Bye bye South East Asia, Welcome to Australia!
This time we definitely said goodbye to the South East of Asia and left Kuala Lumpur for good. After a very quick stay in our home country (as Daniel explained in the episode 35), we flew to Perth, capital of Western Australia. It is a 5 hours flight from Kuala and big bonus there is no time difference between Malaysia and this part of Australia.
Australia, view of Bunbury
After getting our rental car close to the airport, we immediately hit the road to go to Fremantle for our first night Down Under! We had time to slightly explore the city before sunset, we then headed back to our accommodation aka the Fremantle Prison which has been turned into a guest house. Unique experience to sleep in a (very) tiny cell! The premises are great and the staff is super friendly. It was funny but also strange to visit the other floors of the old Women Prison and see how the cells were distributed. There is a few little stories of the prisoners on display on the walls.
We woke up early and left Fremantle to go further South to Margaret River. We stopped at the “A’mazen Margaret River” maze on the way and got lost a few times before finding the centre of the it and finally the exit. The place is nice and peaceful with a lot of green areas and beautifully maintained gardens. We met Melissa at the maze’s counter, a lovely french girl, and we started talking about travelling. After some time she invited us to join her boyfriend and her to watch the sunset on the ocean. We gladly accepted and after having dropped our bags at our AirBnB, we met Melissa and Robin at the supermarket to fill on snacks and drinks. We followed them to the RedGate view point and we enjoyed the view drinking and eating with our new friends. Then Bertrand, another french guy, popped with his cousins and we celebrated the sun going down altogether! Bertrand was then so kind to invite us to his BBQ party. We spent hours around the bonfire and ate sausages and fries for the rest of the night! A few Bertrand’s Australian co-workers also joined at some point. We had a vey good time with them all and we would like to thank them for their warm welcome! All the best to you guys!
Australia, enjoying the sunset @ Redgate Point
On Saturday, we embarked on the Bushtuker Wine Tour and absolutely loved it! See below for more details. The next day we decided to go back up North and take a hike in Cap Naturaliste close to Dunsborough. There are lovely and easy trails around. Weather wasn’t so good but it was nice to walk on the hills to some of the viewpoints. We saw sea lions in the distance playing in the waves! On our way back we stopped again at the Beer Farm for lunch.
Australia, the Churchview Estate @ Margaret River
We left Margaret River and drove to our next destination: Albany. We stopped at the Giant Top Tree Walk in Walpole on our way. It is some kind of natural conservation park of giant tingle trees, very special to the area. We could observe a few birds while walking on the canopy. Magali is scared of heights but she still managed and enjoyed the walk at 40m above the ground. We reached Albany late afternoon. The next day we explored the Frenchman Bay and the Torndirrup National Park, we hiked the Possession Heritage Trail with its beautiful and pristine beach! We also stopped at the Wind Farm and at Stony Hills for spectacular views of the coast.
Australia, Vancouver Peninsula @ Albany
we specifically enjoy
- Margaret River: the Bushtucker Wine tour and its host, Silvano, an Italian man from the 2nd generation who was absolutely lovely, we had great fun with him and the other guests of the tour. We visited four wineries and cheese/chocolate factories. The Wineries were all different and we had the chance to taste wines that are a bit uncommon to our taste.
- We also stopped at the Beer Farm near Margaret River. The farm has been turned into a brewery and the barnes are now accommodating tables and stools for beer drinkers. The place is quite funky with live music and a nice view of the surroundings!
Australia, the Beer Farm @ Margaret River
accommodations
- Fremantle: Fremantle Prison YHA, to sleep and feel how it is to be a prisoner!
- Albany: the Sleepwell Motel a nice motel not far from the center of town, clean, staff was friendly and told us where to hike, a very good value.
Australia, The Gap @Torndirrup National Park