Having been on a travelling hiatus due to the age of my kids, this trip was kind of planned with the view that they are now old enough to enjoy travelling and will remember it to make it worth the effort and money. Previously, we were only taking short road trips up North. Flying further were deemed logistically prohibitive with such a large number of offsprings when they were younger. This year, we found a good deal from Garuda Indonesia Airlines for Perth. So, we booked the fare, car rental, and a set of accommodations. We were heading out for our first flying trip with the “full force”.
Day 1 – Bali bypass
It was about 2 hours to Bali, then another 4 hours to Perth. But no one seemed to complain, as we had a good meal during transit and the kids were keeping themselves entertained. Perhaps it was the excitement of air travel. We arrived late in the evening, got our car, and drove to Cabins park – Discovery Holiday Parks which was chosen because of proximity to the Airport as we were arriving late. The parks were caravan parks that also provide large, self-contained cabins/villas with ensuite and cooking facilities. Australia is very strict on the number of people staying in hotel rooms due to fire codes, so looking for hotels to stay for large families was challenging. These holiday cabins offer the most cost-effective accommodations compared to staying in a few hotel rooms. More family bonding I would say.
Day 2 – Caversham Wildlife Park
The Caversham Wildlife Pa
Up close with the Wallabies and koala bears, petting zoo, shearing of sheep fur, milking cow …… A full day of activities.
Day 3 – Busselton Jetty
Checked out after 2 nights at the Holidays Cabins and head south to Margaret River region. Nice easy drive, dropped by Busselton for lunch, After which we took a walk along parts of the famous Busselton Jetty. We had wanted to visit the aquarium at the end of the jetty but was fully booked. A tram runs along the jetty that will bring you there, but since we are not visiting, we just walked a little bit. The kids played on the beautiful beach and playgrounds while enjoying the sunshine.
We checked into our park cabins at Riverview Tourist Park Cabins. It is just a short drive from Margaret River town centre. Guess what, the park is just next to the river. We then spent the late afternoon hiking around the Warperup Creek. We already had bought some groceries along the way, and home cooked dinner summed up the day.
Day 4 – Margeret River, Leeuwin Estate
Woken up by nature – birds chirping. Relaxed and no rush, we head out to visit the various “factories” around the region. Nuts and cereal factory, chocolate factory, cocoon factory and cheese factory. But the kids are more interested to run around the large grass fields around these factories.
We brought the kids to A
After the kids had their share of fun, I took them to what I wanted to go. That is to visit a couple of vineyards in the area. We were not avid wine
One of the more famous vineyards was Leeuwin Estate. The estate grounds itself is a beautiful place to visit. And the kids, again, ran around the large grass fields.
We got our wine, we went to the supermarket to get fresh foods for our dinner feast. And it was a sumptuous Christmas Eve.
Day 5 – Swimming by the Creek
Christmas day, and as expected, everything was closed. But fear note, we head out to public and natural places where there were still fun to be found. We drove to the Margaret River Mouth point. Beautiful beaches facing the Indian Ocean. At low tide, there was a sandbank separating the river and the sea. Many visitors were dipping into the knee-deep river, so we went and got ourselves wet as well. So refreshing.
We took a little drive around the area for the sights. Then head back to the cabin and continue to play with water in the Warperup Creek. The ducks were swimming there too. We had checked with the locals if it was safe to swim there before dipping in with them.
Day 6 – Joondalup
We head North, stopping by Australind and Mandurah for meal breaks. Next stop, Joondalup Resort.
The suburb was fast developing and we thought this will be a good base to go around the area. The
Day 7 – Fremantle
We drove to Fremantle and visited the market. Fresh produce, fruits and more foods. We spent the whole morning there.
Then we head down the coast and had our lunch at the famous Cicerello’s fish and chips. Large delicious servings.
And of course, after a heavy lunch, the kids went out to run around the playgrounds opposite the restaurant for a good part of the afternoon.
Day 8 – Golfing & Sorrento Quay
Played a round of Golf in the morning with my wife accompanied by some curious Wallabies (lucky we have my mother-in-law tending the kids). As paid residents of the resort, we were offered guest rates for green fees and club rentals. Never mind how bad we played, the fact that we were on the course was already a blessing.
We went shopping in the afternoon at the town centre. Followed by a picnic dinner at Sorrento Quay. It was fairly crowded on a Sunday. Looks more like a tourists place as the shops mostly sells souvenirs and numerous
Day 9 – Perth City
We moved into the city and checked into City Stay Apartment Hotel. This time around, we have to get a two bedroom apartment and another hotel room as most hotels in the city does not have big occupancy rooms to house my family. We shopped at the factory outlet just opposite the hotel had dinner, and then head up to Kings Park to view the sunset. Again, spectacular view of the city and vibrant park activities to enjoy.
As we were normally not ambitious on what to see or must do, we decided one good place in a day suffice for us, simple day. We simply just walked around doing nothing, enjoying sights.
Day 10 – Gold Rush
The one good place today was the Perth Mint. And we spend a good part of the day there. taking the guided tour, then shopped at the mint. We bought quite a few souvenir coins as gifts, some silver ornaments and yes, we bought some minute amount of gold.
After a simple early dinner just around the corner, we brought the kids back to King’s park, but this time at the May Drive Parkland playgrounds. This was their final burst of fire for the holiday.
Day 11 – Home Sweet Home
Early morning flight back through Bali again. We had time for a good meal at the Bali international transit area and some shopping.
gobassky
- Airfare by Garuda Indonesia Airlines.
- Car rental by Avis Rent-A-Car.
- Accommodations at Holiday Park, Riverview Park, Joondalup Resort and City Stay Apartment by Agoda.