#4 Pinnacles, Lancelin

Here I earned my first visit to a desert.

Pinnacles and Lancelin are both deserts. Pinnacles is characterized by its yellowish sand and the 'Pinnacles' ( meaning the rock that has a pointed tip); whilst Lancelin is snowy-white and gives you an illusion of being surrounded by snows.

We joined a one-day tour visiting both of these places.We bought our tour in Blue Travel, run by the Japanese. The tour we bought was half-priced --$110; a full-priced tour can cost up to $215 (approximately RM 650+). We couldn't afford that for sure.

They called it Mystery Tour. It was like being a backup. Go to the Australian Pinnacles Tours outlet near Bell Tower before 8am, tell them the tour you would like to join. If the tour is not full, you have the seat! If it is unfortunately full, join another tour or come back again on another day.

After all the VIP (full-priced-tour customer) on board,  we got ourselves into the 4WD vehicle. Low price, nice seats, nice guide and nice destination! Feeling great. *Grin*

Lunch was excluded, so bring your own bento/ bread. Or choose to buy a meal.

We brought raisin-bread.Feeling satisfied. Yet a tiny miny bit of pity arouse, when people around you were happily eating their Lobster Meal which smelled super duper good. $30, that's what stopped our lust and desire. *pout*

Not to forget Cervantes was a beautiful coast. The truth was, every beach I came across in WA was pretty in its own way. No rubbish. No dirty sea water. All well conserved.

Grade G lobster! =D

We made our way to Pinnacles! After reading a lot of review about this eerie desert, we finally set our foot right here. Amazing and stunning.

Little fact about Pinnacles Desert:
Pinnacles are limestone (Calcium carbonate) formation found within Nambung National Park, located near the town of Cervantes.It was believed to have been created millions years ago when seashells were broken into sand and then eroded by water and wind. 

Another saying proposed that plants absorbed nutrients from the sand.While Sands in this place contained great amounts of calcium, calcium was highly accumulated in the root. .Overtime it was converted to calcrete. When the plants die off, it left behind its calcified bodies, forming Pinnacles.

Mike, the tour guide leaded us to walk around the desert.Sun blazed, but the wind was cold. Dark glasses were on,but I didn't sweat at all. COOL!

Mike said, follow him and don't wander around. He said there were people who got lost in this desert in the past, and they took 12 hours to find him. Terrible. So I will make sure I see Mike and the team even we were slow. Busy capturing photos and posing, if you are wondering why we were slow! Hehe.

This desert was heated up to 47 degree Celsius in the summer!

It was indeed a pleasant time to visit Pinnacles at this time of the year.:)

Next stop was Lancelin. The truth was Lancelin was fun. It turned out to be the highlight of the day.I thought Pinnacles would be destination of the day though.

Mike 4WD-ed us over the white sand dunes, it was like riding a roaster coaster and experienced free fall. *thrilled*Then we got the chance to sand board! Yes, another first time SAND BOARDING man!

Xt told me that we had to rent the sandboard for $20 before the journey. Apparently, we didn't have to spend a penny on that! It was included in the tour lol. Another happy event!

Mike briefed us in short the way to sand board.
Apply some wax on the sand board. Sit on it.Sand board down the massive dunes. Hands up. Balance yourself. Make a perfect landing.

That's it!!

I landed perfectly. I thought I would have bumped into the dunes with sands sprinkled on my face. But nope, I didn't. Everything was smooth and people hooray-ed for me!:)

Xt was different. He got sands all over his body, shirt and face. According to him, even in the ass! If he got to read this, he is going to do something violent to me. *ssshhhhh*

The day was just perfect for both of us!! By the way, it was a tedious-tiring walk to walk up to the dunes again after you made your way down. It took away a lot of energy from you!

p/s: Make a move to travel, and you will see a different World.

Blue Travel
Opens on Mon-Fri till 5pm.Close on weekends.

• Leve 2, 33 Barrack Street
• Perth, Western Australia 6000

#3 Rottnest Island--Quokka, Seagull, Pelican and Bike!

We decided to visit Rottnest Island two days before we depart. Rottnest, 'Rat's-Nest' earned its name when a European captain found that this land was inhabited by rat-like looking creatures, know as quokka today. Then the name slowly adapted to Rottnest Island.

We bought promotion tickets to the island with bike combo, $59/pax. Cycling is the best way to explore the island as no motor vehicles are allowed on Rottnest. So here we go. Took a bike and exercise. The rain came just after we got off the jetty. We quickly locked the bike and seek for a shelter.

After the rain,we cycled along the coastlines. The sea water was crystal clear. Ocean was blue. Sea breeze blew gently to your face.Felt the water with your hand and it's surprisingly warmer as compared to this weather. We were both amazed by the spectacular sea view in front of us. What an amazing piece of Earth's wonder!

Helmet is a must if you were to cycle on the island.

Spot our bikes.

Windmill on the island.

We believed that this is quokka's home, because we found a lot of faces here. But we couldn't find them around, they probably went to the town for lunch?

The Cape.

Pink lake. A lake that has salt content 4 times higher than sea water.According to the signboard, it appeared pink because the microscopic algae, Dunaliella Salina grows on the salt crystal and contains beta-carotene ( the pigment we found in carrot and tomatoes).=P

The water was clear.If you were to taste, it was salty. Xt warned me after seeing me tasted the water, he said the algae can be dangerous, I could have stomach upset. =( Why not warn me earlier? But I was fine,hehe. Nothing happened.

 I goggled about Pink Lake later.There was no saying that it is dangerous. Very little organisms are able to survive there due to its high salts content. Dunaliella Salina survived by producing a lot of beta-carotene that helps protect it against the light that reflects off the salt. They even made cosmetics and supplements from the algae because they are rich in antioxidants.

We were curious whether this plant was originally in red or it was stained red by the water?

Quokka is the most well-known creature in this island. They are cute. In some angles, you found them smiling though they actually don't.They are so-called "The only rat that knows how to smile" and hence they are proudly awarded as 'The World's Happiest Animals'.

I did not expect it in the size of a cat until I first met them.Right outside DOME, a restaurant we got a shelter from an immediate rain.It has long tails, looks pretty like a huge rat.

Hello, Smile guys!

But it is tame and it does no harm to human beings. I mean not ruining the crops or destroying your furniture. They are timid. Get too close and they will run away.

Quokkas are vegetarian. They scavenged for fruits dropped on the ground. The second time I met them, they were busy looking for a brunch. They smelled like a dog, harvesting the nice one and leaving behind the rotten. At time I help them to look for those that are still in good-shaped.And they happily ate them up.

I really spent a long time squatted there, observed them and captured them. Call me quokka-obsessed.=P

The Rottnest Island Authority prohibited visitors to feed quokkas and the birds on the island. Feeding quokkas with chips, bread can make them sick. Plus, this can upset the population balance of these two species. 

Speaking about birds, yea, the seagull they did a 'good' job indeed.They really gave me bad impression lar. We happily bought ourselves Subway after cycling around the island, one ham and one turkey,which costed us $12.

Then, when xt was returning my hot yummy bread for me (we got some food exchange session). The damn bird flew to my face. It acted too fast, probably because she was being a thief for more than one time, and grabbed away my Subway from my hand :((( Leaving me behind with some bacon remnants and sauce, spilled over my shirt and bag.

I did not realize what was happening until I noticed that my bread was gone. It was an intentionally and well-planned rob lah. Wth. Xt and I couldn't stop laughing at this incident.*ggggrrrrr* It was driving me mad but when I recalled this stupid incident, I found it funny :D

My face, after seagull robbed my Subway.

I don't think I can forget their face. Seagull, you better remember this.

To prevent the bread from being stolen again, Xt finished his bread inside the Subway outlet. We told the waiter about this and he said :'Dangerous bird.' Why don't you warn us earlier? :'(

p/s: The seagulls and crows are going to hover around you whenever you got a food in your hand. Then, they will try their best to rob you.

Forget about this bird, we had a better bird sight-seeing at one of the beaches. (Rottnest has 63 beaches and 20 bays, if I'm not mistaken) We saw an Australian pelican! A huge one. We went nearer to take a picture of it.

Bear with me, I never spot a pelican before.And I never expect to see one here.That's why I was so exhilarated and astonished.

But we dare not to go too close to it right after the seagull-robbing experience. What if it found us annoyed and attacked us? If it flew straight to me, I could fall into the sea. Safety first. *nod nod*

A fun experience in Rottnest though!

We earned more #Firsttimeexperience over here.

First time:
Being robbed by seagull
Seeing a quokka
Seeing a pelican
Tasting water that is 4 times saltier than sea water

#2 My very first time of Courchsurfing

As I said, xt and I were in red.We barely wanted to spend extra money for anything else in the trip, except for daily basis.

We wanted to visit Southwestern Australia, meaning moving down as the picture below. Well, it was a long distance travel and thus we were not gonna turn back to Perth. We had to travel down from Perth to Bunburry to Busselton, Margaret River, Augusta and Pemberton.

For this reason, we were trying to look for some cheap accommodations in Augusta, Margaret River and Bunburry. But to no avail. Mainly because the prices are ranged too high.:(

So I suggested couchsurf. Couchsurf meaning staying on an acquaintance's couches rather than in a hotel. It is a cheaper form of lodging for travelers all over the World.

 All you have to do is drop a message to people who live in area you want to travel.Talk to them, tell them your journey plan, time of arrival and departure, describe yourself and just be friendly. If they would love to take you in, then he/she is your 'HOST'. And you a 'SURFER'.

I am a tense person. So I was trying to contact my HOST long before I depart.

We planned to spend a night in Augusta. And another night in Busselton. So two night spent in Southwestern Australia and back to Perth again.

Sara and Bruce in Augusta accepted us.
Kim and Mal in Busselton accepted us as well.

The day I arrived in Sara's house was a rainy day. It had been raining all the way from Perth to Pemberton. That was a six-hours-drive. When Sara opened the door, she took me in and hugged me. She said she worried that we got lost.

I instantly felt that warmth.*Wipe tears* She welcomed us with open arms. We shared stories. Sara and Bruce talked about random incidences in their life. They had been to Sarawak and they miss the trip. A slow-paced city they said, and the people were all friendly.

In fact, we were quite nervous but excited. It was our first time to couch surf after all. The tips is just keep talking, try not to be shy.That was what I learnt. LOL.

They cooked us dinner. Barbeque lamb gotten in the farm, bacon and salad.

They grew corns, lemons and other crops. Sara suggested that we can help ourselves with tea. And asked if we would love to have some lemons. I said 'Yes'.

Then surprisingly Bruce was out there picking fresh-juicy lemon for us.*O-shaped mouth*Lemon tree in the garden. Feeling great leh!! They even reared their own chicken--the source of eggs.

That was really healthy and organic, wasn't it?

Bruce gave us a ride to the nearby Cape Leeuwin, Blackwood River and showed us what they got in this neighborhood. Too bad it was still raining cats and dogs.It was dark out there (the Sun sets early at 6pm), so basically we can barely see any scenery la. We just sat in the car, and listened to the stories.

Though, we spotted the piercing beams from the landmark, Cape Leeuwin. Bruce said 15 seconds per turn. The lighthouse is 39 metres from ground level. It is a tourist spot. People usually go up there in the morning or afternoon so they can enjoy the sea view. But in our case, yea, Cape in the dark was not bad too!^^

Back in the house, we took some photos. We asked Sara and Bruce to keep the Polaroid photo. So the photo will always remind them of us. But too bad la, because Polaroid got no self-timer, so somebody had to hold the camera. That's why Xt was not in the photo. *evil laugh*

But we got this in our digital :D

Rain were still drizzled. We decided to go for a walk with Bruce and Jenna (their brilliant dog). Sara was afraid that we might get a cold, so she let us to wear their waterproof coat. Not to forget the hat. I wrapped myself like a Chinese dumplings.=P

Jenna showed us the route. Bruce said :Just follow her. The night was dark. There were very few lamps standing on the roadside.

And even NO LAMP at the riverside. Xt and I walked with extra care. I could banged into a tree anytime or fell into the river. But Bruce, he walked really fast. He has good eyes. *Salute*

We had a really good experience over here lah. The walk showed us how healthy their lifestyles are, unlike us, couch potatoes.

The night was warm indeed. Three blankets, heater, woodfired-stove in the living room and a hot water bag Sara gave to me accompanied me for the night. By the way, they offered us with their daughter's room. Not really a couch.

I miss Sara and Bruce already.

Kim and Mal on the next day.

They just gotten their new car and they were celebrating by the time we arrived. Their home was beautiful, with a lot of paintings on the wall. Kim said her mum did all the paintings. I couldn't take my eyes off them! So nice and artistic!!

They cooked us dinner again. We were so lucky to have such a good host. Feeling wonderful. *Grin*

Chicken Tart with egg. And of course cheese on the top. Why am I being a cheese hater?! Blame the tongue!!

But it was not too cheesy.Taste like cheese on the pizza though. Ahaha, and so I enjoyed the dinner very much.

Kim and Mal were such a sweet couple.I can tell from their eyes that they love each other very very much.
And their pet, a dog again, called Parol, was cute! He loved leaning on my leg.


I really appreciate what Sara and Bruce, Kim and Mal did for us!!! Thank you very much. Xt and I really enjoyed staying with them. This gave us a better insight of Australian locals and the way they live.

We made a great choice!!♥♥♥

p/s: Couchsurfing in chinese is 沙发客。

#1 Perth and WA Late Winter Travel

Bello Australia!! After booking the air tickets for almost one year, it finally comes to us. We are ready to go.

We are really really excited about the trip,because this is the first time we fly out of Asia. We are flying to the loneliest town ever in the world--Perth.It is called the loneliest because it is 2000 miles away from the eastern cities like Sydney and all that.

Some of you are asking 'why'? Why not Melbourne, Sydney or Gold Coast. So, well,here's the answer:

1.We believed cities like Sydney and Gold Coast will cost a lot more and we wanted to minimize our travel expenses. We are still students with no income after all,right? I'm using up most of my scholarships which made me really poor now.

2.We wanted to visit places with plenty of natures after our visit to Hong Kong (you know right, a city full of high-rise buildings).We figured out that this place will give us a lot of natural sight-seeing opportunities, like the amazing Waverock, Pinnacles, and even whale-watching. *Phew, feeling excited again*.=P

3.As a matter of fact, Perth is a really small town.Some will say:This city is boring.Other will say: There is nothing interesting in the city, it is really small. But,we are going to explore places out of Perth---the Western Australia, there is much awaiting us out there.I have to keep my eyes open.

Yellow is the dominant color in Australia, said the tour guide, Mike. The yellow fields are canola.

Previously, I'm blogging my travel diaries in Chinese, but this time is going to be in English (easier to go with the place's name.)

So, the airfares cost us RM800/pax, which really chilled us up at the beginning.But later, Air Asia is giving out promotion again,and some of the prices are even cheaper than what we got in the first place. This is really pissing us off.
Tips: Do not ever check the airfares again after you booked your tickets.Heartbroken :/

Perth is the capital of Western Australia. WA is such a big piece (Australia's largest state). See the green piece.There is no way we can travel WA within 8 days. In that case,we have chosen some cities based on the distance and cost.

Our itineraries, 23/8-30/8/2013
EDIT: I've typed this long before we depart.And I edited this.This is in fact what we managed to do in the end.But it's quite similar with what we have planned in the first place.

Day 1: Arrived in Perth--buy mystery tours in Blue Travel

Day 2:Mystery tour (Caversham Wildlife ark, Cervantes,Pinnacles,Lancelin)

Day 3: Pick up our car--Fremantle to visit Freo Market (We wanted to have a really famous Japan Ramen here)--Pemberton--Augusta

Day 4:Whale watching in Busselton--Chocolate and wine testing in Margaret River-- Dunsborough beach

Day 5: Visit the Busselton Jetty-Enjoy our first ever 5D movie in Karrinyup--Perth City sightseeing (Monger Lake, Kings Park)

Day 6:Mystery tour (Waverock, York )

Day 7:Rottnest Island

Day 8:Perth town visit, Heirrisson Island -- Fly back Malaysia

My travel buddy xt and me.In Kings Park.

Overall this is a budget trip.We had spent RM3500/pax (air tickets, accommodation, transport,food,tours and everything ) We cut down all unnecessary expenses. No luxury food. No luxury accommodation. No luxury souvenirs. Haha. So,Bear with us.