Tag: biking

Perth, Australia

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Perth is the capital of Western Australia. There is now a direct flight from London to Perth! I definitely needed more time to see all of Western Australia but here is what I did cover and would recommend

  1. King’s Park and Botanic Garden for stunning views and walks that can take you all the way to the famous lone standing blue boat house.
  2. Day trip to the Pinnacles desert and Lancelin for sand boarding, passing by Swan Valley where you can try wine, honey, coffee and chocolates. Here is the tour I used which included a BBQ at the Pinnacles desert for dinner while we were star gazing.
  3. Day trip to Rottnest Island for the adorable Quokka’s who are super friendly and will smile for your camera. Be sure to rent a bike to explore the whole island (approx 22km), a much more comfortable option than the bus that does a loop.
  4. Fly or drive for ages to Esperance which is known for its pink lake, however it is no longer pink! There is still a pink lake on an island off the coast of Esperance which you can fly over via helicopter for $300+. Or you can stay on the mainland and enjoy Cape Le Grand National park which is the only beach in the world to have kangaroos roaming around and Australia’s version of Stone henge. You can also complete the short Great Ocean Drive with magnificent beaches, stand under a windmill and see the ‘pink lake’. Here is the tour company I used in Esperance as I didn’t rent a car.
  5. Visit Fremantle from Perth city centre, for their weekend market, do a prison tour and enjoy sunset by the rainbow sea containers.

Xiamen, China

On By touristnatLeave a comment

Xiamen is a port city on China’s southeast coast, across a strait from Taiwan. It encompasses 2 main islands and a region on the mainland. Formerly known as Amoy, it was a British-run treaty port from 1842 to 1912. Many Europeans and Japanese lived on Gulangyu, today a vehicle-free island with beaches and meandering streets lined with old colonial villas. I went straight to the countryside as part of my volunteer trip!

  1. Great for mountain biking as they have so much open land
  2. Teach at a local school, they could do with volunteers teaching English
  3. Stay in a traditional ‘Tu Lou’ protected by UNESCO World Heritage. A Tu Lou is usually circular in configuration, between three and fie stories high and housing up to 800 people. Smaller interior buildings are often enclosed by these huge peripheral walls which can contain halls, storehouses, wells and living areas, the whole structure resembling a small fortified city. There are several you can visit including Chuxi tulou group, Tianluokeng tulou cluster, Hekeng tulou cluster, Gaobei tulou cluster, Dadi tulou cluster, Hongkeng tulou cluster, Yangxian lou, Huiyuan lou, Zhengfu lou and Hegui lou
  4. Get a view from the top of the traditional houses
  5. Visit a tea plantation and pick tea leaves!