One might think that after traveling all day and finally landing at the airport, the day would soon be over. Nothing could have been further from that thought. First, find a taxi large enough to hold the luggage. Second, go into town center, find the rental car place and pick up the car. After loading up, we carefully hugged left side of the road and tried hard not to fall into old habits of right side driving. We soon found ourselves being swept along in the early evening traffic. The hotel where we had a  reservation for the week soon appeared - suspicious looking already. Our first concern really started when we booked online. At the desk we learned that the very simple reservation had not been made as  requested. It was truly three strikes and we were out! It was here that we discovered the true meaning of the word, crook.  �Hotels.com� - Some advice - stay well clear of this outfit. It cost us a bundle and we never even stayed there.

Internet choice .....

 - a far cry from what was specified.

Perth Casino ....

Just a thought--

Our address in Perth

The Royal Aero Club of Western Australia at Jandakot airport.

Without a room and the evening approaching we checked hotels for the next three hours. No luck, all were full. Finally, Joan suggested checking with the Casino. Ueli dropped Joan off and then waited and waited for well over half an hour. Curbside was not too comfortable for waiting, as the car was a traffic obstacle at that particular place. Ueli decided to park in the far away lot that was for free and started a lengthy search throughout the mammoth Casino and finally found Joan at one of the check in desks of the hotel. After being put through many paces to sign up for a specific card which would make the place affordable, she managed to get a great rate which included breakfast. At last we could go to a room, shower and fall sound asleep for a wonderful long night. - Amen

Renewing flying license at CASA

Thank you for the great help Mr. Pritchard!

Check ride while Joan struggles  to keep the plane level!

Mark's a big guy!

Leaving Jandakot with Perth in the dust.

The next days were a blur fill ed with many things to do. First thing after getting the car and hotel room, look for a place to get a SIM card for the cell phone. Next, renew our flying licenses from 1997, fill out a security check list (about 10 pages long with a current passport photo ID � had to run out and get some taken � both looking like true inmates),  go to The Royal Aero Club of Western Australia for checkouts in the plane we were going to rent for the flying part of the trip. Fly and pass the check rides with jet lag and sleep deprivation. It was only by the grace of God that we rallied and passed with flying colors! Last but not least, find a 4 wheel drive vehicle for later in the month for the driving part of the trip. We ended up with a camper!

View of Perth from the air.

On the streets of Perth, getting the feel of things

Iced coffee with vanilla ice cream  topped with whipped cream.

Historic Fremantle

Sunset at Fremantle Harbor.

Don't hesitate to give us your impressions.

You can contact us via    [email protected]

This page was last modified on 22. April 2005