Report Safar Spring Sonata: With pictures!

Sat, Sept 24:
Planned departure time: 8 a.m.
Real departure time: 10 a.m.
We lost 2 hours due to some... erm... delay. Nevertheless, after we got the oh-so-famous Tarago, I took the driver's seat because Hasni wasn't feeling well.
Been wanting to drive an MPV, at last my wish came true




First destination: Harvey
Attraction? Beautiful scenery -realy!- and the Cheese Factory.






Then Hasni took over to Bunbury. Lunch and prayed there.
Don't let the sunny weather fool you; it was COLD! Cold because of the wind.




Drove passed by the lighthouse, the swamp reserve and dropped by the lookout tower (pictures below)


3rd destination: Busselton.
Shu drove this time- I let Zura be the co-pilot while I slept. The truth was I had lack of sleep the night before- finishing up the assignment which was due while we had our trip.

Attraction: Busselton Jetty- which is 2 km long and you can walk towards the end. However, the trick to get free entrance is come after 5 p.m. But you won't get the chance to go down the observatory platform (down onto the sea floor) because it's closed by then. Shu said it didn't really mattered anyway, because if you come during strong sea-current, it's either closed or you won't see anything at all.

5.30 p.m.- depart for our accommodation in Nannup.
Shu was the driver again. Halfway through, I had mild panic attack in my mind because it was getting darker and Nannup is in middle of no-where! If you think UTP is in 'padang jarak padang terkukur', Nannup is even more remote than that.

Talk about rural and remote area!

And all these images from stupid scary movies came into my mind that nigt...



Sun, Sept 25: a.k.a 'Hari Laut Sedunia'

1st destination: Yallingup- Shearing Shed,
where we had a remarkable experience of seeing the process of sheep being sheared and got the invaluable experience of feeding the cute lil sheep... Bought Sakina & got Walid from Fhad.










Dropped by Canal Rocks before going to Dansborough to eat and pray.
Note to self # 1(as journey planner and one of the organizers: admission into lighthouse will NEVER be free- so do NOT waste time and petrol to go there unless you're willing to pay!)

Off to Margaret River where we stopped by for a while.
Me, Hasni and Intan (I think) stayed in the Tarago- too tired to walk around. Soon we were back on the road down to Augusta. Halfway through, I passed the baton to Zura- tiredness seeped into my muscle and mind.



Note to self #2: Please ensure what time Cape Leeuwin actually closed (5 p.m.) before planning the journey. Or else we missed the chance to stepped onto the area where 2 seas- Indian and Southern Oceans meet- like on this day...



Let us in!!! We wanna go into the lighthouse!!


Southern Sea is behind us




This is Indean Ocean part

That night, everyone was flat.

Mon, Sept 26: a.k.a 'Hari Hutan Sedunia'

8.30 a.m: Checked out from Black Cockatoo. In case I haven't mention, it is actually an Eco-Stay for backpackers.
Shu drove to Manjimup.


One of mysterious backyard of BlackCockatoo EcoStay

Note to self #3: Please don't be confused with the different Tree Climbing areas!
Appearently Diamond Tree, Dave Evans Tree & Gloucaster Tree are all different tree climbing areas (with different heights as well). Confusion could lead to unnecessary de-tour. It was my fault as journey planner though.
We should have stuck to Pamberton instead of re-direct the journey via Manjimup. No mistake next time, insyaAllah.

1st Attraction: Diamond Tree (in Manjimup)
Height: 52 metres. Climb at your own risk. See warning sign before climbing.
Oh, and max of 4 people per climb.

That's the 'ladder'!





Alas! The top!!

Then off we went to:



2nd attraction: Tree Top Walk at Valley of The Giant Trees. (In Walpole)











3rd attraction: Conspicuous Cliff (also in Walpole)-
Breath-taking view where we dropped by to pray.
Note to self #4: Remember that the path is gravel road- next time, bypass Conspicuous Cliff, go straight to Peaceful Bay.



Then off to Albany, where we would be staying at Hj. Norman and Auntie Zaleha's place for the night. However, we missed the turn, which then took us straight into Albany town. I was so anxious driving in the dark using small 'highway' road back into the area of their home. We even had to make phone calls to Perth because no one picked up the phone in our host's house.

Turned out, the phone number given was actually Albany Musallah's number! Of course no one stayed there! But alhamdulillah, after staying for about 20 minutes in the house yard area, our host realized we were there.
If you want a definition of complete solitude without outside world's interference- spend the night here.

Seriously.

Auntie Zaleha was really nice- learned a few new stuff from her. Now that I remember it, feels like wanting to go and visit her again. Unfortunately, Albany is 6 hours away from Perth.

This fireplace was the one that warmed us that night- gotta love it! Oh, and the house is 100 years in 5 years time!!

Tues, Sept 27: a.k.a. 'Hari Hujan Sedunia'
'Sedunia' means the world where the 8 of us experienced during this safar.
This is one of those moments where you truly learn you can only planned, it is He who decides everything for you.

At first I was frustrated because it was raining and windy the whole day. We only managed to spend a short time in Windfarm and The Gap. Had to leave Natural Bridge, Blowholes and sightseeing Albany for other time because there was a storm coming.

Later I learnt to be thankful for what we already have. Maybe that was the best for us. It's also a chance for the rest to go back down to Albany (and probably Augusta and Pemberton) again in the future.









So we head to Katanning earlier than planned.
I took over Shu's place as the driver halfway through.

Stopped by at Katanning Mosque (which was being launched by Allahyarham Tunku Abdul Rahman, our first PM) to pray. Katanning is also know as 'Perkampungan Melayu'- being most of the population are Muslims from Christmas and Cocos Islands.
This is where the halal mutton came from, people!



We stayed at Hj. Kip's place that night. Aida, his daughter played hostess that night and the day after.




Weds, Sept 28:
Again, due to not-so-sunny weather, we head back to Perth quite early. Stopped at the side of the road for pictures of Canola Farm.



Reached Perth at noon- to Hasni's place first to eat, pray, download all pictures and clean the Tarago.

Then I sent the rest back and parked the Tarago in Mounts Bay- need to send in the MPV by 9 a.m. the next day.

Conclusion?
I'd love to organize and do this again soon! It was one thing to join a trip like this, but it's also another thing to organize, plan and drive! Gotta love it!
Alhamdulillah we learned a lot of things...
Bumi Allah itu luas, Jauh perjalanan, Luas pemandangan!