Perth – Chocolate, koalas, roos, and an emu!

Roo Crossing! | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

What is a trip to Australia without seeing some wildlife?

Probably still a great one, but it would definitely be incomplete!

I was really looking forward to my Saturday in Perth as it was the day I was going to see my first kangaroo. Well, I finally did see that kangaroo, but it was only the beginning.

In an earlier post, I said that quokkas were the cutest creatures I’d ever seen. No disrespect to the quokka, but that was before I saw a koala in person! Here was my itinerary for the day…

Sleeping Koala | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

We started the day with a nice breakfast at Milk and Honey in Northbridge (see my post on food). Afterwards, we were off to Caversham Wildlife Park where you can get up close and personal to feed the kangaroos, koalas, and…[cue "If I had a million dollars"]…emus…yes, emus! I also had a chance to see dingos, tasmanian devils, and wombats to name a few others.

This was a highlight of my trip, but there’s not much I can say to describe it so I’ve included some more photos at the bottom of this post.

Margaret River Chocolate Company | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

A nice afternoon break

After leaving Caversham, we stopped off at the Margaret River Chocolate Company for afternoon tea. All I can say is chocolate…lots of it! They have samplers at a station inside where you can grab as many milk, white, and dark chocolate “buttons” as you like. I’m talking handfuls! We made a few trips back and forth…

There’s also a cafe with some outdoor seating where you can get food, coffee, desserts, and different kinds of hot chocolate that you have to try!

Note: There is actually a day tour available at the Perth Tourism Centre (corner of Hay and Pier Streets) that combines these two things along with a wine tasting if you don’t have a car.

Fremantle | Perth | Australia 2010 | Allan Bonifacio

Drive along the coast to Fremantle

Next up was a nice drive south along the coast to get to Fremantle. It kind of reminded me of driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in California – some very nice homes and amazing scenery.

Once we got there, we took a walk around town and stopped at Little Creatures, a local brewery in Fremantle, for a few drinks. The beer was great and I ended up drinking Little Creatures exclusively for the rest of my time in Perth.

There are a number of things to see in Fremantle such as the prison (which is supposedly haunted) and the maritime museum (where you can see a real submarine from the Cold War era), but at this point we were quite tired from a very full day so we opted to find somewhere to have a nice dinner. No problem in Fremantle…Fremantle is loaded with nice restaurants!

Well, that was about it for that day…many favourite moments and another great day in Perth.

More photos