perth vacation

In this post, I will share the things to do in Fremantle, our journey to Cottesloe Beach and the Perth City night market.

Captain Cook Cruise

There are several options of transports to go to Fremantle, you can either take train, self-drive or cruise.

I pre-booked Perth-Fremantle scenery cruise online, then back to Perth with train, so that my mum could enjoy different scenery view along the journey.

The cruise terminal located at Barrack Street Jetty, just besides another tourist attraction, The Bell Tower. We didn’t have time to visit The Bell Tower but managed to snap a few photos with the tower, pretending I was there. Ha…

Perth Explorer Hop On Hop Off Tram station located at Barrack Street Jetty too. They have many tours available with tram and cruises for tourists to explore Perth. Ticket can be purchased online or on the spot.

By the way, check out Hello Perth website too, as the websites may have some exclusive discount coupons for the tours and even dining.

All right, back to my cruise topic. After boarding the cruise, don’t forget to go to the cruise front deck for the best view of Perth city. Front deck is the best position for selfie and snap the best scenery view of Perth…!

Things to do in Fremantle

Upon arriving Victoria Quay in the Fremantle Harbour, the first thing we saw was E-sheds Market, a weekend market operates on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday only. It’s a good place to hunt your souvenirs with good price, and also fashion and jewellery.

To my surprise, many Malaysians own a shop there, speaking Malays.

After bagged your souvenirs, hop on Fremantle tram just outside the market or catch the free Fremantle CAT bus which will brings you exploring Fremantle.

Our next destination is Fremantle Market, another busy weekend indoor market to hunt for local food, local produces, clothes and handicraft. My mum was eyeing on all the big and fresh fruits and excited to have many free fruits tasting. Lol.

Well, the market wasn’t as big as I thought. We spent an hour there only exploring the local food and handicraft before heading on to Fishing Boat Harbour for the famous fresh seafood lunch.

Oh ya, there’s a Shipwreck Gallery situated opposite the seafood restaurant. We entered the museum with a token of donation at AUD1 only.

Time for the delicious seafood ! There were two famous restaurants there, Kailis Fish Market and Cicerello’s. I opted for Cicerello’s after surveyed online.

This was our most expensive meal in Perth, AUD35.60 per plate of mix grilled and fry seafood…!

After treated our stomach, we departed back to Perth by train. I wanted to explore one of the beautiful beach in Perth on the way back.

If you have time, there are many other things to do in Fremantle in fact, e.g The Round House, WA Maritime Museum, shops in town and etc.

Cottesloe Beach

Departed from Fremantle Train Station, we stopped at Cottesloe Station and walked to the beach.

The hotel concierge told me that the beach just 10 minutes walking distance from the train station. But I was so regret and guilty because I made my mum walked for few kilometers to reach the beach! What an inaccurate information from the concierge!

Well, it was a beautiful beach and you will be enjoying if bring bikini for sun bathing. Hehe…

I was worrying no transport back to Perth so didn’t dare to stay long. Quickly hopped on Transperth bus in front of the beach, and took the train at one of the station as train was much faster than bus.

The 2 zone train ticket was valid for 4 hours but I wasted another 10 bucks for the Transperth fare. Anyway, worth it as long my mum didn’t need to walk few more kilometers.

Perth City Night Market

Back to Perth, at last the night was lively because it was Friday! There was an Autumn night market in Central Business District. The CAT bus will be operated slightly late too during the weekend.

Basically the market was international food fiesta. I even spotted Malaysia satay on charcoal stall there!

Guess what was our dinner? Japanese pancake with noodle. Hehe…

My Other Tips

The supplements in Australia are pretty cheap. If you are traveling there, grab some high strength fish oil, honey and etc. I ‘imported’ 7 bottles of fish oil, while saw other travelers luggage full of fish oil, crazy….

My Sweet Bonding Trip With Mum

We gotta packed the luggage the same night to fly back next day. It was such an unforgettable memory traveling with mum, chit chatting in room, browsing the photos together.

You knew, I didn’t subscribed to any mobile roaming and data plan there. The phone was purely for photographing and browsing photos. No distraction checking on messages and facebooking while enjoying the vacation. You want to try…? ;)

Our Third Day…

Swan Valley Food Tasting Tour

Swan Valley food tasting tour was my mum’s favorite because she wanted to buy tasty Australia local food to treat her friends.

The friendly tour guide from Explore Perth Tour , Peter fetched us at 8.30am in the morning. By the way, you can check out their website for various central Perth pick up point.

We got the VIP treatment again because there were 3 person only in this trip including us. Hehe…

Highlight of the tour

• Chocolate – taste locally made chocolate in one of the Valley’s chocolatiers;

• Nuts – on your visit to Morish nuts you can try from their wide range of nuts: caramel coated, wasabi macadamia, hot cashews, almonds, abalone flavoured, savoury nibbles to name just a few;

• Nougat – if you have a sweet tooth you will love the Mondo Nougat factory with their Italian made soft nougat, but I prefer hard crispy nougat more lol…

• Honey – you will be amazed at how many different varieties of honey there are and how different they taste. Coincidentally I had sore throat that day, so I swallowed a lot of honey and Apple Cider Vinegar there. It works wonder. I bought few big bottles of Jarah Honey with TA20+ and Apple Cider Vinegar because it’s pretty cheap there.

• Wine – Premium wine tasting at one of the many wonderful vineyards in the Swan Valley, but three of us didn’t drink, so we just took photos in the vineyards.

• Aboriginal Art – at the Maalinup aboriginal gallery you will get to learn about aboriginal culture and taste traditional bush food.

• Coffee – even for those that aren’t coffee lovers you will love learning about how coffee is processed and made. The Ice coffee was great! However…. I was sleepless that night because tasted too many variety of coffee there.

On the way back to city, don’t forget to ask the tour guide to drop you at any fruit or vegetable stall along the roadside. The fruits and veggies are very cheap and fresh. We bought a pack of grapes at only AUD1!

Mum wished to buy fresh fruits back to Malaysia but didn’t, we were worried confiscated by custom, end up the custom officers in KLIA2 didn’t check at all. So, you can try your luck if want to bring some back to hometown. Ha…

Northbridge

After Swan Valley food tasting tour, we dropped by Northbridge for lunch because my mum missed Malaysia food so much. Our stomach were full by just sharing a plate of roast duck rice at AUD12.90 only.

Northbridge is another busy district with plenty of Asian restaurants and supermarket, and the best is many shops open at night. Perhaps here’s the only place to enjoy your night life. Hehe…

King’s Park

After lunch, we took blue CAT bus to King’s Park road and walk a few kilometers only realized Transperth bus route 935 travel from the city right into the heart of the park. Sob….

King’s Park is a beautiful park in the city, you just have to visit the park with a relaxing mood instead of expecting exciting activities.

Mum was asking what’s special since it just full of grasses and flowers, but then she started to appreciate the uninterrupted panoramic, birds’ eye views of the Swan River and Perth City after reached there.

The pictures came out to be beautiful and relax although you just simply snap with any posture. Lol… self praising. Ha…

Free guided tours are conducted daily, and the time depends on the seasons. You may check out their schedule and plan your visit in advance.

Our Second Day…

Caversham Wildlife Park

Sun rise and shine.. My vacation with mum kick started..!

Our first itinerary was Caversham wildlife park, because mum specifically requested to see the kangaroo.

There are two places to see the Kaola bear and Kangaroo in Perth, i.e. get on the ferry to go to Perth Zoo, or go to Caversham wildlife park in Swan Valley.

I decided to go Caversham, because the ticket was inclusive of taking photo with the animals, feeding food, and many good review online.

A few options to go to Caversham wildlife park. You can either book a tour which is inclusive of wildlife park itinerary, self-drive, or using public transport.

However, I found a value for money option, i.e. shuttle van from Explorer Perth Tours. It’s AUD39 only inclusive of AUD28 park ticket !

The driver picked us up from our hotel at 8.30am, and fetch us back to the hotel at 1.30pm, pretty good timing and convenient.

We had ample time to join all the animal shows, took photos with Kaola bear, wombat and other animals and had fun with the lazy kangaroo before the driver fetched us up.

Mum said she felt like a VIP with driver.

There were a few daily attractions and shows, i.e. meet the wombat and friends, meet the kaolas, farm show, penguin feeding. Make sure you join all and take the photo for free with your cameras.

Kangaroos are always there waiting for you to feed them with the food provided without time limitation.

Watertown Brand Outlet

Our next destination was Watertown Brand Outlet!

Changed the plan from visiting King’s Park because it was drizzling day. So, you better check out the weather forecast prior to the trip.

After bathed and rest a while, it’s time to take the free CAT bus to the outlet, which was just few minutes away from Travelodge Hotel.

Some said you could get cheap branded fashions there. For me, it wasn’t special since Malaysia has a few similar brands outlet.

Watertown brand outlet is a two storey shopping mall with many branded fashions, food & beverages, bags, pharmacies, shoes and etc. If you are fans of branded stuff, you will be able to grab some cheap branded deals there.

Be early there if you are shopping fans because the outlet opens until 5.30pm only except Friday, close at 9.00pm.

Night Life in Perth

By the way, you will be disappointed if you like night life because most shops close in the evening. The only entertainment at night is drink with friends in a nice cafe or restaurant.

Hence, try to plan and travel there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as there are more activities and events at night.

Anyway, my mum and I are not night owl, so we love the relaxing life there, sitting on the bench in front of the hotel, chit chatting in the fresh breeze every night. What a sweet bonding time with mum…!

At last have time to sit down and recall my sweet memories and exciting Perth vacation with mum…!

Perth Vacation – Our First Day…

Upon arriving Perth Airport, we hopped on Transperth bus to go our hotel in town. The bus fare was AUD4.60. I had to buy an expensive mineral water in the airport for small change, because the bus driver refused to take in big note. Sob…

By the way, you can plan the direction and time ahead using Transperth Journey Planner , a very convenient tools to help you plan your journey using bus, train and ferry. Just key in the landmark or address then you are set to go.

Trouble to take public transport? No worries, the bus driver will drop down the ramp for you to pull up your luggage, and there’s dedicated luggage track to put your luggage. The public transports there are very convenient ..!

The journey from Perth Airport to CBD took about 40 minutes. After hopped off the bus, our hotel was just 5 minutes away from the bus stop at St George Terrace.

Travelodge Hotel Perth

I booked a room in 4 star hotel, Travelodge Hotel Perth so that mum could enjoy after tired traveling, and the hotel was just few minutes walking distance to the Center Business District with plenty of restaurants and shops.

Perth Free CAT Bus

There’s a bus stop, Victoria Avenue for the red CAT bus in front of the Travelodge Hotel.

Everyday we will travel by CAT bus in town. I love it because it’s Free, clean and on time !

CAT bus service finished at 7pm+. By the time settled down after checked in hotel, it was already 6pm. So the only thing we could do was hanging around the shops nearby hotel, hunting for dinner.

Surprisingly, there were many Japanese, Korean and Indian, Malay restaurant in town and open at night. At first I was still worrying starving after all shops closed early.

We took Japanese food in a shop nearby the hotel. The food in Australia serve in very big portion, compare to what was served by the restaurant in Malaysia. If you don’t have big appetite, a set of food in Australia will be enough to be shared by two person.

Okay… time to go bed early after dinner to prepare for next day’s adventure, Caversham Wildlife Park. We slept at 8pm+…! The night still young at KL for sure. Hehe…

Hey guys, are you going to Australia and wonder what’s the cheapest way to get the australia visa as tourist? In this post, I will show you how I got the application approval at cheap rate, and how to apply online yourself.

Don’t worry about the legitimacy of the approval, because I’m back from Australia with the visa ;)

After browsing online and called a few Travel agencies, most agents charge me RM50 per application.

The cheapest rate, i.e. RM26 only from iAdventure Escape won my heart. Of course at first I was skeptical also, because it is half of the prevailing market rate. Applying from the embassy even cost a minimum of AUD135. What if they chase me back to Malaysia upon arrival?! I will cry loud !! Since there are hundreds of positive reviews on it, so I decided to try my luck.

Here’s the fee charged by iAdventure Escape for different countries residents for the australia visa application.

Step by step Guide for Australia Visa Application Online

Now, here’s the guide to apply your australia visa as tourist. and it takes you a few minutes only to apply online.

1. Get ready with your passport, email address and credit card or banking account, then go to https://australia-visa.com.au/ .

2. Click on Visa Application / Online Application and select your country, visa type i.e. tourist and the number of visitors application.

3. Review the information you had filled in, and remember to note down your Temporary Application ID for reference.

4. Edit the information if needed, or continue payment if the information are in order.

5. You can pay with credit card, online banking or cash deposit.

6. Taadaaa… You are done! And here’s the message you will receive.

What to do next

You can check the visa application status on the same website with your temporary application ID. They will email you the visa approval as well.

In fact, the ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) is electronically linked to your passport, so the email attachment just contains a few information such as your name, passport number, and entry status for your reference only.

If you are in doubt, you may go to their FAQ section for your questions of australia visa verification and why they are cheaper.

The ETA Visa is valid for 12 months, but if the validity of applicant’s passport is less than 12 months the expiry date of the passport will be considered. Many travel agents get me to apply last minutes, but my advice is to get it done 2,3 weeks in advance of traveling date, just in case anything crop up you still have time to go embassy to fix it.

Don’t forget to share with your friends this awesome way to apply australia visa online, if they are going Australia too.