I am totally engrossed in the area, as I grew up nearby, as a kid. It bring back all the memories of my childhood, the sound of toads in the pond, the sound of wind blowing and leaves brushing against each other, the blinking fireflies, the zinc roof, the wooden walls, and the smell of fresh air!
I went back the following day with my family, knowing that my children will enjoy this place as well.
The pond where I sat for 2hours listening to the toads, the night before. Kids are enjoying the place.
Swing!
Treehouse!
Pots… big pots…
Deep pond
Path around deep pond
Zinc Roof!!
Around the premesis
Mrs Tan teaching Pottery
Potteries on display
Had the opportunity to be at the Firing of the Dragon Kiln at Thow Kwang held from 7th to 8th Aug 2009.
Its the only working one in Singapore now, and its fired only once in a while by potters from http://thowkwangclayartists.wordpress.com
I arrived at about 10pm on 7th Aug to take some night shots of the firing.
Stoke Hole 1 of the Dragon Kiln, and the overhead passageway.
Bricks used to seal the Kiln
Clay figures from the previous firing
Dragon Kiln Shed
700*C @ Firing hole
Sculptures around the premesis
8th Aug 2009 11am
The Dragon reached its desired temperature and the firing hole was sealed. Next, fire the windows.
Firing the Dragon Kiln windows of stoke hole 1
Side view of the Dragon Kiln shed
Smokin’
8th Aug 2009, 6pm
The temperature of 1250*C was reach much earlier than anticipated. The Dragon Kiln was sealed, and left to burn, and then cool down on its own, for the next week.
The Dragon Kiln shed
Ms Tia explaining
Albany
We left The Lily at about 1100hrs this monring for Albany.
The 85km drive took about an hour and a half, due to the heavy flow of traffic before entering Albany.
The first thing we did was to to head for the petrol station. We have a quater of a tank left, but was afraid that the petrol price will go higher when we go further into the trip. We have travelled more than 1000km thus far.
Second thing we did, we went straight to Albany Plaza, but could not find a free parking lot. So we parked at Woolsworth, and went over to Coles (in Albany Plaza) to buy our food for the next few days.
We also brought lunch from Subway, and then we proceeded on to Jesters Pie, the real reason why we came to this part of Albany.
Jesters Albany
1/77 Lockyer Ave
Albany 6330
Of course, its available all over Australia, but its only at Stirling Range I remembered about it and the nearest location would be here, I guess?
We bought:
Chunky Beef (Stockmans)
Tender chunks of lean beef simmered in our traditional gravy
Chicken Carbonara (Pavarotti)
Skin-free chicken with bacon & button mushrooms in an Italian cheese sauce
Beef, Bacon & Mushroom (Footy)
Chunks of lean beef with bacon & juicy mushrooms topped with tasty cheese
Satay Chicken (Nutty Chook)
Skin-free chicken marinated in Jesters secret Satay sauce. *Contains Peanuts
And thats $18, FYI.
We didn’t spend much time in Albany, infact, only an hour for the shopping that we did.
We then went on to Albany Wind Farm.
Albany Wind Farm
Albany wind farm is situated in Albany on the southern coast of Western Australia, the wind farm is about 12km south-west of the city.
Torndirrup National Park
“At Torndirrup National Park, the Southern Ocean has sculpted a Natural Bridge in the coastal granites and formed The Gap, where the waves rush in and out with tremendous ferocity. The Blowholes, a crackline in the granite, ‘blows’ air and occasionally spray. The noise is quite impressive. Windswept coastal heaths give way to massive granite outcrops, sheer cliffs and steep sandy slopes and dunes.
The area was one of the first in the State to be gazetted as a National Park, in 1918, though it was not named until 1969 and acquired its first resident ranger in 1973. Torndirrup was the name of the Aboriginal clan that lived on the peninsula and to the west of what is now Albany. “-naturebase.net
It was an easy 20mins drive to reach the Gap and the Natural Bridge.
They both share the same car park. Once you enter the attraction via the only walkway, the Gap is on your left, and the Natural Bridge, on your right.
The Natural Bridge
The Gap
Blowholes
The Blowholes is further south, by car. Lookout for a very inconspicuous sign on the left of the road, pointing you into the road leading to the blowholes.
Once you arrive, its another 1.5km walk, and it takes a cool 20mins to reach the holes. Wear good shoes as you will be walking and climbing over some rocks, which can be slippery.
Do not expect to see geysers of water sprouting out of the holes like the Old Faithful.
Its merely waves creating air pockets in the cracks and creating loud noises.
But still, its worth the 20mins walk to me.
Nothing much left to be seen, since I am not visiting Whale World, we drove into the Vancouver Peninsula, to find more stunning views.
Vancouver Peninsula
Denmark
Its only then that I realised that its already 1600hrs and we have more than an hours drive to reach Denmark.
Denmark is a wonderful wonderful place to be in.
Unlike the route we have taken thus far, where all is relatively dry, Denmark has trees…. trees with GREEN leaves… and loads of them…
Found The Cove Chalet, and Illya immediately pulled us to the Wilson Inlet, wanting to show us this:
Spent another 15mins looking at the scenery, telling us that we can use the boat anytime, and that Honeymoon Island, although almost 200m off shore, the water level is only up to the chest level, but anywhere beyond that, its deeeeeeeeeeep.
He too showed us and walked us a distance on the Bibbulmun Track.
“The Bibbulmun Track is one of the world’s great long distance walk trails, stretching nearly 1000kms from Kalamunda (Perth Hills) to Albany (South Coast) through the heart of the scenic South West of Western Australia” – bibbulmun.org.au
By the time we got to Tingle Chalet, its late at night, and Illya had a volleyball game to catch.
Prepared the BBQ pit, and we had out first BBQ of the trip!
Shall show you Tingle Chalet tomorrow.
LOCATION MAP
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Bluff Knoll
The peak is 1095m above sea level, but the car park is only about 450m above, and is served by a sealed road, about 8km long.
We actually went up the car park after dark last night after dark, and its kinda eerie.
But this morning, its a whole different story.
We left Stirling Range Retreat at 0645hrs and managed to get to the car park before 0700hrs.
I will let the pictures speak for itself.
We met the park ranger, who watched the sunrise with us, and apparantly, he comes up here everyday to make sure everything is alright, and that the toilet is clean.
He is almost 65.
He was also telling us that the day before, the fog was much denser and the moon was bigger and close to the hills, and sky was all purply.
Too bad we missed that.
Stirling Range Drive
We went back to Stirling Range Retreat to pack up again, and went on our way to do the 80km scenic drive, along Stirling Range Drive, right to Red Gum Pass road, and then right again to Salt River Road.
The only sealed section you will see along this stretch is when you turn right into Salt River Road. However, please be careful as there are loads of road kills I can see along the way.
Guess how fast my wife is going at on a sealed road.
The Lily Windmill
After driving for almost an hour and a half, and making a circle around Stirling Range Drive, we came to The Lily Windmill.
LOCATION MAP
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5 years into our marriage, my wife and I are finally embarking on our honeymoon.
We will be traveling from Singapore to Perth tomorrow night, and will be back next Sunday.
Boy am I looking forward to this!
Itinerary:
Day 1
Perth
Day 2
Wannaroo
Yanchep
Day 3
Gingin
Bindoon
Northam
Day 4
York
Stirling Range
Day 5
Albany
Denmark
Walpole
Pemberton
Nannup
Day 6
Balingup
Bridgetown
Busselton
Day 7
Fremantle
Day 8
Perth
So we went to the Singapore Air Show 2008 on 23rd Feb 2008 (Saturday), and man it was packed.
But at least my son enjoyed the show, and so did I.
Here are some shots. Click on picture to go to the gallery.
In the midst of rushing out of the house, I mistook a plastic bag filled with my son’s Milk Bottle, cloths and misc items as rubbish, and thrashed it, last Saturday.
He was absolutely upset about it, but I still apologised to him…
After talking to him and explaining that he should start to drink from a cup sooner or later, he agreed.
Now, most of his classmates are drinking from cups, instead of milk bottles….
Proud of him… I believe if I am his age, I would be crying my eyes out…
At 4.33kg, she is the heaviest baby in Mt E’s nursery.
gosh she is big… and beautiful….
Thank you, my beautiful wife, for going through all the agonies in the past 10 months!
