Day 1: Perth, Fremantle
Took a midnight flight at 1am, and reach Perth early in the morning. Rented a car, and off we go to Fremantle, a fishing harbor near Perth. We park our car near Esplanade (2nd photo, from left), go for some shopping at Fremantle market [google map street view]. We had some nice strawberries and soft nouget. Before we head back to Perth, we also had the famous Cicerello’s Fish & Chips.

Fremantle

In the evening, we had a wonderful dinner at Ciao Italia. It’s definitely a must-try!
273 Mill Point Rd, South Perth, WA 6151, Australia

Ciao Italia, Perth

Day 2: Wave Rock, Hyden
It takes 4 hours drive from Perth to reach Wave Rock. It’s a huge rock, with one face look like a crashing wave. On top of it, there’s a small reservoir. Although it’s very dry, there are a lot of wild flowers available in W.A. We also spotted the spider orchard around wave rock. At the end of the day, it’s another 4 hours drive back to Perth.. Really tired!!

Wave Rock

Day 3: Busselton Jetty & Margaret River
On the way to Margaret River (Another 4hrs), we stop by Busselton. It’s famous for Busselton jetty, the longest wooden jetty in southern Hemisphere (1.8km!!). It’s really long, not the usual “let’s have a walk on the jetty” kind of experience. We also spotted a wild dolphin during our 1+hrs walk,

Busselton Jetty

After that, we continue our journey towards Margaret River. We visited Leeuwin Estate for a wine tour, and we also stumble upon Voyager Estate, a wine estate with very grand cellar door.

Leeuwin Estate

After the wine tour, we drive around Margaret River, and spotted a site with lots of Kangaroo! One of the kangaroo even stop at the middle of the road, and show us the famous “Kangaroo kena spotlight” look! LOL. (FYI, this is a phrase from Izaac. It means someone with a shocked expression.. Imagine, a kangaroo, both “hands” in front of the body, eye wide open, surprised by the sudden spotlight.. )

At night, we stay at a very nice guesthouse/hotel. We love the setting, the room, almost everything. If you going to Margaret River in the future, try Bridgefield.

Bridgefield Guest House

Day 4: Leeuwin Lighthouse, UWA
Before we leave Margaret River, we decided to visit Leeuwin Lighthouse.

Leeuwin Lighthouse

After Leeuwin Lighthouse, we headed straight back to University of Western Australia, for SM’s convocation. The school is very nice, along the swan river and they have a very grand hall for the ceremony.

Convocation @ UWA

Day 5: Shopping, Perth

Day 6: Shopping & Back to Singapore

So, let me start with my Bintan Trip. A trip that’s sponsored by SM, as my birthday gift.

Album: 2008-08 Bintan Lagoon

We visited Bintan Lagoon for a 2 days 1 night trip. We stay in the resort throughout the trip, and the ferry is very comfortable.

A snap in the ferry (can't really tell how the ferry look like...)

If I’m not wrong, within one hour of travelling time from Singapore, Bintan’s beach should be one of the best. Because the water is clear, beach is wide and long, and the sand is white.

The beach

Spent the day on the beach, and had a wonderful dinner at Nelayan Grill. You pay for the grill (seafood or meat), and you get free salad, side dishes and desserts from the buffet bar. Remember to reserve the seats if you wanna dine at the outdoor candle-light hut.

Dinner at Nelayan Grill

Overall, the experience is nice. It’s near and not much logistic to take care (you can even use SGD there). Not a place with lots of activities, but definitely a good place to do something different on a weekend.