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June 01, 2016

June 2016

I was one of the unlucky ones to get a throat infection at the beginning of winter. Sigh. I'm not young anymore, I should know better and employ all possible preventative measures. Unfortunately, my throat spray died half way through my trip in Perth and when I was on my way home there were people coughing on the airplane. As a result, I picked up the airborne disease, didn't I. Yay, not.

However, I do wish more and more Australian cities, suburbs, and towns would plan more winter events, as there are people who do like to travel even while it is cold out there.


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June 2016 - Reflection of my trip to Perth in May 2016

Day 1 - 23 May 2016

The Perth airport is quite disperse than I thought. We landed at terminal 1, but to catch the Perth City Shuttle bus you had to go to terminal 3. To get to terminal 3 you had to catch the connect bus, which comes by every 30 minutes.

The sun was shining. Very warmly. 12 degrees, but my feet managed to get a sun bathing while waiting for our transfer bus.

The hostel was okay. It had a lift. The free wifi in the courtyard was weak as per usual. Which is an indication that the paid option can only be called inferior as well.

Margaret River Chocolate Factory concept store did not sell hot chocolate drinks or chocolate sauce bottles. How disappointing. Now I have to go to Margaret river to get one.

We stopped by Raine Square to buy band aid for my sore foot. Inside was Coles supermarket, pharmacy, and food court with wifi. The basic necessities for a traveller.

Then we caught the free bus to the pier and proceeded to grab a bite, go up the beautiful bell tower, then walked around the pier. There is a great deal of development work taking place in this area. A few more apartment buildings that will no doubt block the bell tower's 360 degree view of the area.

Walking back up to the CBD from the pier we came across London Court and it was gorgeous. Very historical looking and had souvenir knick knacks galore. Plus there was a hip cafe. Sis posed with balconies, gates, and sign posts.

We managed to buy SmartRider $10 at the main train station. Too bad it wasn't available at the convenient stores or Perth underground station.

To relieve our tired soles. Sis and I found this small cafe in a arcade in Northbridge that sells matcha latte with piping hot waffles with caramelised apples called Super Waffles.



Day 2 - 24 May 2016


Travel blog


Lucky us. The rain has ceased. The Adam Pinnacle bus came by pretty early. We didn't freeze long. As the bus picked up the other tourists, the sun broke out. Nice.

Stopped at the town of York to stretch our legs. The bakeries mostly had hard sweets. There were some old buildings about, but we only had 20 minutes to explore. Best we can do was to take photos of things around the main street.

Stopped by a dog cemetery at Corrigin. Sad tale. Yet very sentimental of farmers to honor their hard working dogs.

Ah, yes, the Hippo yawn is where rocks resemble an animal. We saw a turtle and an elephant. Ha ha. A bit of imagination goes a long way here.

Lunch was included in the tour. We dined at the Wild flower cafe. Warm chicken salad. Inside it had a toy soldier display and lace museum. Behind the cafe was an animal sanctuary. I found a white peacock walking around the joint. Sis played with a pink galah.

Indeed, the Wave rock was spectacular. Even more so after the rain has passed by. The lines were very defined and it created this pattern commonly seen in hemp clothing, but only smoother and resembles a wave rolling through.

I found it remarkable that a few farmers could come up with such a great idea, to make the rocks appealing to tourists and to create such wonderful walk paths. It sure made it easier to navigate. Once you are on the top of the Wave rock it is a breath taking Vistas from every angle. There are even interesting rock formations and rock art work. There were a number of small water catchment on top of Wave rock and they had red and white flower floating inside and it was beautiful.

Mulka cave was one of those oddities. It looks abandoned, but the appeal of seeing raw art work peaked everyone's interest. The paintings consist of hand shape painting overlaying each other against the cave's walls. Nonetheless, it did feel like a set of a horror movie.

Country women club baked us various delicious sweets. Nothing like a warm cuppa and scrumptious baked goods.


Day 3 - 25 May 2016

There was nothing much open around the Barrack pier at 8am. Luckily there was this cafe, the name escapes me. We had ham and cheese toastie, and washed it down with hot chocolate. And you thought it was cold outside, wait till get inside the Rottnest Express. Oh boy, was it cold. Why would anyone be turning on air conditioning in autumn with winter right around the corner.

The ferry was rather slow in reaching the island, especially between Perth and Fremantle, where there are no rough sea waters between them. Once we reached the island, the sun was out and it warm. Ah. Blessed I say. We managed to find the bus stop. The problem is there were three kinds of buses at the bus stop. One is a grand tour bus, accommodation complimentary bus, and Island Explorer - hop on/off (us).

Our first stop was Little Salmon Bay and it was crystal blue waters. What we did notice was the amount of seaweed and mini jelly fish dragged up from the recent storm. The water was cold and deep 1.5 meters just near the shoreline. The best I could do was splash around and hope the rip in the waters doesn't drag me too deep or too close to the rocks. I don't have a helmet on me.
So it seems there were rough rocks and cliffs nearby, it seems to have attracted selfie takers. Sis said, let's go check it out. Cliffs don't appeal to me. We did find a small blow hole.

The next stop was the Wadjemup light house. It was an impressive structure on the highest peak of Rottnest Island. There is a lighthouse tour ($30 minutes) for $12 an adult. It was an insightful tour, but we were on a tight schedule with the ferry leaving at 3:55pm and the bus takes 30 minutes to come back, and it was already 12:30pm.

The next bus we caught was 1:19pm. We took the bus back to the original stop, as it was getting close to 2pm. Most of the areas lack trees or shade, as far as the eye can see is shrubs and re-vegetation taking place. No quokka insight. Until the bus passed this big tree full of berries, did I see a handful of quokka. Apparently, quokka wipe out vegetation, so they have been barred from the rest of the island. Oddly, people say quokka has salmonella, but they are only found near bakeries and restaurants. Very strange practice indeed.

The quokka were shy creatures and preferred berries from the tree they surrounded. A lady said pick the ripest one and they will come forward to you. Their noise would wiggle when a berry was present. How cute!

Soon it was 3pm. But the cafes and restaurants close their kitchens at 1pm. What?! Why?! I guess, they do not want business from day visitors.

Sis and I saw a big rainbow over the clouds in the ocean. It was the best sight of the day. The island has a lot to improve if it wants to earn dollars from day trippers.


Day 4 - 26 May 2016

To catch the coach was the easy part, Elizabeth quay terminal was easy to find alright. But getting there requires endurance. There was no main entrance whomsoever. We had to walk to the main door of the conference center. The coach passed several major suburbs, before entering the highway. 

Bunbury is pretty well developed, the bus terminal isn't that far from the town hall. 

The coach dropped us off at main street, which happens to be a highway as well.  Busselton has lots of caravan parks, campsites, and motels. The motel we stayed at was decent, but the air conditioning failed to warm up the room.  Thank god we had thermal emergency blankets with us. 

Goose bar was very inviting and had a nice view of the jetty and the ocean. The jalapeΓ±o cheese balls were delish. The pork tacos were served on a log. That had a very wow factor. To top that the crispy pork skin was a nice touch. It even has a fireplace and comfy couches. 

The shops were average. 

Dinner at: The Ship Inn. We were treated to karaoke. There was a bunch of guys picking songs for their friend, Alex, to sing. Poor Alex. At the same, Alex had no qualm about performing. What a good sport. 




Day 5 - 27 May 2016

We went on small bush tucker and wine tasting tour of Margaret river (bushtuckertours.com). Sis and I are not big on wine tasting, but we love it went someone else does the driving. There is not public transportation in Busselton. You really need a car. I guess, you can ride a bike.

Boy was it cold in the morning. After the mini van collected everyone from the nearby camping sites and resorts, we were whisked away to Fermoy estate, a small boutique winery. They make a really delish muscat. Tastes like alcohol sultanas. Sis and I really dig that one the most. Sadly, it is not sold in Dan Murphy. You have to get it direct.

To help absorb all that alcohol, strolled over to Pukara estate's tasting room to taste newly infused olive oils, vinegars, and sauces. Yum.

It is much sunnier now. Knotting Hill is where we tasted more wine and had our bush tucker lunch brought in from the mini van. The man made lake was shinning brightly and the ducks were cute. The estate is very pretty, good for any function. Knotting Hill has sherbet tasting muscato. Umm... interesting, but it was the late harvest muscato that won us over.

Temporarily stopped by Margaret River chocolate. Here we sampled some chocolate. Smelled candles. And of course, I bagged some goodies. Dark chocolate and chili was divine. One with pear also good. Then we quickly hopped back into the van.

Moving onto The Grove, there we tasted some might full flavoured liqueurs. I personally loved the butterscotch flavoured one. Steve was very nice and funny. You gotta try the killer Carmello Koala.

Temporarily stopped by a Cheese Factory. Sampling cheese and ice cream, then we quickly hopped back into the van.

Beer farm...Name was?...

French wine maker estate... Very heavy and not much flavour. The name escapes me now.

By the time we got back to the motel, I got really sick and vomited that evening. Sis went out and got us KFC for dinner. When I woke up to eat my dinner it started to rain. Too cold for cocktails. I started to roll clothes around each wine bottle into the suitcase, while fighting a fever.




Day 6 - 28 May 2016

By the time we got onto the coach, I started to realised that we have forgotten something - to pack the chocolates. We left them in the fridge. I emailed and left a message for the motel reception, and asked if they could mail it to me and charge the postage against my card. They kindly got back to me and stated they will send it and issued a POA invoice. Phew. The panic is now over.

Not far down the high way the coach broke down. We waited not long and an another coach arrived. Sis and I helped move all luggage from one coach to another. The coach drove along the coastal line. The view was very nice. I highly recommend it. Even though Busselton plans to build an airport. It is a nice slow picturesque way to head back to Perth. In the end, we made it safely back in Perth.


Off to Cottesloe beach we go, for lunch and a walk along the rocks. Too cold for a swim. The restaurant Indiana has a lovely atmosphere about it. The tables overlook the ocean, corner spots for brunches, and couches for drinkers. Just wow. While downstairs and if it was summer, it would sell fish and chips, and ice cream.

In the evening, we hopped into a train and bus and headed off to the Wanneroo Botanical Gardens. Here we played a round of glow-in-the-dark mini golf. and ate pizza for dinner. What lovely way to end the day. Amazing enough you get complimentary popcorn with your game and you get to keep the balls. Awesome. The LED balls get activated when you throw them on the ground.



Day 7 - 29 May 2016

The train passed many suburbs. But before it reached Fremantle, there were a few buildings with large graffiti works on it. Quite outstanding works of art. We arrived at a traditional red brick train platform. Greeted with a blue sky and a puff of clouds. Crossing over and passing a garden, and ignoring all those stores that have yet to open on market street. Headed down to the Fremantle market. Have eaten a wuffle? They make it here. The line can get a bit crazy. Sweet ones were better than the savoury one. Lots of handmade crafts and sweets. Live music at entrance.

To burn off the fat. We knicked down to Marine Terrace and The Esplanade park for stroll of fresh sea salty air. Sis got tired. So I told her to wait by WA Shipwrecks museum, while I went over Bathers beach on my own. I didn't walk too far, as I too wanted to explore the treasures from the shipwrecks. The beach is very decorate and has a pretty boardwalk. Good for wheelchair and prams.

Inside the museum were human relics rounded off by corrosion from being the ocean too long. They have a replica of ships inside. Some of you can interact with as well. I highly recommend visiting it.

After that, we dashed to catch our flight home.
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