During one my of days off after coming back from New Zealand, I met up with an ex-colleague of mine who loves her hikes and coffee for just that. We started our day at a relatively new cafe in Innaloo called Cup & Co. According to the owner, they’ve only been open for around 6 months at the time. I love having weekdays off from work. It’s nice to drive a little further out to suburbs I don’t normally go to. The barista Simone is a fun kind of guy. He chatted to plenty of regulars who popped in to grab a take away coffee while we were there.
Brunch at Cup & Co, Innaloo
Cup & Co is a small cafe located on a quiet strip of shops. Given that we went on a weekday, it was pretty quiet but it had a nice relaxing vibe to it. The interior design of the cafe follows the popular trend of a modern minimalist look involving wood and metal. Looking at the menu, the food is simple, local and fresh.
I decided to try the scrambled eggs, persian style feta, spinach & chorizo ($19.50) and a cup of flat white coffee (Toby Estate’s roasted beans). The scrambled eggs where soft and creamy. The feta and chorizo give the dish a punch of saltiness. The fresh spinach cut through the flavours to balance it out. The lack of latte art was surprising.
Getting lost at Bells Rapid
After a satisfying brunch, we drove up to Bells Rapid for our hike/walk. Bells Rapid is located in Brigadoon, just a bit further up from Swan Valley. It’s most known for the Avon Descent white water rafting event which happens every year. Bells Rapid around 40 minutes away from Perth city which makes it one of the more popular and accessible hikes. Even though it was a weekday, there were plenty of walkers and a few brave souls out with their kayaks in the middle of the day. The Avon River was in full swing. It was hard to take decent shots given the harsh lighting of the midday sun.
We crossed over the Avon River to the start point of the Bells Rapid Walking Trail. By the time we finished brunch and drove up to Bells Rapid, it was midday and the sun was out in full force. It was definitely a warm autumn day to be hiking.
Seeing as my friend also loves photography, we took our time walking the trail and taking photos. Despite the brown/red rocks and dirt, there waw plenty of greenery, purple shrubs and a few little paths to shelter us from the hot midday sun temporarily.
Somehow along the way we made a wrong turn, got lost and found some beautiful horses instead.
While most people we came across that day were walkers out with their kids or dog for a easy hike, we also saw some hardcore hikers who were clearly well prepared for anything.
All in all, it was a great way to explore somewhere close to home. While it was hard to compare given I had just gotten back from New Zealand at the time, I still really enjoyed the day out. It showed me that you don’t always have to travel far to experience something different. After all, this blog is about capturing experiences near and far from home.
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