A Fabulous Trip to Perth
On the 29th of August 2014,
I was up with the lark to get ready to go to KLIA. My flight to Perth
departed at 9.30am and arrived on time in Perth at 3.25pm. At the Perth
International Airport, we had to queue to go through the immigration.
We collected our baggage and proceeded to the taxi stand. It started to
drizzle when we left the airport. The taxi took us to Duxton Hotel to meet my mummy. Then the holiday began.
We had our simple dinner in the hotel room because it was raining cats and dogs. After dinner, I watched television. There were numerous channels on the television that I could not decide what to watch.
Next day, we checked out from Duxton Hotel and moved to Fraser Suites which is an apartment hotel. It was too early for us to check in, so we left our baggage and went for sightseeing. We boarded a Central Area Transit (CAT) to Harbour Town where factor outlets are located. We wanted to walk to the Science Centre but the lady at the information centre told us that it was not within walking distance. Then we took the CAT bus to the Western Australian Museum. First we went to learn about animals living in mangroves, rivers and oceans. I saw models of birds and other mangrove creatures including the ruddy turnstone, which is a bird. It was temporarily removed. When I first saw its name I thought it is a tiny animal that looks like a little speck of dust.
We had our simple dinner in the hotel room because it was raining cats and dogs. After dinner, I watched television. There were numerous channels on the television that I could not decide what to watch.
Next day, we checked out from Duxton Hotel and moved to Fraser Suites which is an apartment hotel. It was too early for us to check in, so we left our baggage and went for sightseeing. We boarded a Central Area Transit (CAT) to Harbour Town where factor outlets are located. We wanted to walk to the Science Centre but the lady at the information centre told us that it was not within walking distance. Then we took the CAT bus to the Western Australian Museum. First we went to learn about animals living in mangroves, rivers and oceans. I saw models of birds and other mangrove creatures including the ruddy turnstone, which is a bird. It was temporarily removed. When I first saw its name I thought it is a tiny animal that looks like a little speck of dust.
Western Australian Museum at Perth
Then
we proceeded to the mammal section where we saw some preserved
Australian animals, including the koala, wallaby, tree kangaroo,
golden pygmy marmoset, echidna and armadillo. After that, we skipped
ahead to the bird section. We saw barn owls, fairy penguins and gentoo
penguins. The next section we visited was on butterflies from over
the world. No matter what size they were, big or small they were all
displayed in cupboards. Last but not least, we then proceeded to the
discovery centre. We saw a few insects including cockroaches,
crickets, dragonflies, greenflies, spiders and tarantulas. An amazing
fact that I learnt was that green frogs could live up to 25 to 30
years.
Swans at Queen Garden near to hotel
The
following day was a Sunday. When we arrived the bus stand, we realised
that the CAT bus only starts at 9.45a. Since we have some time we went
to the nearby Queen Garden. It is a beautiful garden
with ponds and different types of flowers and trees. I was lost for
words when I saw two black swans with their cygnets. This was the first
time I have seen cygnets. Their appearance were different from their
parents because they have grey soft down (fur).
After a short walk at the garden, we took a CAT bus to the Perth Underground. We wanted to take the blue CAT bus but it was temporarily out of service due to the 2014 City to surf marathon. We got trapped in a array of people who participated in the marathon. We found our way to the jetty where we boarded the Trans Perth ferry to get to Mends St Jetty. From the jetty we walked five minutes following a yellow sign saying Perth zoo on it. On the way, I met a friendly boy named Charlie who was with his sister, Emma and his grandparents.
After a short walk at the garden, we took a CAT bus to the Perth Underground. We wanted to take the blue CAT bus but it was temporarily out of service due to the 2014 City to surf marathon. We got trapped in a array of people who participated in the marathon. We found our way to the jetty where we boarded the Trans Perth ferry to get to Mends St Jetty. From the jetty we walked five minutes following a yellow sign saying Perth zoo on it. On the way, I met a friendly boy named Charlie who was with his sister, Emma and his grandparents.
Sit on the Giant Tortoise
First,
we saw the little blue penguin. It was very reluctant to take photos
with us according to the message in Phillip Island. Whenever we took the
camera out, it turned its body away. Then we went to see echidnas.
Echidnas are monostremes, which mean they are mammals, which lay eggs.
They have quills that are very sharp. Whenever it sees a predator, it
will roll into a big, spiky ball that resembles a stinky durian. After
that we went to see tired-looking kangaroos dozing in the sun with their
eyes closed. Coming up was the vicious carnivore – the Tasmanian
devil. Sadly there was only one in the zoo. Later we went to see an
animal that is very strangely named – the quokka. It is a marsupial,
herbivorous and it is a nocturnal animal. You will never ever see the
quokka in any other parts of Australia except in western Australia where
Perth is located. We also saw other Australian animals such as
cockatoos, wombats, numbats and wallabies.
Next we went to see animals from the Asian Rainforest. The first was the sunbear that could stand on its hind legs like a human. Next sightseeing animal was Raja, Perth Zoo's komodo dragon. It seemed that Perth Zoo was taking good care of this carnivorous creature, as there are two tanks for Raja. Afterwards we saw the red panda. Like the quokka, the red panda's status is vulnerable. Red panda can only be found in China. The next animal is the white-cheeked gibbon which looks very unique.
Next we went to see animals from the Asian Rainforest. The first was the sunbear that could stand on its hind legs like a human. Next sightseeing animal was Raja, Perth Zoo's komodo dragon. It seemed that Perth Zoo was taking good care of this carnivorous creature, as there are two tanks for Raja. Afterwards we saw the red panda. Like the quokka, the red panda's status is vulnerable. Red panda can only be found in China. The next animal is the white-cheeked gibbon which looks very unique.
Spectacular view of Perth from Kings Park
The
next section was the African Savannah where we saw African Painted
Dogs, baboons, rhinoceroses, lions, giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas,
meerkats, and Galapagos tortoise. There was also a small cave containing
nocturnal animals. It was very dark inside but we managed to see the
ghost bats and quokka. I had a whale of a time at the Perth Zoo.
On the third day, I went to the Queens Garden again to check on the black swans and their cygnets. There was no sign of them when we first came but after a few minutes they waddled to the river. After that we took three CATs and finally stopped at Havelock Street, where Kings Park was located. This park was breathtaking with so many tropical plants all around. The park overlooks the Swan River with magnificent view. We were lucky that the weather was sunny with cooling breezes. The park even has a gorgeous water garden with a lovely water fountain. People loved to sit there and have picnics and mallards adored going into the water and dabble for pondweeds. However, those cheeky mallards loved to snatch sandwiches or any other basket- stored food people brought for their picnics.
The park even had a botanical garden with plants like granite bottlebrush and snakebushes. We did one daring act - walking above a high bridge. Imagine bungee jumping from the top – injury is certain unless you have the right equipment. After two and a half hours of walk, we went for lunch at Hay Street. After lunch I had a whale of a time chasing seagulls at a street with no traffic.
On the last day, I went for a last visit to the Queens Garden to say goodbye to the black swan family. I also had my last chance of chasing seagulls at Hay Street before going to the airport. We had a very relaxing, enjoyable and memorable holiday in Perth. I vow to visit Perth again in future.
Written by:
Koh Chee Yuan
On the third day, I went to the Queens Garden again to check on the black swans and their cygnets. There was no sign of them when we first came but after a few minutes they waddled to the river. After that we took three CATs and finally stopped at Havelock Street, where Kings Park was located. This park was breathtaking with so many tropical plants all around. The park overlooks the Swan River with magnificent view. We were lucky that the weather was sunny with cooling breezes. The park even has a gorgeous water garden with a lovely water fountain. People loved to sit there and have picnics and mallards adored going into the water and dabble for pondweeds. However, those cheeky mallards loved to snatch sandwiches or any other basket- stored food people brought for their picnics.
The park even had a botanical garden with plants like granite bottlebrush and snakebushes. We did one daring act - walking above a high bridge. Imagine bungee jumping from the top – injury is certain unless you have the right equipment. After two and a half hours of walk, we went for lunch at Hay Street. After lunch I had a whale of a time chasing seagulls at a street with no traffic.
On the last day, I went for a last visit to the Queens Garden to say goodbye to the black swan family. I also had my last chance of chasing seagulls at Hay Street before going to the airport. We had a very relaxing, enjoyable and memorable holiday in Perth. I vow to visit Perth again in future.
Written by:
Koh Chee Yuan
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