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This is the continuance of My Perth Diary. This blog is dedicated to a friend of mine, "Yes WMW! You! There's no need to look at other people on your left or right, or even above or below you. It's just to tell you that I can write longer than longest. LOL"

Day One : 29th Dec 2013

Day Two : 30th Dec 2013

The four of us had decided to rent a car during our vacation in Perth. It's easier to move around between Cities. My friend had made an advance online booking with a car rental company in Perth. The next morning, the four of us went to the car rental company to take our car. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the GPS that we required was not available. We felt a bit let down because we had booked the necessary well in advance. But the lady promised us that if one of the GPS being returned back, she will make sure that we have it by tomorrow.

The rental of the car was a bit reasonable. It was about AUD60 which was roughly about USD54 per day. At first, we had booked the car for five days, but then decided just to take for four days. 

The order of the day was to drive around the famous Swan Valley and then go to the Caversham Wildlife Park. Because of the lack of GPS, we drove out from the car rental office with a little bit pensive and trepidation. I was assigned as the map reader. OHMY!

Before going to the Swan Valley, we need to make a stop at Danish Patisserie, Bassendean. It was quite famous among some Malaysians because it's a 'halal' shop. We were quite proud of ourselves because we only took two wrong turns to reach the shop. At one time, we had to stop at a petrol station and I asked the cashier for the direction towards Bassendean. At the shop I bought the famous Bushman pie and croissants and coffee, of course.

While driving towards The Swan Valley Tourist Centre, we had our breakfast in the car. In the Tourist Centre we asked information on which farms or shops which were opened. Unfortunately, we came in summer and during holiday period, thus many farms and shops were closed. But we felt optimistic. 

Driving through The Swan Valley area was really enjoyable. Roses dotted the area, as well as other flowers that I don't know their names except the hibiscus. My friend told me that someone told her that roses were planted in order to avoid the grape plants being 'attacked' by the bees. The Swan Valley was also famous for its wineries. Our eyes were glued to the left and right and kept on 'ooh' and 'aah' when we saw rows and rows of grape plants. Some of them were fruiting, and some of them were not. 

We decided to stop at one of the farms when we saw that the grape plants were fruiting beautifully. We took a few pictures and decided to move on, feeling optimistic that we were going to see more of similar farms. Our first real stop was The Margaret River Chocolate Co. When we entered the shop it was a bit dark. Apparently there was power disruption in their shop. It was unfortunate because we cannot see the way they made their chocolate because the back room factory was dark. My friends were like kids in chocolate store. I tried to feel as excited as they were, but since chocolate was not my thing, it was just another shop. After buying several boxes of chocolates, we drove on.

Next we stopped at Cape Lavender. It's a quaint cafe with lavender as the main focus. We decided to have late brunch. I had wonderful piping hot lavender scones. It was heavenly. We did not stay long in the cafe because there was so many thing to see and do. Next stop was another cafe, but this one was an ice cream cafe. OHMY! Though I just had my brunch, I cannot resist from buying a vanilla ice cream. Another heaven. LOL.

We stopped at many shops along the way. We went nuts in the Moorish, specialising in various nuts. Though most of the time, we just stopped to take pictures and rest because most of the shops were for wine tasting. I was disappointed because one of the two bee farms was closed. Alas! After making nearly the whole round of The Swan Valley, and on our way to the Caversham Wildlife Park, we decided to stop again at the first grape farm that we encountered. I had to admit, we were a bit naughty and sneaked near to the grape farms. We cannot resist from plucking a few grapes and ate them. I know! I know! We should not do that. But .... I promise I will do penance for those yummy grapes. 

The Caversham Wildlife Park is just within driving distance of The Swan Valley. The admission fees was a bit expensive; AUD25 per adult. Though I was petite, I can't pretend to be a child and pay only AUD18 (student's fees). Hmm! We were on time to catch it's afternoon farm show. It was a show where we can watch the sheep dogs mustering the sheep, the farmhand cracked the stock whip as well as shearing a sheep. It was a fantastic show and I felt like a kid. LOL. Watching a farmhand shearing a sheep was an eye opener, and the sheep was really docile, though at one time, it moved and the farmhand accidentally cut it. Watching at the small cut and blood made me cringed, but the farmhand assured us that the sheep at no time at all was hurt. He said it was just like a nick while shaving. Gosh! 

Next we caught the show "Meet The Wombat And Friends". We were so excited to meet and touch the wombat. I don't know what to expect, but I was surprised when I saw it was really big. Unfortunately, we can't hold it. We were just allowed to pet it a bit. And another thing was, it was sleeping the whole way through. What a bummer! But we were fortunate to see up close and personal with other less famous animals such as betong and golden brushtail possum. 

From there, we moved to the koala's pen. We were warned not to touch any of the koalas except only one. We were also asked not to touch any of the eucalyptus leaves since koalas will not eat leaves that were touched by human. Picky animals. LOL. Those koalas seemed to be very docile, and maybe because it was in the afternoon, most of them were sleeping. Hmm .. here I thought I was always sleepy!

On my way to the kangaroos area, I asked my friends to go ahead, because I was waiting for the ferocious Tasmanian Devil to come out from its burrow. Thank God it was not sleeping like most of the animals in the park. After a few minutes, it came out from the burrow. I can't hear its growl because it's the only animal that has glass pane. Maybe it's better that way.

And finally, the kangaroos area. We were like kids in a toys shop. There were so many kangaroos and we don't know which one to touch, which one to cuddle and which one to feed. LOL. All those kangaroos were very beautiful and friendly. I was a bit afraid at first after reading stories of some kangaroos turned aggressive and will kick at people. But they were very tame. The best part was feeding them with their pestles from my paws. Some of the kangaroos were white, some brown and some were reddish. How I wish I can kidnap one and make it my pet. Haha!

We left the Caversham Wildlife Park with giddy feelings. We can't stop talking about the animals, especially the koala and kangaroos during our drive way back to the hotel. It was really once in life time adventure. 

We decided to have our dinner at Freemantle Fishing Boat Harbour, City of Freemantle. Besides being famous for its Freemantle Market, it was also famous for its seafood. We had our seafood dinner while watching the sunset at the harbour. 

On our way back to the City of Perth, we took a couple of wrong turns. Maybe because we were tired, or maybe because it was night, that we can't clearly see where we were going. Once again, we stopped at a petrol station, and once again I had to ask for direction. We reached our hotel without any untowards incident or wrong turns after that. That night, I know I was sleeping with a big smile on my face.

To be continued in My Perth Diary : Day Three 31st Dec 2013.