Finally - posting pics from my adventure on board the Dufyken replica - situated in the Fishing Boat Harbour! Dufyken = "little dove", and was a cargo ship meant to carry small cargoes, provisions and send messages. The Dufyken ended up in Australia in 1606, but was damaged beyond repair in 1608 (after a battle with Spanish galleys). The landing of the Dufyken in Australian waters was the first ever documented in Australian history.
The replica I went on was constructed in 1999, and the project itself was founded by Michael John Young (an Australian historian who had been aware of the original Dufyken and intended to construct a replica of the ship). Here we go - some views of the replica before I boarded! More information about the Dufyken here - in their official website.
First glance when I stepped into the ship. I'm assuming this area was a common area for sailors to be in. In case you were wondering, the ceiling is really low. When I asked the tour guide if sailors weren't as tall back then, he replied that they were...actually pretty tall! So they had to bend each time they moved through the cabins.
Into the Captain's cabin! There were some maps, weapons and stationary in there, for navigation. Not everyone was allowed into the Captain's cabin, obviously. And although it seemed to be quite an exclusive experience to be in there, the living conditions on board the ship was actually pretty bad...especially in the summer.
The spice trade was pretty big in the 1600s, as spices only grew in certain regions, and as such, they were really expensive in Europe. Spices were viewed as valuable as they added flavour and fragrance to food. Correct spicing of food was said to be something important in maintaining balance in the food. Spices such as cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon were pretty common, and some of them were even used for medicinal purposes. The Dufyken was one of the first Dutch ships to go into these regions in order to import spice.
Some of the spices imported by the Dufyken - mainly cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon - are on display here.
Since the Dufyken was meant as a cargo ship, this entire area had lots of ropes, boxes, and so on - and the place we were standing in was laid with unique stones, all carved accordingly such that they fit into a perfect jigsaw. These stones couldn't be removed, obviously, since they fit so perfectly.
The ship had a couple of decks - this was the lower deck. To get to the surface (upper) deck, we had to climb a narrow ladder...and we were warned to be mindful of our belongings. Looks like being small on ships is quite an advantage!
The anchor of the ship was so heavy that it required lots of effort to pull it up. Bringing it down was quite ok, but pulling it up was a herculean task. The grooves in the anchor are meant for sailors to put stakes in, and crank the anchor up bit by bit. Right now, the anchor is up.
Oh - and check out the number of ropes required to support the anchor!
It's also not uncommon to have cannons and weapons on board the ship. During those times, all these were used as defences, in order to prevent the ship from being attacked by pirates, or even rivals...
This area is pretty impressive. Lots of supports and ropes - meant to tie the sails properly. Right now, there weren't any sails on the ship, but I'm pretty sure the ship looks really cool with all its sails on.
Speaking of which, this ship is actually fully functional! People actually organise voyages on board the ship, and voyages happen quite regularly too! I wonder if I could actually go on a voyage on board the Dufyken...maybe after my PhD. Right now, I'm still too tied down with studies.
The Dufyken tour was a really cool one! Although it was short, I managed to learn quite a fair bit about the Dutch trade and the history of the Dufyken itself. I'd definitely go back again!
After getting off the Dufyken, I bought some souvenirs and went off to have a walk. Spotted these beautiful roses along the way too.
Had my favourite paella from the Markets. I learnt that I have to be at the Markets early so that I can grab as much paella as I can! These sell out so fast...
And the stallholder was amused that I loved the burnt bits so much, so she gave me lots of those!
As you might have noticed, I've been watching LOTS of sunsets lately! Mainly because the sunsets nowadays are becoming more and more epic as the weather gets warmer. Less clouds though!
Had a stroll through the Esplanade Reserve and around the WA Shipwreck Museum area before going to the beach.
And here we go! These days we can actually clearly see the sun dipping lower and lower into the horizon. It is so epic. The best part is - of course - the final greenish yellow light just as the sun disappears.
I used my telephoto lens for all these pics of course. Wanted 'em to be epic!
Dramatic cirrus formation above the sea. I knew that the sunset would be really epic, so I just HAD to drag myself to the beach! The best part is watching the clouds go from yellow to orange to this amazing fiery red. It's just so heavenly.
Had some fun with taking pics of silhouettes too! There were 2 kids who were attempting to climb rocks, so I whipped out my camera and took pics of them as they went up and down...
Last view of the epic sunset before I left.
And that's it for now! I'll be posting more pics soon! Do stay tuned!