As we need to set of pretty early today and we have not visited any supermarkets yet, the packets of instant noodles that we brought along came in handy ! All our us had noodles, a cup of tea..and we are ready to go !
Loading our luggage into the giant car :)
Hitting the road..1st stop - Mandurah! Of course for an early lunch at Cicerellos, the famous fish and chips! It was finger licking good indeed !
When we stepped into Cicerellos, this big fish tank greeted us ...
Spoilt for choice, I would say...
We placed orders and the feast begin !. We also bought so mini french butter loaves from the counter. Nice! :
Super ultra fresh oysters!
Chilli mussels! Just like chicken rice and chilli crabs are signature dishes of Singapore, Chilli mussels is a MUST TRY when you are in Perth too !
There are also tables available upstairs, where you dine and have a fantastic view of the surroundings..
If seated upstairs, this is the usual sight that will greet you. LOL! The seagulls will hover and wait for diners to leave and SWOOOOOP! they will have a free meal too...out of the unfinished food.
Where we park our car..just beside the eatery place..
After a 1.5 hours stop, we continue our journey ..to Bunbury Farmers Market. This is along the highway to Margaret River. So there is no detour at all.
You won't miss it..As you drive along the highway, we will see it on your left, very visible from the road. Just have to look out for the left turn to exit the highway and you would have arrived...literally.. :) Parking is free.!
Our very 1st supermarket excursion in Perth ! LOL ! As we intend to have a BBQ at the farmstay that night, we bought loads of stuff here, fresh max! Went wild with buying buying buying!
There is a counter that sells freshly blended smoothie, must try...deliciously good.
We bought some meat stuff and the cooler bag that we brought with us help to keep the meat fresh and chilled...all the way till we reached the farmstay.
Once again, back on the road towards Margaret River and our farmstay!
Finally, our destination !
Very simple breakfast items were provided inside the cottage. That is just to make sure that you don't go hungry on your 1st morning there. After that, you will have to visit the supermarkets there to stock up. And really, that is the thrilling part! :)) When we were there, we just enjoyed driving to town towards the end of each day where we will stock up and go back to the farm cottage to cook or BBQ! (town is abt 5 mins' drive, very straight forward directions and idiot proof..won't get lost)
For those who is not sure how to navigate to town, set your GPS to look for The Fudge Factory. This is a local well known shop and you can park your car there and walk. OR, if your GPS function allows, just key in Woolsworth or IGA or COLES...these are the 3 available supermarkets in town. We find that stuff at IGA is cheaper than Woolsworth. If I were to compare these 2 supermarkets, it is like GIANT vs Cold Storage ( IGA vs Woolsworth/ Coles). There is a TARGET too, but it sells mainly daily clothings, footwear, and other apparels. No food stuff. These 3 main supermarket shopping is located pretty close to each other. There is no need to get into car and drive to the next one. Walk. All is less than 1 min walk apart.
My son needed a pair of long pants, and TARGET was the place to go to. Town consists of shops along 1 straight road...about maybe 1.5km? So when you see people blogging/writing about this/that food in town, that pub in town...no worries, all located along this road.
An IMPORTANT NOTE : Supermarkets closing time differs. One weekends, I think it closed around 6pm? Do google and checking opening hours.
Directions from farmstay to town: Out of Farm's entrance, turn right, hit main road in 2mins, go straight for 3 - 4 mins, you arrived in town. Along the way, there is a SHELL petrol station on your left.
No ants or insects in the cottage. Cool ! There are nettings at all windows to prevent crawlies or insects from entering the premise..
Our very 1st experience with firing up a fireplace! Kids were super excited..
Since it was only 4pm in the afternoon and while waiting for old dad to finish his bath before we set of to the supermarkets in town, kids and me roamed around the farm. It reminds me of kampung life, just with more modernity. Kids can run around the farm without fear of them getting lost or on-coming cars.
We have our own car porch..
Around 4.30pm.., we went out to the supermarket to buy groceries..
Road signs are pretty clear in Margaret River..
Margaret River town, the one street shopping that I was mentioning about..All parkings are free!
Target..selling apparels..no food stuff..
Back at cottage around 6.30pm. Our BBQ dinner ! See the bottle of chilli there? We bought that at Bunbury Farmer's Market earlier. AUD3.49/- ouch !
Fire place ! This was interesting as we do not have that in Singapore :))
Life is really so different there. We cruised through the day at a very leisurely pace. In the night, we cook and sit down to have dinner together as a family. Everybody helped out with either cooking or washing. And after dinner, we laze around and chat or do some family bonding stuff. These is made possible coz all shops closed early and there is nothing much to do. In a way, I am thankful for it.
In Singapore, due to work, we seldom have time to sit down and have family dinner. And after dinner, it is either back to homework, or computer or games etc. Each in his/her individual world. This trip renewed our bonding as a family I guess..
With these deep thoughts, we looked forward to the next day's activities!
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