Perth ~ Day 3

Off to the weekend market markets in Fremantle to do some shopping for souvenirs. We had a light breakfast before the usual preparation and setting off. As usual we did not set off as early as planned. First stop Eshed market which is a mere 5 minutes drive away. Parking was really tough as the place is so crowded and packed to the brim with cars. No initial intention to stay long here but was captivated by the numerous activities held due to the Annual Maritime Day. What a coincidence, which explained the really packed car park! 

We had to go hunt for early lunch due to the light breakfast we have and hoping to avoid lunch crowd madness in view of shopping in peace without fearing the hungry children! It was no different as we are met with a crowded food court, forgoing the mobile food vans lining the street which looked really tempting. Quite an eye opening experience in the food court which is rare by Australia's standard. Chinese food are served buffet style and charged as per size of plate regardless of how much one can filled the plate to the brim and the varieties of food selected. My plate of food does looked really humble as compared to how the local piled their food into a mini mountain! I'm so conscious in selecting the food having the mindset that I will be watched only to realize the vendor do not bother at all! A wise choice to have this western food style thingy with choice of meat to be served on chips (fries in our context) or baked potato with mixed vegetables topped with generous portion of gravy. Does not score well in the Presentation which look horrible but honestly it taste so yummy as the meat ate so tender, simply melt in the mouth. As mum is not a beef eater, we chose roasted pork with chips and roasted lamb with baked potato and steamed vegetable. It taste so so good and portion is very generous that we could not finished the 2 portion sharing among 3 adults, super yummy to the max!

Filling up the tummy, we are all ready to shop! The souvenirs are very much worth getting and we bought a whole big bag ranging from cute keychains that of koalas and kangaroos to tee shirts for both kids and adults! We went on to explore the beaming activities happening under the great weather, sun is shining brightly yet cooling to walk in the sun. We took pictures with this huge trailer like vehicle which is supposed to be on one of the longest vehicle only seen in Freo, lost count of the number of wheels! The children get to try out fire extinguishing, various guns and machine guns, the different army vehicles. A kind elderly gentleman put on this original British helmet on Zethan to have his picture taken which is super duper heavy which makes one wonder if the soldiers might result in having shorter necks!

Leaving Eshed market,  we drove to the nearest supermarket to stock up on spring water as well as groceries before heading to Fremantle market for a walk. It would be silly not to step into Fremantle market when we are staying in Fremantle when it is operating over the weekend. We must have been a joke since we had to ask for passerby's help on how the parking ticket machine work! The walk around Fremantle market was really fruitful especially it was such a joy to see the fresh and beautiful fruits and vegetables, all well priced! Quite tough to resist the temptation to buy all the fruits and Vegs back, looking so deliciously fresh and colorful. Not like we can as we will be moving off to our farm stay tomorrow for 2 days and please spare me the extras to pack for the stay.

Discovered amid researching this very much talked about and highly recommended authentic Japanese ramen shop within Fremantle market thus was determined to go in search for it. Surely Asian food for tea break would be welcomed by all after all the fish and chips. The stall was hunted down in no time, thanks to the enclosed market though very little information are available on the exact location. Initially all of them are like - what, eat again. no thanks, we are not hungry, evident in the photo. I am the only one much excited to give it a try. 2 bowls of ramen were ordered just for tasting purposes and as soon as they taste them, had to order another 2 for all to have a fulfilling and satisfactory experience!! The broth is so so rich and ramen taste totally al dente.   

With a warm and full tummy and all shops and supermarts closed by 6pm, we went for a stroll at Fremantle fishing boat harbor again. Now we can take our own sweet time as all are armed with windbreaker, sweater cardigan to brave the chilling wind. Or so we thought, the wind is so freaking cold sending shivers right to the bone kind of cold yet the scenery and sunset is simply breathtaking and gorgeous. Made our way to Cicerellos Fremantle, no excuse necessary for some hot drinks and pastries. Nothing beat a hot cappuccino and hot chocolate in the cold weather though the tiramisu is rather disappointing. The restaurant is packed to the brim partly because it's Halloween night! Wandering around and looking at the seafood, regret a little not having some empty spaces in the tummy for their specialty fish and chips, what else.

A short stroll back to the car amid the cold wind and we are back for a good night rest. Reserve all the energy for a super super exciting 2 days head, *rubbing hands in high anticipation and hopping from foot to foot* The young lady however insisted on a pic or two with the souvenirs we got before retiring to bed happily. As always I am the last to jump into bed, having to crack my brain on the stuff necessary to be packed for our farmstay along with some groceries and snacks for the kids along the way.

Perth ~ Day 2

A good night rest and the kids are up and about early in the morning. An exciting day ahead as we are going to one of the main highlight attraction of this trip, never to be missed otherwise it's not considered a complete trip to Perth! As it will be a drive to the destination, made the decision to have a good breakfast before setting off. Home cooked breakfast it shall be, French toast, scrambled eggs and the fresh sausages which cost only a fraction of what we pay at home!! Zethan woke earlier thus had a hand in the preparation of breakfast ~ helping to beat the eggs after pouring in some milk and setting the table.

Filled up the tummy, all took turns to take our shower which can be a time consuming process as there is only one bathroom! 5 paxs taking turns in the bathroom is no joke and the kids get to have theirs first lest there is a possibility the hot water might run short. Packed some snacks and milk and off we go! Though we did not set off early as planned but hey we are on a holiday, relax! Got lost a wee bit on the drive there but was not that bad I guess.

Entrance fees cost quite a bit but the adventure to Caversharm Wildlife Park was definitely worth every penny. Weather looked threatened to pour but managed to hold for us to enjoy the place thoroughly. We. Make it a point to touch on the "not to be missed" activities, Meeting the Koalas had to be the priority! There is only specific Koala that we could touched and take pictures with. They are indeed very lazy, sleeping away most times even to the extent we did not catch any glimpse of them feeding. It was a exciting experience being so close to them, only regret we could not cuddle one for a picture. They are so so adorable and the whole family got really excited. The closest we got was next to one cuddled by the care taker but the mischievous guy kept turning away from our camera and we had to play merry go round with it!

Molly's farm basically is an enclosure with all the different animals namely rabbits, guniea pigs, Ilama, Alpacas, donkey etc. Young kids get to enter the rabbits and Guinea pigs enclosures to chase, catch and cuddle the furry cuties. Zelyn got in and was annoyed when she could not catch any! They were too fast for her, scramping in all directions whenever she get closed to them. She could not even decide which to go after since they are scattered in all directions, hiding behind the fences, under logs and bushes. Mummy tried to help by spotting them on behalf but did not worked very well too. The kids get to witness for themselves the spitting Ilama and was really catious with them, so much so that Zethan refuse to have his picture taken with one in the background, so farrrr away!

Farm show is the other not to be missed activity in the park. Intelligent sheepdog rounding up the sheeps professionally, demonstration of shearing of the sheep's wool beatifully intact. Zethan missed out the opportunity of bottle feeding the lambs as he is too shy to volunteer despite repeated encouragement. He is a little upset when he realized it's the task of bottle feeding the lambs. When the chance came for milking Minty the cow, glad that he did attempt. In fact both kids are successful in milking the cow, well done children! A unique experience which might not come easily available. We got to feel the lanolin from the sheep's wool, oily and waxy. 

 

Last but not least, feeding of the kangaroos! Walking directly into their enclosure with many kangaroos roaming around freely. Zethan was very skeptical about feeding the kangaroos with quite abit of uncertainties. He claimed that he is uncertain how and which roo to feed but with some coaching and encouragement, he did. Guess he hold some reservation fearing that the roo will bite and also we had prewarned him not to stand behind the roo as they might hit with their tail! Eventually he managed and this mummy here is happy he tried which proved to be quite an experience. The exact opposite for the girl who have no fear of feeding the roo at all and kept asking for more feeds. Amazingly the Roos took to her and followed her to be fed and no one else. Look at the whole group of kangaroos crowding around her waiting to be fed, definitely make this trip more than worthwhile. Objectives achieved for the children to have a very different and unique experience from our usual citylife. It was a heartwarming scene go watch the siblings enjoying themselves together. To be honest, this mummy here enjoyed herself a great load too. The girl was reluctant to leave and kept on feeding the Roos, had to coax her into stepping out of the enclosure.

As it was really late for lunch even though the children did have their snack and milk earlier, we decide to settle for a quick lunch in a cafe in Whitman park. Unfortunately we had missed the timing for the train ride in Whitman Park. Post lunch we decided to leave Swan Valley so did not managed to explore the area at all. Drove back to Perth city's Watertown for some outlet shopping which we gathered will be the only shopping we will do for the whole trip. It poured on the way there and we were just so glad and relieved the weather hold for us to complete the adventure in the park. We spent about 4-5 hours there inclusive of a late dinner. With my thorough research and planning, this is the only good day to shop since most stores are only opened till late (read 9pm) on Friday and just nice it was raining! Probably the only brand worth buying was Levis which is having 70% store wide sales so naturally we spent most time here. On the average we paid for about $30 for a pair of jeans which would have costed a lot more back home but the downside is very small sizes available for the ladies range.

End the wet & cold day 2 with a quick Japanese dinner served in huge portion and met with a traffic jam back to Fremantle. Cleaned up the children as it was too cold for a shower before tucked them in bed and they drifted to Lala land fast while it took a longer time for me to wind down after the shower which is really cold and packing of the loots!