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Published: December 9th 2015
After the Scotland/Iceland road trips, Steph and I were very much looking forward to another journey on the road. And so we did! Making the decision to fly to Western Australia, making Perth our starting point to explore the underrated Southwest. We rented a campervan (our first mobile home!) and had a whale of a time on the roads with our trusted buddy which had a small stove, mini fridge and a space just big enough for both of us to feel comfortable staying in 😊 Our 9D/8N round trip started from Perth down to Margaret River region (passing by Bunsbury) then towards Pemberton, Walpole and Denmark area before heading further east to charming Albany town and back to Perth, ending with a short round trip up north to the sparkling Pinnacles desert. Here's the highlights of our Perth-fect road trip:
1) Perth - short yet lasting memories I've often mentioned in previous posts about how i always loved to meet friends overseas and this trip is no different. We reunited with Eric, my buddy from JC (high school) days, and he brought us around the city on our first and last day. More than the quaint little Leederville
Perth
Meet up with old friend in Perth!district where we had pizza for dinner, and the pristine night view of the city atop tranquil King's Park, I've enjoyed the company of Eric the most, catching up mostly on our lives for the past year. Treasured the conversations immensely. Of course, after more than 4 years here, he brought a fresh perspective of living in Perth as a foreign tertiary student and gave wonderful recommendations of where to go/eat in town. Along with many others' views, Perth ranks very top in terms of work/life balance! My other fav times in Perth would be enjoying a relaxing breakfast at
Tarts, having Grill'd at
Mt Lawley and just roaming along the streets which reminded me so much of
exchange times in the UK.
2) Rottnest Adventure After a fuss-free train ride to neighbour city Fremantle, we took the morning ferry to Rottnest from the boatshed harbour. Rottnest was amazingly beautiful, with clear blue seas comparable to those in Boracay, and landscapes not trampled by too much commercialisation. We took the usual mode of transport - cycle - to get around the island and it was kind of a right-wrong move. We enjoyed the rides mostly due to the
lush greeneries as we cycled along, coupled with the seaside sceneries which greeted us at various parts. Some paths required a tad more effort though (Steph pushing the bike up slopes is a testimony to that!). We had our stuff and gears on our bikes and we managed to snorkel as well. For like a good... 5 mins before rain caught us off guard and we headed for shelter. hahaha. That's when we thought the choice was 'wrong', as the rain continued till we headed back to the Settlements where we had a late lunch. We managed to sneak in some shots with the resident Quokkas thereafter with another short loop around the north coast before cycling back to the jetty. We were dead beat after this rainy adventure but in short, Rottnest will satisfy just about any Nature lover, just pray for good weather! Oh, and hopefully hit on some discounts on the pretty steep ferry tickets ('cos we thankfully did).
3) Bunbury Farmer's Market Our first pitstop at a unique market. After adjusting well to the vehicle and driving down south for a good 2 hours or so, we stockpiled on some food at Bunbury Farmer's
Market, ironically the top tourist attraction in the small city-town. The market has huge trays of all kinds of fruits greeting us when we entered and it brought so much excitement to us as we weaved our way through the fresh produce! Here's where we got our supply of potatoes, pasta and ham which lasted us throughout all the home-cooked meals we had during the trip :D Unforgettable... for the tummies.
4) Taunton Farm Holiday Park First 2 nights spent here in this family friendly caravan park were enjoyable and perhaps most memorable. Situated about halfway between Dunsborough and Margaret River town, it was the perfect location to base ourselves in and explore the region. After navigating some unsealed roads at Cape Naturaliste and soaking in the chilling sea breeze at the edge of Sugarloaf rocks, we headed for home at Taunton Farm, where we got our own small plot of land for buddy Campervan. Here's where we had so much fun cooking our first meal here using the campervan's mobile stove, where we bounced crazily on the giant jumping pillow, swung our worries away on the swings, fed the farm animals with fellow kiddos, conjured 2 breakfasts
Margaret River Region
Beautiful Vineyards scattered all across and another sumptuous dinner, and shared our first of many nights in the van.
5) Margaret River Region Vineyards, Wineries, Chocolates and more. The region is famous for its wineries but we found almost everything else too! The Margaret River Region map was our best friend for the 2 days we had here as we hopped from 1 vineyard to the next; from Cowaramup town to the next; from the seaside lookout point to the best ice cream next. Top locations include:
Margaret River Chocolate Factory, where we had the best hot chocolate drink and tasted awesome chocolate pellets;
Squid Lips for its budget friendly yet delicious fish n chips and squid,
North Point lookout at Gracetown where we walked along cliff edges;
Simmos Ice Cream for well, its ice cream (haha);
Yallingup Maze for trapping us in the human maze and more; last but not least
Brookwood Estate for the most luxurious and chill lunch overlooking lush vineyards.
6) Gloucester Tree - Karri Forest Explorer After Margaret River, we headed east to Pemberton. In fact, we spent most of our time in Pemberton at the Gloucester Tree, where stared in awe at the towering trees
Alpaca Farm
Spot the odd one out and took in the freshest of air amongst these giants. But among these is a giant of giants, THE Gloucester Tree where installations enabled us to climb up some 50+ metres up. The look as we went higher up the tree was thrilling and a lil' scary to be honest! The view from the platform at the top was gorgeous. I felt like the Lion cub in Lion King! Raised above all.
7) Alpaca and Animal Farm After driving down to Walpole, a picnic lunch (pan-fried pizza!) near Nornalup Inlet, we headed to Steph's favourite place of the trip:
Denmark Animal Farm & Pentland Alpaca Stud. There, she, just transformed into a lil' girl, and went crazy playing along with the alpaca (highlight) and the other farm animals, including kangaroos, koalas, baby goats, horses, emus, etc. Great place to be a child all over, alongside super friendly mates and feed them till they grow FAT. Had much fun there with the Alpacas, trying to catch selfies/wefies and irritating them!
8) William Bay National Park (Denmark) One of the most scenic landscape of the trip,
Greens Pool and
Elephant Rocks Beach were gorgeous. Standing atop the giant
Albany
Emu Pt beach, lovely end of the town with beach go-ers enjoying the sunday night! rocks by the sea, we watched as huge waves crash against them repeatedly, with the sun hovering on the other end. This place reminds me of Neist Point on the Isle of Skye: by the edge, overlooking endlessness, with silhouettes shots looking incredible. Would have been a great place to catch the sunset!
9) Albany & Surrounds Top spot for a perfect weekend. We headed to the Boatshed market which opens every Sunday morning, and we shared a grilled burger and therapeutic coffee. It was relaxing to just soak in the atmosphere, listen to the live music and watch the buzz go round. We drove along the coast, headed to the viewing point at the top of Mt Clarence, and then took it easy at Emu Point Beach where locals were enjoying the sunny weather. A slow yet lovely afternoon! The Albany Wind Farm lookout was a plus thereafter, where views of the ocean are unparalleled. A pity it was too cold for us so we headed back to town early to catch the sunset. One of my favourite moments of the trip was definitely cuddling together under the blanket, sitting by the rocks at the jetty and
The Pinnacles Desert
Moon peeking in from the corner! watching the Sun descend beyond the horizons. Beautiful. The moment, the view, the company. The night was made even better with a wonderful stay with Ian at
Pukeko's Nest. I guess we spent some time contemplating about life then, and just reliving all the good times during the trip. Well, 'cos the next day meant heading back towards Perth, and the nearing of the inevitable end of our trip...
10) The Pinnacles topped it up! The buffet feast for our eyes saved the best dish for the last. Amazing landscape there at the Pinnacles Desert, where thousands of rocks of various sizes scattered astonishingly across the sandy land. We arrived at just about the right time where the setting sun gave the place a bright warm glow. Watching sunset here on the last night in WA gave the trip a fitting end!
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Lynn Howard
non-member comment
Inspired for Australia
My husband and I have a trip in the works for New Zealand - thank you for this post. I think we will extend it and find our way to Australia too! Lynn Howard Author http://www.amazon.com/Write-Books-Travel-World-Doctor-ebook/dp/B0193VYJOY