Margaret River / Cape Leuwin Lighthouse

Last Saturday while we were in Perth, we decided to drive down to Margaret River for a day trip. We wanted to stay for a night before driving back but the accommodation prices are through the roof because of the super peak Christmas period so we decided to drive there early in the morning and return back in the evening before the sun sets.

Tabby very kindly lent us her car and I drove from Perth City down to while Le hubby drove on the way back. Both of us were quite excited cos it's our first time driving the Nissan Fairlady. It's a really beautiful and powerful car to drive.

You can see how excited Brendan was when we drove out of the driveway and kept the roof.. He and his silly grin. :) Anyway we brought the hood up afterwards because it was quite cold in the morning and it's more comfortable driving at high speed with the top down.

Initially I didn't want to drive at all cos I really don't like to drive. I prefer just stoning, looking at the scenery or sleep. Le hubby on the other hand LOVES driving so it's more of an enjoyment to him compared to a chore for me. In the end I drove for the first part of the journey cos when we first went there last year (Read entry here), I drove on the way down too so it's kinda a 'tradition', sort of. Haha! Most importantly, Le hubby reminded me that I have to do all the driving when I am in Los Angeles with my sister for 2 weeks and I need to refresh my driving skills because I never drive in Singapore unless I absolutely have to (like picking up Nat & Wany from the MRT station to our house for dinners while Le hubby is busy).

First stop was breakfast at Mcdonald's!

Afterwards I drove all the way down to Margaret River town where we bought frozen cherries from the supermarket! I love frozen cherries! This was the place where I first discovered them last year and subsequently had a binge craze over them until I got over it (I must have bought at least 50 packets of Frozen Cherries from Cold Storage.. damn ex! It's around $10++ each!)

The last time we went to Margaret River, we visited all the farms and touristy places cos we had more time (we stayed overnight). This time we only went to our favourite shop called "Cookies Galore" where we bought lots of cookies!

Strangely, they changed the layout of the place and removed a few of their decoration pieces. I still prefer the old layout.

They still offer free samples! YAY!

We bought almost AUD100 worth of cookies before leaving and went for lunch!

Our usual restaurant only opens after 12noon so we went somewhere else.

The food was alright but slightly on the pricey side. 

Le hubby said he wasn't satisfied cos the portions were too small. -_-

After lunch we went to try out the famous Millers icecream.

Sadly, it is not nice lah.. Struggled to finish mine.

After lunch we drove down to Cape Leuwin!

We opened the hood for a short while when we drove past the coast.

Super Panda Hubby!

Here we are again! Cape Leuwin!

Previously we did not have a picture of both of us here because there were not much visitors around for me to ask to take a picture for us. It was really cold back in July but the weather was better when we visited last week. It is hot & sunny but the cool sea breeze makes it really enjoyable.

Somehow the skies in Australia are much bluer than Singapore's.

It is just so beautiful! 

The roads leading up to the lighthouse is slightly uphill.

All the plants are no taller than knee height because of the strong winds.

As far as the eye can see, there's no trees too!

The other time we did not join the tour to go up the lighthouse but this time we decided to do so. We paid extra for the tickets and it came with a walking commentary guide thingy where we have to press the numbers on the device where we are at a certain landmark to listen to the commentary. There's also a guided tour by a experienced staff up the lighthouse!

Admission price for adults is AUD8 for entry into the grounds or AUD20 for the guided tour. For more information: http://www.margaretriver.com/lighthouse-tour-times-and-prices

Waiting for our guide to arrive!

View of the grounds from the lighthouse's window!

Le hubby climbing up the stairs first.

THE STAIRS ARE DAMN SCARY!

It's super narrow and steep and SEE-THROUGH!

View from the top!

During May-September you might even spot whales here!

I really love the scenery there!

It's a pity we did not have enough time to go overseas for our wedding shoot because of my work schedule. Cape Leuwin would have been one of my top choices! Though Le Hubby said our photographer would have fainted cos the journey down is around 4hrs one way and we have to pay him a lot of money just to sit in the car with us. Hai.

Till we meet again! We'll be back! ♥

Post dated Entry: Margaret River Road Trip [10-11July2012]

This is actually Part 2 of our Perth trip in 2012. See Part 1 here.

It's already 2014 and I've not blogged about a trip that happened 1.5 years ago. I'm such a lazy pig sometimes.

We drove down to Margaret River from Perth city (approximately 3.5hours) and stayed the night there before driving back up the next day. Tabby & Doug needed to work so they couldn't join us. We rented a car from Europcar cos both of them needed their cars to get to work and we didn't want cause them any inconvenience though they offered to lend us one of their car. 

I have such wonderful friends. God bless them.

Our first stop was Candy Cow at Cowaramup, located along the Busselton Highway leading to Margaret River. Some of the candies sold there are from Blackpool in UK! I recognized the logo cos we went there in May 2012. :) We did not buy much, only some homemade fudge because the items were quite expensive. 

Afterwards we continued our drive down and visited a few "farms" that were located just outside the town. 

The famous Margaret River Chocolate factory (overpriced chocolates).

We went to Providore to do some food tasting. They also have free wine tasting.

Visited Chilli Waters Farm but there's nothing much there.

Visited a Silk Farm but it's overpriced cos the items are imported from S.E Asia.

Bought some nuts from the Nuts & Cereals Farm. Lots of free samples!

Last stop was Cape Lavender to buy a pot of Lavender for Tabby! :)

We stayed the night at Darby Park Service apartment which was located in the middle of the town just across the Visitor Centre & supermarket. This is a really lovely place to stay and I highly recommend it if you are going there. Additional plus point is the complimentary secured parking! Le hubby said there's lots of stars at night that can be seen from the veranda (I was too tired to go out and stargaze, moreover it was so cold!).

The next morning we went to Cookies Galore to buy cookies! They sell the best cookies in the world! Like seriously.. I love their Macadamia nut cookies. It's pure butter and it just melts in your mouth. So fattening but worth the extra calories!! Yums!

There's free samples for all the cookies so you can try before buying. We bought 10 packets back! Some we ate on the way, some we gave to Tabby and the rest we brought home. Mama Chew love the cookies so much that Tabby bought more for us the few times she came back to Singapore to visit. (Thanks Tabby!)

Afterwards we have to drive around 1hr downwards to Cape Leeuwin which is located in Augusta. Along the way we did a photostop at Augusta Boat Harbour. It was really windy and extremely cold. Brrrrr...

The winds were so strong that while seated in the car, we can feel the car shake from left to right. Damn scary feeling because the car weighs so much yet it can be shifted when the wind blows! We had to 'fight' against the wind when we were walking in the opposite direction.

From the boat harbour to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is approximately 5mins drive.

We bought tickets to enter the ground around the Lighthouse. We did not buy the one with the guided tour to go up to the Lighthouse so we just took photos around the area.

I don't understand why there was a cow there. LOL!

The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse on mainland Australia and situated at the point where the Indian & Southern Oceans meet! It is also the most south-westerly point of Australia!

Le hubby can lean backwards and the wind was so strong it can support him!

Interestingly at this point was where he had an epiphany about our relationship. He saw the lighthouse standing so strong against the winds and waves for so many years and decided that he wants our relationship to be as unwavering and solid like the lighthouse.. this was where he had plans to bring our bf/gf status up to husband/wife, though he only told me a few months afterwards. :) The rest, as you can see is history! 

And that is the reason why Cape Leeuwin lighthouse was featured in our church wedding invitation card! :)

On the way back to Perth we saw many rainbows in the skies! I kept spotting them (at least 5 different ones) and yelling "Look look! CARE BEARS!!!" while Le hubby was driving. LOL!

And that concludes our Perth trip in 2012! We hope to be able to go back really soon!! I can't wait to go and see Benji & Coco (Tabby's dogs).