Perth Holiday - Any Suggestions/Advice/Tips?

moonbaa,

huh.. then when i go there in early dec, got citrus fruits? haha.. if dun have, then i dun make the way down to orange grove le.

i have thought of wonky farm and country life farm, but seemed like too many farms in my itinerary le.. sunflowers farm looks good, and will be going to caversham park too.
 


kk
i suggest u give goldengrove a miss lah. u are better off with strawberry farm.

my kids also had fun at caversham park so i dont think u should drop it.

sunflower farm got very good reviews, think its worth going. most likely i'm going to country life farm as its the nearest after yallingup shed. moreover MR hideaway already hv some animals for feeding so i wont visit too many farms.
 
Hi kk,
I thought I'm the only super kiasu one who planned itinerary now for Dec trip haha... so you are one of the kiasu ones too =P

Your's really look quite packed compared to mine. I think maybe cos you're 'experienced' hehe.. it's my 1st self-drive trip and 1st trip to oz, plus I tend to consider my kid's afternoon nap time (she cannot sleep in stroller. Only car seat or room). So if possible, will plan to go back to apt for her nap.

This is my itinerary. Please give comments.

Day 1: Arrive Perth around 2.30pm.
Collect car at airport.
Check in Mont Clare.
Rest + prepare daughter's dinner.
Have dinner at King's Park

Day 2: Caversham Wildlife Park, Whiteman Park
Breakfast with Koala, Train ride, Farm show etc
Go back to apt around 4pm and rest til dinner.

Day 3: Supermarket shopping
Cottesloe Beach
Lunch at Sweet Lips or Kailis at Frementle
Rest at Apt from 1-4pm for nap
Shopping at Carousel (late shopping on Thur)

Day 4: Supermarket shopping.
Travel to Margaret River.
Stop by beaches for picnic lunch.
Check-in Sunflower farm around 4pm.
Play with animals
BBQ dinner

Day 5: Farm animals in morning
Leave for Cowaramup for Candy Cow, wineries etc.
Back at farm around 4.30-5pm
Play with animals again
BBQ dinner at apt/ picnic dinner at beach

Day 6: Farm animals in morning
check out Sunflower farm around 10.30am
Slow drive back to Perth.
Along the way, visit supermarket, remaining factories, Busselton
Have take-out fish and chips at Busselton (recommended by one of the mummies here)
Check in Mont Clare

Day 7: Visit fruit farm / The Maze
Last minute shopping at Midland Mall

Day 8: Check out Mont Clare for 12 noon flight.

My itinerary looks quite empty hor... haha like miss out a lot of fun things
 
kk
Nothing in fudge factory . It is just a small retail shop. I cant remember seeing someone making fudge at all.

The best fudge factory i had been was at Christchurch. They did it on the spot and we had 1st hand try for the freshly baked fudge
 
Shelyn
Are you going to have BBQ at sunflower farm?
If so.... you do need to clean up the BBQ stove.
I stayed at the farm last year, and we had to clean up the bbq pit/stove like crazy.
Then we had a lot of layers of Aluminium foil on top of the stove so we could 'safely' put our food on the foil for bbq.
 
mngo,
haha... it's really so dirty ah?
oh... I did ask the farmer about the bbq pit...
hmm maybe I'll reconsider. If not then use aluminium foil like you did. I tot bbq would be more 'appropriate' at a farm .... to get a complete feel of the countryside
 
Hi Ladies!

I have fine tuned my itinerary again. Can input your feedback? Sigh, really exhausting manzz, even before going there yet haha..

This new itinerary is not so rushed le, i feel. Given more time to take things easy
happy.gif


Day 1:
Reach Perth Airport
Pick Up Car
Drive Car
Reach Margaret River
Reach Sunflowers Animal Farm
Leave Farm and Lunch
To Acacia Chalets
Check In Acacia Chalets
Dinner

Day 2:
Breakfast
To Dunsborough
Reach Cape Naturalise Lighthouse
Lighthouse Tour
Leave Lighthouse to Simmos Ice Creamery
Reach Ice Creamery for Lunch
Leave Ice Creamery to Margaret River
Reach Mammoth Cave
Leave Mammoth Cave to Acacia Chalets
Reach Acacia Chalets
Dinner

Day 3:
Breakfast
To Berry Farm
Reach Berry Farm
Leave Farm and to Candy Cow
Reach Candy Cow
Leave Candy Cow and to Margaret River Providore
Reach MR Providore and Lunch
Leave Providore and to Margaret River Chocolate Factory
Reach MR Chocolate Factory
Leave MR Chocolate Factory and to Margaret River Nuts and Cereals
Reach MR Nuts and Cereals
Leave MR Nuts and Cereals and to Busselton
Reach Busselton and Check in The Dolphin House
Dinner

Day 4:
Breakfast
To Cape Lavendar
Reach Cape Lavendar
Leave Cape Lavendar to Balingup Lavendar Farm
Reach Balingup Lavendar Farm
Leave Farm and to Old Goldfields Orchard
Reach Orchard and Lunch
Leave Orchard and to Busselton
Reach Dolphin House and Dinner

Day 5:
Breakfast
To Yallingup
Reach Yalingup Shearing Shed and Shearing Show
Shearing Show Ends and Tour of Shed
Leave Shed and To Wonky Windmill Farm
Reach Farm and Lunch
Leave Farm and to Busselton
Reach Busselton
Dinner

Day 6:
Breakfast
To Mandura
Reach Mandura and to Abingdon Miniature Village
Lunch at Abingdon Miniature Village and Walk Around
Leave Miniature Village and to Port Bouvard
Reach Bouvard and Check In Jetties on Bouvard

Day 7:
Breakfast
To Rockingham
Reach MacNuts WA
Leave MacNuts WA and to Mandurah Terrace
Reach Mandurah Terrace and Lunch
Catch Bouvard Cruise
Return from Cruise and to Bouvard
Reach Bouvard and Dinner

Day 8:
Breakfast
To Swan Valley
Reach the Maze and Lunch
Leave the Maze and to Mondo Nougats
Reach Mondo Nougats
Leave Mondo Nougats and to Fremantle
Reach Fremantle and Check in Quest Harbour Village
Dinner at Fishing Boat Harbour

Day 9:
Breakfast
To Swan Valley
Reach Caversham Wildlife Park
Farm Show
Wombat and Friends Show
Leave Park to Oggies Ice Cream Café
Reach Café
Leave Café to Fremantle
Reach Fremantle and Dinner at Fishing Boat Harbour

Day 10:
Breakfast
To Fremantle Chocolate Factory
Reach Factory
Leave Factory and to Perth
Reach Kings Park
Leave Park and to Airport
Reach Airport and Return Car
Check In and Lunch
Flight Home
 
Hi Ladies,

I left out these places from my itinerary completely. Should i replace any in the above itinerary with any of the following? Let me know ok?
happy.gif


Swan Valley -
Cuddly Animal Farm
MR Chocolate Factory
Swan Valley Wagon Trails

Bunbury -
Big Swamp Wildlife Park
Lighthouse Lookout

Collie -
Namestay Lavendar Farm

Margaret River -
MR Beverages
Natural Olive Soap Factory
Lake Cave

Dunsborough -
Sugarloaf Rock

Cowaramup -
MR Dairy Company

Yallingup -
Ngilgi Cave
Country Life Farm
 
Sheryln,

Know wat? i too kiasu until last dec went tasmania hubby drove up and down up and down hahahahahaa.. ended up dio traffic summon somemore by exceeding 8 km/h on the way to cradle mountain i think :p

So now i want to take things easy le. But then hor, always ended up cannot resist temptation and stuff in more and more places into itinerary :p

Sigh, got time in sept hols so planning and fine tuning now. Else in term 4, u know lah, hell term :p
 
Swan Valley -
Cuddly Animal Farm
MR Chocolate Factory
Swan Valley Wagon Trails

<font color="aa00aa">Don't need to go Cuddly Animal Farm cos the Sunflower farm is more than sufficient. Cuddly Animal farm is a small farm with very few farm animals (chicken, hamster , rabbits...)
Give Swan Vally Choc factory a miss cos its the same as Margaret river branch one. Trails... no comments</font>

Bunbury -
Big Swamp Wildlife Park
Lighthouse Lookout
<font color="aa00aa">No comments cos i've not been there</font>

Collie -
Namestay Lavendar Farm
<font color="aa00aa">No comments too </font>

Margaret River -
MR Beverages
Natural Olive Soap Factory
Lake Cave
<font color="aa00aa">If you visit Mammoth cave, then just give this a miss. Caves more or less the same. But i think Lake cave is one of the most beautiful cave</font>

Dunsborough -
Sugarloaf Rock
<font color="aa00aa">Well... this is just lookout. more of scenery</font>

Cowaramup -
MR Dairy Company
<font color="aa00aa">I guess nothing much there. They sell cheese and yogurt sort of stuffs</font>

Yallingup -
Ngilgi Cave
Country Life Farm
<font color="aa00aa">Forget abt these two places</font>
 
kk
Since you stay in Fremantle, then might as well check it out. Oh, the MR choc factory has 3 diff choc for free tastings. Unlimited...
So sometimes i see people bringing a small container to put those free samples.
 
shelyn
It was quite dirty really. Lots of leaves, ashes and dunno what else. Err.... and spider web.
Did the owner tell you the condition of the bbq pit? It's a portable pit actually.
 
mngo,

The bbq pits in apartments and houses, they are all gas operated ya?

What do we normally get for bbq? Aluminium foil? bbq sauces?
 
shelyn
its ok to take it easy esp its your 1st self drive trip &amp; to Oz
happy.gif



kk
i cant comment much on those places u left out in your itineary coz i havent been there except MR choc factory in swan
biggrin.gif

but u can give that a miss since u will be dropping by the one at MR, its the same actually, just a retail shop.
 
kk
The bbq pits are all gas operated. If the stove works alright, then you just have to start the 'fire' from the bbq pit (like press a button or so).

BBQ stuffs to get
1) Oil spray / Margarine
2) Tongs (will be provided by hotel)
3) Serviettes
4) Aluminium foil (for us is a must)
5) Chilli/Sauces/Seasoning (any type)

What do we buy for bbq
1) Chicken wings
2) Sausages (ang mo favorite)
3) Prawns
4) Capsicums / Veg
5) Onions
 
mngo,

Hmm i should really try it this time round. Didn't try any bbq at aussie before. Moreover all accommodation come with bbq, except the one at fremantle which is shared by all i think.
 
hi mngo,
if we provide our own wire mesh would it be better? Cos I intend to bbq for the 2 nites that i'm there leh. Other nites I'm staying at MOnt Clare not much chance for bbq. If it's those portable ones like in sg, then just replace their wire mesh with a new one then ok liao issit?

The farmer only mention that there's gas bbq in each unit and a well-used bbq pit at the playground/picnic area lor... if not then no choice just use stove to fry haha

by the way, are there a lot of mosquitoes in oz? =P in sg here when it's hot and humid there's a lot of mosquitoes.
 
kk,
haha... my photos all on my facebook.. let me see if i can move some to public photo album.. :p

yes.. i oso regretted not spending more time at MR region... there's so much more to see... i could only visit a few... definitely worth going back again in future...
happy.gif


i think there's a train schedule online if u go to the whiteman park website.. on other days, there's tram rides etc which u can take in the park too..
happy.gif
when we were there, there's only train ride available..

caversham park itself is rather boring (if u want to compare to our zoo).. but i like the farmshow..
happy.gif
it's my first cow milking experience.. :p oso first time seeing wool shearing... :p

sunflower farm is gd! the animal farm got lots of animals.. the best part for the kids will be tractor ride and pony rides.. not sure if they r available for animal farm visitors.. we stayed there.. so these were inclusive..
happy.gif


shelyn,
u may want to check when's the tractor ride available during ur stay at sunflower animal farm.. it's not available everyday.. it's quite fun.. the owner drove to a small stream where the kids got to do toy boat racing.. den we roasted mashmallows by the fire.. quite an experience for those of us fr the city..
happy.gif


talking abt insects, during our drive on the highway to n fro MR, we drove past swams of insects... it's so many tt our windscreen was full of splatters of dead insect bodies.. we even heard the insects smashing against our windscreen like raindrops... windscreen was so blur tt we got to use wipes to wipe away the bodies... else can't see well.....

mngo,
hahaha.. ya the bbq pit is terrible.. :p we dun dare to cook on it... ended up 'grilling' our steaks using the frying pan in the kitchen... :p

ohh, one thing i observe.. seems like angmoh dunnoe how to appreciate drumsticks and chicken wings... when we were at the supermarket, chicken upper thigh cost nearly doubled of drumsticks.. spent only $2.50 for a pack of 3 drums 2 wings... :p the upper thigh easily cost $8 for pack of 5 i think.. :p
 
mngo,

got mozzies?? only remembered flies.. irritating ones cos they kept flying around.

Shihui,

For caversham park, u catched the farm show, did u catch the wombat and friends show? Boring ah.. hmmmm.. now i planned to spend 2.5 hours there, can ma?

Regarding insects, wonder the mosquito repellent patches sold in singapore help? hahaha..

So happy to know yesterday that a friend with his family (with 2 kids) are going to perth in dec too! We have promised to meet up and have a bqq together if possible
happy.gif
 
kk,
yes.. i watched the wombat n fren show too... it's more like show n tell.. they will introduce each animal (blue tongue lizard, joey, wombat n parrots).. then u will be allowed to touch them.. there will be phototaking as well.. very simple... the show is not anything like s'pore zoo's.. :p

2.5 hour is ok lah.. u can slowly walk ard the park.. gives u time to explore the place.. then go for 2 shows.. the farm show is quite long..

i brought the mozzie patch along... but din use at all.. coz not many insects in winter... :p
 
Shihui
Ya - for that you are right. Ang Mos only know how to eat breast meat lor. So drums and wings are very cheap! Sometimes one KG less than $3.00.

kk
Yap got mozzies. They bite when we are not aware. We kena many times liaoz.
 
Hi mngo and Shihui,
thanks for the updates on the bbq pit at sunflower farm haha... now i think i'll have bbq at the kitchen stove liao. When I was reading up on places like King's park, the Maze etc, they mention there's bbq pits too. Are the pits there clean enough to use? How come there seems to be bbq pits all over huh? haha... do the ang mos like bbq so much?

I'm staying at sunflower farm on fri and sat nite... hopefully they have tractor rides. Seems like a lot of people regret not spending enough time at MR. Should I extend my stay to 3 nites instead?

I intend to stay at caversham park from around 9am til 4pm leh cos I thought there's a lot of things to do there hehe... from their website looks like a lot of things to do leh. So I think i'll be bored to death if I stay til 4pm.

I'm scared of mosquito bites, esp on my daughter. Don't know why, when mosquitoes bite her, she'll get very big, red swollen bump that takes days to recover one leh. Imagine everyday just 2 mosquitoes bite her, then enough liao
 
haha i juz tot of something strange... wonder whether the mozzie patch we bought, made in asia, works in oz or not. Cos jus like ang mos don't like to eat drumsticks but we asians like, maybe mosquitoes from different places have different 'appetite' too. Maybe they won't like our blood cos not the same taste =P
 
Shelyn
BBQ Pits at king's park is far much cleaner to use.
Even in other parks as well. And yes, ang mos love to bbq v v v v v much. hahaha.

mozzie - mozzies here love singapore blood. my parents and siblings got bitten like crazy.
 
Shelyn,
if u r planning to go whiteman park as well, then it's okie to stay there fr 9am to 4pm..

i spent a whole day there too.. morning at whiteman park (took train rides n explore the park abit).. afternoon at caversham..

if only at caversham, half a day is more than enough.. u will hav ample time to stop and look at every animal's description etc..
 
Hi Shihui,

managed to squeeze in the train ride at whiteman park in my itinerary heehee.. but think i will continue with the maze in the afternoon as i foresee i may miss the farm show after the ride. So i am placing caversham park on the next day.
 
Just returned from Perth yesterday. Din have an enjoyable trip as my toddler was down with high fever on the 2nd day of our trip. The temp is as low as 6 degrees in the night.

We stayed at a fren's place at Bibra Lake which is quite near to the airport and the city. Arrived at midnite last sat.

It'll be very fast exit from the airport if u do not have any medicine or food to declare. Otherwise, very long queue as they need to check through all the food items. I heard from frens staying in Perth it usually depends on their moods on the selection of food. Medicine or children foodstuff usually no prob. They also allow bengawan solo food to get across without any prob. We got an apple from the plane but it was confiscated.

On Sun, we woke up bit later. Went to the city to collect our rented car from bay waters. It's a local car rental co which charges reasonable prices. Rented the car from sun 11 plus to following sun noon costs ard A$372 together with gps &amp; insurance. The gps not very helpful and may take u through the longer routes. Best to depend on maps from airports or goggle maps.

We went to Fremantle and had ciderellos fish &amp; chips. Cost A$66 for 2 sets, 1 soup &amp; 1 salad. Went Fremantle market. Quite a small market hence not much things to buy. More on souvenirs.

We went to kings park, very big park but quite cold in the evening. U can see the city scenery and breathe the fresh air. Settled our dinner at Hog's breathe restaurant at Northbridge. Ard 20 to 30+ per pax? Famous for steak.

On mon, we drove 5 hrs to Albany. Stopped at Kojonup after 3hrs drive for a break. Can see she eps, horses and cows along the way. We took Albany highway. Petrol nearer Perth is cheaper than further south. If u visit Coles, u can use the discount coupon from the receipt to net off angst petrol for shell.

We stayed at pelican holiday resort. Booked under wotif.com. Realized cheaper to book from the resort directly than thru agent. Paid A$125 for 1st nite. Booked directly and paid $95 for subsequent night. Wanted to stay at Cape Howe Cottage at Denmark but my son had high fever. It's ulu, located in the midst of forest. Not easy to locate. Recept is within walking distance in another cottage. The snug is nearest to the main road. We gotta drive thru a bit muddy route.

If u wanna stay there, betta to order dinner from them or cook on yur own. There's a kitchen. I'll be given binoculars to view the surrounding too. They are famous for curry. Ant A$45 for set of 2.

Nevertheless, my son was running high fever so we headed back to Albany as Albany Regional Hospital is within 10 mins drive from Pelican. In OZ, if u wanna see the doc, u need to make appointment and some clinics only serve Australians. Hence, we were advised to visit the hospital. One visit costs us A$166 excluding medicine, u gotta drive to the pharmacy at either Middleton road or York street to get the medication which is not cheap.

Pelican also has it's own kitchen. Cosy but the shower head a but difficult to adjust to the right temp. Overall, it was a pleasant stay. They have free wifi access but very slow. Internet is very slow in Australia. We bought a opts prepaid card for A$30 for 2GB.

Albany itself has a map so if u use the map, it's very easy to navigate. But it turns dark ard 6 plus. Betta not to drive in the night time as not easy to find the way. For driving in OZ, u need to follow the speed limit strictly.

Near Albany plaza, there's hungry jacks which is the burger kings here. Besides hungry jacks, there's oso KFC. Albany plaza only has gloria jeans and a bakery. There's also k-mart.

We wanted to go Margaret river. Had booked vintage accommodation but due to my son's condition, we cancelled the accommodation. They were very nice as they charged us A$25 for penalty though we cancelled the night before. They we emphatic about my son's fever.

As my son got better back in per, we went caversham wildlife park the next day. It costs A$22 for adult and A$9.50 for child (3 to 12 yes old). Were a bit late for the farm show. They ace 3 timings a day. Quite interesting as we witnessed farm shearing and tried cow milking.

My son enjoyed feeding the kangaroos and touching the koala bear. We saw a baby koala too. Then we headed ot choc factory. It's not very big but there are samples for milk choc, white choc and dark choc. About A$4.95 for small packet. They also sold ice-cream and a there's a cafe inside.

We then proceeded to mondo nougat. Small shop. Nougats are quite expensive. They have assorted nougats at 1kg for A$35. Or smaller packets. We bit 3 pkts of 500g for A$45. We went garden city to do some shopping. The children clothes selling at k-mart are cheap and good. There's a food court but the food are quite exp. Shared a pizza with hubby for A$11.50. It's opp McDonalds. Quite tasty.

Went to a chinese rest for dinner. Quite crowded. Serve nice chinese food.

For vat claims, the invoice must be at least A$300. At the airport, most of the food outlets are outside the departure gate. Best to grab something if u are hungry be be before u enter the departure gate.

We gotta cut short the trip as my son had diahorrea after consuming the antibiotics. It was quite a nightmare. Otherwise, WA is a nice place to go except that the food can be quite expensive. Betta to book accommodations with self contained kitchens to DIY meals.
 
JT
Food court food is normal price. It's like prices in any part of Australia , and also in New Zealand.

Ladies , if anyone is expecting the price like singapore, malaysia , then you will be in for a disappointment. It may seem expensive compared to sg but if you have been to other parts of the world (Europe/NZ/AU/USA), it's like that.
 
Hi I am going to Perth in Nov.. have booked my Perth City and MR accommodation. However, still haven't decide on Albany Accomodation. can someone advise where shd I stay in Albany? I am traveling with my hubby and 18mth old gal.
 
Hi JT,

Wow thanks for the detailed recount of the events during your trip. It will be useful for me.

By the way, mummies who are in the know, any idea how strict the officials are regarding milk powder? Is it really compulsory to bring unopened tin there? Cos my girl is drinking enfa which is not sold in australia and they don't have 400g tin. So I got to lug 900g tin all the way there and lug the half empty tin back...

mngo,
I'm not sure whether it's you, but I think last time there was a mummy who recommended a nice fish and chip takeaway at busselton to you? Is the name of that shop Cod Rocks on Queen? Did you go there to try in the end? I remember she said it's next to the Equinox Restaurant. I tried to search online and the only likely shop is Cod Rocks.

So excited and looking forward to the trip.... But I have to wait for 3 more months.... still a long way.... kk, when are you going? I'm going from 30 Nov to 7 Dec. So sad that we can't go in Sept if not we can catch the flower festival at King's Park. Sigh....
 
shelyn
so far i usually bring unopen tin otherwise not enough to last for the whole trip. i will be bringing 2 x 900g tins for both my kids leh!
 


shelyn,

I always bring unopen tin too to aussie. Heard if unpoen, they won't question. But of course, in ur handcarry luggage, u are allowed to bring small amount for consumption on the plane, u can say that.

haha tell u, long long story. Now i am changing my dates with SQ. Hope to leave on 1 dec and back on 12 dec. Yes! Extend by 2 more days - from 10 days to 12 days trip :p My initial dates were 5 dec to 14 dec.

So now i am negotiating with them and hopefully settled by this week
happy.gif


Wah dun talk about september. Just finished marking 2 stacks of sec 4 prelim papers.
 
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