Dear Daddies and Mummies,
Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to come to Perth. All these experiences would not have been possible without your love and support. We have one last 'adventure' tomorrow and we are looking forward to it. We will tell you more when we see you at the airport tomorrow evening (19 November, Saturday).
Good night and we love you.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Day 5 - Fremantle, Caversham Wildlife Park and Chocoalte Factory
Early in the morning, we went to both the Fremantle market and E-Shed market. Many of us bought many items at the market and continued to look for items for our friends and family at E-shed. We soon reaslised that the prices at E-shed were cheaper than those at the Fremantle market and wished that we had gone to E-shed first.
After having Fish and Chips, we were taken to the nougat factory where we were allowed to taste the nougat before buying it. The nougat factory produced nougat of different flavours (Cappuccino, Cherry, Apricot, Vanilla, Lemon and more) and they tasted really delicious!
We visited the Caversham Wildlife Park later in the afternoon and had an opportunity to feed and touch the kangeroos. We were able able to pat the wombat and koalas. We were instructed not to touch the heads of the animals as we might scare the animals. We were told that koalas are fussy eaters. They do not eat eucalyptus leaves that have been touched by us. We were treated to the farm show and saw how the sheep dog gathered the sheep at the command of the stockman. During sheep shearing, the sheep looked as though it was in pain. We found out later that the sheep shearing was not painful as it looked. It is like the sheep getting a haircut!
After having Fish and Chips, we were taken to the nougat factory where we were allowed to taste the nougat before buying it. The nougat factory produced nougat of different flavours (Cappuccino, Cherry, Apricot, Vanilla, Lemon and more) and they tasted really delicious!
We visited the Caversham Wildlife Park later in the afternoon and had an opportunity to feed and touch the kangeroos. We were able able to pat the wombat and koalas. We were instructed not to touch the heads of the animals as we might scare the animals. We were told that koalas are fussy eaters. They do not eat eucalyptus leaves that have been touched by us. We were treated to the farm show and saw how the sheep dog gathered the sheep at the command of the stockman. During sheep shearing, the sheep looked as though it was in pain. We found out later that the sheep shearing was not painful as it looked. It is like the sheep getting a haircut!
Day 4 - Netball Training, Bell Tower and Perth Mint
Today, we had netball training in the morning and was taught a drill that would help us improve our peripheral vision. We never knew that developing peripheral vision could be so difficult! The coaches also allowed us to try out different positions during the netball game. The training was beneficial as we picked up new techniques and we would be able to use even back home in Singapore.
After lunch, we visited the famous bell tower in Perth. We saw the oldest bell in Australia and were taken to the Ringing Chamber where we were allowed to ring the bells and learn from the expert. The chamber had long ropes hanging from the ceiling. After some explanation from the lady in charge, we were shown how to ring the bells. After trying it out ourselves, we realised that a balance of strength and technique is require to ring the bells and that it was not as easy as it looked. After leaving the Ringing Chamber, we went to see the extremely huge Martin-in-the-Fields bells. Some even weighed up to nearly 400Kg! We visited the observation deck at the end of the tour and were surprised that as we were admiring the 360 degree view, our National Anthem was being played! How interesting!
The trip to the Perth Mint was awesome. We had the opportunity to see the largest gold coin in the world which has a face value of AUD $1m and even touched a real bar of gold! The trip concluded with a introduction about the process of marking gold bars.
The day concluded with a sumptuous dinner and a trip to the supermarket. We are looking forward to visiting Chocolate Factory and Fremantle tomorrow.
After lunch, we visited the famous bell tower in Perth. We saw the oldest bell in Australia and were taken to the Ringing Chamber where we were allowed to ring the bells and learn from the expert. The chamber had long ropes hanging from the ceiling. After some explanation from the lady in charge, we were shown how to ring the bells. After trying it out ourselves, we realised that a balance of strength and technique is require to ring the bells and that it was not as easy as it looked. After leaving the Ringing Chamber, we went to see the extremely huge Martin-in-the-Fields bells. Some even weighed up to nearly 400Kg! We visited the observation deck at the end of the tour and were surprised that as we were admiring the 360 degree view, our National Anthem was being played! How interesting!
The trip to the Perth Mint was awesome. We had the opportunity to see the largest gold coin in the world which has a face value of AUD $1m and even touched a real bar of gold! The trip concluded with a introduction about the process of marking gold bars.
The day concluded with a sumptuous dinner and a trip to the supermarket. We are looking forward to visiting Chocolate Factory and Fremantle tomorrow.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Day 3 - Netball and Orange Grove
Today, we went for netball training at Morley Sports and Recreation Centre for Netball training this morning. Our coaches were Jessica and Lauren.
They taught us how hoe to be fast on our feet and taught us to land on our outside foot. We found out it quite complicated as we were used to landing on our right foot, which might not always be the outside foot. After which, we also played a few games of full court netball.
After training, we then proceeded to have our lunch and went to the Golden Grove Orchard which took us an hour to get to our destination. We sat on the tractor and were taken around the Orchard.
First, we were driven to the grapefruit area. The grapefruits were very big. They tasted very sour and bitter. How special.
Right after that , we headed of to see the mandarin oranges where they were filled with juicy pulp and many big seeds .
Lastly , before heading back to the “factory” , we saw a special kind of orange that was 99.9% acid free! These oranges tasted extremely sweet and we loved them!
Back at the “factory” , we saw how the oranges were sorted out by their size and then processed.
Later in the evening, we attended the Wanneroo Netball Spring Carnival. We were very impressed by the younger children who should be in Year 2 or 3. They played better than some of the older children, as they ran into space and weren’t packed like sardines.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Day 2 - Cottesloe Primary and sightseeing
Being able to attend school at Cottesloe Primary has helped us understand how school life is like in Australia. Healthy food such as fruits and vegetables was prepared by the parents for us today as the school does not have a school canteen like schools in Singapore. What an experience it is for us, taking packed lunches from home to school.
Today, the year 5 pupils participated in a cheerleading programme conducted by Gymnastics Western Australia. It was an exhilarating experience for all of us as none of us had done that before. We were surprised how fun and enjoyable cheerleading could be.
Later in the day, we played a friendly match with year 5 pupils of Cottesloe Primary.
The match started with the National Anthem of Singapore and Australia being played on the Public Address system. It was solemn moment for all of us as we stood at attention singing our National Anthem. After the netball game, tokens of appreciation were presented by both schools and we took a photograph together before bidding farewell to one another.
We visited King's park later in the day and found the trip be a meaningful one. The scenery was simply breathtaking as we were able to have a panoramic of the Swan River. We found out from our guide that King's park was not only set up for enjoyment but also for scientific research to prevent native plants in Australia from becoming extinct and also as memorial park dedicated to the men and women who sacrificed their lives during the war.
Tomorrow, we will be starting netball training and will be watching the Spring Netball Carnival. Do keep a lookout for more updates in the next few days.
Today, the year 5 pupils participated in a cheerleading programme conducted by Gymnastics Western Australia. It was an exhilarating experience for all of us as none of us had done that before. We were surprised how fun and enjoyable cheerleading could be.
Later in the day, we played a friendly match with year 5 pupils of Cottesloe Primary.
The match started with the National Anthem of Singapore and Australia being played on the Public Address system. It was solemn moment for all of us as we stood at attention singing our National Anthem. After the netball game, tokens of appreciation were presented by both schools and we took a photograph together before bidding farewell to one another.
We visited King's park later in the day and found the trip be a meaningful one. The scenery was simply breathtaking as we were able to have a panoramic of the Swan River. We found out from our guide that King's park was not only set up for enjoyment but also for scientific research to prevent native plants in Australia from becoming extinct and also as memorial park dedicated to the men and women who sacrificed their lives during the war.
Tomorrow, we will be starting netball training and will be watching the Spring Netball Carnival. Do keep a lookout for more updates in the next few days.
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