Perth city, from whence I hail, is one of the world's most beautiful, with the second-best climate in Australia after Brisbane.

The city nestles between the ocean and the Swan River, which was named by the early explorers for the black swans they found in abundance.

Over 150 years old, the Roundhouse gaol is the oldest building in Western Australia. It was built by convicts under armed guard, to house them. Imagine having to build your own prison...! But then again, a prison in Perth beats a mansion in most other cities.

Didgeridoo shop. One of many art shops to be found in our port city of Fremantle, a short walk from the Roundhouse.

Blue Duck Cafe. At Cottesloe Beach, in midwinter. Sunbaking and surfing are other popular occupations. (Admittedly, our weather isn't always that perfect. Just nearly always).

River point. On a cruise down the river, to Rottnest Island, 30 minutes offshore.

Perth accomodation. We generally try to moor out boats close to our doors. Helps keep things tidy.

Leaving Fremantle harbour for the open sea (Indian Ocean).

Rottnest Island has only 2 small settlements and cars are virtually banned. The main form of transport is hired bicycles. It helps keep things relaxed - just the way we like it.

Rottnest Parakeet Bay

Rottnest Parakeet Bay seaweed

Rottnest has some very interesting wildlife. This pelican greeted my friend Cheryl and I, on our arrival.

More wildlife.

Some is particularly cute. Quokkas are miniature kangaroo imitations who vaguely resembled giant rats, in the eyes of the early Dutch explorers, who'd never seen anything similar. Hence, with their accents, they named the island 'Rottnest.'

Quokka closeup 2

Quokka standing

Quokkas & Cheryl

Bread and other human food is bad for them, but with very little free-standing water on this desert island, they absolutely love a drink. This one drank water for 20 minutes from a coffee cup and was still going strong when we left.

Rottnest Lake Baghdad

The cruise back up the Swan River to the city was at sunset. Most people go to Rottnest for the day, but with a youth hostel and other accomodation it's possible to stay longer.

Swan River sunset

South Perth foreshore view

Perth by night

Perth Ferris wheel

After Perth it was off to Adelaide to visit my mother (in blue), who has the decency to live right on the beachfront at Brighton! Glenelg here is a 45 min walk away.

Brighton jetty

View from Mum's front lawn.

Sydney from North Head. Next, it was off to Sydney to visit my brother and his family. Sydney is one of the world's great cities - and most beautiful. This is the view from the impressive harbour heads.

North Head. The cliffs are about 50 m high and full of fascinating WWII tunnels, bunkers and cannon emplacements that thankfully were never used.

Prof Peter Singer. Finally, it was off to Newcastle, to the Minding Animals conference, where I gave 7 papers. Australian philosoper Peter Singer, author of 'Animal Liberation,' moderated this panel, where I spoke about Animals Count, our UK political party for people and animals. Prof Singer is one of our celebrity supporters.

Every night it was off to an art gallery crawl, where animal art was admired over cocktails. Some was rather unusual...

Eventually all good things must come to an end. The trip back to London took over 40 hours, including 4 flights. Lucky I like flying. And you can see why! This was dawn over the Indian Ocean.