On our 2nd day in Perth, we took the ferry to
Rottnest Island. We rushed to the ferry terminal, just in time to take the 10.45am boat! The journey on the Swan River was really nice and calm. The ferry brought us to Fremantle, where we have to change into a bigger boat to cross the open seas to Rottnest.
At Fremantle, J bought a HUGE muffin and I got a HUGE chocolate chip cookie! And we were munching our grub in the boat, when the sea turned rough and we were rocked mercilessly from side to side, up and down! The waves were huge! I was trying very hard not to puke! :( I was glad I did not finish the HUGE cookie!
Fremantle Port
Rottnest Island
After the choppy ride, we were greeted by the crystal clear, turqouise blue waters of Rottnest Island! It was simply breathtaking! Totally worth the ride!
Jetty where we landed safely....at last...
Holy Trinity Church on the Island
After the choppy ride, I was amazingly hungry once I hit solid ground! :) Off we went to Rottnest Bakery! I didn't take pictures as my hands were greasy with the food, and didn't want to dirty my camera. J ordered the chicken schnitzel and I had a HUGE slice of pizza. The schnitzel was too salty, but the accompanying fries were really crispy on the outside and fluffy on the insides! Why does the french fries taste yummy anywhere in Perth?
We spent the day at The Basin - soaking up the sun and just basically chilling out. The Basin is a famous spot on the island for swimming but we didn't know how to go about it because the waves are so strong. Then I saw an old lady swimming easily out at least for 200metres and I was dumbfounded! I guess she saw the look on my face, and then showed me where to swim. You have to swim along the left edge of the "basin" where the waters are shallow, and the waves won't drag you down. After that, it was FUN all the way!
The Basin
After the sun, sand and sea. We finally reached Perth City at 6pm, and thankfully the ferry ride back was PEACEFUL! We grabbed a cab back to rest for awhile before heading out to dinner at Northbridge, which is Perth's Chinatown. My colleague highly recommend Hong Kong BBQ Restaurant, so we went to check it out.
The restaurant was packed! We got a seat after like 15 minutes. Being in a Cantonese restaurant, we had to have some roast meat, and I decided on the duck. It was a good choice! We were lucky as they had a new batch of newly roasted duck - the skin was real crispy with hardly any fats visible, and the meat is just so tender! I think we could have finish the whole duck! The AUD70 was totally worth it!
The hotplate tofu also came with big, bursty prawns. I think there were at least 8 of them. I remembered devouring 4 :) And the greens were alright, I just thought we have to keep healthy while travelling and needed a balanced meal. We also had soup - J had crabmeat corn soup, and the dried scallop soup for me, but the soup was not done very well.
THE Roast Duck, Hotplate Tofu and Greens...
Overall, it was a good meal and I am still thinking of the roast duck now! After the huge meal, we went back to the service apartment to have an early night, as we were going to visit the Dolphins the next day! Hurray!