AhPek Biker - Old Dog Rides Again: Australia: Cycling In Perth Day 6

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Australia / Cycling Perth / Day 6 - Cycling Fremantle & Cottesloe | Go to D1&2/D3/D4/D5/D7/D8

AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Australia: Cycling Perth Day 6 - Cycling Fremantle & Cottesloe

Perth, Australia Day 6: Thursday, 8th August 2019

Small Group/Duo Multi-mode Cycling Tour of Perth & Margaret River, Australia and the vicinity in Western Australia, today's route covers Fremantle, Cottesloe and part of Perth Heritage Core:

Durham House>Perth Station>by Fremantle Train>Fremantle Station>J Shed>Round House>Maritime Museum>High Street>Fremantle Markets>East-West Design>Fremantle Prison>Fremantle Station>by Fremantle Train>Cottesloe Station>Cottesloe Beach>Cottesloe Station>by Fremantle Train>Perth Station>Durham House.

Cycling Distance: 0.37+10.5+2.69+1.0=14.55 km | Level: Easy (except for some slopes in Cottesloe)

Time: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Time Taken : 9 hrs. (including stops at the museum, prison, beach, viewing street art, and other places of interests; and also train rides, lunch, tea, re-orientation, & lots of photo opps).

This is page 5 of a 7-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< Go to D5 Swan River | Go to Other Days | Go to D7 Pinnacles >

Route Recommendations:

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 at Fremantle is flat and goes through the heritage core and immediate suburbs. The cycling route at Cottesloe is down and up slope from the train station to the beach. For those with more time cycling the 20+km cycling routes from Perth to Fremantle would be interesting. The best route would be one that goes via Elizabeth Quay and along the Kings Park edge of the Swan River.

An alternative to cycling around Fremantle is taking the free Fremantle CAT Bus; the Red Cat Bus covers the heritage core of Fremantle, while the Blue Cat Bus covers the eastern suburbs up till Douro Road, click here for a route map of the Cat Buses which also shows their operating hours and transit stops.

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.
As we were going on a longer journey to Fremantle then to Cottesloe, we bought the Standard DayRider Fare, at AUD13-10 per pax, that gives unlimited travel across all zones for the day. The train ride took 30 minutes.

4. Places of Interest

We rode at three areas - around Fremantle, at Cottesloe, & a bit at Perth's Heritage Core. Along our cycle routes were several places of interests, some of which we visited and others we did not for lack of time. Note: click on GPS coordinates for directional map to respective places:

a. At the Fremantle (Website Link) :

- Artists' studios and outdoor art at J Shed Art Studio (GPS: -32.05583, 115.74053).
- The Round House (Website Link) (GPS: -32.05612, 115.74131).
- Western Australia Maritime Museum (GPS: -32.05482, 115.73929). Admission ticket for adults is AUD15. For students & seniors the concession ticket is AUD7-50.
- HMS Owen Submarine tour (just outside the museum) (GPS: -32.05525, 115.73889), a separate entry/tour ticket of same value is required.

- High Street Mall (GPS: -32.05416, 115.74748).
- Saint John's Anglican Church (GPS: -32.05370, 115.74819).
- The Fremantle Visitors Centre located at the Fremantle Town Hall (GPS: -32.05422, 115.7477).

- Fremantle Markets (Website Link) (GPS: -32.05626, 115.74884).

- East-West Design (GPS: -32.07138, 115.75224).

- Fremantle Street Art, including the Zebra Mural @ Ootong & Lincoln (GPS: -32.06518, 115.75253) & Octopus Mural @ South Beach Fish n Chips (GPS: -32.07224, 115.75318).

- Fremantle Prison (Website Link) (GPS: -32.05505, 115.75258).

b. At Cottesloe:

- Cottesloe Beach (GPS: -31.99621, 115.75193).
- Cottesloe Jetty (GPS: -31.99666, 115.74966).
c. At Perth's Heritage Core:
- the open mall with the Perth Cactus (GPS: -31.95187, 115.85957) at Forrest Place (GPS: -31.95209, 115.85942).
- Perth Street Art at Wolf Lane (Website Link) (GPS: -31.95252, 115.85571).

- scenic night views of Perth from the South Perth Foreshore (GPS: -31.97483, 115.86275).

5. Food

a. Breakfast: Self cooked at apartment.

b. Morning Tea: Coffee & sandwiches at Caffissimo Cafe (GPS: -32.05468, 115.73936) located in the Western Australia Maritime Museum in Fremantle.
c. Brunch : Toasties at Lawleys Bakery Cafe (GPS: -32.05949, 115.75173) in Fremantle.

d. Tea: Fish n Chips at Amberjacks (GPS: -31.99497, 115.75217) in Cottesloe.

e. Dinner: Pizza at Solo Pizza (GPS: -31.98811, 115.86206) in South Perth.

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. Weather

Day temperatures at Fremantle averaged 15°C, it was a moderately overcast day with a couple of spouts of rain. Evening temperatures in Perth averaged 13°C.

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.

8. 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.

9. Communicating with Locals

Most locals speaks very good English and communicating with them should not be a problem.

10. 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.

11. Service Your Bicycles & Carry Tools and Spares

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.

_________________________________________________________________________________

PRELUDE

A day earlier we had did some interesting cycling at three spots north of Perth each showing us a different aspect of the city - a wine river valley, a lively lake and at one of the largest urban parks in the world. Today we hopped onto a train to go explore the south: Fremantle & Cottesloe. How did those places turn out to be, read on to find out!
_________________________________________________________________________

THE RIDE

Route: Durham House>Perth Station>by Fremantle Train>Fremantle Station>J Shed>Round House>Maritime Museum>High Street>Fremantle Markets>East-West Design>Fremantle Prison>Fremantle Station>by Fremantle Train>Cottesloe Station>Cottesloe Beach>Cottesloe Station>by Fremantle Train>Perth Station>Durham House.

Cycling Distance: 14.55 km | Level: Easy (except for some slopes in Cottesloe)

Time : 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Time Taken: 9 hrs. (including stops at the museum, prison, beach, viewing street art, and other places of interests; and also train rides, lunch, tea, re-orientation, & lots of photo opps).

This is a multi mode tour, with train rides from Perth to Fremantle & later from Fremantle to Cottesloe.

The cycling routes goes around the old centre of Fremantle, then to the outskirts to seek some interesting street art. It's an easy route, relatively flat except for some slopes near the prison. At Cottesloe, it a ride down slope for some beach fun and then back up to the train station.

(Click here for Google route map link)

We are taking the TransPerth Fremantle Line to go cycling in Fremantle. A tip here: it's better to cycle to the Perth Main Station instead of the Perth Underground Station; this will avoid having to push the bikes at the underground corridors like what we had to do.

Travelling during the TransPerth off-peak periods, we could just fold our bikes and roll them into the train. During peak periods, folding bikes are allowed in but has to be folded and bagged. Cycling is encouraged, so there is no charges for bringing bicycles onto the train during the allowed time.

So there we were, or rather our bikes were, parked at a corner of the train ..... to the amusement of this fellow traveler.

It's a quick train ride and within thirty minutes we arrived at the Fremantle Station. This was a smaller station with a homely-feel convenience stall within. As we exited, a couple of locals wearing bright red jackets waved at us, asking whether we needed help. These guys are volunteers called tourist ambassadors, stationed there to help tourists get their directions, travel and tour options right (Huh? Was it that obvious that we ARE tourists?).

As we approached Fremantle on the train, we saw this modern looking building, one that had similarities with the Sydney Opera House white shell-like designed. We wondered what this building was, a theatre also? Here's where the red-jacketed ambassadors came in handy and informed us that it's the Western Australia Maritime Museum and pointed us in the right direction to head for it.

Off we went happily heading there, but as usual things do come in and distract this AhPek. It's a good distraction in the form of artwork by local artist at a place called J Shed, so named as it occupies one of the former railroad wharehouseing sheds. The rendering of these giraffes ready for export looked very realistic.

(.... read more of the art at J)

Just up the hill from the J Shed was The Round House, the museum will have to wait as we made a short detour there. The Round House is not actually round, it's octagon in shape. Though its name may sound like a place of gaiety, it's not a pub or a place where people go imbibe themselves with a round of drinks and be happy. No, it was a prison.

This was the first permanent building in the colony and was used for colonial and indigenous prisoners until 1886, after which it was used as a police lockup until 1900, when it became the living quarters for the chief constable. The building was transferred to the City of Fremantle in 1982, and has been opened daily since then.

Entry into the Round House is free but a donation in the form of a purchase of a souvenir "gold" coin is appreciated. The donation goes towards the maintenance and operation of the place which is run by volunteers.

Inside, photos and posters tell the history of the place. Also there are props for relevant photo opportunities; like this one showing the AhPek chained to a ball iron. I think he was caught for cycling without wearing a helmet.... the punishment is "harsh" hahahaha so do remember to wear helmets otherwise one will end up wearing a chain & ball!

..... and then it was to the stocks! I was smiling as the "warden" lowered the top, but after a while my smile faded. Even though it was just a couple of minutes being locked up, the position did cause discomfort to my neck and arms. Seeing the naughty, conniving smirks between the warden and the wifey, I was a bit worried that they would not release me!

11:00am - Time to go to the museum, and we made it just in the nick of time as suddenly the rain came pouring down. Good timing too, as the rain lasted close to an hour and we could while away our time in the museum.

"The Museum houses several unique galleries that explore WA's maritime relationship. From leisure boats and handcrafted sailing boats to commercial pearl luggers, the Museum inspires visitors to discover WA’s affinity with the ocean."

Inside, displays showed the diverse maritime history of Western Australia; from native boats to modern jet-boats.....

and to sleek, beautiful yatches like the Australia II, the pride of the nation. It won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. She was the first successful Cup challenger, ending a 132-year tenure by the New York Yacht Club.

Other than maritime vessels, the museum also exhibit marine life like local fishes and even these dugongs. Closely related to the manatees, the friendly dugongs are the only strictly herbivorous marine mammal.

Mermaid sightings by sailors, when they weren't made up, were most likely manatees, dugongs or Steller's sea cows. Christopher Columbus, while sailing near Haiti, believed he was looking at a mermaid when he saw his first manatee. He got close enough to note that they were "not as pretty as they are depicted, for somehow in the face they look like men."

In contrast to the cuddly dugongs, this fellow here looked wildly fearsome! This is the Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios), a species of deepwater shark. It is rarely seen by humans and is the smallest of the three extant filter-feeding sharks alongside the Whale shark and Basking shark. But it is fiercer than it looks, like the other two planktivorous sharks, it swims with its enormous mouth wide open, filtering water for plankton and jellyfish. Since its discovery in 1976, few Megamouth sharks have been seen, with fewer than 100 specimens being observed or caught.

12:15pm - The rain abated to a light drizzle; its time to venture out again and just outside was this sculpture of migrant children. A couple of plaques nearby inscribed, "Dedicated to the British/Maltese boys and girls who left their homeland ..... Australia is better for their coming".

We rode into the old centre of Fremantle; oops.... Lynne here was cycling on the pavement, a no-no under the law which we learnt later; let's hope that she doesn't end up in the stocks!

Unlike Perth, the town still has a very laid-back atmosphere and there are hardly any high-rise buildings around and traffic is much slower here.

Many parts of the town still have its old houses and retains the colonial, outback feel.

We visited several places like the High Street Mall and the Saint John's Anglican Church, and tried to do some shopping at the Fremantle Markets. Unfortunately, today is a Thursday and the market are closed.

Fremantle does have some interesting street art, so it's time to go hunting for them.

At the Fremantle Visitors Centre (located at the Fremantle Town Hall ), we inquired whether there is a map showing where these artwork were located. Unfortunately there was none, but the friendly lady staff circled out some locations for us, and off we went a hunting.

The above is a large wall mural at the carpark next to the True Blue Markets. We did managed to find many of the street art and have indicated them on a Google Map of Fremantle Street Art; hopefully this will be helpful to others in finding them.

The above is the Purple Octopus Mural at South Beach Fish & Chips. One of the most beautiful is the Rainbow Zebras mural by Anya Brock which can be seen at Ootong and Lincoln (see top-most photo).

Very elaborate al-fresco shopfront murals can be seen at East West Design.

And murals of the Australian Bushman at the Beers Building (now the Fremantle Synagogue building opposite Scots Presbyterian Church).

(..... see more of Fremantle Street Art)

Somewhere near the Fremantle Hospital, we bumped into this cheerful lady. She's Nickie, a local resident cycling her tricycle on her way to a local council meeting. I really salute this fiesty lady who is older than this AhPek, her and her efforts to keep her city pollution free by cycling all around.

Suddenly the rain came again, and we had to wave a quick goodbye to Nickie and scooted over to the nearby Lawleys Bakery Cafe, to wait out the rain, and the same time have a light late lunch. It was just a toastie and coffee to share as we will be having something more filling later on at Cottesloe.

Lawleys is a small and cozy place, just nice to relax. On their walls were some lovely paintings by locals; the above reminded me of the Flower Children of the 60's-70's Hippie era.

This one is a more contemporary painting and reminds me of Little Miss Muffet wearing a bonnet.

Just before leaving the town, popped over to the Fremantle Prison for some photos. Sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, this was a former Australian prison and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The six-hectare (15-acre) site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, and tunnels.

3:30pm - We hopped onto the Fremantle Train and arrived at Cottesloe. The station here is a small one, with an open-wall shed waiting area; at the exit was this sculpture titled "Sculpture by the Sea" by Norton Flavel. It's of a giant prisoner chain and ball, the ball is floating in the air, perhaps signifying freedom from the shackles of imprisonment.

It was a short, easy ride down the slope to the Cottesloe Beach where we rode on some paved pathways .....

..... to a jetty sticking out to the sea.

It's a fairly long jetty, not as impressive as the Busselton Jetty; the bonus is one can cycle on it and there's no entrance fee!

4:15pm - The reason why we had a light lunch - saving our tummies for the famous Amberjacks fish n chips. Surprisingly the shop was operated by a young Korean couple who were surprised that we could speak to them in Korean (a result of our Korea cycling tours). Their fish and chips were almost as good as the one we had at Cicerello's in Mandurah.

It should be noted that unlike in Malaysia, the food outlets here don't serve with ketchup or chilli sauce and these have to be purchased as add ons.

If you had noticed, the above photo doesn't show the food but rather that of a sticker calling out "AhPek Biker was here!". I have often put these stickers at places if found interesting or with good food, see more of these at the AhPek Biker Stickers Album!

What goes up must come down.... and even worse is what goes down must come up... as Lynne found out while pushing her bike up the slopes to the Cottesloe Station!

5:45pm - Back at Perth we exited from the main station to the Perth Cactus at Forrest Place. This modern piece of art has divided local shoppers and businesses, with some saying it's a waste of taxpayer's money. Personally, I think it has added a lively colour to the place and is a piece for conversation.

Mr. Google took us on a route back with a surprise!

It took us through a narrow lane called Wolf Lane; here there were large and beautiful murals painted onto the walls of the building - this one is of a "regenerated" green sea-horse....

A wolf mural to reflect the name of the lane!

(..... see more of the street art at Wolf Lane)

Later in the evening; it was a pleasant surpise - a reunion with Dennis, a friend who I have not seen since school days, decades ago. With his missus, he took us for some nice pizza at Solo Pizza over at South Perth.