LIfe’s Journey takes us through many transitions, one of which is immigration. My generation grew up in a time of political turmoil in Africa, when the winds of change forced many of my friends and I to seek lands where we could once again put our shoulder to the wheel and flourish and bring up our families in safety. One of the purposes of this journey was to reconnect with old friends.

My visit to Perth was to spend time with long standing friends and a colleague from my first job at the Rhodesian Geological Survey, fifty-seven years ago! They met me at the airport and after taking me home for a cup of tea, we went out to Freemantle to look at The Sculptures by the Beach, it was a lovely evening with the sun slowly sinking on the horizon behind the sculptures. This was quite magical as one of the sculptures was of the sunset, so viewing them side by side was special!. When we had completed our viewing of the sculptures, we enjoyed fish and chips at the famous Kailois Restaurant on the quay, before heading home to bed. 

Saturday was spent with other ex-Rhodesian friends, who had been our neighbors; our children had grown up together.  We had a very pleasant lunch at the LoQuay Restaurant with a view over the lagoon. It was so good to catch up on the past forty odd years, the good, the bad and the struggles. They had arrived in Perth with four children, a tent and $500.00 dollars to start their new life. We had fun reminiscing over our children’s adventures in Rhodesia, very special memories! 

In the evening, I walked along the Carring-Swan River walkway with my hosts as far as the Dome Restaurant, a local landmark.  It was a very enjoyable walk as we chatted and looked at the beautiful scenery, catching a glimpse of jelly fish near the Jetty and other sea fowl along the beaches. Apparently, dolphins are also seen in this lagoon at times! We spent the evening talking about our travel adventures! 

Sunday, we caught the train to Elisabeth Quay, a new development cut into the bank of the river in the City, making it a good place for the ferry to pick up and set down passengers. It is also a wonderful place to hang out with friends at the coffee shops and eateries. We looked around the main precinct at the Bell Tower and lovely bougainvillea arches. The children’s playground had a wall with all the children’s names written into it who were at school on a specific day in Perth – what a great idea!

After a delicious cup of Cappuccino at the Ritz Carlton my friends left me at the Railway station to catch the train to Joondelup where I met up with another ex- Rhodesian friend, I had not seen since she was a child! She met me at the station and we ate lunch the Dome, where we caught up on the intervening forty odd years. She also had interesting stories of finding family members she never knew existed! She then took me to Ocean Reef,a fairly new small harbor and new development, which was near her house.

I enjoyed seeing where she spent her leisure time, and had a breath of ocean breezes at the same time. We then headed over to Sorrento Quay and Hillary’s Boatyard which we explored, taking in the holiday atmosphere of the place and watching children jump from the Jetty and island into the water. We finished the day with another cup of coffee before she took me back to the station to catch the train back to Bull Creek.  The train was very busy as the Road to Hell Highway had been closed, for a parade in honor of ACDC whose one band member was born in Freemantle. My hosts met me at the station, where we shared more memories of our common history, before packing for our road trip to Dunsborough and Margaret River region.