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Friday, March 23, 2012

Day 2 - Margaret River & Fremantle

13th March 2012

Day 2 started with us packing up and checking-out of the motel at 7am. We had breakfast on the go (ate in the car). We spent a lot of time on the road today but enjoyed the nice countryside scenery along the way.

The people here live a very laid-back lifestyle and every town we visited seemed to be extremely quiet and serene, just like this lake we saw on our way to Margaret River in the morning....

Dunsborough Lake... so tranquil and beautiful!

Driving along the coastal roads, we came across another lighthouse... The Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

Margaret River is a wine region so we drove past acres and acres of vineyards. We randomly picked one, got down and were hopeful of seeing some grapes...

At a vineyard but nope, we didn't spot any grapes here. Maybe we didn't look closely and left in a hurry (because we were trespassing someone's private land :p)

Since daddy and mummy aren't into wine, we did not visit any winery but went to a chocolate factory instead...

At The Margaret River Chocolate Company

Chocolates galore!

Peeking through the chocolate window to see how chocolate is made

I spied with my little eyes and I saw... chocolate flowing from a "tap" that never stops!

We had some free chocolate samples... a cherry truffle and some mini chocolate buttons

Morning tea at the patio... daddy also ordered a pot of peppermint tea (it's freshly brewed from mint leaves, not from teabags)... refreshingly nice!

Mummy also bought something from here in order not to appear like we ate their chocs and used their washroom for free hehe :p The chocolate bar soap smells so yummy!

The rest of the day was spent travelling back up to Perth city. On the way, made a quick stop in a mall in Mandurah for lunch. I had a huge and chunky piece of pizza loaded with a thick topping of cheese... yummy! Mummy and daddy shared a big box of assorted salad from Sumo Salad. 

Hmm... now how do I eat this? Err, I can't even hold the fork and knife properly... help, mum! *mummy shakes head*

We headed straight to Fremantle after a very late lunch at almost 3pm! Upon arrival at Fremantle, it was close to 5pm and again, all the shops were getting ready to close for the day :( It was also too bad that the famous Fremantle Market was closed on that day. We just walked around and did some shopping at a supermarket. Thankfully, one of the supermarkets here close at 9pm :)

The Town Hall of Fremantle

Where are we going, daddy? Where are we going, mummy? Where are we going? This is my most FAQ.

Eh, what a coincidence... I am wearing a Cotton On blouse too ;)

Oh look, there's a wishing well right in the middle of the city!


The almost deserted town at 5pm

Finally, we rushed back to the city to check-in to our motel. We stayed in this motel for our remaining 3 nights here. Daddy chose and booked this motel because of its strategic location - it is right across the CBD (central business districts) of Perth. 

Very clean, comfortable and most importantly, no musty smell! 

At the bridge linking our motel to the city centre

Night city tour on foot

As for mealtimes, mummy is sad to note that we haven't been very adventurous in food-hunting. Limited by daddy and mummy's restricted diet (daddy doesn't eat beef and mummy doesn't eat any meat at all, except for fish) we had quite a bit of difficulty searching for "suitable" food to eat. Most of the time, we ate really simple things and "supplemented" our meals with the fruits and yoghurt stocked-up in the fridge. For dinner today, we tried something new...

Spinach and cheese Turkish Gozleme. Tastes like roti canai with cheese and veggie fillings. Not bad :) 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Perth Day 1 - Busselton Jetty & Cape Leeuwin

12th March 2012

We landed in the Perth International Airport at 5:30am and by 6:40am, we were all set to hit the road! The airport was practically deserted at that time so we cleared the immigration, customs and got our baggage pretty fast.

Car rental procedures at the airport was done in a jiffy because daddy booked online and settled the payment in advance

Road trip begins! Bright and sunny at 6:45am (the sun rises at 6am here)

On the very first day, we took a 3-hour drive down (south-west) to Busselton. About an hour into the journey, we stopped in Mandurah to have breakfast and to get some supplies from the supermarket.

Breakfast and morning exercise at the playground (for me) in Hungry Jacks

Grabbing some essentials at Coles... we bought a crate of spring water, buns and snacks to keep hunger at bay

The rest of the journey was so pleasant that we arrived in Busselton in no time. We headed straight to Geographe Bay where the famous Busselton Jetty is situated. This very unique wooden jetty is 1.8km long and there is an under water observatory (UWO) at the end of it. To get to the UWO, we could either walk or take a leisurely ride on the Jetty Train. 

The picturesque Busselton Jetty... check out the Jetty Train heading out to the sea

Breath-taking! The absolutely beautiful, crystal clear and pristine waters of Geographe Bay... this is by far the most beautiful beach we have ever seen and been to!


More pics of the beach and the jetty

The Jetty Train is coming! It was too hot for us to walk so we took a slow and relaxing ride on the choo-choo train

Riding on the famous Jetty Train to the UWO

Entrance to the UWO requires compulsory booking so we also did online-booking and paid for it in advance.

The UWO goes 3 levels down the sea. This enables us to view the different types of corals and fish at different depths of the sea.  

This is the first level... we can still see the water surface. Tickets to the UWO include a guided tour and this lady was our guide.

This is the middle level

And this is the bottom level, which is 8 metres below sea level

Rich marine life thriving under the sea... Can you see the fish on the bottom right? I call it the Angry Fish hehe.. 

End of tour... waiting in the middle of the ocean for the choo-choo train to come and fetch us back to the shore

Choo-choo train, daddy and I

The 145-year-old, longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere

Running and chasing seagulls... I just couldn't leave them alone

Nothing beats having a sweet, cool ice-cream on a hot and sweltering day!

Next stop was to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. We thought it was just nearby but it turned out to be an hour long journey. There wasn't much to do here except to view the scenery of The Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

Pleased to meet you, Captain Cow!

The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, built in 1895

Come to daddy!!! 

We decided to put up a night in Busselton because it was getting late and night-driving was not advisable. We headed to the motel which we pre-booked online.

My first time staying in a motel... standing in front of our 3-bedded motel room

The interior... it was passable. Clean and pleasant. If not for the slight musty smell, we would have given it a rating of "good value for money"!

After checking-in to the motel at 6pm, we headed out to look for dinner and to our dismay, all the shops and eateries were already closed. The town was "dead" by 5pm as most of the shops close at this time. Left with no choice, we had to settle with fastfood - McDonald's. 

Our somewhat "healthy" McD meal with HUGE servings of salad to replace the fries... still not too bad la. At least got nice, fresh veggies to eat :)

The Wonderful World of Ruoyi

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