Category Archives: Western Australia

Magnificent Kings Park in the Centre of Perth

05 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by in Kings Park and Botanical Gardens, Perth. WA, Western Australia

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Kings Park is one of the world’s largest and most beautiful inner city parks. Kings Park was even better than I expected. The views are stunning and the vibe is awesome – you could easily spend days there.

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Kings Park is a beautiful oasis in the centre of the city, with cafes, playgrounds, nature walks, botanic gardens, treetop walks, bbqs, monuments, art galleries, statues, memorials and just a wonderful place to visit.

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On my first visit to Kings Park I was blown away by its beauty and size. I met up with friends for a day at the park, and a picnic lunch in a large rotunda which is situated in one of the best locations in the park. This rotunda comes with sensational views overlooking the city and the Swan River and the war memorial with its dedicated gardens.  From this location we spent the entire day coming and going while exploring many different parts of the park including the wonderful Aspects of Kings Park gallery shop. There were many guided walks, usually run by the parks volunteers. There were short and long walks through this exceptional park which is right next to the city

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Fashion using local wild flowers

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Kings Park is home to the spectacular Western Australian Botanic Garden, which displays over 3,000 species of the State’s unique flora. Two thirds of the 400 hectare park is protected as bush land and provides a haven for native biological diversity. The total area of Kings Park is 400.6 hectares and features both cultivated gardens and untamed bush land.

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One day at the park was not nearly enough for me, so I spent another day there on my own. I took the train in to the city and then took the free #935 bus on the short drive up to the park, from the city. Once again I was stunned by the sensational views over the city and Swan River and Elizabeth Quay, where we took the cruise boat to go to Fremantle.

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I stopped for coffee at the outdoors café before making my own way around the parks many hundreds of lovely gardens. I explored fantastic and varied gardens, a tree walkway, war memorial, play areas for children, cafes, restaurants, extensive bush trails and picnic places which come with free bbq’s.

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These Botanical Gardens, with so many spectacular W.A wild flowers and other flora are organised into so many different ecosystems. To see all these plants in their native areas would require travelling thousands of km- and they are all here in one place. In fact, we covered thousands of kilometers  when we travelled for a week up the Coral Coast of WA to view the thousands of wildflowers.

So, if you want to see the Western Australia wildflowers and your time is limited, they are all here in the one place.

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Kings Park and Botanical Gardens – Magnificent.

My Visit to the Ultimate Margaret River Region WA

09 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by in Margaret River, Western Australia

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We set off from Perth driving south towards Margaret River where we spent 4 wonderful days staying at the Margaret River motel in the heart of Margaret River. On the way, our first stop was Busselton for lunch and where we spent time at the Busselton historic jetty including a ride on the train to the end of the jetty to visit the underwater observatory.

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Busselton

Margaret River and its premium wine region is the place for indulging many passions. Situated at the tip of southern Western Australia, the Margaret River Region offers some of the best South West sights, attractions and experiences in one convenient location. From Perth, it’s an easy 2.5-hour drive to the region, which stretches from Busselton down to Augusta. The density of this part of the South West allows you to hop from award-winning wineries and bespoke art galleries, to stunning beaches, tall-timber forests, flowing rivers, world-class surf breaks and ancient caves – all in a single day

When we arrived at our accommodation we were all thrilled as the location was perfect, the rooms huge and the restaurant very suitable for all our needs. Although the weather was cooler than up north with some light showers it really was perfect for tripping around and exploring.

From our base in Margaret River we journeyed daily to see some remarkable sights including the Canal Rocks and Flinders Bay, Augusta and Cape Leeuwin lighthouse which is the most south-westerly point of mainland Australia.

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Point Leeuwin Lighthouse

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Point Leeuwin

We visited several wineries including Happs Winery which is a family run winey and then Zanadu winery where we enjoyed tastings of some delectable wines.

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Happs Winery

We spent a few hours in the delightful Cowaramup Village or affectionately known as Cow Town, with its distinct village atmosphere and very unique Cow theme showcasing statues of cows around every bend. The shopping here for local artisan products was outstanding with many of us finding some fab stuff to take home

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Cowaramup Village

Lunch one day was at the Margaret River brewery which has a fabulous atmosphere, great good and wonderful local beer samples.

We visited and explored the magical Prevelly Beach with its walking trails along the sand dunes, and spent time exploring Boranup Forest where we explored many of the trails and took dozens of photos of the stunning wildflowers.

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Prevelly Beach

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Boranup Forest

On our trip back to Perth travelling on the Bussell Highway we stopped for lunch at the Bunbury Dolphin discovery Centre and enjoyed a great lunch at the café/restaurant in the centre before spending a couple of hours in the discovery centre which was outstanding.

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Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre

Then we were back on to our coach for the easy 3 hour trip back to Perth, arriving early evening with plenty of time to get ready to go out to dinner.

Sightseeing Cruise – Perth to Fremantle for the Day

16 Sunday Feb 2020

Posted by in Perth to Fremantle Cruise, WA, Western Australia

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We boarded the cruiser at Elizabeth Quay in the city of Perth for our leisurely cruise down the Swan River to Fremantle

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We glided along the river, admiring the waterfront scenery of Perth’s downtown skyline, upscale suburbs with their very large mansions and yacht clubs. We saw all sorts of water craft from the tiny to the very opulent, including folks taking sailing lessons at the sailing clubs along the way.

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This picturesque cruise came with some very lively and interesting commentary for most of the cruise.  The cruise, which took about an hour and 20 mins from Perth to Fremantle was really excellent with so many beautiful sights. There was inside and outside seating but I chose to stay outside for the entire trip. It was so fun and relaxing and the weather was perfect.

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After an hour and 20 mins we arrived at Fremantle

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Fremantle is a lively port city southwest of Perth in Western Australia, where the Swan River meets the Indian Ocean. On the edge of the Indian Ocean, Fremantle has great ocean and river beaches to enjoy.

This pedestrian-friendly city with unique winding streets offers you a glimpse of a colonial and Gold Rush past in balance with a modern and vibrant present

I stopped for coffee at a café near the cruise terminal before boarding one of the many local red CAT buses to take a tour around the city. As lunch time was approaching my stomach reminded me that it was time to meet up with my friends at Joes Fish Shack at South Beach. Gosh, what a fun lively area South Beach is. It certainly is worthy of a full day. Next time!

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This well known tourist attraction of Fremantle, Joe’s Fish Shack has been a part of the shore front for many years. The inside has lots of fishing and ocean related decor as well as the front and back of an old VW kombi van which looked fabulous. The restaurant is right on the water at Fremantle wharf area with scenic views of the water through the many large windows. Joe’s offers full service dining in comfortable and quirky surroundings. It was bubbling with happy people, great atmosphere and good simple food. This was such a fantastic fun experience.
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After lunch, from the restaurant I took the blue bus back to the train station which is in the centre of town and hopped in a train to travel back to Perth city. It was all so so easy. Public transport in Perth and Fremantle is outstanding.

Fremantle is a city rich with history and alive with modern culture.

I really  enjoyed Fremantle and hope to return again soon.

 

 

My Perfect Nature Cruise – Monkey Mia, WA

22 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Australia, Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Western Australia

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From where we where staying in Denham we drove the short distance north for our visit to Monkey Mia.

Monkey Mia has been on my dream list for many years so I could barely contain my excitement as we drove up. Famous for its wild dolphin experience, Monkey Mia is surrounded by rusty red sand dunes, white sandy beaches and water teeming with wildlife.

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Dolphins close to shore

Our planned cruise on the Aristocat 18 metre luxury sailing Catamaran was for 9am departure so we had enough time to make a short explore around the beach and resort area before boarding this fantastic vessel at the end of the pier. Both the captain and the 1st mate were gorgeous young ladies. These very capable, interesting and friendly young ladies are excellent sailors.

As the shoreline melted away we were on high alert for dolphins, dugongs, turtles and other marine life.

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The girls, who are very knowledgeable were excellent and explained everything to us for the entire time. They did their best to find sea life for us; we saw Dugongs, dolphins, stingrays, turtles, and flying fish.

It was pretty hot out on the water so many of us ladies got to refresh in the boom net which was super welcome and super fun.

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Aristocat is the only boat licensed to interact with marine life in the Monkey Mia Exclusion Zone, and Restricted Dugong Access Zone. The vessel itself is spacious with plenty of indoor and outdoor spaces, 360o viewing and is exceptionally clean and well maintained. It was very comfortable and suitable for all ages from small children to elderly as there is plenty of comfortable seating and it is easy to walk around the boat with handrails to hold on to.

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After we finished our cruise, many of us swam and played in the pristine water. Dolphins were nearby as they come in to shore often for feeding. Pelicans were lazing around on the sand and later emus were seen walking on the beach. Today dolphins are only fed according to strict guidelines and under supervision of Parks and Wildlife Service officers to ensure the dolphins continue to hunt and behave naturally.

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Before our departure from Monkey Mia we had enough time to enjoy a coffee and lay back on the chaise lounges overlooking the exquisite view of the beach, ocean and boats and to reflect on this perfect morning.

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Monkey Mia was everything and more than I expected.

This place is paradise