Sunday, September 6, 2015

Day 51 – Perth (Swan Valley)

This morning, being Fathers Day, we decided to take dad on a foodi safari through the lovely Swan Valley. We started the 30km round trip from the Visitor Centre in nearby Guildford. The information centre handed us a “Amazing Valley Chase” treasure hunt map, so as a family, we could follow a trail of clues to find answers to questions at each of 10 stops, and also to look for a plaque containing letters that would all add up to a sentence.
So, off we went….
 
The first stop was at a great coffee tasting place, so I indulged and tasted a few coffees, while the kids hunted for the clues around the factory/shop. Clues found, off we went.

 
Next up was a stop at the Margaret River chocolate Company. Oh my, with unlimited big bowls of different chocolates to taste, we enjoyed this one!

 
Another stop on the way was at the nougat factory, right next to the Moreish Nut factory. Oh yum, we couldn’t leave the place without buying some chilli and caramel covered macadamias.
 
Among other tastings, including icecreams, honey, jams, sauces, relishes, mustards, cheese, and other things too many to mention, there was one more chocolate factory to test out. Yum – the Whistler Chocolate factory served us samples of choc covered pretzels, licorice, coconut and peanut brittle.

 
After completing all 10 questions, and finding all the letters, we headed back to the Information Centre to present them with our findings, and the kids were given a certificate, and a nice packet of pencils each. A great idea to help the kids enjoy the trail.

 
As it was now only 2pm, we decided to visit the nearby Whiteman Park – 16 acres of picnic areas, parkland, cycle paths, steam train rides, tram rides, Transport Museum, Motor Car Museum, and various art and craft shops. An amazing place, full of lots of things to do, and we were all quite overwhelmed by the number of people around (after not having seen that many people for the last couple of months).





 
Brendan enjoyed the Motor Museum by himself for a while the kids tried out the huge playgrounds and café. After we were all exhausted by our big day out, we headed back to the caravan park, for a swim and some time in the absolutely huge hot spa.


 

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