Memorable Holidays in the "Bush", Lake Clifton, WA

We were in WA for three weeks from 23 September 2023 to 14 October 2023. Beside spending time with our daughter, Serene's family, we had exclusive time to spend holidays with Sam's family who flew in from Singapore for a week.

My DIL is really good in finding holiday homes for the family to spend holidays together. Back in May 2018, she found a farm house in Tuscany where we had a chance to chill out and to explore the birth place of Leonada da Vinci and other nearby old towns in Italy (Read here). In March 2019, she found an Airbnb in Yarra Valley where we had a chance to stay together for a couple of days and had a chance to hug a wombat and did a family cycling in Yarra Valley (Read here).

This time, she found a perfect place for this exclusive family time. She found this hide-away holiday home which is built literally within the bush which is near to Lake Clifton. This is indeed a perfect place to bond, to relax and recuperate after spending months after months in the city which is forever choked with traffic and noise. 

For two days in Lake Clifton in The Cottage, we had a great time bonding with the family and our granddaughters. We explored the nearby interesting places, walked and trekked miles of trails, ate awesome food, laughed, lost in labyrinth, played mini-golf and occasionally paused in contemplation. We had many unforgettable moments!

The poster hung at the Dining Hall appropriately sums up the yearning of many visitors who come from both far and near:

Life is short

Break the rules

Forgive quickly

Love truly

Kiss slowly

Laugh loudly

Never regret anything

That made you SMILE.

Front of the house.

The front.

The lounge

The bunk bed Livvie enjoyed to sleep in!

The fire place.

Dining Hall.

Back of the House.

Compound at the back of the house.

****************************************************

The grandparents had a late afternoon walk around the vicinity of "The Cottage" with the granddaughter, Livvie. As assured by the Cottage owner, we managed to see kangaroo and parrots!

Exploring Lake Clifton, WA

Lake Clifton Jetty or the boardwalk in Yalgorup National Park is just a mere 200m from the Lake Clifton Thrombolites Car Park. A short walk along the neat and well-maintained concrete walkway eventually leads to the wooden deck jetty.

By the time we reached Lake Clifton Jetty, it was 6pm - a perfect time to enjoy the sunset of Western Australia.

Besides the sunset, many visitors come to see the thrombolites - the limestone-colour round-shaped bodies that line the shallow seabed around the boardwalk. A check in the internet indicates that thrombolites are formed by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms of micro-organisms especially cyanobacteria. These micro-organism living in this area are able to precipitate calcium carbonate from the water as they photosynthesize, forming the mineralized structure that is thrombolites. Thrombolites are reckoned to be one of the first life form on earth, dating back approx. 570 million years. The thrombolites in Lake Clifton are believed to be 2,000 years old and the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Amaze Miniature Park, WA

On Day 1 of the reunion outing with Sam's family before we checked into "The Cottage" in the afternoon, we detoured to the Amaze Miniature Park after buying lunch at "The Butcher, Baker, Great Coffee Maker".

***************************************************

The first impression of the Park is that it's rather old judging by the trees, plants, shrubs and creepers in the compound. A check indicates that this miniature park in fact is twenty years old. 

This 4-acre site has beautiful gardens, 1940s tea house, miniature buildings of old English homes (Shakespeare's era), model trains, hedge maze, mini golf, playground, yard games and pedal cars.

The roast pork, lamb shank and pie bought from "The Butcher, Baker, Great Coffee Maker" were really good!

**************************************************

The Children Playground.

*************************************************

With my granddaughter, Livvie, we had great time "lost" in the hedge maze. But we finally managed to locate all the secret stations and completed the search!

**************************************************

Pedal Cars.

*************************************************

***************************************************

We had awesome time at the mini golf.

***************************************************

We finally left the Park just before 3pm after spending three and a half hours of wonderful moments. I left in happiness and contentment with the phrase written on the little signboard planted at the Children Playground inked in my mind:

The mud will wash off but the memories will last a lifetime!

Rio Tinto Naturescape Park, Perth

Our first family outing with the families of Serene and Sam in our recent Sep/Oct 2023 trip to WA is to the Rio Tinto Naturescape Park. This was opened to the public in December 2017 after undergoing major upgrading. This is my first visit to this part of the Park even though I have visited this hill numerous times.

The construction of the Park was funded by Rio Tinto - a British-Australian multi-national company which is the second largest mining & metals company in the world after BHP.  Funding the construction of this Park is probably Rio Tinto small gesture to compensate for the "destruction" caused to the environment in their mining operation!

The bush setting and facilities provided in the park are quite different from conventional children playground. We saw 40m long aerial walkway which they call the Python, tall climbing poles, climbing ropes, treetop climb, burrow, creeks and wetland which are meant to encourage children to explore and to experience nature with some risks of suffering bumps and scratches.

Aerial Walkway.