Lemon Pea Lifestyle etc.: western australia

Showing posts with label western australia. Show all posts

Tuesday, 23 December 2014

King's Park - the place to go in Perth

King's Park is located on the western edge of Perth in Western Australia. In covers 4.06 square km's and is full to the brim with plants native to WA. It's free to enter all year around and spending a day there would be very easy to do. A free day out - what more could you want?

There's plenty to see in King's Park, and because it's free, for me it makes it one of Perth's best attractions. The Western Australian botanic garden, within the park, is the highlight. It is home to the unique and diverse plant life of WA, which is home to half of Australia's plant life most of which are found no where else on earth. The botanic garden is part of the worldwide network committed to plant conservation. It's a beautiful part of the park and also very interesting. It's also home to Gija Jumulu (think my spell check just had a breakdown when I clicked add to dictionary), a 750 year old Boab tree. Worth checking out.

You can also take a free guided walk with a guide at various times throughout the day who will give you all the information you need about the various species of fauna on display. But if you just want to go around the gardens at your own pace there's plenty of information boards and also lot's of places just to sit and take it all in.

Yes, that would be another tree top walk. Not quite as high as the last, but still spectacular with views right across the park. You can also enjoy panoramic views of where two rivers meet. There's plenty of places to where you can lay out a picnic mat and enjoy relaxing in the sun with a picnic.

There's also a few memorial monuments in the park - state memorial, the flame of remembrance and the whispering wall. They're all rather beautiful with great views from the memorials and also the whispering wall is a great place to sit, rest your feet and enjoy an ice lolly or cold drink.

There are heaps of things to see and do in Perth and I'd highly recommend have a Google before you go so you're not bamboozled by choice when you get there. Also hunt down the tourist information centre, this is a must whenever you go somewhere new, as you can grab a map and leaflets for things you want to do. But if you're strapped for cash, want a day trip with views of the city King's Park is a must.

Have you been to King's Park, I'd love to know what you thought in the comments. Also have you got any recommendations for places we should visit in Australia?

Saturday, 20 December 2014

It's all about Albany

Albany, found in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, is a beautiful coastal town crammed full of breathtaking beaches, cute shops and restaurants and an abundance of history. Jack and I ventured down to Albany last weekend for a bit of a road trip and after a four hour drive from Bunbury we were spoiled for choice with things to do and see.

I'm a massive history buff (bit nerdy but true) and World War One & Two are parts of history that I really enjoy learning and reading about. Being from England I've only ever really learned about the part the English, French, Germans and Russians had to play so the opportunity to discover new things about Australia and New Zealand's parts in both wars was something I definitely wanted to do. If it's something you'd like to learn about too then Albany is the place for you.

Little historical fact now, Albany is the port from which the ANZAC soldiers left for Galliploli from and also were a lot of American submarine's were based during the war. For that reason there's a lot to be seen. The national ANZAC centre as well as the memorial statue is worth a visit whether, like me, you're really interested or if you're not. There's a lot of beautiful views from up there and a nice walking track as well. The museum is $24 dollars per adult to enter but you don't have to, there's still lots to see if you choose it's too pricey for you.

We also decided to visit the Western Australia museum. It's free entry but a donation of $5 is recommended, which is definitely not a lot for the free exhibitions they have on offer. There's also paid exhibitions on regularly and when Jack and I visited there was an exhibition called 'Da Vinci Machines' on. You also have to pay to go on the ship (pictured above) but it's a good way to learn a little about the area and how it's developed, as Albany is the oldest permanently settled town in WA, and a good way to kill some time if necessary.

Jack and I stayed in the Banksia Gardens motel for the night, which was a lovely motel and if you're staying for a weekend or even longer is well worth looking into. Our apartment came with full kitchen, TV, two bedrooms, a shower and a bath so staying there for a week wouldn't have been hard. We ate at the Venice restaurant which was so good. The food was amazing and portion sizes were really good for the price. Only downside none of the mussels in my spaghetti marinara were open which was a bit of a bummer but the dish was lovely anyway. And Albany by night is stunning so it's well worth a wander around, or if you can't stand that icy breeze, a drive.

We took the long way home, really roadtripping it back and going through as many towns as possible to get back to Bunbury. We also took a drive around the Princess Royal Harbour to look at the natural blow holes and some really gorgeous beaches.

If you've got time I'd really recommend having a look around the harbour. The views are breathtaking as is the hike back up the hill from the blowholes, but worth it. It's all free to do so money is not an issue with this one.

On the way home we decided to stop and do the tree top walk in the Valley of the Giants. It's located in Denmark and costs $15 each but again is definitely worth it. At it's highest point you are at 40 meters above ground level so it's not for the feint hearted. It's a fun walk around the tops of the trees and it's pretty spectacular when you're up there.

If you're not so keen on heights you don't have to do the tree top part but if you've paid the money you may as well just to say you did. But there is also a ground level walk around the trees with information about all the flora and fauna on display in the national park. It's pretty fascinating and definitely the one thing to visit if you're in the area and on a tight budget.

A good weekend in Albany is pretty easy to accomplish, let me know if you've been and what you thought of it in the comments and don't forget to let me know if there's anywhere you think really have to visit in Australia.

P.S You can now like my page on Facebook for updates when I post here

Tuesday, 2 December 2014

A Day Trip | Penguin Island

Remember that TV show about penguins that was on in the UK back in 2010 called 'Penguin Island', well this is where that documentary was shot. Penguin Island, 45 minutes south of Perth and five minute ferry ride across Shoalwater Marine Park in Western, home to WA's largest colony of little penguins - the smallest penguin species in the world.

Last weekend me and Jack took the drive two hours north of Eaton to Rockingham to catch the little ferry across to penguin island. It was beautiful sunny day so we decided to make the most of it and also hop on the glass bottom boat to cruise to Seal Island where, funnily enough, there's a few seals to be seen. Only male ones however as they leave the females on an island up stream to bring up the young. We saw a few seals lying lazily on the beach and another gliding through the perfectly clear water.

The cruise was brilliant and accompanied by a very informative tour guide which meant I never found myself looking at something and saying 'I wonder..' Lois (I hope that's how you spell it) gave us all the information we could possibly need about the environment, the habitats and all the creatures in it from the sea grass underneath us to the huge seals lying in the sun.

After our twenty minute-or so cruise we arrived back at Penguin Island. We'd booked to go into the feeding talk so we had ten minutes to have a quick look at the beach. It was beautiful and if it had been a few degrees warmer I'd have gotten in the sea but as it was I decided against that. The beaches are swamped with sea birds of all different varieties, all though mainly sea gulls, and it was fun watching them waddle through the soft sand with their feet sinking.

So after a bit of a wander we headed into the feeding building where we were greeted by seven little penguins stood on a rock ready for their lunch. The whole feeding session was joined by a talk which again was very informative about the penguins and the way they live but also why the ten in the rescue centre are there and why they'll be put back to the wild or why they can't be. You can do Penguin Island without the cruise or the feeding talk but for me they were the best bits as the information we got from both guides was brilliant. Also it's the only way you're guaranteed to see penguins so for a few extra dollars I think it's worth it.

The penguins were so cute and you can go into that room at any time for free but if you want the talk you pay a little extra but as I've said, it's definitely worth it. Whilst we were there we figured it would be rude not to have a walk around the whole island, which we did, sticking to the board walk as instructed so as not to disturb any sleeping baby penguins or habitats. We didn't see any penguins on our walk but it was lovely nonetheless and a great way to end our day on penguin island.

For more information about the island as well as prices, times and all that sort of stuff visit the penguin island website and don't forget to let me know what you think of your visit in comments below, or if you have any other good days out in WA to recommend?

Book your visit here Picture courtesy of Penguin Island website

P.S Don't forget to check out my madeit.com.au Christmas gift guide it's under a month away now ladies and gents.

Friday, 14 November 2014

Road trip - Yamba NSW to Eaton WA

Jack and I are now in Eaton, Western Australia. That's a bloody long way from Yamba, We're here staying with my family and working, well Jack's working, I'm still looking at the moment. We arrived nearly three weeks ago after a long, tiring and boring five day drive from Yamba. In case you're wondering, and even if you're not. Yamba is on the very east coast of Australia and Eaton is on the very west coast with a 4,408km distance between them. Yes that's a long way. I'll be honest it was the most boring drive of both our lives and we do not ever want to do it again, although we'll have to. Jack was very fed up and tired understandably as he does all the driving so he had a very long rest before getting back to work.

So instead of boring you with a very interesting post about barren land, no cars and few petrol stations I thought I'd make this a mainly picture post but before that a quick break down of our five days just to give you an idea of the vastness of it all.

Day 1 - Yamba NSW - Gunnedah NSW : 503 km, 6 hours driving
Day 2 - Gunnedah NSW - Broken Hill NSW : 951 km, 10 hours driving
Day 3 - Broken Hill NSW - Ceduna SA : 881 km, 10 hours driving
Day 4 - Ceduna SA - Norseman WA : 1,200 km, 14 hours driving (yes 14 hours, the joys of time difference)
Day 5 - Norseman WA - Eaton WA : 877 km, 9 hours driving