Australia Holiday - Day 6

I have PLENTY of photos for Day 6, so I need to do photo collages instead of  posting single photos  ;)

Day 6

Just like Day 5, we started the day with a leisurely breakfast at our B&B. This Noble Grape Bed & Breakfast was the most expensive accommodation of entire trip. (AUD 149 = close to RM500 per night. Ouch!!). But definitely a lovely experience. The hosts Donna and Rod were very warm and welcoming. So nice to chat with them :)  For breakfast on Day 5, we also had a nice chat with a middle aged couple from Perth. On Day 6, we were the only guests so we had the whole place to ourselves! 

Breakfast @ Noble Grape B&B

Inside the Room

So comfy! Loved the little details like milk in the fridge, nice blue china plates (not the cheap type!)  and a stack of DVDs to watch :)

Around the B&B.  Bottom right is a photo with Donna.

 

Checked out of the hotel then we went on our way. 

First stop was another winery - Eagle Vale

@ Eagle Vale Winery 

As usual, hubby took his time to savour the wine and ask questions. (the owner was a friendly french lady). No complaints at all from me cos I happily stood outside and "soaked" up the scenery!

 

Next item on our itinerary was a Cave Visit. There were 3 caves to choose from - Jewel Cave, Mammoth Cave and Lake Cave.  We chose Mammoth Cave cos it was the most kid friendly.

Inside Mammoth Cave
Verdict?  Nice but not really mind blowing. I'm an Ipoh girl who has seen plenty of caves!

Outside Mammoth Cave

I enjoyed the short walk from the cave exit to the car park. (he he...enjoyed this more than inside the cave)

There was a slight drizzle when we left the cave. Luckily, it only started to pour when we reached the car.  Phew!

We drove straight to our accommodation for Day 6 - Pemberton Farm Chalet. Yup, one of the things I really wanted was a farm stay  :)  I did warn hubby that after the comfy stay at Noble Grape, he had to lower down his expectations for that nights accommodation!  He was rather apprehensive when he drove to the s-m-a-l-l and rather steep slip road heading towards the chalet.  Ha ha.

Turned out the chalets were very basic but ....... definitely no regrets!  More on the chalets later.


After a quickie lunch at the chalet, we headed to the nearby Gloucester Tree.

Gloucester Tree
Quick info from Wikipedia:  

1. It is a 72metre giant karri tree
2. It's the world's second tallest fire lookout tree

3. There are 153 spikes that spiral round the tree

4. Only 20% climb to the top of the tree, most make it part way before turning back.

Guess what.....I was part of the 20%!!! Can't believe I actually made it all the way to the top! Got such a "high" (literally too. he he) 

The view at the top was absolutely fantastic. And a bit scary too cos the wind was pretty strong when I was up there and I could see n feel the branches moving. My legs were super wobbly when I finally got down!

We also visited the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree after that. Then did our customary grocery shopping :)

Then it was on to our next highlight of the day - animal feeding time.

It was SO MUCH fun !!! 

Plenty of photos -

Elyssa was a bit scared at first, but after a while, she got the hang of it.

Check this out - picking freshly laid eggs from the hen house

Kangaroo, Sheep and Chickens

Animal feeding wasn't quite what I expected. I imagined the animals eating calmly from the bucket, but in reality they were practically attacking the bucket. Ate like they haven't been fed for ages. I kept on giggling at the beginning. ;-)



There was one more small highlight before we ended Day 6. We had our own mini BBQ. Having a BBQ in the cold weather and with a view of valleys, fields and animals were just.....what can I say : WOW!
Plus it was my first experience that halfway thru the BBQ, a kangaroo went boing-boing-boing past and then a few sheep when mehhh-mehh-mehhh past. (but luckily they didn't try to eat our food)


We had such a yummy dinner that night - beef steak, sausages, fresh eggs taken by Elyssa earlier, baked beans, bread and tomato relish.  Also popped a bottle of white wine bought from Eagle Winery that morning.

After dinner, hubby lit up the fireplace inside the chalet. Real fire using real firewood!

Fantastic end to a fantastic day :)

---End of Day 6 --

Australia Holiday - Day 5

Day 5 - Margaret River

We started Day 5 with breakfast at Noble Grape B&B. (more on the B&B later). The friendly hostess even prepared a cup of hot Milo for Elyssa :)

Elyssa with her milo, cereal and fresh fruits

The we went off exploring Margaret River...

Couldn't resist taking this photo of cows. Black n white cows, just like from milk cartons!

We headed for Millies Ice-cream farm, but it was closed for winter. We missed it by just a few days.  :(
Well, next item on the itinerary was wine tasting - hubby's highlight of the trip!

Wine Tasting #1 - Watershed Winery

 Reception Area @ Watershed

Next stop - another vineyard:

Wine Tasting #2 -Voyager Estate

"Can I try pleaseeeeeee?????"

No you can't young lady!  But she was given a glass of sparkling grape juice  :) 

Reception Area @ Voyager Estate

I'm no wine drinker but I loved the grounds of Voyager Estate...

A pot of REAL tulips!!  Looks fake huh?

My first thought was "why they put fake flowers here?". he he.

More flowers

Then, we drove to the nearby Leeuwin Estate Winery.

Photo taken @ Leeuwin Estate

So happen there were a few small groups of people there, so hubby decided not to try the wine. Also, we wanted to have lunch there but changed our minds after looking at the dining place. (nice but nothing great)

For lunch we decided to go back to Watershed Winery.

Check out the vineyard view from our lunch table! Priceless!

Elyssa received a kids pack with colouring pencils, puzzles, pictures etc. Good to keep her busy while we enjoyed the view  :)

 Scallop Appetizer and Glass of Wine

 Wait.....must snap photo before eating

The scallops were Yu-Mmy!

5 hour roasted pork belly, err....some custard thing and errr..can't remember

Long fancy description on the menu. The waitress also explained each item and said "all the flavours compliment each other very well".

Our verdict?  Why we came all the way to Australia to eat "Siew Yoke"???  ke keh. 

We shared a Wagyu Beef Burger too

Dining Area (we chose to sit outside)

Close up view of grape vines. 
Winter time....all still botak!  Didn't even manage to see a single grape  ;-)

After the late lunch (plus some playground fun for Elyssa), we set off to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse.

Another Random Roadside Photo

 Absolutely lovely! 

@ Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

 There were strong winds and it was really, really cold!

The Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean here

Brrrrrrr!!!!  For once, we were under-dressed (Other people were wearing thick jackets. Ours were in the car) I was just wearing a t-shirt and a cardi while hubby was wearing a thin sweater. For some strange reasons, we were so cold until we started laughing away!

One for the album

Photo taken by an American guy whom we coincidentally met again 3 days later! And yes, he took another photo for us.

Love the view!

When we were done with Cape Leeuwin, it was too late for the caves so we saved that for the following day. So what else to do?  We stopped by the roadside and took photos with fake cows near our B&B!  Ha ha...don't ask me why.

Did our usual grocery shopping, then had dinner in the hotel room, watched tv and then Zzzzz....


--- End of Day 5---

Australia Holiday - Day 4

On the morning of Day 4, we checked out of our small room in Criterion Hotel.

Teeny room

Elyssa was practically at the door in this photo, so can imagine how small the room was! But what I liked about the hotel was was its central location @ Hay Street. And I liked having a supermarket just next door that had opening hours of 7am to 11pm. We made it a point to drop in every night to see what was on reduced price. Ha ha...the simple pleasures of seeing our favourite coffee milk or ham or yoghurt at almost half the price!  ;-)

Hotel looks nicer from outside

First stop was to picked up our rented car. It was too early for the free bus service (sleepy, sleepy city on a Sunday!) so we ended up walking 20 minutes there.  If I have to walk the streets of KL for 20 minutes, I'm pretty sure I will complain!  But with the nice weather and proper walkways to push Elyssa's stroller, it was a pleasant morning walk.  Coincidentally, there was some sort of run that morning, so there were plenty of people on the main street heading towards run area.

Going for a Run

Should have taken a photo of ourselves too. We were dressed for winter (hey, it was rather cooold!) and these people were in shorts!!

Picked up our Hyundai Sonata (photo taken the next day)

AUD280 for 6 days from Europcar. We toyed with the idea of renting a GPS (AUD10 per day), then ended up getting a Garmin GPS at Harvey Norman for AUD 149 instead.  At least can bring back to M'sia.

We detoured back to the hotel to pick up our luggage, went to Harvey Norman to buy the GPS and then we were off to Margaret River!!!  Aahhhhh......love the blue skies! It was an easy drive and NO TOLL to pay :)

We stopped by at Mandurah town for lunch.

Cicerello's - supposed to be No. 1 Fish n Chips in Western Australia

Portion was huge!

Around AUD 13. Luckily we ordered only 1 set

Verdict?

Ok lar.... nothing to shout about actually. Mr Tomato Sauce hubby wasn't keen on just vinegar on the chips. ;0

Elyssa enjoying her Playground Time 

She had one almost everyday of our entire trip. Playgrounds in Aussie are nice - plenty of equipment, spacious, well maintained and clean.

Wheeee.......

Pelican and sea gulls by the waterfront

Kids playing frisbee

Aaaaahhhhh................ what a life!

We continued our journey after that. 

Random photo of scenery on the way

Unfortunately, it started to rain later :(   It was wet and gloomy when we were at the Busselton Jetty.  So we skipped the train ride.

Did some grocery shopping at Coles then we checked into the lovely Noble Grape B&B in Margaret River.

Booked via Agoda. AUD149 per night

Loved the room!

King Sized Bed + Single bed.

Comfy Armchairs n Flat Screen TV

Even DVDs were provided.

Mini Pantry Area + Toilet

Our Dinner in the Room

Pasta in Carbonara Sauce, Minestrone Soup, Canned Irish Beef Stew, Toasted Bread and Cheese Nachos with Bacon Dip. For dessert, we had fresh strawberries, cashew and macademia nuts.  Yumz!

Watched tv and then Zzzzzzzz.....


--End of Day 4--

Rabbit Food

When I bought carrots yesterday;

Elyssa :  Mummy, You know ah....rabbits don't eat carrots.

Me : Huh?  Then what do they eat?

Elyssa :  Rabbits eat kangaroo food !!! *

 
*Cos at the Caversham Wildlife Park, the kangaroos and rabbits were fed similar-looking dry food pellets

Aiks, I thought visits like that were meant to be educational!  I couldn't help laughing tho!  (ok lar...I explained to her about the food pellets after that)