Complete Itinerary – 6 Days in Western Australia

We have always wanted to go to Australia. So when AA featured deals to all Australian destinations, we chose Perth, simply because of its seemingly cheap airfare (RM 688 for a return ticket). Never did we know that the holiday turned out to be a truly amazing experience.

Western Australia is Australia’s largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world. It is also divided into a few regional, namely Perth, South West, North West, Golden Outback and Coral Coast. Our 6 days itinerary focuses on Perth and the South West region.

Day 1
Perth International Airport – Mandurah: Miami Bakehouse, Simmos Ice Cream – Bunbury – Busselton: Busselton Jetty – Margaret River: Leeuwin Estate, Voyager Estate

Stay: Pinda Lodge, Margaret River

Day 2
Margaret River: Boranup Forest, Hamelin Bay – Augusta: Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse – Margaret River: Margaret River Chocolate Company, Margaret River Providore, Cape Lavender, Duckstein Brewery, Vasse Felix, Cullen Estate

Stay: Pinda Lodge, , Margaret River

Day 3
Margaret River: The Larder, Margaret River Dairy Co – Perth: Perth City Walkabout, Bell Tower, Ciao Italia

Stay: Aaron’s Hotel, Perth CBD

Day 4
Perth: Croissant Express – Pinnacles Day Tour: Cavershem Wildlife Park, Emu Wind Farm, Pinnacles Desert, Lancelin Beach, Lancelin Sand Dune – Perth: Taka’s Kitchen

Stay: Aaron’s Hotel, Perth CBD

Day 5
Perth: Green House, Kings Park, Perth Royal Show

Stay: Aaron’s Hotel, Perth CBD

Day 6
Perth: Corica’s Apple Strudel, Hay Street Mall & Murray Street Mall – Fremantle: Fremantle Train Station, Fremantle Market (Donkosui Ramen, Michele Suzette), Fremantle Prison, Cappuccino Strip (Cafe San Churros), E Shed Market, Fremantle Round House, Kailis Fish Market, Little Creatures Brewery

Stay: Aaron’s Hotel, Perth CBD

Day 7
Perth International Airport

Arriving in Perth

Taxis are available from both the domestic and international terminals. A taxi trip from the airport terminals to Perth city centre will take 20 to 30 minutes. The journey will cost approximately AUD$20.00 – AUD$30.00.

An Airport-City Shuttle operates to and from domestic and international airports with convenient pick up points located near accommodation throughout Perth.

Fremantle Airport Shuttle also picks up at the domestic and international airports dropping off customers from Cottesloe to Cockburn.

DAY 1

Travel around WA

Self driving is one of the best way to experience the unique landscapes of Western Australia. There are a lot of car rental companies and motor homes with a wide fleet of cars. Most rental T&C would state that if your license is not in English, you will have to get an International Driving Permit (IDP). However, based on friend and families past experience, Malaysian driving license alone is sufficient so we just present our existing Malaysian driving license. If you are not sure, please check with them beforehand.

We rented a 2 door Hyundai Getz from Red Spot at AUD 243 for 3 days. The rate was inclusive of GPS rental, Premium Road Side Coverage and insurance cover with zero damange liabilities. Other reputable car companies include Hertz, Europcar, Budget, Avis and Thrifty. M2000 and No Birds (Bayswater) offer most competitive rates but please read the T&C carefully.

We headed South right after we picked up the car at 7 am. We stopped by Mandurah, the second-largest city in Western Australia. It is also well known for its million dollar houses located along the shore.

Getting Here:

Self drive – The Kwinana Freeway and Forrest Highway also provides a rural bypass for the city.
Train – Mandurah railway line links Mandurah to Perth via Cockburn Central and Rockingham.

We had our coffee break at Miami BakeHouse, the most award winning bakery. We had the Guinness Beef Pie and Black Pepper Lamb Pie. We thought that these gourmet pies are overrated.

Miami BakeHouse
Falcon Grove Shopping Centre, Old Coast Road, Mandurah WA 6210
Phone: (08) 9534 2705
open everyday 6am to 8pm

We also tried the famous Simmos Ice Cream that hails all the way from Dunsborough.

Simmos Ice Creamery
73 Mandurah Terrace, Mandurah WA 6210
(08) 9582 7177
open everyday from 10am

We hopped onto the car and Tom Tom (GPS) brought us to Bunbury Town. The Bunbury Tower, often called the “Milk Carton” for its distinctive shape and blue-and-white colours is the town’s landmark.

Getting here:

Transwa provides rail and coach services: Australind train, GS3, SW1 and SW2 to Bunbury and services south from Bunbury and South West Coach Lines provides coach services to and from Bunbury.

Busselton is another lovely town that we stopped by while we were on our way to Margaret River.

Getting here:

Busselton has a town bus service run by South West Coach Lines, there are 3 routes. South West Coach Lines and Transwa provide coach services for connections to other south west towns and Perth.

At 1841 metres, the Busselton Jetty is said to be the longest wooden structure in the southern hemisphere. However, the Jetty will be closed until December 2010 for repair work we can’t go into the underwater observatory.

And finally, we reached Pinda Lodge, a lovely B&B that we  chose to stay at Margaret River. The place is so lovely that it totally deserves a post on its own.

Pinda Lodge
14 Laurel Ct, Margaret River 6285
(08) 9758 7103
Room rate: AUD195 – AUD250 per night

Without wasting any time, we drove to Leeuwin Estate, one of the icon wineries of Australia that is famous for their art series wines.

Leeuwin Estate
Stevens Rd, Margaret River 6285
(08) 9759 0000
open daily 10am – 4.30pm and Saturday evening for dinner

We also joined the wine tour (AUD 12.50 per person) which is a waste of time.

Located right next to Leeuwin Estate is Voyager Estate, another renowned wineries with beautiful gardens . We were told that the filthy rich owner hires 8 gardeners just to maintain the area.

We had a very expensive (after convert lah) wine pairing dinner here and we had no regrets at all!

Scallop, Lamb Rack, Chocolate Molten Cake……awesome!

Voyager Estate
Stevens Road, Margaret River 6285
(08) 9757 6354
open daily from 9.00am to 4.00pm

DAY 2

Hearty breakfast at Pinda Lodge. Jan, the lady owner, uses only fresh produce from WA such as Margaret River free range egg and mushrooms from Harvery. Delicious!

KampungBoy, the designated driver drove to Augusta and along the way, we were surrounded by these magnificent Karri trees in Boranup Forest.

We also stopped by Hamelin Bay with crystal clear water and white sandy beaches.

It is also famous for the abundance of HUGE mantra stingrays which frequent the bay. We saw quite a few of them!

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in Augusta is situated at the most south westerly tip of Australia.

We were standing at the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.

After the scenic ride, we continued our food excursion around Margaret River and Cowaranup region.

Margeret River Chocolate Factory
415 Harmans Mill Rd, Metricup WA 6280.
(08) 9755 6555
Open Daily 9am-5pm

Margaret River Providore
448 Harmans South Road, Wilyabrup WA 6280
(08) 9755 6355
Open Daily 9.00am to 5.00pm
(closed Christmas Day, Boxing day and New years Day)

Cape Lavender
Carter Road (off Metricup Road), Wilyabrup WA 6280
(08) 9755 7552
Open Daily 10am – 5pm

Cullen Estate
Caves Road, Cowaramup WA 6284
(08) 9755 5277
E-mail: enquiries@cullenwines.com.au
Open Daily 10 am – 4.30 pm

Duckstein Brewery at Saracen Estates – Margaret River
3517 Caves Rd, Wilyabrup WA 6280
(08) 9755 6500
Opening Hours: Mon-Thu 10am-5pm, Fri-Sun 10am-7pm

Vasse Felix
Corner of Caves Road and Harmans Road South, Cowaramup WA 6284
(08) 97565000
Open Daily 10am to 5pm

Margaret River Dairy Company
Bussell Hwy, Metricup, WA 6282
(08) 9755 7588
Open Daily 930am-5pm

DAY 3

We met up with our blog reader, Andrea who runs The Larder, a gourmet produce store in Margaret River town before departing back to Perth City.

The Larder
2/99 Bussell Hwy, Margaret River WA 6285
(08) 9758 8990

walked round Perth City after returning our car

The Bell Tower, located on Riverside Drive overlooking the picturesque Swan River is an iconic landmark.

Opens daily from 10am to 430pm
Entry Fees : $11 Adults / $8 Concessions
Watch Bellringers in action – General ringing
Monday, Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00pm-1:00pm
Saturday and Sunday 12:00pm-1:00pm
Have a go yourself! – Interactive Demos:
Wednesday and Friday 11:30am-12: 30pm

Getting here:
take the FREE Blue Cat Bus to Barrack Square (stop 19)

From Barrack Square,we took the ferry to South Perth just to dine at Ciao Italia. Despite having to walk 30 minutes from Mends Street Jetty (south Perth) and waited 20 minutes just to secure a table, we are not complaining because the good food made up for it!

Ciao, South Perth
273 Mill Point Rd, Perth, 6151
(08) 9368 5500
Tuesday to Saturday 5pm to 10pm, close on Sunday & Monday

DAY 4

We joined the 1 Day Pinnacles, Koalas and Sand Boarding 4WD Adventure tour for about AUD 165 per person.

Cavershem Wildlife Park – kangaroo, koala & wombat!

Emu Downs Wind Farm – breathtaking!!

Pinnacles Desert – it does get very hot here!!

Lancelin Beach

sand boarding at Lancelin Sand Dune

weeeeeeeeeeee

We were all knackered from the day tour so we chose to have dinner at Taka’s Kitchen, one of the most famous ‘cheap eats’ in Perth. The dinner costs less than AUD 10 per person.

Taka Barrack Street
150 – 152 Barrack St.
Perth WA 6000
Tel: 08 9221 4771

Taka Shafto Lane
Shop 5 & 6 Shafto Lane
347 – 417 Murray St.
Perth WA 6000
Tel: 08 9324 1234

Taka Fremantle
Shop 2 Old Shanghai
6 Henderson St.
Fremantle WA 6160
Tel: 08 9335 7676

Open Daily from 11am to 9pm

DAY 5

Breakfast at GreenHouse, St Georges Terrace. It runs on an interesting “ECO” theme. The supporting structure is a 100% recyclable steel frame and a lot of waste materials are used as deco items.

BIG breakfast!

Greenhouse
100 St. Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000
Mon & Tues 7am -late
Wed to Sat 7am -12am
(08) 9481 8333

wildflowers at Kings Park, Perth

overlooking Perth skyline

so relaxing!

Getting here:
Transperth bus routes 37 and 39 (Sunday and public holidays) operate to Kings Park and Botanic Garden via St George’s Tce. FREE and operate from 8.40 am until 5.30 pm daily.

http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/

Perth Royal Show (25 September to 2 October 2010) – to revive our childhood memory. It is an annual event organized by The Royal Agricultural Society of WA and it is usually held during the spring school break. Entrance Fee: AUD 25 per person.

There’s free stunt show, animal nursery, cooking demonstration, fun fair, animal rides, and many many more

And at the end of every night there is a fantastic fireworks display that lasts about 20 minutes! We enjoyed the fireworks line up tremendously!

DAY  6

walked around North Bridge/China Town

dabao-ed the famous Corica Apple Strudel back to Malaysia (AUD 17.50)

Corica Apple Strudel
106 Aberdeen St, Northbridge WA 6000
delivery: +61 89328 8196 (pre order 15.50, walk in 17.50)
Open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm and Saturday 8.00am until 12.30pm

shopping time! Hay St Mall and Murray St Mall.

London Court

Took a train to Fremantle Train Station

Getting here:

The Fremantle Line connects the train station in the centre of Perth with Fremantle. Trains depart every 15 minutes on Platform 7. Travel time 30 minutes.

There are lots of TransPerth buses that arrive and leave Fremantle. Routes 98 (clockwise) and 99 (anti-clockwise) are quick and frequent services that lead to Fremantle. They terminate at the Fremantle Railway Station.

Fremantle Prison

Fremantle Market – Dosukoi Japanese Noodle and Bubble Tea (stall no 7), Micheles Crepe Suzette (stall no 4)

E Shed Market – the best place to get souvenirs!

Chill out with coffee & churros at at the famous Capuccino Strip.

Cafe San Churros
91 Market Street, Fremantle WA 6160
(08) 9336 7557
email: fremantle@sanchurro.com.au

Fremantle Round House

Had the overrated Fish & Chips at Kailis (AUD 12)

Kailis Fish Market
Fishing Boat Harbour
46 Mews Road, PO Box 800, Fremantle WA 6959
(08) 9335 7755

devouring oysters while enjoying the beautiful sunset

dinner at Little Creatures Brewery

Little Creatures Brewery (Fremantle, WA)
40 Mews Road, Fremantle WA 6160
(08) 94305555
email:greathall@ littlecreatures.com.au

Kangaroo Skewers & Pale Ale. yummmmmmm!!

Phew! It took me 4 hours to compose this post. I hope you guys like it! Will provide more travel information, maps, etc in subsequent posts.