Mother & Child

Photo taken on 29 September 2007

My Boys

Photos taken in Western Australia

Holiday Journal: 11 Oct Mindarie Keys

This was the day before we return to Singapore. It was sunny as we set off to Mindarie Keys, a relatively new place near Joondalup. Also a harbour with nice breeze and some eateries. DOME is there and we had lunch at The Boat - that was our last installment of a string of sinful binges in this trip. We had our last taste of fish and chips in no better fashion than alfresco!





Kieran took a photo of me and hubby...



The boys played catch and I caught them on videoclip:



We had a great time in WA, the company of Joo, Connie & Joo, their hospitality and warmth brought fond memories. Kieran misses playing with Jamus, Raeyen picked up new vocabs and spoke a few sentences, and we forged stronger ties with Joo & family.

To Joo, Connie and Jamus, thanks very much for having us for 2 wonderful weeks. So long and till we meet again in Singapore next February!

Holiday Journal: 10 Oct Perth

Did some shopping at day in the city.

Joo and family brought us to Red Cray for dinner. Among crayfish (or lobster) being its specialty, Red Cray also offers A$12 per plate of pasta every Monday till Wednesday. It was an evening full of delicious, cholesterol-laden dishes!

Below are some of the mouth-watering dishes we ordered.

Holiday Journal: 9 Oct Swan Valley, etc

It was a little wet in the morning, so we headed to Swan Valley for some nougats at Charlies Estate Wines, ice-cream and Oggies Ice Cream Cafe and decadent chocolates at Margaret River Chocolate Factory.

When the rain stopped, we took the kids to Caversham Wildlife Park; kids just love zoos! The highlight for the kids was feeding the kangaroos. We were surprised that Raeyen was at ease at the sight of the roos. He made himself comfortable sitting next to a kangaroo and her joey and began feeding them. To my horror, he even picked up their poo thinking it was food!



We carried on with a visit to a wombat and Molly's Farm where the kids got close to the usual farm animals.



Before we ended our tour, we were lucky (except for Raeyen who fell asleep) to get to the koalas enclosure and managed to stroke one! They were so adorable, especially the one cuddling her joey - so loving and motherly! And there was another perching on a treetop, so cute!

Holiday Journal: 7 Oct Fremantle

Ah... the good 'ol Freo. It was nice to revisit this old town and its vibrant markets. The sky was clear and blue. The kids have had plenty of space to roam and ran freely. The air was fresh, the people were friendly, even the motorists were gracious!



While Raeyen might be clueless, Kieran was thrilled to see rail track and anchors!



After having binged some ice-cream, we walked along the harbour, felt the breeze on our faces and took more photos!

Holiday Journal: 6 Oct Sorrento Quay

It was a fine Saturday afternoon and Connie drove us to Sorrento Quay at Hilarys Boat Harbour. We came here during our trip 4 years ago and like it alot. Its harbour docks many beautiful yachts and boats along with nice shops and eateries.

We had fish and chips at Sharky's before strolling the harbour and its shops. Got Jenard's requested DOLLY mag from a newsagent there.



And of course we couldn't resist the beauty of the habour and snapped some photos.

Holiday Journal: 4 Oct Perth

We rested for the day after returning from the roadtrip.

In the evening, Joo and family took us to Mundaring for the world famous pizzas at Little Caesars.

We had 3 scrumptious pizzas and 2 loaves of garlic breads. Check out our diet...

Holiday Journal: 3 Oct Pinnacles

On our way back to Perth, we stopped by at the Pinnacles while we still had some time. It was a long drive into the desert full of limestone pillars.







Before we left it was sunset and we managed to capture those precious and splendid moments.

Holiday Journal: 2 Oct Monkey Mia, Ocean Park

It's a beautiful day and a short drive to Monkey Mia where dolphins swim ashore for food and to mingle with people.

We folded our hemlines, went into the cold waters to wait for the dolphins' visit. Jamus and Kieran were excited to have found a snail and a hermit crab.



About 6 dolphins swam in after almost an hour's wait. It was a wonderful feeling to getting so close to those friendly mammals. Jamus and Kieran were so lucky to be picked to feed a dolphin. Second time for Jamus and the first for Kieran, who was elated.



After a light meal, we went to Ocean Park to watch shark feeding and other ocean creatures. The kids learned that when a shark emerged from the waters, it will protect its eyes with its membrane. We were surprise that we could touch the stingrays!

Holiday Journal: 1 Oct Hamelin Pool, Shell Beach

In the morning, we headed to Hamelin Pool to see stromatolites - the oldest living organisms on earth. The reddish ones are dead while the blackish are very much alive.



It's massive with blotchy black spots sprawling - a contrast from the stark white Shell Beach which we headed after.

Jamus volunteered to be buried in the shells while Kieran and Raeyen enjoyed "burying" him by showering shells on him with their bare hands or using my Crocs Prima shoes.

Holiday Journal: 26-30 Sep Kalbarri

Kieran was thrilled to encounter road trains as he read from a book that road trains are often used in Australia. During our first rest stop of our roadtrip to the Coral Coast of Australia, we snapped a photo of Kieran with this monster trailer truck.

We visited the amazing leaning trees of Greenough and took a photo with one of the striking ones.

On the natural trail, we visited Castle Cove, Natural Bridge, Grandstand and Eagle Bluff.



We checked in to the Kalbarri Beach Resort and hit the beach the next morning. That's when hubby had tummy upset.

The sight of pelicans before our eyes is a wonderful experience!



Kieran volunteered to feed the pelican by tossing a fish into the air.

We rented a Nissan 4WD for the rough road as we headed to the Kalbarri National Park. Hubby didn't join us as he was unwell. There was still alot of walking as we visited Z Bend and Nature's Window. There were also alot of horse flies which made us busy waving them away from our faces. The sun was scorching and the walk made everything a little tougher as we took turns to carry Raeyen.

However, Nature's Window is worth the long walk as it looks like a photo frame from nature!



Our last stop was the Rainbow Jungle where an array of colourful birds were on display. Connie even bought Kieran and Raeyen each a t-shirt souvenir from there.

Back from Perth and WA's Coral Coast

We returned last night after a 2-week trip.

It was a tremendous trip not only we spent time with Joo, Connie & Jamus but Raeyen had miraculously recovered from his bout of diarrhea and nausea. Then hubby was feverish and had diarrhea for 2 days when we arrived at Kalbarri. Poor Raeyen had fever every night while we were at Coral Coast and back to Perth. Luckily the rest of us were well. Nonetheless, the weather was fantastic - sunny and windy, only little rain near the end of our trip. We have seen, eaten alot and had fun a great deal altogether.

We arrived in Perth in the early morning of Friday 28 Sep and started the roadtrip on the rented Toyata Tarago (Estima) the next day. Here's our itinerary:

Sat 29 Sep (Perth - Geraldton - Kalbarri)
Visited the leaning trees of Greenough, Castle Cove, Natural Bridge, Grandstand, Eagle Bluff

Sun 30 Sep (Kalbarri)
Kieran got to feed a pelican; visited Z Bend, Nature's Window, Rainbow Jungle

Mon 1 Oct (Kalbarri - Shark Bay, Monkey Mia)
Visited the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, Shell Bricks, Shell Beach

Tue 2 Oct (Shark Bay, Monkey Mia)
Jamus & Kieran got to feed a dolphin; visited Ocean Park where the kids got to stroke stingrays and witness shark feeding

Wed 3 Oct (Shark Bay, Monkey Mia - Pinnacles - Perth)
Visited the spectacular Pinnacles and snapped loads of photos, we even caught the beautiful sunset

Thu 4 Oct (Perth)
Drove to Mundaring for the yummilicious pizzas at Little Caesars

Fri 5 Oct (Perth)
Roamed around town

Sat 6 Oct (Perth)
Had sinful fish & chips at the beautiful Sorrento Quay, Hilarys Boat Harbour. Houses there are just as beautiful that they make us drool.

Sun 7 Oct (Fremantle)
Visited the famous Freo... it's markets (E Shed, etc)

Mon 8 Oct (Perth)
Roamed around town

Tue 9 Oct (Perth)
Visited a winery at Swan Valley and the Caversham Wildlife Park where the kids fed kangaroos and we got up close and personal with some koalas and a wombat

Wed 10 Oct (Perth)
Went to city centre, had pancakes at Pancakes at Carillon for lunch and then crayfish (lobster actually) at Red Cray

Thu 11 Oct (Perth)
Some shopping at suburban area and hopped to Mindarie Keys (newly developed and the houses there are WOW!!!). Had lunch at The Boat before heading home for packing

Fri 12 Oct (Perth - Singapore)

I will post our holiday journal in this blog when time avails.