Rab & Lesley's Second Big Trip
Days 22 to 26 - Perth
Day 22 - 23rd December 2018
Day with family
Day 23 - 24th December 2018
Took a trip into the city waterfront for lunch
And then onto the 'First Mint' in Australia
Set up in 1899 as a branch of the British Mint it did not pass to Australian control until 1970
It minted gold sovereigns for the 'Empire' for many years
In 2011 it minted this one Tonne coin with a face value of Aus$1 million
Yes it is real! 80cm across and 12cm thick currently valued at Aus$64 million
This is the smelting room where we saw a crucible of gold being poured into a mould
The perspex shield is to protect the viewers
After being turned out and cooled
We see a Christmas Star valued at about Aus$370,000
We are then told that this same ingot of gold has been repeatedly melted and remoulded 7 times daily, 7 days a week since 1993.
It does lose a little each time - absorbed by the crucible but the crucibles are themselves rendered down to recover the lost gold
Day 24 - Christmas Day 2018
Breakfast on the beach at Whitfords Beach - Merry Christmas All
Day 25 - 26th December 2018
Morning at Mindarie Marina
Crested Terns
Day 26 - 27th December 2018
We got the ferry out to Rottnest Island
Which is famous for it's Quokkas that are are as friendly as Dodos once were
So they probably won't be around long
The views are stunning
And there is lots of birdlife - Crested Terns
Osprey
Pied Shags
Black Winged Stilts
and some kind of dipper - possibly a White Faced Chat
Back to Sydney tomorrow
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