Blogs from Western Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 5

On Wednesday morning we were down in the lobby by 7-45 in preparation for our trip to Rottnest Island. We were supposed to leave by 8-15, however, the bus was late due to heavy traffic, so were on our way about 8-45. This still gave us plenty of time to drive to Hillary''s boat harbour to catch the ferry to Rotto. It was a sunny but chilly morning which developed into a beautiful, warm sunny day. The ferry trip took about 40 minutes and we arrived at Thompson's Bay about 10-45am. A short walk and we were at the local bus depot ready for our round island trip. The bus company is Quokka tours and, apart from hiring a bike is the only way to see the whole island.Our driver, John, had plenty of jokes and ... read more

I'm going to try to avoid to be late by weeks/months on the coming few blogs...more discoveries to come in 2023...but first, here is my third visit to Perth area. No diving on this trip, it's all about golf golf and drink few solid wines! I'm down under for a full 8 days. My lovely wife being very busy in the office, she is down for five days for the long 1st May weekend. Bali to Perth is only 3 hours and half away. We have the choice between Jetstar, Batik or Air Asia once it comes to direct connections. They are all low-cost airlines. Jetstar has a solid bad reputation the last few months, so that's a no no. I'm actually more than happy with Batik planes and 20kgs allowance...but the schedule is not great. ... read more

We were at the jetty right on time, having sussed out where it was the day before. After the mandatory safety briefing we headed out to sea! We took this opportunity to nap for there wasn't much to see but blue, blue ocean! Starting at the place they call the hotspot we spotted blows mere minutes after dropping into the canyon. One of the orcas broke water’s surface with their dorsal while the other hung low, their blows sweeping over the shallow swell lines. We waited patiently while they ducked below the waves maintaining a consistent 3-minute dive interval before resurfacing again. At first, we noticed just 3 then 4, then 10 and finally 12 individuals. The others must have been hiding underneath when we first saw the blows. The large pod had 3 young males ... read more

1Sep2022 (Thurs) - Sunny We only had half a day before we need to catch our flight back to Singapore. After checking out, we pushed A on the stroller to our breakfast place (Croff Bakehouse). We wanted to take the free bus, but can't find the bus stop, so in the end we walked the entire journey. It was actually very nice to walk in that weather. We ordered a few croissants and a cake. The croissants were not bad, but the cake was just average. We then went to KMart to do our one and only shopping for the trip. The place was pretty huge, but I didnt get anything for myself as it was really difficult to shop around with A. But I did bought some kids clothes for A and my friend's daughter. ... read more

Day 5: 30Aug2023 (Tues) - Sunny As expected, it was a rough night as A was running fever over the night. We were unsure if his fever would break in the morning and if we could still continue our trip for the day. Husband went to get some bakery from Dunsborough bakery while we waited for A to wake up. The bakes were not too bad. While eating, A woke up feeling much better than yesterday. He also ate a little of the bakes. As we were running late behind time, I made some adjustment to the itinerary. 1st stop: Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. We did not went up the Lighthouse, but did a short walk along the trail. The weather was great and the scenery was even better. Lots of greenery and the ocean can be ... read more