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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Australia: Cycling Perth Day 8 - Cycling Subiaco To Elizabeth Quay
Perth, Australia Day 8: Saturday, 10th August 2019
Small Group/Duo Multi-mode Cycling Tour of Perth & Margaret River, Australia and the vicinity in Western Australia, today's route covers Subiaco & Elizabeth Quay:
Hay Street>Perth Station>TransPerth Train>Subiaco Station>Subi Farmers Market>Kings Park>WA University>Matilda Bay>Swan River>Elizabeth Quay>Murray Street>Hay Street.
Distance: 14.75 km | Level: Easy
Time: 7:00 am to 3:15 pm
Time Taken : 8 hrs. 15 mins (including stops at the market, the quay, some shopping and street art viewing, breakfast, morning tea, lunch, & lots of photo opps).
This is page 7 of a 7-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
Route Recommendations:
Before leaving on your tour, it will be good to service your bike and bring along some spares like tubes, puncture patches, brake pads and the relevant tools.
1. Traffic Directions!
Traffic in Australia is right-hand drive, so cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!
Driving courtesy is very important in the country. So do not hog the road, stay within your lane and put on your indicators when turning or changing lanes, and give way at city-centre junctions to pedestrians and other slower traffic even if there's not pedestrian crossing.
2. Route & Traffic Conditions
Australia has fairly well developed cycling routes that run in the cities, town, villages, and country side. Some of the cycling trails are on dedicated cycling lanes, some on shared lanes with pedestrians or other traffic. Some are on paved tracks while others are on gravel or earth trails, and they go through fairly busy towns, green forests and bright blue lakeside.
The Bicycle Network website provides cycling guides & maps for the various states & territories. The Road Rules & Laws Section gives the relevant laws and rules for cycling in the states & territories. DO NOTE that for the present wearing helmets is compulsory when cycling there. The following are some laws on cycling in Western Australia; covering wearing helmets & cycling safety, cycling on shared roads & foot paths, safe passing distance, and safe bicycles for the state. The most important things to note are the compulsory wearing of approved helmets, no cycling at free ways & pedestrian malls, and riding single file on footpaths.
The cycling route is quite flat until hitting the cycling paths running along the Swan River where there is not much shade but is very scenic.
3. Bringing Bikes Onto Trains, Buses & Ferries in Perth
Full sized bikes & unfolded folding bikes are allowed onto Transperth trains during off peak times without additional charges. Ferries have four parking bays for full sized and unfolded folding bikes. Full sized bikes are not allowed onto buses. Bagged folded bikes are allowed onto all trains, buses & ferries at all times. For more information on bringing bicycles onto Transperth trains, buses, ferries and stations click here.
The Transperth trains/buses/ferries have different type of fares that cover different zones. For short tours one can use the limited time & limited zones fares, eg. the "two hour fare" that covers one to four zones, OR the "three hour fare" that covers fiver or more zones. Travel time is withing the time limit.
For our journey from Perth to Subiaco, we bought a one-way/one zone ticket (as we would be cycling back), the fare was AUD3-20 per pax and it was a quick 6-minutes ride.
The Transperth trains/buses/ferries have different type of fares that cover different zones. For short tours one can use the limited time & limited zones fares, eg. the "two hour fare" that covers one to four zones, OR the "three hour fare" that covers fiver or more zones. Travel time is withing the time limit.
For our journey from Perth to Subiaco, we bought a one-way/one zone ticket (as we would be cycling back), the fare was AUD3-20 per pax and it was a quick 6-minutes ride.
4. Places of Interest
Along our travel routes were several places of interests, some of which we visited and others we did not for lack of time:
- Kings Park, from the north-western entrance at Saw Avenue (GPS: -31.95953, 115.82413).
5. Food
a. Breakfast: Bratwurst and soup at the Subi Farmers Market (GPS: -31.95134, 115.82251).
c. Morning Tea 2: Apple Pie & Fresh Strawberry ice cream at Gusto Gelato (GPS: -31.95777, 115.85774) in Elizabeth Quay.
d. Lunch: Ajitama Uma Ramen & Gyoza at Baru-Uma Restaurant (GPS: -31.95435, 115.8603) Barrack Street.
e. Dinner: Self-cooked at apartment.
6. Accommodations
Our stay at Perth was at Durham House (GPS:-31.95255, 115.8544), a studio (king-bed) apartment with kitchen and laundry facilities at AUD952 for six nights inclusive of cleaning and guest fees.
Address: 12/838 Hay St, Perth WA 6000, Australia.
Phone: +61-481188875
Booking was made through GoLocca Homes.
7. Getting to Perth Airport
Many flights leave Perth Airport in the early hours of the morning and passengers will have to get to the airport in the wee hours. Surprisingly within the city centre, it was easy to hail a ride through Uber even at four in the morning and the car arrived within five minutes. Just ensure that the Uber app is pre-installed to your mobile phone. Only credit card payments are accepted, no cash transactions.
8. Weather
A useful weather forecast site for the Australia is the AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.
9. Communicating with Each Other
When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost from the rest.
We purchased Hello 1010 simcards online and got the 15-days/6GB prepaid simcards for Australia & New Zealand at MYR59 each. These were delivered within 3-5 working days but MUST ONLY be activated in Australia.
Alternatively, one can purchase the OPTUS pre-paid simcards at the Perth International Arrival Hall.
10. Communicating with Locals
Most locals speaks very good English and communicating with them should not be a problem.
11. Navigation
We used Google Maps in Cycling Mode for navigation but there is a lag when starting off, so one would have to cycle a bit to get the orientation right. Google Maps is also useful as it shows various places of interests that were not shown on GPS units.
Alternatively, download the MAPS.ME app together with the relevant country maps. This app can be used offline.
12. Service Your Bicycles & Carry Tools and Spares
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PRELUDE
4WD-Truck/Bus at the Lancelin Sand Dunes.
We are back to cycling today starting with a train ride to Subiaco Farmers Market and then on the scenic cycling paths running along the Swan River down to Elizabeth Quay._________________________________________________________________________
THE ROUTE
Cycle Route: Hay Street>Perth Station>TransPerth Train>Subiaco Station>Subi Farmers Market>Kings Park>WA University>Matilda Bay>Swan River>Elizabeth Quay>Murray Street>Hay Street.
Cycle Route: Hay Street>Perth Station>TransPerth Train>Subiaco Station>Subi Farmers Market>Kings Park>WA University>Matilda Bay>Swan River>Elizabeth Quay>Murray Street>Hay Street.
Distance: 14.75 km | Level: Easy
This is a casual route starting with a train ride from Perth to Subiaco. The cycling route goes from the Subiaco Station to a farmers market, then cutting along the edge of Kings Park to enter the University of Western Australia. From there it's along the cycling paths running along the Swan River to head towards Elizabeth Quay.
Here we are, our Brompton bicycles neatly parked at a corner of Subi Farmers Market. We had boarded the TransPerth Train and by coincidence Amran was on the same train; we were suppose to meet at Subiaco Station from where we took a short ride to the market. Here he is wearing an appropriate "I 🚲Subiaco" T-shirt and giving a sticking-out-tongue Maori Haka greeting!
His bright pink T-shirt, will endear him to some beautiful ladies later on 😍.
Subiaco (affectionally called Subi) is an inner western suburb of Perth, The area was settled in 1851 by Italian Benedictine monks. The monks named the area after Subiaco in Italy, the location where Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the Order of Saint Benedict, had begun his work.
Subi Farmers Market only opens during the weekend, because it's the right time when people are off from work and free to browse around the stalls AND also it's located within a side compound and hall of the Subiaco Primary School. Isn't this a great example of community sharing?
At the market, the fist thing that caught my eyes were not fruits or vegetables....
But dog food/toys; right at the entrance was a stall that sold dog food and chewing toys. There were even chewing toys in the shape of duck heads.... er.... I thing they were toys and not real duck heads.... ughs...
This farmers' market was much different from the Bunbury Farmers Market which we went to a few days back. While produce from the Bunbury Farmers Market were from large scale farms, those here were from small farms or perhaps even from the vegetable plots of locals. Whichever the case was, they were wonderfully fresh... we could even smell their freshness!
By that I don't mean they smell of manure .... hahaha... it was true fresh, green aroma.
Love these baby tomatoes, they from such a nice pattern.... could have mistaken them for ear-rings 😄.
The stall holder are such colourful characters, especially those selling specific or specialized food/items. There were other than food and produce, there stalls selling vegetable seeds, natural air-fresheners, key-rings etc. The bonding trait, I noticed, were their cheerfulness.
Amongst the many stall was one that sold something worth more than it's weight in gold - truffles! His prized harvest was protected by a clear glass cover. The truffles are sliced like cheese, but unlike cheese a brush is at hand to collect tiny remnants. Even their dust are more valuable than gold dust.
The difference between this man's truffles and others, was that instead of being seeked out by pigs, his were sniffed out by his trained Lagatto Romagnolo dogs, Millie & Peri, at his 200 acre farm! These species of dogs, with their keen sense of smell, are renowned for hunting out truffles.
Time to seek out eats for our breakfast. We ended up having the recommended Bratwurst that came with generous amounts of fried onions .....
And tasty soup from the Suppa Club; we had the pumpkin soup which was thick, creamy and sweetly tasty.
Eating at the market, was an experience - sitting there and mingling with friendly locals (some who had brought their dogs along) while listening to soothing music belted out by Kathryn McCarthy.
After close to an hour at the market, we headed out, cutting through Rankin Gardens and then along Rokeby Road. As usual, things en route caught our eye and made us stop often - our first stop (less than five minutes later 😊) was the Fallen Soldier Memorial, where Lynn seemed enamoured by this sculpture by Greg James titled "Age Shall Not Weary Them". This sculpture reflects the life, thoughts and deep contemplation of many young men during World War One. The starting point of many stories, it aims to provoke thought and highlight the impact of war on the Subiaco community.
A short distance away, coffee time at Yelo! This place seems to be a favourite amongst cyclists, there were even bicycle racks up front.
From Saw Avenue we entered the cycling paths at Kings Park and then crossed Mount Bay Road thoroughfare via a pedestrian/cycling tunnel below .....
..... and Hey, Presto! We were onto the quiet, shady roads of the University of Western Australia.
Amran lectures here and had some minor errand to do. While waiting for him, we fiddled with our Brompton bicycles for a nice photo with Winthrop Hall in the background.,
Exiting the university grounds, we crossed over to the cycling paths running along Matilda Bay of the Swan River. At the Bayside Kitchen, Amran found his calling... a group of similarly pink clad ladies calling out to him 🥰. They were wearing a similar pink as they were from a cycling group from Subiaco! Soon they were happily shouting in camaraderie.
Amran had to return to his teaching duties at the university and left us in the good hands of the group of ladies with "firm instructions" for them to take good care of the two of us.
The ladies, some of whom were older than this AhPek, really put us to shame. Even at their steady pace, we were soon straggling behind; a couple of them slowed down to accompany us but we told them not to as we would be stopping frequently for photos.
The ladies, some of whom were older than this AhPek, really put us to shame. Even at their steady pace, we were soon straggling behind; a couple of them slowed down to accompany us but we told them not to as we would be stopping frequently for photos.
"BYE GIRLS, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!"
Out at the river, the yachtes were out sailing on a deep blue sea. It's a beautiful Saturday of bright blue sky!
Saw this truck selling King Prawns for AUD18.90 per kg., if these prawns are similar to the Malaysian Udang Galah then at they are a steal at these prices. Unfortunately they are not, the Udang Galah are usually sold with a minimum size of 20cm. while the King Prawns are 10-16cm. Still these prawns are very tasty!
On this bright, beautiful Saturday morning not only were the boats out in force; many cyclist taking advantage of the sunny day were seen cycling along the riverside path.
We stopped at a long, narrow pier that led to the Blue Boat House. There was a long queue of people waiting their turn to go nearer to take photos with the house. We waited a while but got impatient as we still had lots ahead to see and decided to skip this. A lady in the queue remarked, "Wouldn't it be a waste not to have photo taken with the house?" "It's okay, we had many photos taken of the Blue Houses at the Busselton Jetty." "Fair dinkum!"
Slightly ahead was another worthwhile stop; a statue out in the sea of a lady about to dive into the sea. This is Eliza, a renown 2.2m tall bronze statue by local artist, Tony Jones. The sculpture is named after Mount Eliza; Mount Eliza was named by Captain James Stirling in honour of the wife of Governor Ralph Darling, an early Governor of New South Wales. Unveiled on October 2007, the Eliza has since been regularly "dressed" in various costumes by students and other unknown pranksters. Costumes have included a Santa Claus outfit (including beard) and a Melbourne Cup frock and champagne flute.
She has become quite a local landmark, with her own Facebook Page, and a blogger remarked "It is a Perth truth universally acknowledged that every time you drive or ride down Mounts Bay Road, you must see what outfit Eliza is wearing today.
Will she be in a fancy cocktail dress? Will she be wearing the scarf of a local footy team? Will she have been squeezed into a private school blazer? Or (gasp) will she be au natural in her in her natural (bronze) bathing suit."
The home stretch... Elizabeth Quay and the city centre is just ahead.... Whoosh... whoosh.... WHOOSH!
Elizabeth Quay is a mixed-use development project in the Perth central business district. Located on the north shore of Perth Water and centred on the landmark Swan Bells, it was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee.
11:15AM - At the Elizabeth Quay Bridge; it's a simple yet beautiful piece on engineering. At night it looks even better!
But even before we cross the bridge we made first contact with a penguin statue appropriately named "First Contact". This sculpture located at William's Landing is nicknamed "Bird In a Boat". "The 5m tall polished aluminum sculpture by Laurel Nannup is inspired by the Noongar people’s first impression of European settlers in 1829. They saw the distant sails of their ships and thought they looked like floating birds and that their ancestors were returning. At night the sculpture illuminates".
At the Spanda, I took advantage of the geometry of the sculture to pose as the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci. Although, if Signor da Vinci had used me as a model, the proportions would all have been wrong... long body, short legs... and on top of these, bow-legged 😮❗❗❗
Well... just have to console myself with: Gusto Gelato!
From the quay it was straight all the way up Barrack Street for a beautiful Ajitama Uma Ramen lunch at Baru-Uma Japanese Restaurant.
The kicker for lunch were these Gyoza which was pan-fried with some of their sauce leaking out to form a thin layer of tasty flake. !YummY!
We were searching for Woolworths for Lynne to do some shopping when I hit a mother-lode of street art at Grand Lane! This above is a huge bird with long feathery tail.
These people here looked like an Aborigine family getting settled into city life.
A wall of green Martians!
Hmmmmm... perhaps they are not Martians but green ghosts!
An Aztec parrot.
Lynn, nonchalantly cycling along a wide five-foot way. Apparently this is against the law, if a road is opened to traffic and is not a pedestrian mall, cyclist have to cycle on the road. Thank goodness we were not stopped and issued a ticket!
Viewed more street art at McLean Lane, before we called it a day and headed back to Durham House.
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Our flight back home was at 6:30am the following morning, and we had to be at the airport latest by 4:30am. We were a bit concern about getting a ride-hailing car at that ungodly hour of 4:00am in the wee hours of the morning! But within five minutes of hailing a ride through Uber, our car arrived.... Phew!
A couple of things about Perth Airport: luggage trolleys are not free, one has to slot in AUD2 to use a trolley, so get your coins ready. The other thing is that just within the airport building is a row of luggage weighing machines, we saw many using these and re-arranging their luggage among their bags to ensure that they are within their luggage limits
Immigration was very efficient and we were in the departure hall with time to spare for window and actual shopping,
Postscript: When we mentioned to friends that we would be heading to Perth for a holiday, many raised their eyebrows stating that it's a boring place. But after having been here for a week, we found that there was so much to do AND the weather even in winter was excellent. SO, do come to Perth, it's only a short five-hours hop from Malaysia!
GOOD ON YOU, MATE!
(For more photos of the Day, Click Here)
This is page 7 of a 7-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
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