Perth and Western Australia

[ZerocoolAstra]

Am planning a trip to Perth around Mid-November. Tentative itinerary is as follows:

Day 1:
Singapore - Perth
arrive early afternoon
stay in Perth

Day 2:
Perth - Bunbury (200km)
stopover in Fremantle, Mandurah

Day 3:
Bunbury - Margaret River (100km)

Day 4:
Margaret River - Denmark (300km)

Day 5:
Denmark - Albany (50km)

Day 6:
Albany - Perth (400km)

Day 7:
Perth - Singapore

some days I plan to travel less, in order to spend more time within a region
My preferences:
- food
- R&R
- scenery
- sunset photography

Taking these into account, would my planned stops be ideal?
Some small towns like Denmark seem to have limited accomodation options, but I thought better than 2 nights in Albany.
Anybody has some thoughts to share on this? Much appreciated

 

[gazkw]

just returned from perth 2 weeks back...

some pics to share here - http://www.garygraphy.com/index.php?x=browse&category=15

some street photography, skies and landscapes.

will be uploading complete sets to flickr over time... just some selected pictures on my photo blog for now.

 

[gazkw]

Am planning a trip to Perth around Mid-November. Tentative itinerary is as follows:

Day 1:
Singapore - Perth
arrive early afternoon
stay in Perth

Day 2:
Perth - Bunbury (200km)
stopover in Fremantle, Mandurah

Day 3:
Bunbury - Margaret River (100km)

Day 4:
Margaret River - Denmark (300km)

Day 5:
Denmark - Albany (50km)

Day 6:
Albany - Perth (400km)

Day 7:
Perth - Singapore

some days I plan to travel less, in order to spend more time within a region
My preferences:
- food
- R&R
- scenery
- sunset photography

Taking these into account, would my planned stops be ideal?
Some small towns like Denmark seem to have limited accomodation options, but I thought better than 2 nights in Albany.
Anybody has some thoughts to share on this? Much appreciated

been a while since i ventured further than margaret river.

just take note that the margaret river region is good for 2-3 days on itself. denmark/albany probably won't have as much things.

during the timing of your trip, the vineyards should be fully grown and be great pics. don't miss the cape leeuwin lighthouse, it can interesting shots at the lighthouse and from the top.

if you are a wine person, u can easily spend a lot of time at margaret river. notable restaurants is the flute restaurant at brookland valley estate. the restaurant overlooks a creek and then you can see the vineyard from the restaurant as well. recommended for lunch time. another restaurant is 'must' which is in the centre margaret river town itself... good for dinner as you probably don't want to drive in the dark to some out of the way place.

picturesque estates include the voyager estate which features a south african cape style buildings.

linked some shots..

voyager estate

leeuwin lighthouse

u can have a look at my site for other perth/margaret river pics but only a selected few. havent got about to uploading everything to flickr as yet.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

been a while since i ventured further than margaret river.

just take note that the margaret river region is good for 2-3 days on itself. denmark/albany probably won't have as much things.

during the timing of your trip, the vineyards should be fully grown and be great pics. don't miss the cape leeuwin lighthouse, it can interesting shots at the lighthouse and from the top.

if you are a wine person, u can easily spend a lot of time at margaret river. notable restaurants is the flute restaurant at brookland valley estate. the restaurant overlooks a creek and then you can see the vineyard from the restaurant as well. recommended for lunch time. another restaurant is 'must' which is in the centre margaret river town itself... good for dinner as you probably don't want to drive in the dark to some out of the way place.

picturesque estates include the voyager estate which features a south african cape style buildings.

linked some shots..

u can have a look at my site for other perth/margaret river pics but only a selected few. havent got about to uploading everything to flickr as yet.

Thanks for the tips!
I'm not really a wine person. More interested in the scenery.
You think I should forget about Denmark/Albany and just do a round trip to Margaret River? That would certainly give me more time. If Albany is more of the same (ie sun sea and sand), I guess I will leave it out of the itinerary.
Thanks for your input!
Will add the lighthouse and voyager estate to my itinerary. So far I've also got chocolate factory and lake cave penciled in for margaret river.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

After taking into account suggestions for my trip, I think I should amend my itinerary as follows:

Day 1:
Singapore - Perth
arrive early afternoon
stay in Perth

Day 2:
Perth - Bunbury (200km)
{via Fremantle, Mandurah}

Day 3:
Bunbury - Margaret River (100km)
{Chocolate factory, wineries}

Day 4:
Margaret River
{lighthouse, caves}

Day 5:
Margaret River - Bridgetown (150km)
{forest walk}

Day 6:
Bridgetown - Perth (250km)

Day 7:
Perth - Singapore

Daylight is pretty long at over 13 hours each day. Provided I can get up early (should be possible) by about 6am and set off by 8, I should have sufficient time to see stuff before twilight.
My only requirement is to be somewhere with fantastic sunset on each day!

 

[gazkw]

looks good... i see you're not spending anytime in perth itself?

the sunset at cottesloe beach could be worth to catch...

perhaps u can catch it on your 1st day in perth.

btw, are you hoping to stay in bunbury?

i'm not sure if you are checking out google maps, but the roads have somewhat changed. right now, its only 3 hours from perth to margaret river (+ 30mins depending on speed) using the freeway (last time going by the mandurah way is 4-5hrs). basically from perth, follow the kwinana fwy all the way down - its basically one straight road all the way down to margaret river.

so u can actually leave early morning from perth and be in margaret river late morning/early afternoon. bunbury does not feature anything - i don't rem stopping there for anything previously.

on route from perth to margaret river, the only point worth stopping for is at busselton which features the world's longest jetty. i have quite a few pics of the jetty but i felt i didn't capture it that well. probably re-do the HDR on some of them later.

i used fisheye on the busselton jetty for the only pic i have online.

this new route could mean an extra half-day or full day for your plans.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

looks good... i see you're not spending anytime in perth itself?

the sunset at cottesloe beach could be worth to catch...

perhaps u can catch it on your 1st day in perth.

btw, are you hoping to stay in bunbury?

i'm not sure if you are checking out google maps, but the roads have somewhat changed. right now, its only 3 hours from perth to margaret river (+ 30mins depending on speed) using the freeway (last time going by the mandurah way is 4-5hrs). basically from perth, follow the kwinana fwy all the way down - its basically one straight road all the way down to margaret river.

so u can actually leave early morning from perth and be in margaret river late morning/early afternoon. bunbury does not feature anything - i don't rem stopping there for anything previously.

on route from perth to margaret river, the only point worth stopping for is at busselton which features the world's longest jetty. i have quite a few pics of the jetty but i felt i didn't capture it that well. probably re-do the HDR on some of them later.

i used fisheye on the busselton jetty for the only pic i have online.


this new route could mean an extra half-day or full day for your plans.

Thanks for all your insights so far! I'm jotting it all down!
Fantastic sunset by the way. I hope I can achieve similar standard.
Ok noted about Bunbury not having anything of interest. Yes I've been looking at Google Maps. Most websites link to it, even the Tourism WA site.
You reckon that if I leave Perth say... 10am, I could have enough time to take in Fremantle, and the towns along the way, and make it to Margaret River by nightfall? Bearing in mind that I'm also looking for good sunset photo location, I thought it'd be too rushed to try to cover such great distance in 1 day, like i'm in the Amazing Race or something.

I have the first day (well, half of it) and the second-last day onwards in Perth. I hope that's enough! haha.

 

[gazkw]

it sounds a bit rushed as fremantle could be worth half a day to explore. it can work, u just gotta watch your timing.

i guess you can target to be at busselton for the sunset, capture it with the jetty.

just uploaded another pic of the leeuwin estate vineyard. i guess summer would mean the vines are fully grown, instead of the naked vines i have here - http://www.garygraphy.com/index.php?showimage=127

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

noted with thanks!
i'll think about my itinerary yet again.

my hunch is not to be too "greedy" on the first day and try to drive too far. Perhaps I'll wake up late, or whatever... Also, collecting the rental car will take time.
I'd much prefer a relaxing first day of travel.

 

[behyx]

Just came back from WA a month ago.. Fremantle is worth at least 1 day. Better if you have 2 days.

 

[adamadam]

This thread makes me want to go out more

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Just came back from WA a month ago.. Fremantle is worth at least 1 day. Better if you have 2 days.

Thanks! Well, unless I have a month to travel around WA, I gotta be realistic about my itinerary. If I spend too much time in Fremantle, I'll end up not going anywhere else!
Just based on your experience, what are the places of most interest to a photographer in Fremantle?

This thread makes me want to go out more

hahahaha It's getting expensive towards the year-end. But then Jan/Feb is really warm. So if I miss this window, the next earliest will be Mar/Apr. Going to Bali during that period!

 

[behyx]

Thanks! Well, unless I have a month to travel around WA, I gotta be realistic about my itinerary. If I spend too much time in Fremantle, I'll end up not going anywhere else!
Just based on your experience, what are the places of most interest to a photographer in Fremantle?

Well, for photographers, Fremantle prison is not bad, wish I could have at least half a day spent at the prison. The informative tours are worth every penny

The waterfront area too is not bad for photography too.. And lots of street-shot opportunity along cappuccino strip especially on a Sunday...

I actually allocated 2 days in perth, and 1 in Freo.. If I have known earlier, I would have done 2 days in Freo instead.. hehehe... Reason being there's lots of good food there.. If you're a food lover like me, you will love it..

Go to Gino's for breakfast if you can.. http://www.ginoscafe.com.au/

They have an enormous menu, and I love their cappuccino and Gino's special (breakfast).. GF loves the 'homemade appearance' hashbrown.

And I also couldn't get enough of Kailies fish and chips with chicken salt.. not to mention osyters too...:sweatsm:

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

hmmmmmmmm fantastic stuff! Thanks for the tips!

you reckon I should choose to spend the last night in Fremantle instead of Perth? hmmmmmm... choices... choices...

 

[yewkwang]

hmmmmmmmm fantastic stuff! Thanks for the tips!

you reckon I should choose to spend the last night in Fremantle instead of Perth? hmmmmmm... choices... choices...

Perth city is pretty quiet at night, Fremantle is a better option to stay at. You can simply sit around Kailis fish and enjoy the breeze

Oh ya.. and don't forget to visit the Fremantle market if you happen to be there during the weekend.

 

[behyx]

hmmmmmmmm fantastic stuff! Thanks for the tips!

you reckon I should choose to spend the last night in Fremantle instead of Perth? hmmmmmm... choices... choices...

Depends on you

Anyways I was in WA for 9 days, rented a car for 7 days and did Perth - Albany - Augusta - Margaret River - Busselton - Fremantle - Perth. Sounds crazily rush, but I find it quite relaxing. At least still have time to go to those attractions I planned, and even had time for GF to shop!! :bsmilie: Partly also because I did Albany to Augusta at night.. It took me nearly 6 hours because there were kangaroos everywhere; I had no choice but to drive at a max of 80km/h.. Red bull kept me going anyways we saw 8 kangaroos on and along the road, but only 3 cars passed us in the opposite direction - that's how ulu it is at night..

 

[gazkw]

its not a big deal deciding to stay in perth or fremantle - they are just 20 mins apart.

both are gonna be quiet after hours unless you're there on thurs nite for fremantle.

 

[SnapSnap]

I'm back... and here's what I did.

Day 1 - Arrive in Perth. Pickup rental car, check in hotel, go to Fremantle for shopping and dinner at Kaili
Day 2 - 8.30am Drive to Albany, stopping at Bannister (short break), Kojonup (lunch) and Mt Barker Hill Scenic lookout (sight seeing). Reach Albany at 4.30pm.
Day 3 - 8.30 am Drive to Margaret River. Stop by Frenchman Bay, Blowhole, Windfarm (sight seeing), Denmark, Bartholomews Meadery (for honey wine tasting and honey ice cream!), Walpole (Lunch, Valley of the Giant, Tree Top Walk) and Pemberton. Reach Margaret River at 5pm.
Day 4 - 8.30 am Drive to Busselton (This is the shortest drive for the whole trip!) Just stop by anywhere, any time... Lighthouse, lots of winery along the way... but please appoint a driver... no wine tasting for the driver!! I was the driver!
Day 5 - Based out of Busselton for the day. Busselton Jetty (2km long wooden jetty that is under renovation right now... will be ready early 2010... Whale watching... AUS$75 per adult
Day 6 - Drive to Mandura. Somehow there are still more wineries... When to Hog's Breath for dinner. Just love their prime ribs.
Day 7 - Drive to Perth. Visit Margaret River Chocolate Company, sample chocolate, lunch, some more wine tasting opposite the chocolate company... Dinner at Kaili again. (Try the grill section. I think it is better than the fish and chips.)
Day 8 - Packup go for last min shopping at Fremantle (again...) Drive to airport, fly home.

Still working on processing the photos... ha ha...

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

you drove all the way to Albany then next morning head back to Margaret River?
Was Albany interesting at all?

 

[SnapSnap]

Ya... that was the route for the self drive package... not really interested in Albany but it if you want to see the Valley fo the Giant and things along the coast, this is the way...