I had the opportunity to visit Perth for the very first time late last year, on my way back home to Melbourne from Malaysia. My original flight home via Sydney was cancelled, so I was put on a last minute flight to Perth with less than two days notice. It was chaotic. All the paperwork I had to get done within those two days due to the pandemic travel restrictions, and all the rushed packing, and shopping, but I had no choice. If I wanted to get back home to see my kids before Christmas, that flight to Perth was my only ticket home.

It turned out to be quite a nice experience! I was in hotel quarantine at Intercontinental Perth (look out for my blog post in the next coming weeks about my quarantine experience here) for 14 days, and when I was released I had a whole weekend free to explore Perth because there wasn’t any flights back to Melbourne until Monday. So, I stayed another 3 nights at a nearby hotel (again, another blog post coming) and took the opportunity as a newly free woman, no longer in quarantine, to explore as much as I could.

The first thing I did was explore Kings Park and Botanic Gardens. It was right across the pedestrian bridge from my hotel, so it was so convenient just to get there. Plus, after being in hotel quarantine for two weeks, I needed to seriously get my steps up. I loved the fresh air, the weather was beautiful, and I well and truly clocked up over 10,000 steps that day.

The view of Perth city from Kings Park is absolutely breathtaking. By the time I finished my walk and was heading back, the State War Memorial was packed with people and families on picnic blankets, just sitting there admiring the sunset views of Perth CBD and Swan river. It was truly the best view of any city I have ever seen.

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My walk was really pleasant. There were plenty of wildlife and structures to observe, and the paths were comfortable, and I think I probably walked about 5km in total, maybe more considering I walked back as well. It was definitely a great start to my short but sweet weekend in Perth.