3 reasons why Perth is the best Aussie city to visit (for us, at least):
(1) 5 hours direct flight! That's savings of at least four hours on an entire trip compared to going to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.
(2) Four seasons - and it is the cold weather we all were looking forward to. Nothing feels the same unless you are either in the nature, countryside or on the ski slopes. So, winter in Hong Kong doesn't count.
(3) Genuinely friendly people - had the most number of chat-ups by locals and these were Australians who threw us casual smiles or even came up to speak to us. Having lived in Sydney and hung out in various cities, we haven't spoken to these many strangers over our span of five short days! We even had an elderly couple who came over when their friends told them that we were from Singapore. The army veteran husband told us about his days passing through Singapore and praised how well LKY did to turn that "really filthy island" to something great today!
First day breakfast before hitting our favouritism stores: Coles & Target.
The best bunk bed ever and in a houseboat! A bed for each!
Living area
Best drawing board the next morning at 9 deg celsius
Mummy's first cookout. Sausage buns and sautéed mushrooms.
Adventure on Cooper Island. Always a challenge mooring the boat but lovely fun exploring mini Islands on both sides of the river.
Abandoned lighthouse. Thank God it was daylight when we visited. Was eerily silent!
And we hung out at playgrounds!
Wild dolphins. So carefree and so cheeky. They chased the boat and performed twirls and dives around us.
Big dingo... Pure dingoes are non-aggressive.
One of these are going to be ours, Little Max.
Lots of kangies...
Hanging out at the farm: Gumleaf Cottage
Farm eggs for scrambled eggs breakfast.
Trampoline, dogs, horses, goats and bunnies. What else not to love!
I would say we have survived the great winter weather because we roughed it out quite a bit. We didn't have heaters except for one night on the houseboat. First night at the airport apartment, there were no heaters. First night on the houseboat, we were cautious of how much electricity we were using up becaus we didn't charge the generator. Two nights on the farm, the cottage was freezing cold and the most popular place in the house was next to the fireplace and gas heater! We loaded up on socks, pullovers and survived!
It was a great short break where we did not visit the city nor did we spend much time in the mall, except for toilet breaks and getting grocery. Lots of wildlife and animals again, and we haven't had the chance to visit any chocolate factories or wineries. Will have to shelf it for next trip, since this trip was a last minute SG59 weekend getaway. The only thing I got sick of was 'fish and chips' until I was willing to cook, in order not to have to eat them again. And I missed my chilli...in whatever form it may come...
See you soon, Perth!
