It's an exciting day for us because we will be travelling to Wapole from Perth. A straight 5 hours drive away through various freeway. To get to Wapole, we will pass through several small towns such as 'Bunbury', 'Donny brook' and 'Bridgetown'.
Both Donnybrook and Bridgetown are ideal places for stop-over for a short leisure walk or lunch. Donnybrook is famous for its apple produce and there are quite a number of apple farms in the town. However, the farms are not open to the public for fruit picking or tour around the orchard.
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| To the towns, the road passed by the lush green forest of Kari Trees |
We stopped by Bridgetown for lunch after driving for 2.5 hours. We've done some research on the recommended restaurants by Tripadvisor and decided to dine in at 'The Emporium Bistro' which served all kinds of western food such as steak, fish and chips and grilled chicken.
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| @Bridgetown |
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| @The Emporium for lunch |
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| Cosy place for tea, lunch or dinner |
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| My first cup of cappuccino |
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| My first order of fish and chips |
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| Alfred's kid meatball spaghetti |
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| Hubby's medium well steak |
It's a pity that we were not able to drop by 'The Cidery' for some ciders. I would love to visit this place for cider or tea someday. Both the exterior and interior of the restaurant is really nice. I would say the ambience is really good to have a nice catch up with friends or just a quiet tea for yourself.
The reason why we are visiting Wapole is because of the amazing 'Bila Bila Farm Cottage Stay'. Bila Bila is a family farm based business located on this very blessed and beautiful landscape that is near to some of the most amazing places of interest at South coast of Western Australia, such as Mount Frankland and the Tree Top Walk @ Noralup. There are 6 self-contained cottages at the farm and it provides several farm activities such as pony rides for the children, feeding the chickens, pigs, horses, calves and lambs.
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| Signboard to inform guest of their cottage number |
It was raining lightly upon our arrival at the farm in the evening. The weather was cold @ only 10 degree. I would say I'm freezing. Donna, the host is the friendliest lady that I've ever seen. She greeted us warmly at our arrival and even helped us to start the pot belly wood fire at the cottage living lounge. She really made our stay at the cottage an amazing one.
The cottage is spacious and can accommodate up to 6 people. It is equipped with kitchenette and has heater at the bathroom (which is really important to us). Unfortunately, the cottage does not have any TV but I wouldn't mind at all since we can have more time to bond and chat as a family. To entertain my little boy, I brought along my notepad to entertain him where necessary.
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| Our cottage, just like the cottage @ Old Macdonald's Farm |
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| Spacious yard for you to chill on a lazy afternoon |
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| Country style kitchen |
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| View from our bedroom |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Pot belly wood fire @ living lounge |
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| Cottage's living lounge |
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| Having dinner with his favorite cartoon show |
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| Burning firewood |
Although the cottage is simple, it has everything you need. The stay was definitely a cozy one with the pot belly wood fire at the living lounge to keep us warm. The sofa at the lounge is one that is the most comfy I've ever sat while away from home. If you are planning for a cottage stay that is well equipped with the kitchenette, it is important to stock up on the groceries before heading to the farm because there are no supermarkets or grocery shops within the vicinity. I really regretted not buying any coffee or juices. The farm also provides dinner if requested in advance. The farm dinner is relatively simple and therefore please do not demand high expectation from the host. It is simply good enough for a hearty farm's meal. My hubby ordered the maroons which are reared in the farm and he commented that the food taste good. For me, I thought the apple pies are really a surprise!
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| Grilled fish for Alfred |
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| Spiced chicken with mushroom for me |
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| Seafood platter for hubby |
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| Lovely apple pies |
I love the fresh cooling air in the morning and it's never tiring to wake up and explore the farm. I could hear the 'meh meh' noise just outside my cottage when I woke up. Alfred was thrilled to see the sheep feeding on the grasses and pulled me out of the cottage before I could even put on more warm clothes. It's really refreshing to wake up in a place like this. We walked to the chicken's pen hoping to collect some eggs for breakfast. However, there were none in the pen.
Ms Donna came early and offered a horse ride to Alfred. She then took us for a slow walk into the bush land to see some wild kangaroos that hoped away so fast. Along the way, we saw many sheep grazing in the field. Alfred loves the horse ride and would like to do it again the next time.
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| No eggs in the pen :( |
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| Tranquil surrounding |
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| A walk in the bush land |
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| Riding with good posture |
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| Outside our cottage |
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| Cooking our breakfast |
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| Simple meal |
In the afternoon, we decided to explore the surrounding of Wapole. The first stop was to the Circular Pool, which is in fact a fast flowing river in the forest. I would say to skip this river unless you have plenty of time to spare.
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| View of the so called circular river |
Nearby, we stopped at the 'Tree Top Walk' at Norulup, which is located in a national park between Walpole and Albany. You need not climb up the stairs to reach the tree-top. Instead, the place has connecting long bridge for you to ascend to the top of the tallest tree in the park for some amazing view.
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| Starting point of Tree Top Walk |
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| Connecting bridge |
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| Walking on top of the trees |
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| Absailing activity in the park |
The walk was fun for the boys and we did the walk twice. The next destination not to be missed is the 'Red Tingle Tree', known for its massive buttressed trunk. These gigantic trees are believed to have existed since the dinosaurs age. The GPS signal can be quite misleading and led us through a thrilling gravel road to get to the forest where the 'Red Tingle Trees' are located.
After seeing so many trees, we were a little sick of it and decided to stop by Peaceful Bay for some delicious fish and chips as recommended by the Wapole Visitor Office. As suggested by the name of the place, there is a peaceful bay where the sea is calming and suitable for swimming during the summer times. It's really a precious hide-away not to be missed in Wapole region. I must say that the fish and chips is really the best I've tasted in Western Australia! And for your choice of fish selection, I would say, cod fish taste better when battered than Aussie snapper!
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| Wide selection of fishes for your battered fish and chips |
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| Behind is the famous peaceful bay |
We ended the day's road trip with a leisure stroll at the beach and headed back to the cottage before sunset. Goodnight and sweet dream :)
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