Day 5 - Off to the Valley

We spent a good two hours at AQWA, I think. By the time we got out, the sun was blazing right at the top of our heads. Mau rasanya nak take out the umbrella, but macam social misfit pulak lah, especially when the Mat Sallehs were spreading out in the sun to get their tans.

Lunch that day was McDonalds drive thru. The kids ate their fish fillet, while I steered the wheels towards Swan Valley. Our earlier plan was to actually take the coastal road and check out the beaches. Unfortunately, moi took the wrong turning and the next thing we knew, we were already heading towards the valley. Since we were doing pretty good with time, I figured there was no harm at visiting the valley that day.

Well, what's in the valley, one may ask. Swan Valley is Western Australia's oldest wine growing region. I felt that it would be a good educational tour for the kids as it's not always one gets to see a vineyard.

As we approached the upper Swan, the vast vineyards lined both sides of the road. We then decided to stop at Charlie's Vineyard. My girls were a bit apprehensive when we got to the place. I knew they thought that their Mom must be insane to have brought them to such a place. I told them, tengok pokok anggur, makan anggur and having a closer look at the wine is not haram, but if you consume it, ahh..that's haram. (At times generalization that kids learn in school about halal and haram can be a challenge to us parents.)


The guy at the wine shop was kind enough to explain to us how wine is made and the different types of wines. In fact, it wasn't just the children who had their Wine 101 lesson, I learnt a few new things about wine as well. As the shop had often received visitors from Malaysia, he could tell that we were Muslims and non drinkers. He then recommended us their tea and nougat varieties. I got the Island Groove tea, a mild mix of fruity and floral flavoured tea, something I'd have during the weekend afternoons while reading. The kids wanted the assorted nougats coz they liked the chewy taste of the sweets.




We later drove pass the town. It would have been good to go walk in one of the parks, but since it was such a hot day, none of us wanted to end up baked in the hot afternoon sun.