Our first family trip overseas by air was to Perth, Western Australia 14 years ago, back in 2002! In that trip, we covered Perth, Fremantle, Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River,Pemberton and Albany. This time round, it was a 10 nights, 11 days trip up north to Western Australia Coral Coast through the Great Indian Ocean Drive. We re-visited Perth and Fremantle, Cervantes, Geraldton, Kalbarri and final destination Denham and Monkey Mia up north in Francos Peron National Park, a total distance of approximately 838 km (one way). In the return journey we spent one night in Geraldton before returning to Perth via the interior Brand Highway for our final 3 nights stay in Perth.
Day 1, Perth, 7 May 2016
Our flight to Perth was by MAS priced at RM1,200. We arrived at Perth International Airport at about 3.30 pm. We collected our free upgrade to a Mitsubishi Outlander from Ace Rentals and checked into Burswood Lodge Apartments. We start our Great WA Experience journey the next morning.
Day 2, Sunday, 8 May 2016
Sand dunes of Lancelin, Nambung National Park, the Pinnacles, Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre, Lake Thetis, Lobster Shack for fresh seafood. Our stay was at Cervantes Holiday Homes.
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| Great expanse of fine sand. |
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| Yup, the sun was out but yet cold with the wind blowing |
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| Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre |
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| The famous rock formations. You can drive through it. |
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| At one of the lookout points along the trail |
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| Lol! The family jump shot. Pinnacles, WA, 8 May 2016 |
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| Yeah!!! |
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| The trail lined with stones on both sides. You are suppose to drive within the limits and not stray out of it. |
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| Lake Thetis. Stromatolites are microbial organisms or 'living fossils' that have lived thousand of years on earth |
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| Well.. the fish can't get any fresher.. |
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| Tailend of spring. It gets cold in the evenings and at night. |
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| Our place for the night. Just drop of the key when we leave the next morning. |
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| It cost AUD30! Pretty expensive for a lobster of that size. Ordered a tray of fresh prawns. |
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| Pit stop along the way. All time fav tidbit |
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| Heading into Greenough. The famous leaning trees due to prevailing sourtherly strong winds that made the trees grow sideways i/o upwards. |
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| Lol! What's with the leaning.. |
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| The famous original tree. |
Day 3 & 4, Geraldton, 9-10 May
Situated in Champion Bay, Geraldton is one of Australia's top destinations for water sports enthuasiasts.
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| St Francis Xavier Cathedral |
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| HMAS Sydney II Memorial |
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| WA Museum Geraldton |
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| Greenough Wildlife & Bird Park |
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| The girls had alot fun feeding this cute alpaca |
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| Me and Eddie |
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| Feeding time! |
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| Er...what's up doc? |
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| Point Moore Lighthouse |
Abrolhos Reef Lodge @ RM925.50 for 2 nights.
Day 5, Kalbarri, 11 May 2016
Renowned for ruggedly beautiful coastal cliffs and rust red river gorges. It is a must to visit the Kalbarri National Park located at the lower reaches of the Murchison River.
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| Notice the flies on their backs? |
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| Although it was only about 25 kms off the main road, the journey in thru uneven dirt road was arduous. By the time we reached the attraction, the sun was already setting soon enough. We returned to town in pitch darkness when it was only about 7pm in the evening. |
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| The famous Nature's Window |
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| Kalbarri Beach Resort @ $95, one of the better accomodation |
Day 6, Denham/Monkey Mia, 12 May 2016
Our final destination furthest north is the town of Denham in the Shark Bay World Heritage Region.
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| Hamelin Pool Stromatolites |
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| Shell Beach. The beach is made up of billions of tiny cockle shells layered up to 10 metres deep and stretching for over 120 km. |
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| Eagle Bluff Lookout Point overlooking crystal clear waters |
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| See the boat on the right? |
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| The weather gets warmer further north |
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| Soak our legs. That's all we are about to do! |
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| Gazing as the sun set. Beautiful! |
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| Post card views. Awesome and breathtaking! |
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| Tradewinds Seafront Apartments @ $160. Decent only. |
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| Little Lagoon. It is a natural nursery for whiting and other fish species |
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| Monkey Mia, waiting for the dolphins |
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| Unfortunately, the dolphins decided not to show up on that day. After nearly 1000 km, grrrrr... |
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| Pink Lake, on our way back to Geraldton. |
Day 7, Geraldton, 13 May 2016
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| Geraldton Foreshore |
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| Next morning, breakfast in town. |
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| Wind Farm on the outskirts of Gerladton |
Day 8, 9 & 10, Perth & Fremantle, 14-16 May 2016
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| It seems smaller than our previous visit 14 years ago! |
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| Free smells of various kind of exotic coffee |
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| Leisure breakfast |
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| Freemantle town |
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| Seafood platter at Kaili's Fish Market Cafe, same restaurant after 14 years.. |
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| Botanical Garden, King's Park |
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| King's Park Federation Walkway |
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| Lazy afternoon, under a shade with a cool weather.. wonderful! |
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| And that's the end of our Western Australia Coral Coast Great Adventure! |
