Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Roos and Koalas - Perth




We took a short self drive trip along Western Australia between 10th October to 16th October starting from Perth then moving north bound to Shark Bay making stops at Cervantes to see the Pinnacles, then quick stops at Jurien Bay and Geraldton for R&R and precious fuel, then via even lonelier Indian Ocean Drive to Denham in Sharkbay 900 km in one day about 13 hours of driving. It's peanuts compared to the land mass of Australia.
Shark Bay is the most Western part of Australia with the famous Monkey Mia where wild dolphins regular swim to shore for feeding/human interaction and Hamelin Pool for it's Stromatolites (oldest living organism) and Shell Beach where the beach is made of billions of small cockle shells. These are only 2 in the world and the whole area was declared World Heritage Area by UNESCO.

It was so cold yet so sunny in Western Australia and we were told the weather was weird when we arrived, they had extended spring. But with it the beautiful vistas, wild flowers, fresh air and clear really blue skies, it was an experience of lifetime for us. Truely memorable and enjoyable getaway!


Caversham Park, feed and pet the Kangaroos. Strong hind legs, thick tails as counter balance and back stand.















The Koalas were one
snobbish bunch!












Silly ass have my vote as park mascot!











Lots of beautiful wild flowers, they are almost
everywhere in the bush.
This one is shot along
Munbinea Rd on the way to Cervantes.













Emu Downs Wind Farm, makes perfect sense
as this place perpetually windy. It's even much
more windy at Denham with winds 80~100kmh
at night. My camera ain't wide enough but
there are 48 of these here generating 80Mw
for 50,000 homes! GPS S30.46291 E115.3404
Elevation 142m.











Pinnacles at Nambung National Park.


Amazing clear blue skies.



























Unique white sand dune at the dessert.













This cute bobtail caught my eye
at Geraldton scenic drive along
Indian Ocean.





















Vin's turn at the Nissan Micra after I've put in 8 hours
drive after Geraldton. Nice frugal little car, makes sense
when fuel is 3x Malaysia's pump prices. Our favourite
pass time was hunting for the lowest pump prices!


















Monkey Mia




Nikki and her calf, she has been returning to Monkey Mia for the past 12 years. The feeding of the dolphins are controlled by park volunteers and they only feed females and they were given max 9 fishes a day to prevent human dependancy.


















Sailing aboard Catamaran Aristocat 2
Dugong, Sea Turtles and Dolphin watching.
How can it be so cold yet so sunny. I had sunburn
on my cheeks. We didn't expect the weather to
be that cold so we din't carry enough warm clothing.













Hamelin Pool, Shell Beach. It's not white sands
but white Bivalve Cockle shells! Only 2
known beaches of this kind.

Behind me are the Stromatolites.






We were surprised to see a pair of Emus
by the road. Such a bonus for us!










Eagles's Bluff
This calm and serene shot is nothing like this at all.
We have to brave 100+ kmh winds to take
this shot of Eagle's Bluff at near Sunset.
Such a beautiful vista, but standing still on the
platform without being blown off the cliff is
a challenge. Not to mention we were sand blasted
by pebbles blown off the ground up to our face!






Fields Of Gold and Lonely Roads




Some stretches of road are so lonely that we can drive for 15~20 minutes and there are no passing insight. I dread to think if Nissan were to kaput on us in such a remote place but we were surprised by the passing scenery such as this one plane bush land with wild flowers as far the eye can see.


On the way back to Perth, we entertained
ourselves during the 9 hours drive by counting
dead animals killed by roadtrains etc. We have
12 Kangaroos, 8 Rabbits and 1 Bird I killed
strayed across our Nissan. Poor fellow.












King's Park, Perth

Beautiful lanscape and concentration of wildflowers and Karri Trees. These trees have a smooth bark, wonder if it's like that whole year round?
King's Park also has a great view of Perth City.














Best Regards

More D

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Raya Trip Taiping

We did some travelling too during raya....back to old home town and had dinner with mom dad and Mike's family. Food was great and dinner venue was 3 shops away from cigar shop..can't remember the name. Mom and Dad are well...






































Down Memory Lane...









Introduced Brendan to icy cool murky waters of Coronation Pool, Ash and Vin came along, had to pay entrance fees of RM2.00 even for non swimmers...anyone want some dip? Notice the tiles..it's renovated..except the source of water.









The old tree in Coronation Pool...beautiful. The orange moss is not photoshopped.










Taiping Scenics..











More D.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Flying Visit To Scotland




Pics around vicinity of Loch Lomond (R) and me on the garden bench at Annie's home (L)












Got drag to a "Hen Party" where a friend of Annie was getting married soon












At the famous Turnberry Hole #4 which has a magnificent view of the ocean and their famous lighthouse
Picking blackberries found along the roadside all over the place including at golf course too. Had my daily dose of Vit C with these.



Below: Pinching 1 of Annie's apples from the apple tree at her home














Annie's hot number seen here against the backdrop of Glencoe. Very nice views of the highlands and the drive was very scenic
































Taken along the way heading towards Loch Lomond






Golfing at Lochgreen golf course at Troon














Went for a short visit to Scotland during the Raya break and spent 5 days there with Annie and family. I had a great time and many thanks for the warm hospitality and great golf from all in Scotland.

Played 3 days of golf there with Richard and Scot. The views were great and the weather was excellent. Annie kept saying how lucky I was to encounter good weather whilst over there. Wish I could come back and tour the highlands on a bike.