Catch Up Post- SPRING BREAK in Western Australia

The girls had a two week spring (you heard me, spring) vacation at the end of September/beginning of October. We took the opportunity to head out to Western Australia for an adventure, and boy did we get one. More on that later.  Western Australia has unique wild life. One animal unique to WA is the quokka, which is one of the reasons we headed out that way.  Here is a picture of a quokka we saw while we were there: 

Day 1- Flying to Perth

We flew to Perth, which I think is probably the biggest city out in Western Australia.  It took about 5 hours to get out there.  

 

 It was like flying to California from the East Coast.  We flew into Perth, but traveled throughout south western Australia (as pictured in the red box above). 

We left for Perth on the Saturday right after school let out. We arrived at the airport about a hour and half early, which is not as early as I would have shown up in America, but longer than Qantas told us we had to be there.  They said we needed to be there 45 minutes early.

The domestic travel experience in Australia was very different than domestic travel experience in the United States. No one checked our IDs or really even our tickets when we checked in our luggage or when we were going through security. Anyone can go to the gate, whether they are flying or not. It felt really, really weird. 

Here we are at the gate, ready for vacation:

Our trip out wasn't as smooth as we had hoped. We were warned that Qantas has been a bit of a hot mess since the pandemic. Our first flight was delayed by two or three hours. We could feel our layover dwindling.  Thankfully, we just barely made our second flight to Perth. 

We rented a car and went to our first hotel near the airport.  It was not the best hotel we've ever stayed in. In Caitlyn's words: " it was awful and cramped. It looked like a gas station but as a hotel room meant for 2 people (even though it was meant for 4)."

We then went out to King's Park, one of the largest inner city parks in the world.  We started to look around the botanic gardens, but unfortunately a lot of what we wanted to do there (walk on a cool, long, high bridge with a good look of the city, and a neat nature playground) was closing right as we showed up.  But here are some pictures of things we were able to see:

 

 

After the park, we went off in search of something to eat.  It was two hours behind in Perth, so we were hungry. We ran into a problem that can happen in Australia.  We did not have "booking" (reservation) so a lot of places had no room for us.  We finally found our way to a little pizza place that had pretty decent pizza.  Then it was back to the not-so-great hotel for a nights rest before the rest of our adventure.

Day 2-Freemantle and beyond

 

On day 2, we woke up early by Perth standards, and I pushed us all out the door on the early side in search of food.  We went to a decent restaurant called Finlay and Sons.  I misread their hours.  It turned out we had to wait a half an hour for food, because they only served coffee for the first half hour.  

 

I may have mentioned it previously, but it is interesting here in Australia, because most places of business don't  have a bathroom for guests to use right in their own space.  You almost always have to go out and around the building to find a restroom, and use a key or code or something to access it.   I took a picture while we were here to show how NOT attached the bathrooms are to a business. This was out the front, around the side, to the back-- in its own little separate building.  The door next to it must have been a bathroom for another business in the little strip mall.

 

We had a bit of drive to do that day to get down to Margaret River, a region in Southwest Australia where we planned to stay for the next few days, but lots of time to do it.  I had done a lot of research of playgrounds in the Perth area, and I am really glad we made the time to stop at the one we did.

The girls played at the Wellington Square-Koolangka Koolangka Waabiny – which means children’s playground in the local Whadjuk Nyoongar language--Playground for HOURS. They would have kept playing but we needed to get on the road.   This playground had EVERYTHING.  So much for people of all ages.  It is just a beautiful thing to see a well planned, thoroughly thought out public space.  And to see so many people use it.  It was full of really happy people enjoying the outside. 

 

 

This playground had slides and climbers for big kids and for little kids.  It had spaces to walk a tight rope. It had a flying fox (a zip-line), in ground mini trampolines, a mini skate park, basket ball hoops, BBQs, a water playground etc. etc. etc.    We got there super early so the girls had it to themselves for about an hour.  Then every corner of the park just filled with people. But yet it didn't feel uncomfortably crowded. 

They also had some interesting public restrooms.  Interesting enough that i just had to take a picture and mention it in the blog.  You had to push a button to go in.  It looked like it might cost money but it was free.  Once you got inside, you had ten minutes to use the bathroom, then I guess it would just open the door.  In fact if you didn't move around enough inside it warned you it was gonna open the door.  Which I both get (you don't want people sleeping or probably doing drugs in there), but also, how much movement does one do while using the restroom? After you use it, it claimed to clean itself.  The inside was wet, so I assume that is what it was doing.

After the park, we went off to Fremantle (or Freo as the locals call it). Fremantle is a beautiful port city just south of Perth. The area we went to was so full of character and life. We started at the Fremantle Markets, which was a lovely building full of food and vendor stalls. The markets themselves were crazy crowded, so less enjoyable than it would have been if there had simply been less people there.  We had lunch there.  Yummy dumplings, and then girls went and bought themselves some crepes from another market vendor.

Outside the markets there were buskers and performers around. The girls delighted in watching a guy do a mime/dance type routine. It was quite inventive.

From here we walked to the Roundhouse. The roundhouse opened in 1841, a mere 18 months after the settlement of Fremantle. It is the oldest public building in Western Australia. It was built to hold people convicted of crimes. It has a beautiful view right by it.  In Caitlyn's words "was an old prison that was really cool. It had a good view of the ocean, some cells that were still standing, and a cool old bell."

 

 

After that we visited something called the E-shed, which had more market stalls. Lauren got her face painted for free while Mike looked around:

By then it was getting late, so we left Fremantle and drove further south to Busselton and had dinner at a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant that had pretty decent food.  What I remember best about the whole thing was Lauren, very spiritedly, telling her father all about the book series the Warriors, about clans of warrior cats. Which was something that Mike found really funny.  It was a sweet interaction and something that I feel like I will remember for ever.

Then we drove even further south to our stay for the next couple of days in Margaret River at a place called Bussells Bushland Cottages.  It was dark when we arrive and we were all tired so we just turned in.

Day 3- Margaret River Awesomeness and THE INCIDENT

 

 At first glance, and in the dark, the Bussells Bushland cottages didn't seem like all that much to write home about. But of course, Mike takes his research very seriously and he had good reason to put us here for a couple of nights.  After staying here, I wish we had stayed at this accommodation for much, much longer. There are 8 cottages set on 50 acres of "land for wildlife."  I didn't know much about where we were staying.  I had left this decision for Mike. I woke up before the rest of the Sanders family and ventured out into the kitchen area.  I thought I'd open the blinds and let in some light. When I opened the first set of blinds I was greeted with a Mama Kangaroo and (for the first time in Australia) her Joey just feet from our cottage.  They were everywhere in this plot of land.  It was such a special sight to see.

I woke everyone earlier than I planned with my squeals of delight. We ate breakfast and then went on a bushwalk around the property.  We really saw the roos (many with joeys) EVERYWHERE.  

Kookaburra sighting

More roos

My Ladies keeping me safe as we were surrounded and sometimes it was a little scary.

After the walk, it was time to head into the town of Margaret River to get Mike some coffee. They had a nice little street full of quaint little shops. We did some touristy gift shopping. The lady in the shop was really nice and gave us a tourist map of Australia that should have cost actual money.  Maybe we bought too much crap.

Next it was off to a beach to check out the Indian Ocean (a whole new Ocean for us) and play around at the beach.  I had heard good things about Canal Rocks. The rock formations at this beach were beautiful and I knew how much the kids love to climb rocks, so I thought it might be a good place to burn some energy (especially since the ocean in September was still a bit too cold to really swim in). I mean, get a look at this place:

Before I let the kids loose (and frankly after I let them loose) I told them to make careful choices because i did not want to spend our vacation at the hospital.  Then off the went.  Little did I know I was not lecturing the right person. But more on that in a bit. Here are so more pics of them playing at the beach:

 

 

and a bit of togetherness before the incident:

 

 

Either shortly after or shortly before I took the picture below, Mike took, what I would say was a misstep, except I hear a jump was involved:

 

 

 

I saw him move slowly to toward the car. Caitlyn told me she had seen him fall "but he just said 'It’s just smarting a bit.' " and he had to sit in the car while the girls finished playing.  When I reached him at the car, he kept on with his "smarting" story despite me saying it seemed more serious than previous foot injuries, and perhaps we would need to get him seen by a medical professional.  He waved this off (what does a wife know anyway) and we went off to try to find food.  

 

The place I wanted to eat at was full (and once again we didn't have a booking), so we moved onto another beach.  This time the girls and I went and put our feet in the ocean.  It was my first time touching the Indian Ocean.  The beach was gorgeous, but the water was cold, and there was a wounded Mike waiting up at the car, so we didn't stay long.

 

 

Next we found a place to eat that was RIGHT next door to a high ropes course, called Next Level Monkey Business.  As these places go, this one wasn't outrageously priced, and they had some space, so we signed the girls up for a two hour block of ropes courses.  Our girls were not technically tall/heavy enough for much of the higher level courses, but this being Australia (and not super litigious USA) they talked their way on the high ropes and ziplines:

 

 

 

 

I watched from right below, while Mike and his "smarting" foot sat on the deck. I guess during this time he decided (after talking to someone who was not his wife) that *maybe* he needed some medical attention. But it was a public holiday in Western Australia and not much was open. They were celebrating the Queen's birthday (which is celebrated in June in the rest of Australia).  I was thankful that someone was able to convince him he might want to get his foot looked at.  

 

Next we got ice cream at a local place called Simmos, which the girls deemed "Awesome!"  Then it was off to a grocery store to buy some snacks for dinner since Mike wasn't going to be walking anywhere.  We just took it easy for the rest of the night.

 

Day 4- Busselton Hospital and a Long Drive

 

 We were treated to another morning at Bussells Bushland Cottages, and more Kangaroo moms and joeys.  

 

 

 

 

I was sad to leave this place, but I wanted to get Mike some medical attention and I wanted to be at the Emergency Room early.  We had a 40 minute drive to the closest ER in Busselton. They were quite kind, but it was still a ER and swallowed the majority of morning. 

After a lot of waiting, Mike got to go back.  We weren't allowed back there.  So one of the nurses suggested the girls and I take a short walk to a beach near by.  Again, it was absolutely beautiful. But we did not have our things and the water would have been too cold anyway.

A few hours later, Mike's foot was confirmed to be broken and we were sent off with an X-ray, a boot, some crutches, and a souvenir photo of our time in Busselton:

We had a relatively long drive ahead of us, but we needed food so we stopped for food at brewery in town (it was only ok) and mike tried out his crutches: 

Then it was time to get in the car to go further south in southwest Australia.  I made the long drive even longer because I wanted to stop at a place on the shore where the Indian Ocean met the South Ocean, because how often can you say you've been to where two oceans meet?  I feel in love with the idea before a foot was broken and we'd have to backtrack a little, so I pushed forward with going, even if it meant being in the car a little longer during the day.

We stopped at the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, which sits at the tip of a peninsula where the two oceans meet.  Unfortunately there was some construction, so it wasn't quite the sight I had hoped for, but still pretty cool.

local birds welcoming us

The Indian Ocean is the water to left of Lauren, while the Southern ocean is the water to the right of Caitlyn

This sign is usually right at the tip of the peninsula, but due to construction they had it no where near the very edge of the land.  Oh well.

After this it was A LONG, somewhat boring drive, with absolutely no cell reception what so ever.  I was a little concerned about what would happen should we have car trouble, but luckily we did not have to find out.  We did pass through an area called Shannon, and I had to take pictures of road signs:

We found a nice place to stop and eat (Asian food again). Once again it was pretty decent.  Then it was off to a farm stay.  We got there kinda late, so we just settled in for the night.

Day 5- Easy Start and Valley of the Giants

This is Caitlyn's narative of the day:

"This morning was kinda relaxed, so Lauren and my Mom went to go do laundry and get breakfast, while me and my Dad stayed at home. And the person that owned the cottages to talk about places to go and the bookings and stuff. But after that we all had breakfast and packed for tomorrow. But around 3:00 pm we went to a place called “Valley of the Giants Tree Top walk”, where you could walk on a path up high or view the trees from the ground. We had to get a wheelchair for my dad though because of his broken foot."

Caitlyn failed to mention that she and Mike had their first sighting of a huntsman spider, which was probably about the size of a small hand. She kept it quiet because she was worried it would freak Lauren and I out.  He was hanging out right outside our little cottage on the farm. 

The Valley of the Giants Tree top walk was pretty cool.  For more words from Caitlyn: 

"The walk was really fun but the path up high was very high and a little wobbly. The highest point was about 40 meters (roughly 120 feet). When we got off the high path we went to the one on the ground, and we had to ditch our Dad because there were stairs so he couldn’t come. But, it turned out to be really pretty."

Below are many pictures from the walk:

 

We were up really high and it was kinda scary to look down like this.  Pictures don't do it justice.

I'm not gonna lie, it was really hard work to push Mike up the ramps to get up high.  The path was also super narrow, which didn't help it at all.

The part of the path where we had to ditch Mike was really cool too.  Just HUGE trees.

That was a lot of fun.  After this we went into town for an early dinner at a family owned Japanese restaurant. The food was really good. All in all, it was a good day.

Day 6- LONG Drive Back to Perth and Trip to Rottnest Island

We got up on the early side because we had to to get all the way back up to Perth so we could get to Rottnest Island, where the quokkas live.  The drive was boring, but we knew it was limited and we would be in Rottnest by the evening. Rottnest is a beautiful island, with very few cars, just off the coast of Perth. Our original plan was to rent bikes while we were here and bike all around the island, but Mike's broken foot sort of derailed that. Well our plan was to do that and see the quokkas.

Our other original plan was to take the ferry out to the island, but then I started to read about how the ferry out to Rottnest is one of the 10 worst ferry crossings in the world and how people regularly lose their lunch. And I basically had a panic attack about whether or not I could handle the boat ride over.  So I started to look into other options. Surprisingly taking a small plane (7 seats) over to the island was relatively cheap.  I decided 10 minutes on a small plane would be better than the ferry. I still sort of can't believe I got on this plane.  It was older than Mike. But the pilot really put me at ease.

Unfortunately, the day we were headed to Rottnest, they (I guess firefighters) were doing controlled burns in the area and there was smoke every where. We weren't really even sure if we were going to be able to fly over. But thankfully we were able to go.

Here are some pictures of this adventure:

waiting at a small airstrip for the pilot to show up

Mike was able to get in with his broken foot.  This thing was tiny.

This was the note about when you could smoke.  You know the plane is old

Mike's view from the back of the plane.  Since I was the most nervous, I got the seat right up front. Well that and Mike wasn't able to climb up the wing to get in that door.

The sky was super hazy from all the smoke, which was too bad, but we still got this gorgeous view of the island.

More island views

Proof we made it safely. Phew.

I know there are probably too many pictures of this, but given how much I hate to fly it was kinda a miracle I got myself in this thing (I guess I hate boats more?). And even though this scared me, it was AWESOME.  Honestly it is probably my favorite thing about this time in Australia so far.  It was just a really neat experience and I am so, so glad we did it. 

The other really great thing about our time on Rottnest was that the hotel we were staying at was so accommodating. I called them when we found out Mike's foot was legitimately broken and asked if they could get us a room that he would actually be able to get into (we were glamping and they only had a few tents that were handicap accessible), and with a shower he could get into. They couldn't promise anything, but boy did they deliver. Someone in a little golf cart showed up at the Island airport to drive us over to our tent (we would have had to walk if Mike wasn't hurt).  Our tent was RIGHT at the front and was very close and easy to get to and from the food and the pool. There weren't many choices for food that were close enough for Mike, but the restaurant by the glamping tents wasn't bad, just not a whole lot of selection.

The girls really liked the glamping tent.  In Cailtyn's words "Our room is very cool: it has a bunk bed, and king bed, and a bathroom. And the whole thing is a tent, so that was very cool."

 Also in Caitlyn's words about the resort: "But the resort had a pool, so we went there for a while but we had to leave early because the water was super cold (and the seagulls were pooping in it). So we went home to change before dinner, and ate there (the food was expensive and not greasy). However, there were lots of quokkas there and there was a cool view near our table."
 

"Then me, Lauren, and my Mom walked on a beach and then up to the lighthouse (a lot of steps so my Dad couldn’t come). Then we came back and ate M&M’S outside and looked at the stars for a little before going back inside for bed."

sunset on the island

night time over the glamping tents

Day 7- Rottnest (Rotto)

We did get to see a lot of quokkas.  On this day we just enjoyed Rottnest.  The girls and I took a little bus tour of the island, and shopped in the little town. Then we just beach hopped all day.  The beaches were the prettiest we had seen so far since getting here. Unfortunately the water was super cold.  Not that the girls (mostly Lauren) cared.  They swam anyway. I had to get them out when I realized their lips were turning purple.  Probably let them stay in a bit too long.

Here are some quokka sightings:

I think they are quite cute, but Mike thinks they are just rats/rodents with a good marketing firm.

Here are some pictures from the beautiful beaches we visited on Rotto:

Pinky's beach- right by the hotel:

The basin, just to the left of Pinky's and probably my favorite:

I think this one was Little salmon bay....

Can't remember what this one was called, but it sure was pretty:

Here is a picture of what poor Mike got to do that day:

Day 8- Leaving Rotto and Going North of Perth

I got up early the next day and snapped this photo of pinky's beach very early.  Just such a nice place to spend some time.

We left Rottnest the same way we came. On a tiny plane. This time I was more excited. As we left the air was clear, so I knew we would have a better view. We were almost late for our flight though because I think the hotel forgot they had to take poor Mike and his broken foot.  They did get us there in the nick of time.

Here are some pictures from our flight out of Rotto:

We arrived back in Perth and hopped in the car to start heading north of Perth for a night at a caravan park. We had a nice little cabin there. The caravan park had a bounce pillow and nice playground and the girls had a fun time playing with other kids. We generally took it slow. I had intended to go up north to have a view of the night sky out there, but we were all kind of exhausted and I think just passed out on the early side. We did managed to have dinner out by the sea:

Day 9- The Pinnacles and Last Day in Perth

Before driving back to Perth we stopped at the Pinnacles desert. The Pinnacles are natural limestone structures, thought to be formed 25,000 to 30,000 years ago after the sea receded and left deposits of sea shells. Over time, the coastal winds left pillars exposed. It honestly looked like something out of Star Trek, or just basically something other worldly.  As you can see for yourself:

We managed to collect some good pictures of some Aussie road signs while up near the Pinnacles:

We ended our day in downtown perth. By this point we were all tuckered out and kinda out of sightseeing juice. I attempted to take the kids down to Elizabeth Quay, a waterfront precint on the banks of the Swan River.  I had  heard they had a good playground there. 

The girls did have a decent time there. We went to the playground, they went on a merry-go-round, and we had gellato. But, unfortunately, they were doing another controlled burn in the area, and it was INCREDIBLY smoky. To the point my throat sort of hurt, so we didn't stay out too long.  We treked back to the hotel and I ordered dinner from the hotel bar and brought it up to the room.

The next day we took a flight back to Canberra.  All in all it wasn't the trip we expected (insert Mike's broken foot here), but despite the foot, it was still packed full of memories and things we couldn't see/do anywhere else. 

The girls asked to return to Rottnest again soon.  I don't know that it will be possible, but I do know we have more adventures ahead of us.

But Western Australia comes Lauren (and Caitlyn) approved