A three-hour cycling session along Swan River - this must be the first time I'm actually cycling from Point A to Point B for purposes of transport rather than practising how to cycle. It feels like learning how to swim in a pool deeper than my height (next on the list to be conquered)! It's definitely a different way in which I've experienced the Swan River and not something I would have thought of doing. This is the route that we took:
We set off from Point Fraser Reserve and rode down the pink far line and back (Google says it's 14km! :o). There was a bike hire service available at Point Fraser Reserve. The fees came up to AUD19 per person in the end. Here is the official website. You can also choose to kayak... we saw a local pushing his own kayak into the Swan River and started paddling around.
This is what the Bike Hire shop looks like! It's quite far into the reserve, across the big carpark.
The bikes were really comfortable and low enough for my feet to touch the ground, it's very manageable for a beginner like me. It is very lightweight and you can also slip your waterbottle in a little metallic holder at the front.
It was such a bright and sunny day that day - I got sunburnt despite putting on sunblock (only once when I left the house, should have reapplied after two hours) and I still haven't recovered from it, leaving a very obvious tanline on my thigh. Sunglasses are an absolute must because the ground was reflecting so much light; I would not have been able to open my eyes without any shade.
Taking a mini rest at somewhere near the Bell Tower... to take some pictures and refill our water bottles at the portable water fillers.
Onto the road we go! I couldn't leave my hands off the handlebars and had to concentrate on keeping myself on the far left or I'll veer into the wrong lane with my rusty skills. It was generally a very comfortable route because we had a designated cycling path almost the whole way down (except for the Bell Tower area where there was some temporary construction).
I would be lying if I said there weren't times I thought I was about to ride into the water. The good part is that the water wasn't that deep... so even if I rode into it I guess I wouldn't drown.
This is a bronze sculpture called Eliza. The sign on her reads "Happy Birthday"! This statue is meant to commemorate the old Crawley Baths, a prominent Perth landmark. There are people who always wade through the waters to dress her up regularly.
The Eliza statue is within sight of the Blue Boat Shed, which is just about the most famous place in Perth. Everyone is telling me this is a must-go! So is it? I guess so, it's so perfect for photo-taking but other than that there is nothing going on. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere along the trail and the wooden planks leading to the boat shed were also quite wobbly and unsteady to stand on - perhaps due to wear and tear of many tourists' visits. Surprisingly, there was almost nobody there, except for this man who wanted to take his graduation photos there in the gown and cap.
We went on our way and then finally stopped at the Matilda Bay Reserve across University of Western Australia for a picnic! The seagulls kept on coming towards us for food, but we gave them none of it.
This was the road back to Point Fraser Reserve.. the return route was much smoother because I was getting the hang of it. These are some other sights that were spotted on the way back.
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