With the oppressive heat, we had to find some early morning/indoor activities. Apparently the last time it was over 100 degrees for multiple days in a row in Perth in December was in the ’70s. The heatwave here was unprecedented. Climate change has never been more evident. Bush fires have been raging throughout Australia. We have never been in danger and have had just a few days smelling smoke, but much of the country is hurting. The fire and smoke injured and killed both firefighters and wildlife. Homes have been destroyed and at least 9 civilians and three firefighters have been killed as to date. Our hearts are with the people of Australia, and we wish them all the best as they battle through this horrible fire season.
The heat has been hard on the fire fighting. It has also made it difficult to be outside for long periods of time. Luckily Perth and the surrounding area have some very nice museums and there were lots of really awesome kids playgrounds around the city to check out. There are also two parks a few blocks away that we went to almost every day, especially in the evenings when it cooled down. We also went swimming at the Aqualife pool several more times.
We visited the Shipwreck Museum in Fremantle. Unbeknownst to us, it was free which is always a plus when you’re on a budget. The museum was full of all kinds of cool artifacts from shipwrecks of long ago. They had coins, cannons, anchors and lots of other items that went down with the ship. There were interactive activities for the kids and a hunt for plastic rats all around the museum. The boys loved searching for the rats.
The coolest thing in the museum was a giant piece of The Batavia. A famous Dutch ship that wrecked off the shores of Western Australia in 1629. There was a mutiny amongst the survivors which led to many of the survivors being murdered by Jeronimus Cornelisz and his followers. In total, they killed around 110 men, women, and children. We had never heard of it but apparently it was a very famous event around these parts.
Not far from the Shipwreck museum in Freo is the Maritime Museum. It’s a beautiful building that houses lots of different boats. Most of them being sailboats. They even have a submarine outside that you can tour for additional money which we decided not to do. It was a nice museum with lots of interesting items to look at. There was also a shipping crate display down by the port with several different containers. Each one had different themes like homes made out of containers and famous containers that had been lost at sea. One such container spilled out millions of Legos into the ocean. The LEGO pieces washed up on shore for years after they were lost at sea. Afterward, we drove over to the rainbow container sculpture. A bunch of different colored containers welded together in the shape of a rainbow form this incredible sculpture.
Another day we decided to check out a place called “SciTech,” a children’s science museum. We spent almost 6 hours there. We saw a puppet show, watched a movie on space in the planetarium, learned about constructing stable structures to withstand a shaking table and sent packages through a tube by jumping on a chair that forced air into the chamber. Some of the kids’ other favorite activities were setting up and knocking down dominos and sending scarves through an intricate vacuum tube system that blew them out to be caught after completing the circuit. It was one of the best science museums we have ever been to.
On one hot day, we tried out the mini-golf course at the local mall. It was a bit expensive and the holes were pretty close together, but they had some very interesting themes throughout like ET, King Kong, The Flintstones and some in blacklights. The kids played 9 holes and had fun.
We took a 4 day trip to the Margaret River area in southwest Australia. It is a popular vacation destination, located about 2.5 hours from Perth. We stopped and picked up a bottle of Mango wine at a local winery and ate lunch at an awesome place called the Crooked Carrot on our drive down. They had really good food and a huge playground in the back.
We rented a room at the Ithaca Motel in Busselton. It wasn’t much, just two bunk beds in a small room. They had a courtyard and playroom/breakfast area that the kids loved.
After unpacking we headed over to see the famous Busselton Jetty. The Jetty is 1.8 kilometers long and is the second-largest wooden Jetty in the world. The longest in the southern hemisphere. There is a train that you can take during the day that runs to the end of the Jetty and back. We did not plan on walking the whole thing that night. We started walking out a little way at sunset and before we knew it, we were halfway. Everybody was ready to turn around, but Cooper (The Trooper) insisted that we walk to the end. Before we knew it, we had made it to the end, but it was pitch black. The remarkable structure is full of history. By the Jetty is a really awesome kids park.
The playground looked like a giant shipwreck and has a giant octopus with swings and other things to climb on. We had never seen anything like it.
The next morning we got up early and drove 1.5 hours to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. The Cape is the furthest most southwestern point of Australia. It is also the point where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet which was really cool to see. Our plan was to climb the lighthouse but unfortunately, all the tours were booked for the next few hours, and we had too much planned to wait around. They did have an interactive museum where we could learn more about the lighthouse’s history.
Up next we got on Caves road. A narrow picturesque stretch of road that winds it’s way down the coast over a series of caves. We drove through a Karri tree forest just off of Caves road. The Karri tree is the third largest tree in the world. They were enormous with branches that sprang out in every direction. The Karri forest consisted of a little dirt road and we were not sure at times if our car would make it at a few points.
We got back on Caves road and determined which of the caves we should visit. Lake Cave was a beautiful cave located 350 steps below ground. It had a small lake in it that reflected the stalactites and stalagmites perfectly. There was also a column suspended from the ceiling holding up a table of rock just over the lake. The only such formation like it in the world.
A short drive from the cave was Amaze’n. A giant hedge maze that the kids really wanted to check out. The maze was enormous and quite challenging. The also had several smaller mazes for the kids to try. It was a blast. After a quick dinner in an old fire station, we headed back to our hotel. We had only rented our room for two nights and planned to head back in the morning. We decided there were way too many things left to see in the Margaret River area. Tom talked to the owner and was able to get our room for one more night.
The Cape Naturaliste lighthouse was only a half-hour from our place. It was not as tall as the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse but we were able to get a tour immediately and go up to the top making up for the day before. We had a hard time listening to the guide because the flies were absolutely terrible outside. We were swinging hats, shirts, and branches to swat at the flies. It was crazy. Once inside the lighthouse, we had an awesome experience climbing to the top and enjoyed learning about its history.
The owners of our motel told us about a great family-friendly beach called Meelup beach that was close to the lighthouse. It ended up being a great recommendation and one of our favorite beaches of our whole trip around the world. The water was crystal clear and shallow for a long way out. It was a really nice safe place to swim in the ocean. After a good swim, we hit the road in search of Simmo’s ice creamery, a very popular place with many kinds of homemade ice cream. It was delicious and hit the spot after the beach.
Next up, we drove to Bootleggers Brewery where we took down a flight of beers while the kids played with their giant Jenga blocks. The last stop before we headed back was the Margaret River Chocolate Factory where we had some samples and bought lots of different kinds of bonbons and a few other candy bars. They had a winery on-site where we picked up one more bottle of wine and a chocolate liqueur.
We had promised the kids if they were good that we would go back to the shipwreck playground by the Jetty. We had a great last evening at the park while watching the sunset over the ocean. To conclude our evening we had a nice dinner at a restaurant by the Jetty. The next morning after the kids did some school work we headed home. It ended up being an awesome side trip that we were really glad we took. We could have spent several more days there.
There was a small Christmas Market on City Beach. When we had eaten at Clancys Fish Bar earlier in the month, we had noticed a poster advertising it. We decided to check it out. They had several food trucks along with vendors selling gifts and another appearance from a shorts-wearing Santa. We had a fun time eating different foods, listening to Christmas music and relaxing on the beach.
A few nights later, we went to a much bigger Christmas festival in Stadium Park at Optus stadium. It was so much fun! They had tons of vendors as well as food trucks galore. There had to be well over 50 food trucks with just about everything you could imagine. We had Columbian empanadas, Taiwanese bao sandwichs, French Crepes, and fried ice cream. They showed Home Alone 2 on a giant screen outside the stadium. We also walked across the Matagarup bridge which opened in 2018. It is a beautiful walking bridge designed to look like two flying swans crossing over the Swan River. The boys enjoyed some time on the jam-packed play area. Later when it got dark, the bridge and stadium lit up in green and red Christmas colors. It was such an awesome festival that Perth puts on for the community.
On Christmas Eve day, we went to Cottesloe beach to play in the sand for a while. It felt strange not having snow but it was pretty awesome! After that, we went and watched the new Starwars movie followed by a Chinese dumpling dinner and bubble teas. A typical “Jewish” Christmas tradition consists of movies and Chinese Food, so we celebrated that way. We had a great day spending time together as a family but definitely missed people back home. A few video calls back to the Christmas parties were all we could do. We know that there are many advantages to having an opportunity to travel like this, but there are also some disadvantages and missing family moments like this is a hard thing for us. T
he boys were wrapped up in the holiday season though, and that wonder and delight kept us going. Cooper had asked Santa for a tiered cake with chocolate and strawberries. He had seen it on the cover of a cookbook at our Airbnb, so Santa’s Helper stayed up late to bake the cake so that it would be ready in the morning. Both boys slept on couches by the fireplace hoping to catch Santa in the act. They were unsuccessful but were excited the next morning to find presents. Mason had wanted a toy cruise ship that he had seen in Adelaide. He had been asking Santa (and us) over and over again for this toy. He finally got it on Christmas morning.
Another holiday event that we participated in here in Western Australia was the Mandurah canal cruises. Mandurah is roughly one hour from Perth. We took an evening and went down for dinner and a one hour cruise. Our ship, “The Spirit of Adventure,” sailed through the canals, and we saw large mansions covered in spectacular Christmas light decorations. The community has a house decorating competition and fundraiser ever year from Dec. 1-Jan. 2. We took pictures and enjoyed beverages as we listened to Christmas music and sailed around. The boys both fell asleep on the car ride back to the house.
One of the things that we had hoped to do earlier in the month was a visit to Rottnest Island. Unfortunately, we heard that the flies were really bad. After a little investigating, we found that the fly situation had settled down after the heatwave. Rottnest Island (otherwise known as “rats nest” Island) is famous for the Quokka, a cute animal that inhabits it. Many call them the world’s happiest animal. Quokkas are mammals that are about the size of a cat, that hop like kangaroos, and have a smiley little face. There are about 10,000-12,000 quokkas on the island. They are Rottnest’s most popular tourist attractions, and their popularity draws people from all over the world. During our day on the island, we had a quaint lunch, took the hop-on, hop-off bus, and explored some of the beaches. The quokkas were by far our favorite part.
We rang in the new year by watching the Sydney fireworks on television, toasting with sparkling juice and champagne, blowing noise makers, and lighting up sparklers in the backyard. Happy 2020 everyone! Here’s to the next decade, with many more adventures to come. New Year’s Day was a kids-pick day. They decided that they wanted to do the fountains at Elizabeth Quay, so we did.
The beautiful wildlife and nature in Australia have been simply amazing. Overall, we have really enjoyed our trip to the Land Down Under. It is a long journey from home, but we hope that people get to experience the wonder and joy that we have here. Mason’s favorite thing about Australia was the beach. His favorite being the shallow, crystal clear waters at Meelup Beach were he swam like a baby dolphin. Cooper’s favorite thing about Australia was the parks, especially the slides. Tom and Chelsea most enjoyed the animals and wildlife that are so uniquely Australian. Nowhere in the world can you find such diverse animals-quokkas, kangaroos, koalas, snakes, wombats, dingos, echidnas, and more.
Again, our thoughts and prayers are with the Auzzie people as their country goes through the worst fire season ever. The destruction of land, homes, and lives is devastating. Our hearts are with you, and we feel a new bond, a new sense of empathy for what you are experiencing.
“I travel around the world in a way that tries to open my mind and give me empathy and inspire me to come home and make this world a better place.” -Rick Steves