Western Australia, Mate! Perth, Caves, Wineries, Forests, and Animals (Part 1)

Ever since I saw a picture of the Margaret River area of Australia a few years ago, it’s been on my bucket list. However, Perth is definitely one of the world’s largest most remote cities, so I wasn’t sure it would ever happen. Except, Singapore happens to be the closest major flight from Perth...4.5-5 hour flight and the same time zone!! So, when flight prices were quite reasonable, we booked these flights months ago, and the area definitely lived up to my expectations! So many beautiful areas and things to do!

We spent the first two nights in the Perth and Fremantle area. Perth seems like a very livable city and we enjoyed some pizza, beer, and playground time along the river. Fremantle was an adorable town filled with great restaurants, a Target (not as exciting as we thought it might be), a great market, and lots of hipsters!

 
 

 

Our highlight in the Perth area, though, was Caversham Wildlife Park. Full of native Australian animals ranging from birds and snakes to koala and kangaroos. The best part was that it was very hands-on. We got to feed and pet kangaroos, hold snakes (gasp, even Daddy!), and pet koalas. Such a cool experience to get up close and personal with animals that we don’t see very often!

 
 
 

We used two different base locations to explore the Margaret River region. While the region is relatively small and you could easily explore it from one central location, we opted for even shorter drives and rarely had to drive more than 10–15 minutes to see what we wanted to. Redgate Beach Eacape was location about 10 minutes outside of Margaret River city, and it was beautiful!!! Located on the edge of the National park, meant wilderness and Indian Ocean for as far as we could see. The views were stunning, and although we only saw one true sunset of the 4 nights we were there, it was quite lovely. We also saw parrots every morning, and some kangaroos nearby!

 
 

 
 

The weather was a bit chilly and very windy the first few days of our trip, but it was a nice change from hot Singapore and fun to actually need blankets and jackets again! It didn’t stop us from exploring the area, either.  There’s so much to see and do, and even the beaches were lovely on a cooler day. Margaret River is known for its wine, and while visiting wineries is not the easiest activity with kids in tow, a lot of these wineries know how to make it possible. Playgrounds and grassy areas for the kids, cellar doors with walk-in tastings any time of day. Perfect! Some of the wineries had beautiful grounds too-roses galore. We definitely brought back our allowed 5 bottles of wine!

 

 

 

There are several caves in the region, as well, though we only visited one. Emmeline was a bit unsure of what to think and kept asking which way was out. (I think she may have been a bit scared at first.) She was a rockstar though, and walked all of the steps by herself, even the ones all the way out of the cave. She's getting better and better at walking farther without complaining!

 

Southern Western Australia is known for its karri forests. The closest one was only a few minutes from our first lodging, and it made for a beautiful drive. There's a larger one a bit farther away, including tree climbs and walks, but we opted not to drive any more with kids on this trip. Maybe someday we'll go back and visit a bit farther.

 

For the last part of the trip we stayed just outside of Dunsborough at a lovely airbnb that felt like we were in very rural Australia, rather than just minutes from town! We enjoyed the views, the fire, grilling out, and walks to the lake where we saw sheep, ponies, and ducks. Dunsborough itself was quaint; we ate some good meals there, and ice cream, of course!

 

 

Emmeline had been learning about maps at school, so she was very proud to show off her map skills, and she carried this map around most of the week, "telling" us where to go. Side note, Australia grocery stores are close to US prices (we definitely stocked up on baby goods, maple syrup, etc), but the restaurant prices are like Singapore prices. Quite expensive, and unless you're in a bigger city, not many "cheap, quick" options. We aren't sure if this is just because Margaret River is more of a tourist area, or if this is true of Australia in general. Many people eat lunches at the wineries for this reason, as you get excellent chefs cooking amazing meals at only a bit higher price than a restaurant meal. But, with kids in tow needing naps around lunch, we didn't dare push our luck at one of these meals!

 

 

 

More on the beaches of the area in the next post! :)