Western Australia a place to go to as per advised by members

[Jman888]

Just spent a week in Perth and the SW with the kids.

 

Took a RAV4 from the airport.

 

First 5 days in Perth City doing the usual big mart shopping.  Their essentials and toys are really cheap, Dri Fit Shirts for like AUD8????

 

Stayed at a AIRBNB and we cooked everyday.

 

Lego which is already cheap is on huge discounts at BIG W and Target

 

As per TS did the Caversham Park, and they got lots of huge playgrounds for kids in suburbs if you are keen to drive out a little.

Did strawberry picking too. A whole large carton box for AuD10. Pick as much as u want provided you can finish them.

 

I saw a "No Birds" white estima family at the above 2 places, wonder if you are here too.

 

King's Park is amazing as well. Bought a dozen Oysters and picnic while the kids hit the playground and play with the ducks.

 

Then off to Margaret River we went. Stopped in Bunsbury Farmers Market to top up on Steaks, Sausages, Cheese, Crackers and Fruits and Veg.

 

I only saw Vineyards in MR the past few times but this round we decided to do a farmstay.

 

Google Four Elements Farm Stay.  Its amazing. Nice clean chalets with cooking facilities. You get to pick the eggs in the morning, feeds the chickens, goats, sheep and the horse. Marion fishing in the evening. The kids just didn't want to leave after 3 days. They were really sad to leave the animals. 

 

We did horseriding too in MR - Google Jester Flats. They take you on a 1 - 1.5hr ride into the trails on horseback. You ride yourself. Even my 5 year old girl could do it on a full grown horse, "not pony".

Way more worth it than that 1 minute thing you pay for at our Zoo.

To top it up you get a glass of wine and hotbread once you are done.

 

The rest of MR was usual, choc factory, cheese stop, Yahava coffee and a winery - Femoy to get their famous Sauvignon Blanc. We stumbled upon this brewery - Colonial Brewery Co. which had a massive playground and lots of running space for your kids. 

 

We ended the trip with a final Big Mart shopping at Cockburn Central otw back to the airport.

 

An amazing trip which I would do with my kids again.

 

 

Perth is a place that you have to take time to appreciate, no point rushing from town to town.

 

Shopping at their market and supermarket, cook/bbq your own meal is also an enjoyable experience, basically is not so much about visiting the place of interest, it was about able to relax and enjoy the moment with family.

[Icedbs]

Guys, what is the best way to migrate to Perth? What are their restrictions? I heard above 45 will not be accepted as PR anymore?

[BenTong]

Guys, what is the best way to migrate to Perth? What are their restrictions? I heard above 45 will not be accepted as PR anymore?

sorry for the advice but the only way to do is to have lots of money buy properties invest business.. fastest way.. other way tang ku ku. closed down leow for a while..

[Soya]

is the SF-LA Highway 1 better or this one?

 

I suaku, never been to both lol.

 

 

Done both. 

 

California Highway 1 wins hands down, upside down, sideways down, etc. 

[Honker]

Just spent a week in Perth and the SW with the kids.

 

Took a RAV4 from the airport.

 

First 5 days in Perth City doing the usual big mart shopping. Their essentials and toys are really cheap, Dri Fit Shirts for like AUD8????

 

Stayed at a AIRBNB and we cooked everyday.

 

Lego which is already cheap is on huge discounts at BIG W and Target

 

As per TS did the Caversham Park, and they got lots of huge playgrounds for kids in suburbs if you are keen to drive out a little.

Did strawberry picking too. A whole large carton box for AuD10. Pick as much as u want provided you can finish them.

 

I saw a "No Birds" white estima family at the above 2 places, wonder if you are here too.

 

King's Park is amazing as well. Bought a dozen Oysters and picnic while the kids hit the playground and play with the ducks.

 

Then off to Margaret River we went. Stopped in Bunsbury Farmers Market to top up on Steaks, Sausages, Cheese, Crackers and Fruits and Veg.

 

I only saw Vineyards in MR the past few times but this round we decided to do a farmstay.

 

Google Four Elements Farm Stay. Its amazing. Nice clean chalets with cooking facilities. You get to pick the eggs in the morning, feeds the chickens, goats, sheep and the horse. Marion fishing in the evening. The kids just didn't want to leave after 3 days. They were really sad to leave the animals.

 

We did horseriding too in MR - Google Jester Flats. They take you on a 1 - 1.5hr ride into the trails on horseback. You ride yourself. Even my 5 year old girl could do it on a full grown horse, "not pony".

Way more worth it than that 1 minute thing you pay for at our Zoo.

To top it up you get a glass of wine and hotbread once you are done.

 

The rest of MR was usual, choc factory, cheese stop, Yahava coffee and a winery - Femoy to get their famous Sauvignon Blanc. We stumbled upon this brewery - Colonial Brewery Co. which had a massive playground and lots of running space for your kids.

 

We ended the trip with a final Big Mart shopping at Cockburn Central otw back to the airport.

 

An amazing trip which I would do with my kids again.

Didn't like Perth too much as I am a nature lover . Nice place though if you like slow pace city life.

Guys, what is the best way to migrate to Perth? What are their restrictions? I heard above 45 will not be accepted as PR anymore?

If you have any friend there operating a business, you can ask them to sponsor you. Each business owner can sponsor two workers each year.

[Honker]

Perth to Albany Road Trip in 9 days

The point of fabricating this road trip blog is to help others to travel with ease and information. This is my first trip to Western Australia after 2 decades. This trip happened during February, 2017. 9 days were spent on the roads. Enjoy the read.

 

Year 2017 Month February Day 1

Landed during evening time at Perth International Airport. Great day, perfect weather. Service at the airport was great. Security check was at the highest, got ushered to a line with a Labrador sniffing out everyone there. Was not asked to open up any bag. Past security and exited arrival area.

 

First thing we saw were rows of Telco and Car Rental Shops. We had made our advance booking with Hertz for a Mitsubishi ASX, details was given, insurance of full coverage was paid . Damage: $800++ estimated for a 9 days rent and return at same place. Guidance given by officer was good, found our car in no time after a 3 minutes walk past the rental bays area. Weather here was chilling, 22 degree Celsius with strong breeze coming. Supposedly Summer time though. Click here for direct link to Booking.com for Quality Hotel information

 

Took car and left after some adjustment. Proceeded straight for our Hotel in downtown, Perth Quality Ambassador Hotel. After parking at the car park assigned, we paid for our parking fee at $12 per day for 2 days as we will be here till then.

 

Checked in and found that the hotel decoration was just as what was shown on Booking.com Unpacked a little and left for our dinner in Crown Perth Casino at Burswood. Had Subway and my wife had Mac. Click here for more info on where to eat and what to do in Crown Perth Casino. Decent dinner and we ended the day by visiting the convenience store nearby our hotel before going to bed.

Year 2017 Month February Day 2

Woke up to a wonderful breakfast spread in the hotel. The best I would say for the rest of my trips in Western Australia. Paid $20 each pax for this, well worth it. Drove to Fremantle Shed B and boarded the ferry which took 30 minutes to Rottnest island.

 

Click here for more info on where to park and what to do at Shed B. Alighted the ferry and bought the day bus ticket at the visitor center which was rather easy to find. Had fun here, took the bus and alighted at several stops.  There are 19 stops in total but I recommend that you only alight at 5 to 7 of them or else you going to need to spend another day here. Click here for more info on where to alight and what to do in Rottnest island for a fun filled day. In general, this is a place which all must visit. One of the best island in Australia. Especially for its exclusive hosts, Quokkas!

Took the 4 pm ferry back to Shed B and had a dinner with my friend '"Sal". Dinner was equally great at Kaili's Fish Market. We ordered a lobster meal and some other sides. Ended our dinner with a great chat and catch up, headed back to Hotel and rest for the day.

 

Year 2017 Month February Day 3

Had the same awesome breakfast and left for Busselton before heading to Margaret River later on. About a 144 minutes drive with 222 kilometers to cover. I stopped over at one of the rest area for a break before moving on, driving here was real easy compared to my cars cramped Singapore. The limit was about 90 km/h mainly on the state route.

 

Reach Busselton and had our lunch here, was surprised that was an vintage cars show here. Took a look and then proceeded to Busselton Jetty for some photos before having lunch at "The Goose". Lunch was great, price was reasonable too. View was simply awesome while having lunch, able to watch over Indian Ocean while eating. Heavenly.  Click here for more info on what to do in Busselton.

 

Took our car and then drove to Margaret River region for a wine tasting, was drizzling but the weather was just too perfect for a sip of wine at Naturliste Winery. The lady was nice and welcoming and recommended what we wanted, thank you for the hospitality.

 

Went on our journey to Margaret River where we checked in at Darby service apartment. Click here for more info for this stay. Place was great, pool too cold for me to dip in, room balcony has a great view over the forested area behind this apartment.

 

We left the area for a sunset walk in Surfer Points and River Mouth Viewpoint before heading for our fine dining in the nearby restaurant. Ended the day rather early as usual.

Year 2017 Month February Day 4

Woke up early for this day for Animal Farm visit, Light house and Hamelin Bay. We went to Sunflower Animal Farm for a session we can never forget. Really interesting and amazing interaction with the animals there, touching, patting, feeding and even hugging.

 

Click here for more info for this farm. Left farm after one hour or so, drove our way up to Cape Leeuwin Light house. We took Cave Road before touching Augusta and then Leeuwin. Must go, must see.

 

Click here for more info for this lighthouse. Had another great lunch of fish and chips in Augusta. This is the best value lunch so far, great portion and great taste for their beer battered fish. Nice variety too.

 

After a filled lunch, we went toward the direction of Hamelin Bay. If you like nature, this is where you want to be. Patting wild stingrays while they swim so close to the shore line. Click here for more fun at Hamelin.

 

Friendly and non aggressive. Had a great time here before returning back to Margaret River for a sunset view at White Elephant Cafe and ended the day for a dinner at KatchUp. Click here for more info on White Elephant Cafe.

Year 2017 Month February Day 5

Today is going to be one of the longest trip for this trip. Travelling from Margaret River to Albany! Left rather early to try to make it for lunch at Manjimup. Had a hefty breakfast before a stop over at Nannup for a toilet break. There wasn't many car in sight, some time not even a soul for a long while. The route there was pretty winding and lots of up and down slopes. If you are driving via this route, you better be an experienced driver. Scenery was great, lots of farms along the way. Greenery and forest drive along the way too.

 

Reached Manjimup for lunch at Tall Timber, food here was not tasty, so unmatched to the decoration. recommend you better finish all you need at the bathroom here as there isn't any for the next route until you hit Denmark.

 

Like our Facebook Page for more news and blog posts about Western Australia. We will post all updates on our Facebook regularly.

 

A two hours plus drive before we reached Denmark Valley of Giants. Read for more info here. Gigantic trees fund here and be sure to read all the signs to find out why the trees are grown this way. Checked in at the best stay ever at Ark of Denmark, a stay we wished we could have another night here.

Must Read to find out what is so good about the stay here. Had our dinner from a petrol kiosk, lovely dinner though.

Year 2017 Month February Day 6

Exploration started rather early. Went to Green Pool and Elephant Rocks bay area. Took up the whole morning for the findings here. Lovely beach and weird rock formation can be found here. The water was turquoise in color! Read here for more info about Green Pool Denmark.

After which we traveled eastwards to Albany and reached our next stay at Ace Motor Inn. They have decent room and a rather nice restaurant which serves good food. We had our lunch at a fast food nearby instead, fried chicken! I am not going to recommend you to stay at Ace Motor Inn as there is serious bed bug issue. I got 20 over bites which till now have not recovered yet. It is 10 months since the bites and they are still on my back. Not all were great for this trip and Ace Motor Inn sure spoiled it for us.

After lunch, we proceeded to the best beach we ever been to for our life. Little beach at Two People Bay! You got to go see it for yourself to believe this. The drive there was pretty rugged but do not give up. Follow Google and you will get there and learn that all is well worth the effort. Read this to know how to get there and what to expect. Ended the day with a dinner at Albany Mac Donald and a little shopping at Albany shopping mall. Bought a nice grey sweater here at $30, good quality I must say.

Year 2017 Month February Day 7

Today we spend our day at 2 nice attractions in Albany. Torndirrup National park. There are a few stops you got to make here. The Blowhole, The Gap and Natural Bridge. The distance between them was short though. For the blowhole, some exercise needed. Read here for more info on this area.

After that we had lunch at nearby cafe before heading to Albany Wind Farm. Great sea view over the cliff and strong wind expected. Nice wind farm walk, about 15 minutes.

Returned back to Albany for tea break at Emu point. This is really under rated, you need to come here. Have a coffee at the Emu Point Cafe, they close rather early at 4ish. Talk a sunset walk here and be awed by the view and clarity of the sea.

Read here for the combination of must see and do things in Albany.

Year 2017 Month February Day 8

The return trip back to Perth. This route is rather hard as there are nothing much to see check your thermometer. The temperature will keep increasing as you go northwards to Perth.

I recorded 39 Degree Celsius! Some stop overs available and you can actually find some nice food in this outback zones in Western Australia. Trip took almost whole day to reach Perth which we were exhausted after a long drive before we rested at Hotel Rendezvous in Perth. Read here for more info on this hotel. 

Year 2017 Month February Day 9

Last day in Western Australia, we went to Cottsloe beach and it is a Sunday. Do not go there on Weekends, there were so many cars and humans! you cannot even find a space to park! We left this area and headed to our next stop at Blue Boat House, read here for more info on Blue Boat House. Like where to park and what to do when you are there. We then had our lunch and returned our car back at airport this day and ended our lovely trip at Western Australia.

Hope this road trip does help you in your planning. Some things were left out but most were included. All places of interests and accommodations details were in those bolded links. Please click them if you need more info, I had written the details on each of them. Not all were great for this trip but definitely a great trip enoough for me to write so much.

Year 2017 Month December: Time of this blog was written.

I did my planning based on others blogs so now I am doing my own to help those who have yet see this amazing land. There is also a blog on budgeting which I learned through experience after visiting here twice in 2017. Do read on it to know how to save while you have fun. Cheers and enjoy Western Australia like I and many others did!

WATRAVELBLOG.COM

Follow my trail or create your own, there are just so many ways to explore Western Australia! Fly there, drive there, ride there, take a train or even hitch a ride there. Car rental at the Perth international airport is the perfect place to get the perfect car to explore WA. Drive your way down south or head north, either way will give you a different adventure. Southern way gives you more cool and Northern way, which is more sub tropical will let you experience warmer weather.

This site is currently giving more of South Western Australia information as I have traveled more of southern side more than the North. I will share what I did at each place and recommend to you the easier and more fun way to enjoy it better than I did. From touching the stingrays at Hamelin Bay to having that best coffee in Albany, from staying in a hotel in Perth CBD to living the wooden cottage on a hill in Denmark, from trying my luck in Crown Prince casino in Perth to strolling on the beach during sunset and from taking selfie with Quokkas in Rottnest island to jogging with kangaroos in Margaret River. There is just endless things to do in WA. Even while on road trip, it is also an awesome experience, with tall lining trees on Cave Road near to Augusta to the Sandy desert road in Lancelin, driving is never better than this.

 

Like our Facebook Page for more news and blog posts about Western Australia. We will post all updates on our Facebook regularly.

 

 

 

[Honker]

Some sharing for those who are heading to Margaret River.

 

What To Do In Margaret River

Margaret River has it all for nature lovers. You did not travel so far to here for any vibrant city life, you came here for mother nature. And you certainly did not end up at the wrong place. Margaret River is one of the surfing locations in the South West. She is well known for wine production and tourism, attracting thousands of visitors. It has many caves, museums, wineries and forests.

Margaret River is best place to visit in western Australia. You can get experience of mountain biking as well.

Below are some of the things to do in Margaret River. And this is the best place for families with kids, you can be sure they will enjoy it as much as you do.

https://watravelblog.com/attractions/what-to-do-in-margaret-river/

[Jman888]

Some sharing for those who are heading to Margaret River.

 

What To Do In Margaret River

 

Margaret River has it all for nature lovers. You did not travel so far to here for any vibrant city life, you came here for mother nature. And you certainly did not end up at the wrong place. Margaret River is one of the surfing locations in the South West. She is well known for wine production and tourism, attracting thousands of visitors. It has many caves, museums, wineries and forests.

 

Margaret River is best place to visit in western Australia. You can get experience of mountain biking as well.

 

Below are some of the things to do in Margaret River. And this is the best place for families with kids, you can be sure they will enjoy it as much as you do.

 

https://watravelblog.com/attractions/what-to-do-in-margaret-river/

those with young children must visit this place.

 

http://www.amazenmargaretriver.com.au

 

 

 

[Yuan]

Done both. 

 

California Highway 1 wins hands down, upside down, sideways down, etc. 

 

I have done both and other highways in US.

 

Each one is unique and gives very different but enriching experience.

 

I love driving on these long trips though it is tiring.

[Neutrino]

When we stayed in Margaret River 18 months ago we stayed in a very large one bedroom bungalow just off Illawara Ave costing S$860 for 7 nights.

All cooking facilities and brand new Webber BBQ.

Great place but a 10 minute drive to Margaret River town.

One thing was at 4-30pm every day a whole herd of Kangaroos would prance through the property garden and loads of cockatoos in the trees.

https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/2990389

 

Did you notice the two rocks which looked like elephants at the Green Pool, you can see them in your photos.

Edited January 24, 2018 by Neutrino

[Jamesc]

I'm a nature lover. Where do you think Mel has to offer for this? Any advice?

Just finished these 2 pages. Rottnest rocks!

 

https://watravelblog.com/fremantle/rottnest-island/

 

Hamelin Bay Stingrays feeding and touching

 

https://watravelblog.com/attractions/hamelin-bay-stingrays/

Emperor penguin in Philip Island.

 

See them come home from work at night and go home and see their wife.

 

They all look alike so how they know it's their wife I don't know.