To celebrate my husband's birthday, we decided to dine at the famous Rockpool Bar & Grill. Behind the wooden doors, we walked through a long corridor of dim lights which leads into the main restaurant. Once we were in the restaurant, we would hear the quiet chatter of patrons while we were ushered to a cosy corner table. The whole atmosphere was classy and yet not intimidating. After browsing the menu, Andrew decided on the Wagyu Rib eye ($119) and I selected the Cape Grim Dry Aged Fillet ($55). This place has won multiple food and wine awards over the years and we had high hopes for our dinner. At the end of dinner, we were both satisfied with the texture and quality of the steaks we had. His steak had some marbled fat and mine was all lean meat as I usually prefer. If you are ordering side dishes, you might consider to just order 1 to share. The portion of cauliflower we ordered was quite alot. I would say price is reasonable as compared to Singapore? A Wagyu Rib eye at Raffles hotel here could set you back $200 or more. I would recommend this place for a romantic dinners because we certainly did have a romantic evening here. Do ensure you make your reservations at least a day in advance as the restaurant is fully packed by 7pm even on a weekday. For full menu selection, visit their website at: http://www.rockpool.com/rockpoolbarandgrillperth/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2014/04/Main-menu47.pdf
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Hyden is 340km east of Perth city via Brookton or 350km via the historic town of York (which we visited). About 100,000 tourists makes that way to Hyden every year to visit the wave rock. Entrance fee is AUD10per vehicle. You will issued a small ticket to display on your car's windscreen while you are in the park. The wave rock (top left picture) is a granite cliff what measures 15m in height and 110m in length. The "wave" was caused by weathering and water erosion over many years and some crystals were dated as being 2700 million years old! Walk along the wave rock and at the end of the wave, you will find metal steps ascending up to the top of the the wave rock itself. The view from the top is quite something and looks out on one side to a beautiful golf course and another side to the endless bushland. Above the wave rock are more odd shaped granite rocks that you are grab fun pictures with (top right picture).
Swan Valley is about 25 min east of Perth City and a great place to spend your weekends. There are over 150 places to wine and dine in this area, some of which are award winning wineries and restaurants. You can self drive or take a day tour around swan valley. We chose to self drive about this region since we had a car that was loaned from a generous friend. That also means we could take our own time to visit the places we wanted to see without being rushed from one place to another if we were on a day tour. First stop, lunch at Black swan winery and restaurant. I chanced upon this place while browsing through some brochures and it was highly recommended for its food so we set our GPS and headed there. Let me say this: WE DID NOT REGRET lunch here! Oh the food was just delectable! My husband ordered the King henry pork chop and I had the Lamb shank wellington. Both cost only AUD 39 each, and for the quality of food, I'd gladly pay for it! On top of that we had the window seat and had the best view of the winery while dining. Let's talk about the mash potatoes first, might I say was one of the best I'd ever tasted! The pork chop was tender and juicy and my husband wiped every bit off this plate! As for my lamb shank, it was wrapped in a delicious warm crust that tasted a little like croissant. The lamb itself was fully flavored and very tender too. My husband looked at me in surprise as I clean off all the food on my plate as well. "Wow I have never seen you finish your lamb before!" He exclaimed. Ok, I admit it was terribly greedy of me but it was definitely worth the calories. Haha! To compliment our food, we had a bottle of the Black swan classic white. It was smooth and easy to go down. If only I had more luggage space, I would bring some back! For their full menu, visit their website at: http://www.blackswanwines.com.au/index.php/restaurant/our-restaurant-menu For more information visit their website at: http://www.swanvalley.com.au/About_Swan_Valley For swan valley tours visit: http://www.experienceperth.com/tours/tours-by-location/swan-valley-tours House of Honey Address: 867 Great Northern Hwy, Perth WA 6056, Australia Phone:+61 8 9296 3635 Opens on:
Website: www.thehouseofhoney.com.au/ After food and wine and honey, time to hit the brewery. Elmar's is just 1 min drive from Black swan winery. For just AUD5 you get to taste 3 different kinds of beer (picture above) and for AUD10 you can taste 6 different kinds of beer. My 2 favorites were the Ein Stein Pilsner - 4.8% and Kick Back Wheat Beer - 4.8%. Both were refreshing and not too bitter for my liking :) The weather was just perfect and the sun was definitely doing his job well. Perfect weather for a day out roaming swan valley and having beer outdoors. To see their various beer selection visit their website at: http://www.elmars.com.au/Perth-Brewery.aspx
That was the end of our day at swan valley and boy was it a fruitful trip! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves here and fully intend to visit again when we have the chance. There were still many wineries/restaurants we failed to find time to visit. Goodbye for now, swan valley! See you again soon!
I don't know about you, but for me, I love cute cuddly animals, so Caversham wildlife park is my idea of a great afternoon spent! Caversham is about 25 min drive from Perth City and perfect for a full day of fun. You can play with some of animals and have pictures taken with many of them. The day we visited Caversham also happens to be my husband's birthday and you would think two adults like us shouldn't be having this much fun in a wildlife park but we thought it was a fun way to spend his birthday! Caversham Wildlife Park is located inside Whiteman Park. To enter Whiteman Park, please use either Lord Street entrance or Beechboro Road entrance. Parking isn't cheap in Perth but at Whiteman park, parking is FREE! So you can absolutely take your own sweet time to hang around the animals in the wildlife park. If you are here for the whole day, don't miss any these shows and the chance to cuddle with the animals in the park. Entrance Fee is AUD25 per adult. Caversham is open every day of the year from 9.00am to 5.30pm (Except Christmas Day 25th December). Last entry time is 4.30pm. Farm Shows - 10am, 1pm, 3pm Meet wombat and friends - 11am, 2pm, 3.45pm Meet the Koalas - 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 4.30pm Feed the Kangaroos 10am - 5.30pm The first show we caught was meet the wombat and friends. You can hold a snake here or see some birds close up out of their cages. There is something just terribly cute about wombats and it was fun to touch and have our photo take with her (Picture above). Wombat is the largest living, burrowing Marsupial and weight about 25-35kg. They are pretty muscular animals and are able to run short sprints to get away from predators. Wombats feet mainly on native grass and from my opinion quite harmless to humans. Our next stop was to see the red kangaroos and wallabies. You can feed them with food obtain from the wildlife park. Refrain from feeding them any of your own food as you may end up making them ill. With the sun shining warmly on the grass patches, it it no wonder you see these animals having a nice sun tan or nap in the sun. Especially now that is winter and temperatures have dropped to about 16 degrees or less. Next up, we headed over to the farm animals area where you can touch or carry smaller animals. Of course that also means you gotta try catch them while they are walking about the pen. I don't know how that little girl did it, but she ran around the pen trying to catch the chicken. That was truly hilarious! Last stop, was to go see the koalas! I love koalas~ and any animal of the bear family or resembles a bear? Anyways, they are just silly looking and fascinating to watch while they move around in slow motion. Koalas feeds on Eucalyptus leaves which are considered toxic to most animals. So they are equipped with a specialized digestive system to break down toxin. In total, Koalas sleep between 18-20 hours a day due to their low diet (to conserve energy). Many of the koalas we saw were fast asleep on a branch looking ridiculously adorable. Only a few of them were awake, so we got to take photos with one of them. Somehow, this koala also seems to be about to nod off. Look at his head tilting down! All in all, we had a great time at Caversham Wildlife Park and would highly recommend you to visit this place too. Dont forget your cameras! For more information, visit their website at:http://www.cavershamwildlife.com.au/
Read reviews by other travellers here: http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g2486522-d565248-Reviews-Caversham_Wildlife_Park-Whiteman_Swan_Greater_Perth_Western_Australia.html
Pinnacles is one of western Australia's iconic tourist attractions and a must see in my point of view. The drive from Perth City to Pinnacles desert will take you about 2.5 hours without any pit stops. From my previous post however, you will see that we took at short pit stop at Lancelin to rest and then to Cervantes to grab a bite before driving up to Nambung National park where the famous Pinnacles is.
The entrance fee is AUD12 per vehicle, this also includes entry to Yanchep National Park which is along the road up to Nambung (1hr drive from Perth). However due to the limited daylight, it would be terribly rush to visit both places in the same day. In the end, we gave Yanchep a miss for this trip. Payment is done at the entrance to Pinnacles and you may stop your car anywhere in the desert to get some photos. Pinnacles desert stretches over the land for about 190 hectares and contains thousands of limestone pinnacles some as high at 5 meters. The best time to see the Pinnacles is during sunrise or sunset where the pinnacles cast a pattern of shadows over the sand. These limestone pinnacles are a result of the combination of wind, rain and the cementing agent of calcium. When I first witness the stone pillars, I was fascinated at the different shapes of the rocks and with my vivid imagination, these pillars suddenly morphed into the outline of animals or space ships. If you have the time to visit Pinnacles, don't forget to bring along your tripod and camera. This is a great place for family fun photos or even pre wedding photos! The contrast of the warm golden sand against any wedding gown would be simply beautiful. Pinnacles is great fun for adult or child alike. Take a funny photo here or just enjoy the spectacular work of art God created for mankind. Afterall, our Lord is the most brilliant artist there is in all the universe. I for one, stand in awe of our Lord and of all His creations. Praise the Lord! For more information visit their website at: http://www.visitpinnaclescountry.com.au/pages/the-pinnacles/ For day tours from Perth city, visit the website below: http://www.australianpinnacletours.com.au/full-day-tours/1-day-pinnacles-koalas-sand-boarding-4wd-adventure On our way to Nambung National Park to see the Pinnacles, we took at stop by Lancelin beach for a rest stop and to grab some photos. The weather was just perfect with the sun shining brightly and cool breeze sweeping by our faces. Thank God for good weather! I had to call on my friends in Singapore to pray in agreement with me to ensure good weather after two days of rain in Perth. God is faithful as usual and cleared the skies for us. God is good, praise Him!
The great weather had a cheering effect on our spirits and we were excited to get to our destination and check out the famous Pinnacles at Nambung National Park. But first after 1.5 hours drive, we took at pit stop at Lancelin to check our their beautiful beaches and sand dunes! If only we had more hours in the day to just sit back and breath in the salty breeze on the beach, perhaps have a picnic! But as you know, we have limited daylight in winter so we couldn't spend too much time lazing on the sand. In the small town on Lancelin, you are able to rent sand boards to go sand boarding on the dunes. We decided however not to waste money on that but visited the sand dunes just the same to witness it's beauty. Its amazing just to sit on the soft sand and enjoy the sun (there is no way to enjoy sun in Singapore, it is TOO HOT!). This will be one of the rare moments I actually appreciate the warm bake of the sun. Along the sand dunes were children running and improvising sand boarding with cardboard pieces! Very cost efficient indeed! Next time I come back, I will bring my own cardboard to sand board. Don't forget to stop over Lancelin if you are on the way to Nambung National Park. Heed my advice, bring a cardboard to sandboard, a bottle of wine and some sandwiches for a beach picnic. Great way to spend a sunny afternoon! For more information on Lancelin and what you can do there, visit their website: http://www.4wdingaustralia.com/travel-western-australia/lancelin/ Staying more than a day in the region of Margaret river? Try the Cape to Cape walk trail that stretches for 135 km along the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge between the lighthouses of Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin in the far south west of Western Australia. The coastal and forest sights here are spectacular and perfect for any photographer and lover of nature. If you are adventurous you may consider to walk the full trail which will take you about 5-7 days (depending on walking speed). But for me, I had time constraint and opted for a shorter trail instead. Since there are numerous access point to the trail, you can choose to walk for as short as 1-2 hours to 1-2 days. When we first arrived at one of the access points, I noted the salty breeze from the ocean and took a deep breath to take in great fresh air. If you are a city girl like me, you will realize that fresh air is a privilege to have altogether. Most cities are polluted and every time I get to spend in nature puts a smile on my face. Couple with great temperature 12-16 degrees in winter, I was happy as a lark! The trail stretches out far beyond my eyes could see and the vast view of the ocean and crashing waves was a great way to start walking the trail. There is something just theraputic about listening to the songs of nature isn't it? I could sit here for hours just staring out at the ocean and humming a song to the Lord. Our great God created ALL of these beauty for us to marvel! Bring a picnic mat for the beach and some and you are set for a romantic afternoon. Even if you aren't travelling as a couple like us, you can still enjoy this trail. Getting the kids running around the beach and hiking up the walk trail is great exercise anyways. You are advised to wear shoes with a good grip just to ensure you don't slip on the trail when it's slippery and bring lots of water to curb dehydration. In winter, it might rain pretty much anytime, so bring an umbrella just in case! For more information, you may visit their website: http://www.capetocapetrack.com.au/pages.asp?code=10 Jewel cave is one place not to be missed if you are in the region. A few steps into the cave and you will find yourself enthralled by the visual display of nature. Many of the stalactites have taken thousands of years to form and here you will also find the longest straw stalactites found in any tourist cave in the world. This cave has even won a gold medal in the "Tourist Attractions" category at the WA Tourism Awards in 2011. The entrance fee will include a guide to take you around the 4 massive chambers of the cave. The full tour will take about 35-40min of your time. Do wear sturdy shoes to avoid falling while climbing the small steps in the cave. As you begin to walk through each section of the cave, your guide will stop to explain to you just how long the stalactites took to form and how it was formed. With different lightings in different areas of the cave, you will suddenly be looking at formations that resembles broccoli or jelly fish or waves or candle wax. We even witnessed a formation that looks like fairies hanging onto vines! Suddenly the cave transforms into a magical place of surprise when the light changes color and you let your imagination just go wild! The visual effect is simply amazing to think that mother nature was the culprit of all these beauty. Many raw crystals line the walls of the caves, sparkling in the dim light and I guess that would be what gave the cave it's name: Jewel Cave. Address : Caves Road, AUGUSTA Website www.margaretriver.com Opening hours Guided tours of Jewel Cave run daily at 9.30am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm. Contact : 8 9757 7411
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