Monday 25th February

We began the day by driving to Koombana Bay where we hoped to see dolphins but after an hour, no luck. We enjoyed hot sunshine and a walk along the beach instead.





 

Later we visited the Bunbury Regional Art Gallery which was originally a convent. We were very impressed by the artwork displayed inside which was for the annual art competition.

We drove inland to Harvey where we spent some time in the heritage gardens that border the Harvey River, named after John Harvey, a naval captain.

We returned via Cathedral Drive and passed about a dozen kangaroos eating and relaxing in the fields by the side of the road.

We stopped at Australind for a walk out along the estuary jetty which was 1.5 km there and back.

About half-way along we had a good view of many different types of birds on an island just off the jetty.

This heron kept pace with us as we walked towards the far end.

We relaxed on the seats provided before walking back.



Sunday 24th February
We headed inland for a few miles passing through National forests.

Further on the land became very flat and very dry.

As we headed back towards the coast we visited Lake Clifton which is inhabited by Thrombolites which look just like rounded rocks in the water. These are living structures built by micro organisms and are related to one of the earliest forms of life. It is said that their ancestors oxygenated the air on the Earth over 600 million years ago. The whole scene felt very primeval as we stood on our own looking across the water at them.

As we returned to the car we noticed a movement in the bush and saw that it was a wild kangaroo. We walked quietly towards it and watched it for several minutes.

We are presently staying for three nights in Bunbury and, after checking in, drove to the nearby 'Big Swamp', which is a large area of wetland in the centre of town.

We then  drove a short distance to the beach to watch the sunset over the Indian Ocean.







 

Saturday 23rd February

This is the beach directly behind our appartment at Mandurah.

 



We walked along the beach and paddled in the Indian Ocean but Alan didn't see the big wave rolling in.

After our walk we sat, relaxed and dried off by the pool.





 

Friday 22nd February

We had a good flight to Perth, collected the car, a 4WD Mitsubishi Outlander, and drove straight to Mandurah, about 80km south of Perth.





 

We checked into our appartment and this is the view from the balcony.

Thursday 21st February
This is an early Blog since we shall be catching the plane to Perth this afternoon and will arrive after midnight.
This morning we visited the Gardens by the Bay to look around the gardens themselves.

We spent an hour exploring the lush gardens on foot but it was very hot and humid .

This is the base of one of the Supertrees which are structures that represent the old growth trees which have been lost in this area.

At the Red and Gold Garden we started a minibus tour of the areas that we could not see on foot.

 

 











Wednesday 20th Feb

We went up to the Skydeck this morning to relax for a couple of hours and took these photos of the Gardens by the Bay.



 



In the afternoon we began our walk in the gardens and looked back at our hotel. Our room is in the tower on the right hand side.

We walked by the lake and couldn't miss the "Sci-fi supertrees" which have live plants growing up the sides of the structures.
www.gardensbythebay.org.sg

The first conservatory that we explored is called "The Flower Dome" and houses plants from Mediterranean type climate zones. The very modern design had an interior that was much bigger than we expected.

At the exit there were huge interactive screens that demonstrated the effect that human action has on different habitats.

The second conservatory is called "The Cloud Forest" and contains a huge planted structure depicting the rare cloud forests that are found in tropical regions.

After ascending to the top you follow a trail of aerial walkways around the summit and then gradually descend.

After dinner we returned to the Skydeck to enjoy a good view of the gardens lit up at night.





Sunday 17th February

We enjoyed a lovely journey down to London and spent the day with Rachael and Mike.

 

 

Monday 18th February

We set off from Heathrow with Singapore Airlines and had a very good flight into Singapore.

We went straight through immigration and were able to pick up our bags very quickly and took a taxi to the Marina Bay Sands hotel.
http://www.marinabaysands.com/



 

We strolled around the adjoining mall for an hour until our room was ready

 



 

We had a magnificent view of the bay from our room on the 47th floor

 

We went up to the Skydeck on level 57 for this great view of the botanical gardens that are joined on to the hotel complex. In the background were lots of ships which didn't seem to move very far.

We sat on loungers in the sunshine by the side of the amazing infinity pool.

After dinner we watched the light show in the bay from the comfort of our room.