There is something magical about Western Australia. The natural beauty of the landscape lures you back. The food is not strong as Hobart offering, but still pretty delicious. We went to rural areas this time and it was pretty spectacular.
1 Saturday 2018
On the plane we had frittata with chicken sausage and a blueberry lemon muffin with orange juice for lunch.
I watched Tully (movie). It talks of night nanny, but when one doesn’t have the money to hire, does one goes to fabricate one, while the struggling to run a household with young children and a new baby? #sleepdeprivation funny and not funny at the same time. After having watched the movie I dozed off.
The airport does not have a top up station for the transit smartcard. I will submit a feedback soon.
It is hot down in Perth. Our over coats were totally out of place. We decided to go and hunt for summer clothes shopping around Murray St and Hay Street. There is a sale going on. Lucky for us. Sadly, my sister kept aiming for jumpers and skin lace print plastic jackets. Both which are not breathable fabrics for summer.
There is no South beach market. The website must have been dated or I was mistaken. Luckily, Sis noticed an Italian restaurant when we were on a bus, Ruocco’s Pizzeria, and we went there for dinner. It was delicious. We had grilled scallop for entree, a four cheese pizza, and crab linguini.
2nd September 2018
Success. Sis and I had found the Sardine Jetty. Phew. The tiny sign was located deep within a car park. When we board the ship, the path to Augusta was rough, so rough it made several passengers sea sick. On the other hand, my sister could not tuckering into the teddy bear biscuits on offer. Each time I was filming she would come on and say, “you want a teddy bikkie?”. I said no. I don’t want to miss a moment and make crumbs. Although, we did managed to see two young humpback whales and two minke whales. The sun was shining brightly on us. Bonus was the captain allowed us to watch the whales for an extra 15 minutes. Thank god, we did too, as we got the chance to see the male humpback perform a surface communication - “dive backwards”, twice! So breath taking to see it in person. But it is not a move to be use too often, as it attracts sharks. There are sharks between Augusta and Rottnest Island. Boy, you do not want to go overboard in these waters.
We went to Fremantle market to grab a bite to eat at Taka kitchen in a food court called Old Shanghai, we have never been there before. Apparently, there is one in Northbridge too. Nice, yet the tables were way too large for the tiny space.
Sis and I went home for a nap before heading out to Leederville and have ourselves some tapas at Pincos de tapas. Then we strolled to The Good Grocer to check out their supplies of juices and fudges. Sis purchased a rainbow fudge. They have pre-made meals here. Cheaper than the restaurants.
3rd September 2018
The location of iFly was along the Great Eastern free way. Plenty of buses go down it. Dry as. Bring a cap, sunnies, a bottle of water with you.
While waiting for the bus to arrive. A driver from Bird (Uber like company) stopped his car at the bus stop and proceeded to ask us questions. Do you need a lift? Do you need to get somewhere urgently? Are you lost? No to all questions. I replied that I was playing Pokémon Go and asked if he could stop interrupting me. I was trying to complete quests here. To make 3 excellent throws in a row is not an easy feat.
Time for iFly. Harry was our indoor sky diving trainer and Mogo was our high fly trainer. What an exhilarating experience. It maybe my second time, but I still feel nervous. Completely, different from my Los Angeles experience. We didn’t put our hands into any claw position or spin on the base. We did fly upwards in the tunnel with the help of Mogo.
We stopped by Red Rooster for lunch. Sis had the Mac and cheese roll. While I had Tropicana chicken pack.
Once we were on the road again, we took a bus train and bus to Murdoch Pines golf course, only to find out it was closed for business. For two years. The whole place was under construction. Some sort of city wide project in Cockburn. We stood in front of a farm gate waiting for a bus. There the Pokémon Go gym was being remotely attacked by a spoofer. There was no one there but my sister and I. Wow. How sad that people do not come out to play in these suburbs. The weather was fickle. Rain heavy while we were at the train station then burning hot when we waited for a bus back to the train station.
Oh? I gotta get me some rounds at Holey Moley (mini golf in a pub). Speechless. Each course was spectacular and unique. Scary one. Challenging one. Hilarious one. Plenty of reference to pop culture too. Quite interactive, as some greens require you do some winding, press a buzzer, or drop a ball into a pinball machine. My sister found it challenging. Just need to use the flaps correctly to get the ball moving again. They have non-alcoholic cocktails offer. Pretty spacious layout.
K-town has taken up parts of Chinatown. Lots of BBQ joints. They have some unique eatery. We decided to give Hanabing a try. They serve bingsu. A mix of fine shaved ice, flavoured powder, red bean, and custard ice cream. Yum. Sis didn’t find her hot taro latte tasty or her soft serve matcha ice cream. I went for the signature dessert Black sesame bingsu.
We had German potato dumplings with mushroom ragu and beef ravioli for dinner. Both were delicious. The styling was of the food was interesting. Inside the potato ball was mince meat. The mushroom was just a tad salty. The restaurant is located in Globe Lane and it was pretty pricy, but they have a wide selection of German beer.
4th September 2018
Day tour time. The longest one we have ever been on. 15 hours in total. David was our driver. Adam coaches would pick you up and drop you at Crown casino. In the car park, you were sorted into your groups.
David told us in Crown Casino, the penthouse comes with a butler and skyline view of the city. All for $22,000 per night. The Optus oval near Crown has a dedicated train station. Due to lack of car park. Lots of coach car park space were set aside for major events. Bottom of the Kings Park is the old Swan brewery. Natural spring water flows from the mountain. Make you wonder how big is this botanic garden.
First pit stop Donnybrook. Toilet break really. This area grows Granny Smith apples and Pink lady apples. We had ourselves chicken roll and an apple slice. Also, the farms and vineyards around these parts grow their own marron in ponds. Tip: Cook them in their own shell with salt water still in the shell. Balingup town organises medieval theme festivals to keep the town relevant and to attractive to visitors. Old timber and tin mining towns are trying to reinvigorate people’s interest in the town with galleries, exhibition experiences, sculptures of the mining days. Elle McPearson has an estate in one of the towns here. It was given to her as part of her commission when she did the Western Australia tourism campaign. Along the roads are “caring wattles” scrubs growing wildly.
Diamond Tree is a huge watch tower. Metal rods were inserted into the tree for climbing, but it can be slippery. Around it was many equally tall trees. One so hollow that it naturally has a platform for you to climb into it and stand in it. Ha ha.
The Valley of Giants was incredible. The tingle trees were huge. What makes them distinct is their base flares out and they can grow pretty wide. The tree top walk was breath taking and scary at the same time. So, high above ground. I avoided using my iPhone and selfie stick just in case they fell. Instead I just stuck to my GoPro and my new hand/leg mount. At the half way point, I placed the GoPro on my sister’s hand and continued the footage. We saw some parrots, but no quokka today. In the ancient forrest, we walked through several hollow tree bases, saw a tree called ‘grandma’ and it posses a face, and then the rain came down.
We drove pass Denmark. I wasn’t able to take a photograph within the town. It was heavily populated compared to the other towns. This one has Woolies, but the locals prefer IGA supermarket. It was said the tourist would stay here for accommodation and drive to the Valley of the Giants. Often the tourist would visit Woolies for supplies.
We stopped by a local swimming hole made by mother nature. Called Greens pool in Williams Bay. Too cold for a swim and too slippery for a walk. We did see several rainbows in our drive up. A nice resting spot though.
We had dinner at Kodja Place Visitor Centre and Iit was delicious. Sadly, the cake was not to my sister’s liking - carrot cake. Too big. Too dry.
Jack gave us a tour of the museum. Half of the display had pictures of him in it. He is a living historian. He told us what each tool was used for. Surveyors once used the 80 chain to measure a mile. Wow. The Aboriginals would make cloaks out of animal fur and exchange it for necessities, his grandpa made a wallaby rug and exchanged it for a car battery. What talented skills.
5th September 2018
Day tour round two!
After we had been picked up from the hotel, we were taken to Crown Casino to swap coaches. As I settled into my seat, I received a telephone call from Geraldine, asking if I have received her message about changes to the itinerary. Apparently, we have been upgraded to 4WD something. I’m like, is someone coming to drive us in a 4WD? Very confusing. Even more confusing is the coach drove us to Caversham wildlife park straight away, diverting from the original itinerary. Tom gave us a lightening tour and gave us all brief windows to pose with 3 animals: kangaroos, a big wombat (20 years old called Big bubs), and a baby koala - who was very curious about us.
To add more to the confusion we ended up in Lobster shack for lunch and we had fish and chips. Oddly, the staff were lifeless and lacked motivation to deal with tourists. We were left to our own devices and to stare at boxes in the factory
with an audio guide. I go to myself - ugh, why? Rumour is, that this they way to score a discount on the lobster meal. Instead of $45, it is $25.
By late afternoon we arrived at Pinnacle desert. The rock formation was quirky and unique. You can see shapes of animals and deity within them. Light rain passed by. It detected my sister was proceeding to head to the deck. It deterred her from going further. We managed to squeeze in a little bit of time in the gift shop and a brief tour of the discovery centre.
Lancelin sand dunes looked amazing, but the sand was clay like due to the rain. We went on a delightful 4WD ride. The seat belt knocked off one of my earrings. Solider on. I attempted to #sandboard on wet-clay-like sand. Not successful mind you.
Oddly enough, all wildlife are kept in conservation or behind fences. None of them are free roam this vast land. We didn’t see any animals in the national park, beach, and parks. Not even birds. Weird.
6th September 2018
Slow day.
Started the day with high tea at the Lavender Bistro. They are hidden in the back of Margaret River Chocolate store. They infuse lavender pieces into the scones and jams. I polished my lavender milkshake within minutes. While waiting for the bus a horse came on over from the paddock to smell me. Laughs. How funny.
When we finished a round of mini golf at the Oasis Supa golf and adventure putt. The next bus back down the street was 45 minutes away. My sister was annoyed by slow buses. Since they only show up one every hour. It tested her patience. There was no bench for her to sit and wait for a bus. In the end, we walked past 11 bus stops back to Margaret River Chocolate store. My legs nearly gave way from the 1 hour walk. No footpath. Lots of uneven ground in Swan Valley. Upon reaching back I had to stop, sit, and buy a lavender ice cream. Yum. My sister was upset that I wouldn’t buy her a t-shirt. I said it was plain for $20 one.
There is no footpath past the Margaret River Chocolate store, just bike paths. Cars and trucks would speedily drive pass at alarming speed. I doubt anyone feels comfortable walking on the bike path. We were too exhausted. But we had to keep on plugging and get a bus to the nearest train station. Took bus 335 then bus 353 to Bassenden train station. Though 955 is a faster option to reach Bassenden. Who had real footpath.
7th September 2018
Swan Valley round two.
This time we decided to go on sweet trail on a different street. Hopefully with the buses goes in both direction. When we arrived at Midland train station midday. The bus isn’t due for arrival for 45 minutes and the sky was getting darker grey by the minute. We took a taxi to The Cheese Barrel. As we were approaching the Main Street it started to bucket down.
We had ourselves the ultra premium cheese platter: Truffle delice, red lestcher, and St Augs (blue cheese). Oh my god. My belly was full by the end. Each of the cheese has its own sweet and bitterness. The Swan Valley honey had this soft crunchy texture and it was perfectly matched each cheese. We could not stop dipping into it. After having consumed our ultra premium cheese platter. The sun came out. But the bus was slow. Every 30 minutes. So much ants per bus stop too.
We walked to The House of Honey. Sampled ample amounts of honey, honey lollies, and sparkly honey. Oh. The honey ice cream was creamy nice. I loved the wildflower honey. So fragrant and tasty. I got myself a jar and my sister some Jarrah honey lollies and a bookmark. There we chased chickens around the verandah. It pooped as it ran.
Sis found a bee being overwhelmed by ants at a bus stop by the curb. She picked it up and it crawled all over her hands. Then she placed it on several flowers/weed. When it was placed on a white flower weed it started to gather nectar. When we were about to board a bus, it flew to Sis to say thanks and went on it’s way.
Mondo nougat had some tough and chewy ones. The honey and macadamia nut one was buttery combo. Sis still insists it was too hard on her teeth. We didn’t try the nut store next door. Only managed to squeeze in some pics then double down to chocolate shop.
Whistler & Co chocolates were delicious. The chocolate covered pretzel was my favourite. Sis like the spearmint milkshake more. She chose the watermelon fudge, but it was more sugar than watermelon. Sucker.
I did some golf driving range at Altone Park golf course. Aww. Am I bad or what. 50 balls and only managed to hit 5 straight 100 metres. Dang! You can play into the night. The ball machine accepts Apple Pay and Pay wave. Free to borrow iron and driver. Yay! I used both. Sis only hit a few balls and gave up. One ball went side ways to another player’s foot. Uh. NQR. But everyone laughed it off.
I got a bit of food poisoning from Tommy Sugo's food. Badly re-heated pasta. They serve microwave food at their restaurant, as their main target was university students, who prefer to cook at home. Not budget friendly though.
8th September 2018
Moltres day! Pokémon Go crazy time. Wafu raid. I have 6 passes all up.
Bright and early. Sis and I took the Red Cat bus into Perth CBD. There I went over to the cactus statue to meet up Perth CBD renown raid groups. There we had two Valor teams. The fast can walk first and slower ones will have do the “walk and catch” manoeuvre. I was in the latter. I had two smartphones.
Damn. The server glitch kicked in within seconds. We have defeated the raid boss, but it won’t go down, the timer kept counting down. We all took a gamble and restarted our game app quickly several times, hoping we might have a chance at catching Moltres. After 13 minutes I was able catch mine and it was shiny one. Whoa.
Team Valor took down south of the CBD to a train station and then back to Chinatown. What a route. I would have never figured it out. They sure know the best way to maximise your chances of getting a hundo.
After the sixth pass was used. I departed the gang. Who was deeply focused on raiding all the gyms in the 3 hours. Sis and I went to have lunch at Yagman Square, Carribean braised lamb ribs, mac and cheese, potato salad.
We took a train to Cottesloe beach for a nice beach stroll. Also, we finally found the giant sun dial, it was hidden behind bushes, and a trail away from the beach. Why hide such beautiful things? We sat down and ate our carmel honey cake slice. Yum.
Then we went to Sakura sake for dinner. There we ordered the premium grilled set, instead we got more than we bargained for a bowl of edamame beans, fried soft shell crab pieces, fried chicken pieces, two bowls of ramen, a plate of sushi rice, a plate of mix meat, and something something else. I have forgotten now. Food coma. Walked home and tried to de-gas.
9th September 2018
The Kings Park botanic garden is HUGE. I recommend you take a bike or a solar powered scooter with you. Sadly, no bike path. Lots of coaches, cars, buses (to a certain point) goes through the park.
This seems to be the area where a few Pokémon Go players come to play. Not many. The gyms are spread a part, not tightly clustered. Same goes for the city. I was able to find a good healthy amount of pokestops grouped around the main entrance, but the numbers are nothing like the Shrine of Remembrance.
What was amazing was the amount of people coming to the park to smell, touch, and learn about the wildflowers of Western Australia. Several coaches and taxi dropped off load of people. I see the appeal. There are so many flowers I have never seen myself. Sis and I walked to the DNA tower. I reached the top and many all I can see was tree tops, maybe a river, and a building or two. It is a free observation deck built to celebrate science discovery of DNA double helix.
Lunch we had a beef burger and a hotdog with slushy Fanta original. Packed to the rafters, everyone wanted to dine outdoors. It was a prefect day for it. A sunny day indeed. As we walked back to the entrance, along the street where bus 935 runs, there we stopped by several look out points. At the balcony above the aboriginal art gallery, we saw an eagle fly by twice, sadly it was being chased by crows. All other look out point have skyline views of the city and Swan River.
Then we went to back to our hotel to pack one more time and checked out. Headed to the airport via bus 103 and 380. At the airport, we had some snack on loaded fries at Long Neck.
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