Saturday, 12 January 2013

Margaret River


We have had visitors for the week with Brendan, Michelle, Henry & Charlie over to the west for their first time.  Carol had the week planned and we were kept very busy entertaining two energetic boys.  Before they arrived however, we decided to do a day trip out to Rottnest Island which is a short 25 minute boat ride from Fremantle as we had heard plenty of reports about how good the snorkelling and scenery was.  The day started out cold, wet and windy but by the time we reached the Island it had cleared and we enjoyed a clear warm beautiful day.  The island has a convict and military history but has modern facilities and is surrounded by pretty bays and beautiful beaches.  It is very popular with families and boaties.  The beaches near Parker Point are beautiful and we snorkelled a small bay which had beautiful pink coral, heaps of pretty little fish and a lot of large edible large fish.  The name Salmon Bay gave us a clue.  They have installed underwater information boards that lead the snorkelers around the features of the bay.  I saw my first WA Lobster in the wild and was sorely tempted to bag them as they were a good size but of course I could never take them from the middle of a Wildlife Sanctuary area.  There are no cars on Rottnest Island but hundreds of pushbikes and we spent the day getting around on them.  Carol worked out we clocked up over 15km in the saddle which introduced a few aches in places we are not used to worrying about.  We needed a bit of exercise after Xmas and got it but it was a good trip and a very pretty place; especially if you were there in a boat.  In hindsight, I think the $114 per person for a 25 min boat ride and bicycle hire for about 7 hours is too expensive, but it is done and we enjoyed it.  
Bulk Wheat loading off Kwinana

Rottnest Island

white sand, clear water, clearing skies...

Osprey nest

75m high lighthouse trying to protect ships from the reefs around Rottnest

Main Beach outside the Rotty Pub

One of 54 ships that made landfall a bit earlier than planned along the coast..

Quiet Quokka resting in the shade

Another bay, another beach, another lighthouse

Rotty's main mode of transport looking way more comfortable than it was!!

A good night’s sleep would have been smart but our schedule included staying up till 11pm to meet our visitors off the plane and getting them settled into a unit opposite our van site.  Next morning we started at Kings Park in Perth which is a very pleasant area with great views of the city and the Swan River.  The hop on, hop off double decker bus leaves from there and gave us a good tour of the highlights of the city area including a quick look at the shops, the WACA, the bell tower, convict built cathedrals and buildings, the Perth Mint, and the Crown Casino complex; which was the Burswood until Packer bought it recently.  We went on a tour of the Mint and the boys loved seeing a gold bar being poured and enjoyed the stories of gold discovery and coin manufacture.  Carol loved the gold and Argyle Diamond jewellery display.  The small laneway of British Shops is always interesting and the malls of Perth are pleasant. We enjoyed dinner on the Fremantle waterfront that night.
Kings Park views

Charlie checking the weight of a nugget at the Mint. No samples unfortunately.

Lost in Amazen at Margaret River



Inside Mammoth Cave with our MP3s

Large caverns

Rose archway at Voyager Winery established my Michael Wright


Charlie leading the way up 

burning off lunch

Busselton Pier

We took on a day visit to the Margaret River region and it was a big day for us all.  An early start had us in Margaret River township at smoko time and the boys were keen to head straight out to the Maze.  We had a great time there lost in the big hedge maze for a while and solving the stepping stone and turn left mazes.  Brendan and Michelle stayed in town and drove back to Cowaramup for morning tea.  Since we were here last the town of Cowaramup has added dozens of life size statues of dairy cows and calves through the town.  It looks really good.  Once the youngest 2 and us older 2 escaped from the maze we went on to one of the big limestone caves in the area.  The boys loved the tour through Mammoth Cave with their MP3 to guide and inform them.  This cave is very impressive and really well presented with good lighting and walkways.  The one way track leads up 150 steps at the exit which took some of the fun out of it given it was the day after us olds' cycled Rottnest Island.  Kirsty had taken us to the cave when we visited her over here a couple of years ago and it is still a great attraction.  We all met up for lunch at Saracens Winery and Duckstein Brewery which has good food and also a good area for the kids to run around.  We spent the evening at Busselton with a swim, a walk along the pier to watch the fishermen, and fish and chips on the beach.  There were a lot of family activities on the beach and beachfront parks and the boys had a go at rock climbing on a mobile wall. They were not successful at reaching the top but enjoyed trying.  Next day we had a slower start and spent the day at Perth Zoo.  It is very good with many African, Asian, and Australian animals on show.  There are plenty of grassed areas for a picnic and the elephant show was very good.  Henry and Charlie enjoyed it all and could not wait to go from one cage to the next.  The giraffes, zebra, elephants, monkeys, snakes and big cats were all exciting for them.  Brendan and Michelle took the opportunity to check out Perth city in more detail and highly recommend the Harbourside Discount Outlet and Claremont shopping centres.  
Checking our heights against an elephant


The elephant show was great.

Next day Garry and Brendan enjoyed a game of golf at Joondalup Country Club.  There are some nice courses around here but this one has to be one of the best courses we have ever played on.  The course is owned by a syndicate of Asians and consists of three 9 hole courses built around a series of limestone quarries and along the surrounding hills with great sea views from some holes.  We were astounded by the number of ground staff and machines but they are doing a great job and the course is in magnificent condition.  Apparently annual memberships are only $14,000 plus joining fee.
This is a Par 4, where do you land this drive??

The blue tees were tricky, the black tees would have been too hard for me!!

the greens were big

The 18th and another team of workers.

Carol and Michelle entertained the boys with a visit to the Fremantle markets until we took them to Cottesloe Beach for a swim in the afternoon.  The sand is so soft and the water was surprisingly warm.  Henry enjoyed diving through the waves and Charlie had a swim then played in the sand for ages.  There is plenty of grassland and shade on the hills behind the beach which made it very pleasant for all. Dinner was purchased on the beachfront after the boys had worn themselves out, it was a beautiful evening.  Another late night farewelling the visitors and we finished the week stocking the larder and getting ready to head further south.

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