On March 30, 2011, I got on a plane with my Mom, Grandma and Uncle in LA, California and headed to Perth, WA. When we arrived, My Grandpa was there to greet us. He has been working/living there for the last 2 years on a government contract.
We drove to our hotel, Quality Resort Sorrento Beach, which was across the street from the beach. Once we settled in we went across the street to a restaurant called White Salt. Culture Shock! The food was definitely different and a lot pricier than in the states. I’ve never had the option of a Rabbit Pie for lunch before! The next day we visited Marapana Wildlife World. We got to hold a koala and feed kangaroos, and emus. The mosquitoes were a rather unwelcome visitor. We had to go back up to the welcome center to get bug repellent and still had A LOT of bites!
The next day we headed to Geraldton. Along the way, we stopped at Pinnacles Desert Nambug National Park to see the natural Limestone formations. We walked to the information center where we had the option of walking or driving through the park. We made a quick decision of taking the driving route due to the flies being so plentiful. We were constantly swatting them from our ears, noses and mouths. We spent a couple of days in Geraldton, taking in the local lifestyle. It is a small beach front city where everything closes up at about 5:00pm and there isn’t much open on Sundays and it caters to the backpackers with a lot of beach front hotels. We took a drive out to Monkey Mia at Shark Bay where we stayed for a day. The resort was open to backpackers pitching tents, RVs and there were hotel rooms. There were Emus walking around the resort picking berries from the trees. My grandma, grandpa and mom rented a paddle boat while my uncle and I went snorkeling. The water was so clear we got to see puffer fish, sting rays and a lot of colorful fish that followed us as we swam. The next day we went on a catamaran cruise aboard the Aristocrat. On the way out to the pearl farm we sat in a net that dropped in the ocean. We stopped at a pearl farm where they explained the process of harvesting pearls. There was a case of jewelry that they had made that you could buy too. During the remainder of the cruise we saw dolphins and a dugong, which looked like a manatee.
Once back in Geraldton, we went to Greenough Wildlife & Bird Park where all of the animals have been rescued. It’s prodominantly kangaroos that were rescued from the pouches of adults that have been hit along the highways. We got to hold a baby kangaroo that had just had a cast removed from its tail. We also went to the Pink Lake where there is a molecule in the ground that turns the water and surrounding flowers a hot pink/purple color.
On April 19th we started our journey back home. Always remember: when booking your flight, be sure to give yourself a couple of hours in layover time! Security did a random stop on my uncle and we ended up running through the airport while we heard them announcing the last call for our flight! We almost missed our connecting flight to LA!
This trip created so many memories for me and created a stronger bond with my family! I can’t wait till the next journey. Want to come along?
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