Thursday 11 December seems to have been coming for quite a while. The first celebration was in Punakaiki at Labour Weekend when I when shared a weekend ' house' party with my friend Shirley. Next came a meal out in Christchurch with Doug and Tracy followed by lunch in Geraldine. In the Blue Mountains we enjoyed a curry meal with friends and a High Tea (Elaine was with us that day and she too had a birthday on the 11th. A popular day as my brother Fraser and another friend Trish also share the same day.)
So how to celebrate after such a lead-in? Well we started with a champagne breakfast before heading off towards Fremantle. First we went up into the hills to Carmel to The Rose Heritage Cafe.
This cafe/garden is under new management and what was originally a nursery for the sale of roses, the cafe and visitors gardens are now undergoing expansion. It really is a delightful area even as it is, with views down onto the roses, lovely food including a rose-ade drink and the French garden, la jardine de rose.
 |
| Rose-ade |
Next stop was our accommodation in a deluxe cabin at the Woodman Point Holiday Park to check in before we headed into Fremantle CBD to the historic prison. We were booked to do the tunnels tour at 3:30pm. The prison was built in the 1850s in order to provide a large number of workers to build some of the infrastructure, mainly water, required by the new town. The prisoners tunnelled a large network under the prison to provide fresh water and the tour takes you through this labyrinth. A certain level of fitness is required as is an alcohol/ blood check before you can participate. We were also required to be fitted up in climbing/safety harness gear before setting off down a very steep set if ladders. Actually I was beginning to wonder what we had let ourselves in for. It was a very interesting trip that took just on two and a half hours. For those who are wondering if any if the prisoners ever escaped through this tunnel system the answer is no. There were no exit points other than up so prisoners had no chance of escaping from here.
The prison has several other tours available as well and they would also be well worth doing.
Fremantle Prison, Western Australia
The history: Fremantle Prison - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To complete our day's celebration we enjoyed 'fish and chips' at Joe's Fish Shack on the Fishing Wharf Harbour.
All in all it was a day to remember made all the better by celebrating with and receiving lovely messages from friends and family.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment