Adventure to La Perouse

Last weekend was lovely and sunny. It was also the first Sunday of the month, which mean that the Blak Markets were on at La Perouse. So I decided to catch a bus out from the city and go check them out!

La Perouse is a suburb about 40 minutes outside the city center. It's on the coast and named for a French explorer (La Perouse) who landed there. It's quite close to Botany Bay, which is where Captain Cook landed in Australia, and La Perouse actually arrived just eight days after Captain Cook did. 

At La Perouse there is a small island called Bare Island. As they did all over, the British turned the island into a fort, so now you can go to visit the historic fortified island by walking over a small bridge. 

On average days, you can go through the fort and see some historic areas in it. On the Blak Market days, the fort tunnels turn into a marketplace!

One of the other interesting & historical things about La Perouse is that it was one of the first places in Australia to be reserved as a resettlement area/reserve for the Aboriginal people. There is still a very big Aboriginal population in the area, and the Blak Markets are specifically focused on Aboriginal crafts and handiwork. On market days, there are also live performances and cooking of native animals & produce, so it's a great way to get some exposure to the original residents of Australia. 

It was a ton of fun to meander through the old fort tunnels and see what kind of crafts I'd wander into. A lot of the sellers were tucked into tiny little rooms along the tunnels, so each corner brought something different. 

I didn't buy anything in my fortress wandering, but it was still fun to check everything out. After I left the island, I decided to do a short walk along the mainland shore and go to Congwong Beach. 

The beach was really nice and surprisingly empty for a Sydney beach. I thought about getting in for a a minute, but then I felt the freezing cold water and decided that I was probably OK!

I hung out on the beach for a little while, and then caught my bus ride back to the city. The next time we go to La Perouse, I'll go to the actual museum - not just the fort - and I'll bring a picnic so I can spend more time at the beach properly. All in all though, I consider my La Perouse adventure a big success!