Fremantle and Perth

After a rest day on Thursday (12 Dec 13), the plan for Friday was to visit Fremantle Market.  Prior to Fremantle, we made a stopover at King's Park which is the Singapore's equivalent of Botanic Garden, except perhaps on a larger scale.

King's Park offers a fantastic view of the Perth business district and the Kwinana Freeway.

The park also has a variety of fauna and flora native to Australia.  It also serves as a memorial park for Australia's participation in overseas military conflicts.

Fremantle is divided into two distinct sections - one selling local produce and the other selling souvenirs and Australian handicrafts.

A visit to Fremantle should also include a meal at the various restaurant selling seafoods and the ubiquitous fish and chips.

View towards Western Australian Maritime Museum

Stopover at Mandurah - Perth Summer 2013

Following our Alcoa tour, we headed for Mandurah for lunch.  However, when we arrived at Mandurah Terrace, we found to our disappointment that the renowned Miami Bakehouse has shifted.  Our children particularly like the beef pies that the cafe-style eatery serves.  After checking at the Mandurah Visitor Centre, I discovered that it has shifted further south to Falcon along the Old Coast Road.

Jetty next to the former Miami Bakehouse locale.

Disappointed, the children decided to amuse themselves at the town centre.

Taking into consideration that we still have to visit MacNuts by 3 pm, we decided against searching for the new location.  To get to MacNuts, head north from Mandurah along Kwinana Freeway and exit Mundijong Road.  Then turn right at the first cross junction into St Albans and look for Doghill Road.  It is adviseable to drop the owners a email to check if they are open for the day.  According to them, they are usually open on weekends.  However, as it was close to Christmas, they were opened on the day we visited, which was Wednesday.

With some time in hand and suffering from the heatwave, we decided to head for Serpentine Falls.  To get to Serpentine Falls, travel east along Mundijong Road towards South Western Highway.  At the junction, turn right and travel about 7 km and look for the sign to the falls.

While we were disappointed that the original Miami Bakehouse has re-located, thre was a happy ending as we managed to find a branch near Fremantle along Canning Highway.

Alcoa Discovery Tour, Perth Summer 2013

With youths in tow, I decided that our holidays should include an educational element.  Following some research, I found out that industrial giant Alcoa offers an educational tour at two of its facilities in Western Australia.  Alcoa is involved in bauxite mining.  Bauxite is the key ingredient for the production of aluminium.  Taking into consideration distance, I decided on the tour conducted at Pinjarra - about 20 km from Mandurah.

Departing from Joondalup at 8 am, we barely made it for the tour after making a wrong turn just before the exit to Pinjarra.  We arrived at 9.30 am and found that the ferry picking other visitors from Mandurah had just arrived.  The Alcoa Discovery Centre is located together with the Pinjarra Heritage Railway Station. 

After registration, our guide Rhonda brought us for a tour of the refinery plant, north of Pinjarra.  Unfortunately, photography at the plant was not allowed.  The scale of the refinery is large and it was surprising that the mined bauxite is transported down from the mining area at the top of the Darling Range by a system of conveyor belts. 

Following the refinery tour, we proceeded to observe the mining operations at Huntly mine.  The trip to Huntly took about 30 minutes.  The mining were super-sized.  The dump trucks alone was about 1.2 times the height of our minibus.

Besides mining, Alcoa is also huge in ensuring that its mining operations has minimal impact on the local eco-system.  This is important as the Darling Ranges is considered a key water catchment for the Peel region.

After the mining tour, we proceeded a lookout point where we viewed the rehabilitated Jarrah forest under by Alcoa.  The tour ended at 1 pm.

Road Trip to the Pinnacles - Perth Summer 2013

We made a side trip to the Pinnacles on 10 Dec 13.  I took advantage of the relatively new Indian Ocean Drive (IOD) and headed for Cervantes, a two-hour journey north of Joondalup.  IOD, opened in 2010, afford a leisure drive with its low traffic and a spectacular view of the Indian Ocean as we neared the Pinnacles.  IOD, otherwise known as Route 60, starts from Yanchep and stretches beyond Cervantes.

 

Along the way, we spotted some large wind turbines which I guessed are part of the Emu Downs Wind Farm.

The Pinnacles, part of the larger Namburg National Park, is a natural wonder sculptured by erosion over an extended period.  The yellowish limestone formations gave a impression of a desert landscape if not for the Indian Ocean situated closed by.  To get to the Pinnacles, turn right into a two-way side road about 10 km south of Cervantes.

The park is designed for vehicle drive through to views the different linestone formations.  The more adventurous can always walk around the park.

Next, we proceeded to Cervantes to see the Lobster Shack and also visit Lake Thetis.

 

The entrance to Lake Thetis is located before the main town.  The unsealed bumpy road also leads to Hansen Bay Lookout.  The weather that day was terribly hot but fortunately there was a strong cool breeze when we visited the lake, known for its stromatolites formation.  Other places to view stromatolites would be at Shark Bay further north and south of Perth, near Mandurah.

 

On our way back along IOR, we visited the Gravity Discovery Centre at Military Road.  Military Road can be assessed from Gingin Brook Road if heading south from IOR towards Perth.