdoor seating. I spent some time here relaxing with a drink and a snack before heading out to explore the town centre and Fremantle Prison. I had looked online about prison tours, but it wasn’t very clear whether or not there were any tours today, so I had to hope for the best.
A short walk through the town eventually brought me to the prison, and I was lucky that I had arrived just in time for the last tour of the day. There are a variety of tours on offer and special ones are put on at certain times of the year. Fremantle Prison dates back to the 19th century and only closed its doors in 1991. The prison housed men, women, and juveniles, and nearly 10,000 convicts passed through it between 1850 and 1868. Eventually, concerns over conditions in the prison and constant riots breaking out saw recommendations arise for its closure. After its closure, the prison underwent a conservation plan to preserve it for future generations to come. Fremantle is one of the largest surviving convict prisons in the world.
I really enjoyed this tour, and it was so authentic that you could almost imagine being there years ago. The prison is in remarkable condition and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable – she did make us all laugh when she said events and even weddings were held there. When people expressed surprise at weddings, she did point out that marriage was after all a life sentence!
After leaving the prison, I returned back to the lovely Bathers Beach House for a meal and drink before heading back to the train station. This was a great way to relax and unwind at the end of the day, and I was rewarded with probably one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen.
The following day, I just had a small amount of time before heading off to the airport for my long flight home. I decided to just pop into the town centre and go round a few shops to get some gifts to take back home with me.
One thing I must mention before saying farewell until my next trip is that my daughter introduced me to Airalo which is a great eSIM and worked really well while I was away. It’s cheap, easy to use, and you can top up if and when you need to and then just switch to a new country when you get there. This is a super great way of using your phone overseas when you can’t use your normal contract and is especially good when visiting more than one country at a time. I just thought I would impart this information with you, and don’t worry I don’t work for them and I’m not on any commission! https://www.airalo.com/
Another thing to mention is that both New Zealand and Australia are very cashless now, and I didn’t need to use any cash in either country even though I had taken a bit with me just in case I needed it.
Hope you had a great read, and farewell for now…