I've been lucky to have traveled to many places on our fine planet. In fact grew up on one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Pacific Northwest. BUT as mentioned before, I fell in love with Western Australia on first sight many years ago, and here I am again, falling just as hard. Love of course is in the eyes of the beholder, but let me sway you in some fun factoids:
1) Western Australia is the second largest state in the WORLD. Falling just behind Russia's Sakha with 2.646 Million Kilometers of land mass.
2) Around 2 million individuals live in Western Australia, with 1.5 million of said souls residing in the vast expanse of Perth. The rest are of course sparsely populated in the Outback.
3) With 365 days of sunshine a year, averaging 8 hours per day, Perth is the sunniest capital on earth.
4) With over 12,500 kilometers of beaches, you are bound to have plenty of white sand and azure seas, to yourself.
5) Surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the West, the Swan River to the South and West....Perth tends to attract a plethora of boats. Also to the South you have the Margaret River Valley and to the East the Swan River Valley, providing ample vineyards. Coupled with an incredible Mediterranean type climate, you are virtually in an outdoors paradise.
6) Everything is uber clean. The roads are immaculate and pothole free, sidewalks are everywhere and public transportation is easy. Kids take public busses to and from school and they are so polite they even say "Thank You" to the driver when they get both on and off the bus.
7) The closest city to Perth is Adelaide, a bit over 2,200 km away. It's closer to Singapore and Jakarta than Canberra, the National Capital.
8) If Western Australia where a country in it's own right, it would be in the top 10 in the world for size. Crazy!
9) The largest producer of Gold, Diamonds and Pearls on the planet, all found here in Western Australia....with that being said, this has also created the most self made millionaires in the world, right here in Perth.
10) Last factoid of the day, Kings Park. Not only is this inner city park magnificent, it is also the largest in the world at 4.06 sq km, where as the one you are all thinking of, Central Park in NYC, comes in at only 3.41 sq km.
Not that many of you remember the California of the 60's and 70's, but that laid back, beach vibe, is rather like what you have going on here. Great food, great beverages, super nice people, fabulous architecture, stunning scenery...now if they just drove on the correct side of the road, we would be sorted completely!
