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 :)