An impromptu trip down to Perth with only less than a month of planning. This was my third (and last) overseas trip of 2013 - did not expect myself to travel again after my Taiwan trip (oh yes, I've yet to finish blogging about my Bali and Taiwan trip). My friend got cheap tickets and that prompted us to fly over to Perth. A nine-days trip was great with nice sunny weather (but at times, it was scorching hot). The third Aussie trip for me.
A summary of what we did and detailed blogging will be up (soon, I hope).
Day 1:
Basically, we reached the airport in the evening. Nothing much can be done on this day (by the way, it's a Friday and shops in Perth are closed at 9pm instead of the usual 5 or 6pm). From the International Airport, we took a shuttle bus to the Domestic Airport to catch the bus connecting to the city. It costed AUD15 per person while the cab will cost around AUD50. Thus, if you have more people sharing out the cost, it is more worth to take a cab straight to your Hotel. We just wanted to try this service, and thus, we embarked on this mode of transport to our Hotel. We stayed at Hotel Ibis for the trip except 2 nights when we were at Swan Valley.
To wrap up the first night, we went to Fast Eddy's cafe for dinner.
Day 2:
We booked a tour day via this website for a Full Day Pinnacles, Koalas and Sand Boarding 4WD Adventure before we departed. This tour costs AUD215 and top up another AUD15 and you will get a lobster lunch (plus a can of coke). Trust me, unless you are allergy to lobster or seafood, you should just upgrade to the lobster lunch. Most of our travel mates ended up paying AUD30 for the lobster lunch and that was on top of the normal lunch (I think is chicken or beef with salad).
With this tour, the first stop was to the Caversham Wildlife Park in the Swan Valley to view koalas and hand feed kangaroos. Then to the Lobster Shack at lobster fishing town of Cervantes. Next, we went to the Pinnacles Desert at Nambung National Park. Highlight of the day would be the sand boarding and 4-wheel driving over the vast sand dunes of Lancelin. It is about a 10 hours tour and we ended up back in Perth after 7pm.
Day 3:
A trip down to Fremantle for the weekend market as well as for the Sunday live music at Fremantle Arts Centre. We took the Railway Train from Perth to Fremantle and it only took us half and hour or so to reach. Personally I think that in Perth, if you planned your itinerary carefully, it would be awesome to simply take their public transport instead of doing a self-drive. Thus, for non-drivers, you will still enjoy Perth as much as I did. Get a Family Rider ticket at AUD11.70 (for 2 adults and 5 children) and you can take any bus and train for the day. As easy as that and you would not need to worry too much about the transport fare.
We went for a Fremantle Prison tour and it was quite interesting to see this heritage building built by the convicts back then. A very informative tour. Like Perth, Fremantle has its own Fremantle Cats (Central Area Transit service) bus. It is a free bus service that takes you round Fremantle and you can hop on and off to see the different parts of the city. However, there is a timing to it. So stick to the timing and you will be fine.
As Fremantle is a fishing port and thus, we went to the Harbour Port for Fish and Chips - Fresh and Nice!
Day 4:
We went to Rockingham Wildlife Encounter on this day. We booked a Dolphin, Penguin & Sea Lion Adventure Cruise prior to our trip through this website. They do run some promotions here and there. With the promotion on hand, we saved AUD20. Taking a train and bus down to Rockingham was not hard and trust me, the timing of the bus/train are really accurate. Take a brochure from the information centre and you will never miss your bus/train.
The weather was pretty nice to us and so were the dolphins. It did not take long for us to see them 'jumping' out of the sea for air. Pretty amazing. Next off to the Penguin Island to see the cute Penguins. They never failed to make my day. Do take note if you are going to Penguin Island. There is no cafe there and thus, grab a bite before you head over or grab some food to bring over for a picnic.
Day 5:
Today was the start of the 3d2n trip to Swan Valley. We were quite ambitious on this side trip which we thought we could walk to our B&B and walk around the place freely. Nightmare came when we had to walk a 5km route under the hot sun. Luckily we met great people along the way and we managed to hitch a hike to our B&B. I'm so grateful to the couple and well, I forget to ask for their names! I will take more about the Fantastic stay at Keller's Bed and Breakfast in my detailed post of Day 5.
On this day, we managed to walk to Yahava Koffee, Margaret River Chocolate Factory and Lancestor Winery. A hot day but the Ice Koffee was totally worth the walk.
Day 6:
Breakfast at B&B was great as most of the food were homemade - from fresh juice to fresh milks to scrambled eggs (fresh eggs from the hens) and jam (yes, they grow their own fruits). Totally love it. In the morning before breakfast, we went for some farm activities, like milking the cow, collecting the eggs and feeding the animals. Simply love this life - How I wish I can own a small farm and lead a farmer's life!
After breakfast, we cycled to Guidlford to embark on a heritage bike trail as all of the shops were closed. Yes, Christmas day it was and shops are closed for the day. What else to ask for but to simply cycle round the town.
Day 7:
Breakfast was once again enchanting. The owner, Marija, was nice enough to bring us round the place before dropping us off at the Railway Station. Lucky for us, if not, we needed to walked for hours before reaching back to Perth. Back in Perth, we shopped around as it was Boxing day sales - City wide sales to be exact. Nearer to evening, we went to Cottesloe beach for a beautiful sunset and picnic. Simply relaxing.
Day 8 & 9:
We bought the 48hours Citytour Bus ticket and we basically roamed round the place. Dropping off at some stops to tour the place was great. King's Park was amazing nice for a walk, looking at the flowers, the magnificent view of the city buildings. Crown Perth was simply boring unless you love Casino. Last minute shopping and lunch at Jamine's Italian basically end up the trip.
Good mate, and till we meet again!
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| Beauty of Perth, Western Australia |
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