The fifth day spent in Perth was Christmas Eve. Woooah... not a white christmas for us but a super sunny one! Breakfast was back at Streeton's cafe. We had the banana pancake and the french toast omelette. Not a bad way to welcome the christmas eve.
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| Breakfast at Streeton's Cafe |
As usual, we bought the family pass to take the train (Midland Line) to To Guildford Station. The ride was approximately 20 minutes. Guildford Station was just a very open station found in the middle of a 'town'. Okay, trust me, do not visit Swan Valley during the Christmas period unless you drive. We walked to the Visitor's centre to gather more information on the direction to Keller's B&B and also on the surroundings.
The service crew at the visitor's centre was really kind and gave us some direction to take a bus to a relatively nearby shopping mall for dinner. And she was shocked that we intended to walk to Keller's. We had really overestimated ourselves and believed that a causal walk will bring us to the place. How wrong were we when we started walking under the hot sun.
Oh well, ever seen the movie when people just hitched a ride from strangers while walking along the road. We did. We were looking at the street map where a car just stopped next to us. The couple asked us where we were heading and as it was along the way to their destination, they asked us to get on the car. Without hesitation, we got up. Thinking back, we were really not wary of the strangers. The sun must had gotten us not thinking straight. The car ride was around 15 minutes and it arrived at the main street of Keller's. We told the couple that they could drop us off the main street and we would walk to Keller's - we did not want to delay their journey but they were really kind enough to drive us to the gate. Really appreciate the kind help we received. If this were to happen again, I am not sure if I would just hop on without thinking twice.
When we reached Keller's, the owner, Marija, was not around. So, she left a note giving instructions to us to look for his son. And finally, we got to see the room we booked. Alright, sidetrack a bit. We found this B&B on the internet and thus, booking was through email. They had initially told us to pay the room via credit card where we had to give them our credit card information. We were quite skeptical about revealing the information and asked if we could pay cash. Kind enough of them to say yes, but on the other side, they were also afraid that we booked the room and did not turn up on the day which meant that they could have let others book the room instead. I understood where they were coming back and I guess this really was based on trust for both sides.
Okay, let's take a look at the room. There are 2 rooms available - King bedroom and Queen bedroom. We booked the Queen bedroom at AUD$140 per night for 2 nights which included breakfast and really great hospitality by the family.
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| Keller's B&B |
After putting our bags down, we decided to head to the 'touristy' places. Good location at Keller's B&B as it was within walking distance to those places. Within walking distance and I meant it. At the main road, turn left and walked along the road, and you will see the places we went.
First up was to Yahava Koffee. No prize for guessing what kind of shop this is. Yes, they sell many many types of coffee and teas and many other products and you are spoilt for choice. No worries for not knowing which coffee suits you - there are free tasting (up to 3 choices). We were really not coffee-lovers and by looking at the menu, we just randomly ordered 3 different types, well maybe to the dismay of the service crew. But we got him to thank after all as he recommended the ice koffee elixir to us. We loved it and so we bought it.
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| Yahava Koffee |
Next up, we walked to Lancaster for free wine tasting. Choose 2 and have some cheese to go with it. The rose wine was not that bad but well, we did not get any back home.
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| Lancaster Swan valley |
Next up was our favourite place of all - The Margaret River Chocolate Company. Chocolates, who can resist it! But first, let's have lunch. We had really walked a long way so far. We had the Turkey and cranberry sandwich, the Rhubarb, apple and berry pie and a cup of Cappuccino. Well, not very chocolate despite us at the chocolate kingdom but the food was not too bad.
We did not get any chocolate back from here as well, that's because there is an outlet just at the opposite of where Ibis Hotel in Perth city. We asked if they sell exactly the same products and yes was the answer. So why lug back to the city where we could have gotten it back there. Happy! So peeps, just get the chocolate if you are not going back to the city or if you just want to try the chocolate at the valley. If not, head to the city store, but well, do take note of the operating hours in Australia.
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| The Margaret River Chocolate Company |
Well, no more photos after this, as we took about an hour to walk to the bus stop that the vistior centre advised us. It was a real long walk along the expressway. What guts we got on that day, I had to admit, we were like risking our lives. With the walking and bus rides, I thought we were not in the mood for shopping. We had our dinner there and headed back to Keller's. Another nightmare awaited us as we seemed lost when finding the way back - we decided to cut through some safer road instead of walking back the expressway - that's far too dangerous especially when it was turning dark.
Finally, we found Keller's and for the first time, we met Philips and Marija. They were really a nice couple who made us feel like home. After some chit chatting, we decided to head back for a bath and rest. Before that, Marija asked us how we would like our breakfast to be like - the egg, and beverage. They also asked what time we would like breakfast to be served. Remember, it was Christmas the next day. We had really wanted to sleep in, but well, Philips actually wakes up early to start his day at the Farm. We wanted to join in too, so 8am was the time for some farm activities, before breakfast at 9am.
