Day 1 :
Attractions Covered : Bell Towers, Swan River, Wheel Of Perth, Aqwa, Scarborough Beach
8:30 am >> Wake up Wake up! Its half past 8 and we need to take the bus at 9 30..
9:15 am >> We leave home and walk towards the bus stop (Bus number 19 to Perth City)
9:33 am >> Boarded the bus and were seated :)
10:00 am >> Dropped off at Wellington Bus Stop (Bus terminus at Perth City)
We were then confused as to which exit we had to take to get to Bell Towers..We thought we would ask a co-passenger (She was talking in hindi when in the bus)..She puts up an accent(fake!) and not sure of the exit herself tells us we had to take "Cats" (Now how the hell would we know what thats was!!) We enquire at a shop and they guide us thorugh..We were walking down and spotted the same "Caattsss Girl" :P Looking at her Anu goes : "Come le,we'll only take her to Bell Towers ;)" On our way we stop at an eat out - Hungry Jacks..Unlike Spore we get Veg Burgers here :)) You gotta see the size of it,man its BIG! No wonder the Aussies are Huge :P After finishing our Burger Breakfast we walk down past the Perth Central Business District to Bell Towers :)
BELL TOWER : This towering glass spire,located where Perth meets the Swan River is a hallmark attraction as one of the most unique and iconic attractions in the world.It overlooks the Swan River and the entire city skyline..There are six floors and at the top is the observation deck..We heard the ringing of the bells and also went through the bell handling demonstations which was great :)
WHEEL OF PERTH : This is the similar wheel(Giantwheel) which is at Singaope(Flyer)..Its a smaller one though ;)
SWAN RIVER : The one thing that makes Perth special is the Swan River. This sparkling ribbon of blue meanders through Perth’s very heart providing people with somewhere to sail, swim, picnic, walk, cycle, jog or simply laze while watching the river waters reflect the city’s sparkling night lights.The river’s beauty is intensified by the backdrop of skyscrapers in the city, shining bright against a brilliant blue Perth sky, and the sweeping parkland which lines much of its banks.
After having covered these we enquired about getting to an island called "Rottnest"..We booked our ferry to Rottnest for the next day!We then left for Aqwa..To reach Aqwa, we had to take a train to Warwick and then change to a bus..We boarded the train from Esplanade to reach Warwick!(After having learnt how the ticketing machine works! ;)) On reaching Warwick Station,we took the right exit(with no help!:P) to get to the bus stop :)Reached Aqwa on boarding the right bus :)
AQWA : The Aquarium Of Western Australia Its an underwater journey to discover the incredible and unique marine life of Western Australia..Its divided into five distinct regions :Great Southern Coast, Perth Coast, Marmion Marine Park, Shipwreck Coast and Far North. Yup for those who have been to Underwater World in Singapore its a smaller replica of it ;) The difference with Aqwa was that they have a small pool called "Aqwa's Touch Pool" where you can put in your hand and touch the different kind of beings :)
Our next stop was Scarborough Beach :) After licking onto delicious ice-creams,we took a bus to reach the beach..It was past 5 in the evening and the number of people on the roads were minimum..All shops and malls are closed after 6 :( It was also getting colder :( So all those jackets which we had tied around our waists were now worn :)
SCARBOROUGH BEACH : White sand and blue sea an amazing combination :) The beach was the backdrop at Aqwa..We spent sometime at the beach,wetting our legs (ice-cold water) and building castles on the sand :)
Again boarded a bus to get Warwick Station and from there we had to get to Perth City..A day spent with no confusions? Not possible with us! ;) We get to Warwick station and we get a call from the friend asking us to meet him at Wellington Station so that we could all go out for dinner..Confusion Begins :We were unable to find Wellington Station on the ticketing machine when we tried to buy tickets..Needed Help! Anu spots a guy sitting at the far end and goes to find out..He helps us out and tells us we need to buy tickets and get to Perth City..We try telling him that we need to get to Wellington Station,but the guy juss was'nt ready to listen..He went on and on! We gave up and just bought the tickets to Perth City..The confusion here was we had come to Warwick in the morning boarding the train and we had to get back to the same place..But it slipped out from all our minds that we had boarded the train at Esplanade Station and Wellington was the Bus Station where we had alighted..Next we see two ladies and ask them on which end should we board to get to Wellington Station..Thanks to those Ladies! They doubled our confusion :P ;) They were not sure but they said there was the station Wellington where the train would stop. Admist all this a train arrives and we thought we would get into it and go along(ask people in the train,if not get off at the next station)..Anu enters and I followed her..Just a step into the train and I hear Prerna shout : "Nooo..Come Out Come Out" I just turned back and jumped out..Madam Anu beign sooper fast has entered the train walked past looking for vacant seats ;) She's almost to get out and the doors go "taktaktaktaktaktaktak"..Prerna yells : "Annnnuuuuuuuuuuuu" and Anu manages to squeeze herself and get out! Phew!! A sigh of relief! We just boarded the next train from the same platform..We again asked a guy in the train if he knew where Wellington was? He dint know either :( We finally thought we would get off at Perth City and when the friend would call we would ask him to come there! We got off and Perth Station and guess what he was there..Thats when we got to know that Wellington Station was the bus terminus above Perth Station :-)
We get out from there and go to a restraunt called "Maya Masala" for dinner..We were extreeemeeely hungry! :) The food there was yummy :D Done with dinner again had to get back to Wellington Station and take Bus 19 to Yokine :) On our walk back to the bus station the prey in hand was : The Friend :P Whom to talk to and tell all that happened and all that we did the entire day! So we butchered him thoroughly..We took turns in telling all that we did and each of us repeating what the other had said..The poor guy had to listen to it all not once but four times ;) Lolz :D He dint complain! ;) Boarded the bus,got back and off we went to bed! :)
Day 2 :
Entire Day : Rottnest Island Evening : King's Park
6 30 am >> Siri wakes up first to take a shower..
6 45 am >> Gals wake up,we need to take the 7 30 bus..
7 00 am >> Joyce gets up to see the time and calls out : Its 7 man! Instantly Prerna and Anu just get up! ;)
7 25 am >> We leave home to get to the bus stop
We walk a few steps and Joyce realizes she'd forgotten her jacket (Apparently,my sexy jacket :P ;))..She goes back to get it while we continue walking..Alomost to reach the road turn and Prerna says : "Mujhe bus ki awaaz sunaayi de rahi hain" Me : "Oyeee..Bus is here" Before I could even finish my sentence Anu had sped off ;) I though we would not make it coz Joyce was yet to reach..The driver saw us run and had the bus stopped only for us..The three of us were in and Joyce was still to reach the turn..He waited as we had to buy tickets :) We hold out a note and he nods his head..I was wondering whats with him,don't we have to buy tickets? A pause and he says : "Need smaller change" We dint have any so he asked us to get it from the co-passengers..Now not only had we made the bus halt,we dint have smaller change either..With no courage to look anyone into the eye,Prerna asks a few people and thankfully a lady gives us change :) Now a start to our day goes this way you can imagine what's in store ;)
We had to take the ferry from Swan River and as we had to pass through Hungry Jacks again,we pick up a burger each and rush :) The ferry leaves as scheduled..We munch on our burgers while enjoying the ferry ride :) It was an hour and a half's ride to Rottnest and the beauty of the ride was when we gotta see a whole lotta dolphins along :) A spectacular sight indeed :) On arriving at Rottnest we thought of kicking off with a cuppa coffee :) Dome(CCD kinda place!) was where we ordered for coffee and ginger tea..Ginger tea was all thanks to Prerna who got super excited reading the description of it on the menucard ;) But what we go to drink was not even close to what was written ;) It was steaming hot water in a small pot with no essence of ginger in it ;) I had a bad cold,so drank it all :) The coffee was'nt good too,was just froth and froth! Having paid for it had to gulp them down ;)
Hiring bikes was the best way to get around and find those secluded beaches and secret surf spots on the other side of the island :)It took us more than 3 hours to cover the entire island..The various places of interest covered within the island included :Little Simon Bay, Parker Point, Kingston,Dyer Point and Light House..
Pure white sand beaches at Rottnest are protected by from sun and wind by limestone rock outcrops. Along your ride you'll spot quokkas,the cute marsupials which were the inspiration for the island's name :) The activity for which we went to Rottnest was - Snorkeling!
Surrounded by coral reefs and shipwrecks, snorkelling was out-of-this-world!! :))It was at Parker Point where we got to experience this amazing activity! We were taken in a small boat to a distance of about 50 meters and then given the equipments needed..We were then accompanied by a guide and taken below the water :) Getting to see life underwater was spectacular! :) After this we go to Dyer point.. At Dyer point we got to see a shark,which some locals had got hold off when they were fishing..Covering all the places with no heed given to time,we were into trouble again! Busy with photography and posing we realize it was 3 30pm and we had to take the ferry back at 4pm..We still had about an hour's cycling to do!! All of us got onto our bikes and started off towards the shop from where we had rented the bikes..Anu as always leading the troop,me behind her and then was Prerna and last was Joyce..Scorching heat and soo much distance to cover with absolutely no energy left! :( The amount of cycling we did,guess we had not done so much in our entire life! :P So many uphills to ride :( Any uphill and I would get off the bike and push it all the way! The same was with the others too..A stretch of cycling and then I could not spot Anu nor could I see Prerna..Prerna had taken a lead over Joyce while Joyce had almost given up! Each of us went through varied emotions :
Anu : Hope I can make it on time and stop the ferry for a few minutes and by then these gals will join me..
Siri : Tough chance to make it! If its anyone then its only Anu who can stop the ferry!
Prerna : (She was laughin like crazy!) and to control her laughter this is what she told herself :" Am laughing here? It's recession time....Anything can happen, get serious!!" Lolzzz :D
Joyce : I can't make it! I don't see anyone around :( Sheesh!! What am I gonna do??? I don't have a penny,guess I'll just reach the shop and ask them for help! That's the only way out! Lolzzz :D
With all these varied thoughts running in our minds we managed to reach the cycle shop..Guess what!! All of reached,including Joyce and Miss Anu was still to get there ;) She had missed a turn and gone straight instead..She gets to the shop and without even noticing tells the person at the counter : My friends are on their way.. Lolzzz :D We covered the distance for which we had taken an hour in the morning in just 20 minutes..When getting back we just could not manage riding our way uphill and I would get off and push the bike..Looking at me Prerna would do the same at the same spot without even trying ;) Hilarious! :D All done but we missed the ferry!! Lucky us there was another ferry at 4 30 and we were way before time for it ;) :P Had we missed this one then we had to stay back at Rottnest that night ;)
Since we took the last fery back,we were dropped off at "Shed C" which is a different place from where we took the ferry in the morning..Took the train and got to Perth City.. Next on agenda was to go to King's Park :) Problem was how to get there? Like always stopped every second person to find out how we could get to King's Park..Some said we could take the Red Cats (Free bus shuttle,which Anu even renamed to Red Dogs :P Lolz :D) and few said we could walk up even..Now after all that cycling we had no energy to cover the distance by walk..So decided to take the bus..We walked towards the bus stop and...We get a ride to King's Park in a SUV ;) Limit your thoughts :P Joyce's relative came down to meet her and he took us to the place in his SUV :)
KING'S PARK : The night views of the lights of the city of Perth reflected from the Swan River is indeed a special sight. As like nearby the Western Australian Parliament building, trees in Kings Park are lit to show off their unique Australian trunk, branch and leaf features.The Western Australian Botanic Garden extends south of the State War Memorial.
We then got a free ride back home ;) As expected all of us just crashed on the bed :)
Day 3 :
Attractions Covered : Perth Zoo, Fremantle and the only Australian Shop we got to pick up stuffs from
We took the 9 30 bus to get to the city..Wanting a change from the burger at Jacksons(Prerna coming up with that instaed of Hungry Jacks ;)) we tried some puffs from a different place..Was disastrous! Had nothing but spinach filling..Cursing the damn thing we walked towards the now familiar Swan River :) It was a 15 minute boat ride to get to the other end..We were on our way to the Perth Zoo :) (Keep the comment you came up with to yourself! :P)After covering some distance by walk again we reached the zoo..
PERTH ZOO : Theres an Australia Walkabout, that features all of Australia's most famous animals and wildlife. Theres the Asian Rainforest, where you can find Elephants, Orangutans, and Tigers to just name a few. The African Safari is filled with Giraffes, Rhinos, Lions, Cheetas, and Baboons, plus much more. Theres giant crocs , big snakes, ugly lizards, tropical birds, and I have only named 11 of the 1800 animals and 230 species that are housed within the zoo walls.
Once done with the zoo we took the ferry back to Swan river and from there got to Fremantle by taking a train..
FREMANTLE : Fremantle is the port city of Perth. The main places of interest at Fremantle are : Fremantle Maritime Museum, Fremantle Prison and Fremantle Markets.
MARITIME MUSEUM : It contains a collection of shipwreck relics and artifacts from the many ships that have met their doom on the West Australian coast.
PRISON : This was fascinating; Having gotten to tour the jail cells and museum and getting to know of the harrowing tales from days gone by.
MARKETS : A cluster of many shops (tiny little one's) seeling everything varying from clothes to vegetables under one roof.
We could not shop anything as everything closed down by 5 30 :( A ring of the bell and all the shutters came down :(Disappointed we left back for Perth by taking the train..Had dinner at the subway outlet at Carlion Mall.. We had hopes of shopping atleast at Perth,but then that dint happen too as all the shops were closed by the time we got back :( We found an Australian Souvenir shop accidently when we were on the lookout for a calling card..Each of us picked up stuffs that we liked from there and also got the calling card :) After winding up all the international calls we had to make we rushed to board the last bus to Yokine :) Got back and rested coz next day was a tight scheduled trip :)
Day 4 :
Attractions Covered : White Men Park, Wacca Stadium, Caversham Park,Bullscrook,Badningara National Park,Nambung National Park,Lancelin
After an early bath,we hired a cab to get to the point where we had to board the bus for the trip..It was an entire day's trip which would cover most places close to Perth and the main attraction for the day being "Pinnacle's Dessert"..It was a 30 seater bus,extremely comfortable seats :) The driver(Steve) along was also our guide for the day..He dint miss out on anything,drive was excellent and he made sure he covered all the places and explained about each of them :)
Our first stop was : White Men Park..On the way to White Men Park we were shown Wacca Stadium and Burswood Casino..
WHITE MEN PARK : A recreational park..We were taken to Caversham Wildlife Park which is located within White Men Park.
CAVERSHAM WILDLIFE PARK : A habitat for many of Australia's unique native animals including koalas, wallabies, possums, Tasmanian devils and wombats.
We handfed the kangaroo's and went up close to the koala's :) The moment the instructor said : "Get out your camera's shoot wid the animals" I could hear "Siri..Siri" (more like an echo ;)) from all sides :P If one goes : "Siri,here take a pic" Other yells : "Siri,one closeup" Why would the third one be laid back,she goes : "Siri,here fast..The koala is posing" Lolz :D I was like "Hold on, I just have two hands and one cam ;)" To be upclose with the koala's and the kangaroo's was a lovely experience! :)
Our next stop was at Badningara National Park. The special specie at Badningara was the Emu :) After going around the place we were served lunch..The lunch was horrible! (More of ghaasphoos :P) Next destination was Pinnacles Dessert..On the way we were shown the Bullscrrok training center for pilots and fini olive farms..
PINNACLES DESERT : Right in the heart of Nambung National Park,thousands of huge limestone pillars rise out of a stark landscape of yellow sand.Massive sand dune fields characterise the area near the coast where the Pinnacles Desert lies.The limestone formations of the Pinnacles vary in size and shape.It is not uncommon to see western grey kangaroos, emus and many sorts of reptiles and birds like black-shouldered kites hanging around the strange stones..
After the long tiring walk through the desert we were dropped off at Lancelin where we enjoyed Sandboarding and 4 wheel driving over the sand dunes.
LANCELIN : Lancelin is a small fishing town nestled between the ocean and sand dunes.The town is bordered by endless snow-white sand dunes, which are heaven for sand boarders :) The peaks of these sand dunes give a spectacular panoramic lookout over the township, surrounding sand hills, farmlands, coastline, islands and ocean. Sandboarding was fun although the climb over the sand dunes was a tough task when compared to the ride down ;) 4 wheel driving doubled the fun :D This was our last place for the day :( From there we were brought back to Perth City..
Our last burger from Hungry Jacks for dinner and got back home on taking the cab..We were done with packing,so we all chaged to our "I Love Perth" tee's and left for the airport :( Reached the airport way before time,checked in all our luggages (This time no goof up's nor racists to torture :P) and strolled around..Flight on time and back to Singapore as scheduled!
All those months of preperations and weeks of excitement was over! We were done and dusted with "PERTH - AUSTRALIA" and has been one helluva experience!! Every moment of laughter,confusion,chaos..Every comment passed, rib tickling one liner's -- Impossible without the wonderful "GUBES" (Copyright!) :D
