Travel, Travel, Travel - A long flight to Perth then a long drive to Margaret River with Nick and Dionne. Lovely pub dinner at the local (Settlers Tavern)
Day 2
We had a wonderful breakfast (best ever) at Basiledene Manor (where we were staying), overlooking the beautiful gardens watching the bunnies.
After breakfate we had a short drive to Lake Cave - gorgeous - the photo's say it all.
Then on to the wonderful Chocolate Factory (unfortunately it was the last day of the school holiday's and a Sunday so it was really busy).
Next, the Providore next door for some jam and chutney tasting.
We then went to the Woody Nook for wine tasting and lunch (we liked the lunch not so much the wine).
Then on to Lenton Brae, Cullen Winery (no vampires to be seen), Evans & Tate winery for another wine tasting.
On the way back to MR we stopped of at Cowaramup (small township) for a cheese tasting at the MR Diary Company and then we had some fudge and lolly goodness at the Candy Cow.
As we had such a nice big lunch, we decided on a light dinner of cheese and crackers, watched a movie and relaxed over a glass of wine from today's purchases.
Day 3
Headed north today, up to Dunsborough and Bunker Bay for Morning Tea. Then on to the Light house and a walk around Cape Naturaliste National Park. It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked out to the Whale Lookout and some other tracks. We actuall did see whales and a seal.
Then on to Sugarloaf Rock.
We then headed out to the Bush Shack Brewery for a beer tasting with a few alcoholic soft drinks (Mikey had to try the Sars and Creamy Soda) :o) Great location and food.
We had a quick look at Yallingup Beach then on to Duckenstein Brewery (awesome location could spend a lazy afternoon here), some of us were starting to get a little pissy by this time.
We then found the MR Liqueurs and tasted a select few liqueurs, we then tested liqueur cocktails by mixing multiple liqueurs - very yummy.
Then on to the Magaret River Hotel for a wonderful dinner.
Day 4
Today we headed South to Cape Leeuwin to look at the beach and light house. This is where the southern and Indian Oceans meet.
Just around the corner was an old Waterwheel, and a nice rock outcrop where we did some rock hopping looking at little creatures between the rocks.
Then back to August for morning tea, then off to Hamelin Bay to gaze at the beautiful beach. We then had a quick run through a little forest maze (donation based entry).
We had a quick look at a wonderful Gallery then on to the Berry farm for lunch and tasting of 7 different Ports. On the way back we stopped at A'maze'n for the brand new maze that had taken 16 years to open (waiting for hedges to grow). Back into MR to have a quick look at the shops (they close early). A 5 minute drive to Prevelly Park Beach to watch the sunset (and play fetch with a cute dog).
We stopped at the Knight's Inn Pub and had a great dinner in front of the fire.
Day 5
First up Yullingup Maze (this time a wooden panel maze), the others had fun trying to find there way out! Whilst I had a wonderful time relaxing in the coffee shop with a Chai. Had a quick look at the Shears Shed and the Wonky Windmill for a chutney tasting. Then on to Bootleg for a beer tasting. Then we visited Laurance Wines - Beautiful spot where you pay $9 for a sample try of 6 wines which took out to the lovely gardens.
Then on to Vasse Felix for a wine tasting then back to Cullen winery for a lunch (as it looked so good last time). Then on to Cowaramup Brewing Co for another beer tasting and our last stop for the day Xandu.
The boys had a quick game of Tennis and grabbed some takeaway (worst food of the week so far).
Day 6
We sadly left Basildene Manor and headed north to Busselton, had a quick look at the unfinished Jetty before heading the Bunbury and Falcon.
Stopped at the Falcon shopping centre to grab some lunch (Nick and Dionne had a pasta cup, which they thought was amazing) then headed to the beach 5 minutes away to have lunch. We got lucky and found a beautiful spot!
 |
| Octopus |
Day 7
We split up Dionne, Nick and I decided to stay in the city and Mikey headed out to Rotnest Island for the day.
Nick visited the Perth Museum whilst Dionne and I did the Perth shops to death (when they finally opened).
We grabbed a yummy lunch at the Museum café then had a walk along the river. Nick and Dionne then went to the Perth Mint (they found it really interesting) and I headed back to Northbridge to do some more shopping. I ended up with one shirt for Mikey out of the whole day - very disappointing.
 |
| Perth Train Station |
We meet Mikey at the Chinese food court in Northbridge, where he told us of his adventures...
I (Michael) had a great day, Started early with a walk to the Perth Jetty through the empty city centre. I caught the boat at then enjoyed a 40 minute cruise up to Fremantle where we took on more passengers and mountain bikes that are used to explorer the island.
Another short trip to Rottnest (accompanied by some dolphins) and by 10:30am I was off exploring the island. The best way to see Rottnest is to hire a bike and ride the 22km circuit around the island. Along the way you see beautiful swimming and fishing beaches. I also saw a few whales in the distance.
The highlight for mewas when I was ridding past some trees and noticed a quokka by the side of the road, underneath a nearby tree I found around 10 more quokkas, they are very friendly and came right up next to me.
I ended up doing around 25 km as I took a few detours to explore a few more places.
The main settlement looked nice with different accommodation and food options, and a great views towards Perth. Next to the mini golf course I found another group of quokkas. They were busy eating lots of seeds, but they also loved to pose for photographs.
The trip back to Perth was also good as a whale (Humpback?) breached around 20 meters from our boat.
Day 8
After packing up the apartment we drove to Fremantle, it was a lovely sunny warm day. We went to the Fremantle Prison first, it was a great tour, and if we had more time we would do all the tours. It would have been terrible to be a prisoner there! Nick and Dionne stayed on to do "The Great Escape" Tour.
We met up Lesley and Lindy and had a look at a few shops then went to the local pub for lunch and a drink. Nick and Dionne joined us for lunch once they finished the tour.
We then headed to the markets. Lesley and Lindy headed home to get changed for their big night out, and we headed to the wharfs to visit the docked Sea Sheppard's "Steve Irwin". We had a great little tour of the boat where they explained how they go about defending the animals of the oceans, including the whales in the southern ocean from the Japanese "Research" vessels.
We found a book shop that kept us happy for an hour, then headed to a Mexican for dinner.
Then off to the airport for the red eye flight home - yawn.
It was a wonderful week and great to share with friends.
Gallery, Slideshow
