Tips for Travellers: Perth

For those out there wanting to give Perth a shorter or longer visit I figured I would write a little summary about it.

In the beginning of my stay, which was towards the end of winter, it was cold and rainy. Everyone kept telling me, this was very unlike Perth weather in general and that by September people starting cleaning out there pools to make the heat more endurable. So apparently this year presented me with the worst weather in ages, still I would advise you, especially when living in a hostel, to miss Perth’s winter. Otherwise you will have a boring time there, because most activities are done outside -> King’s Park, going for bike rides, heading to the beach including surfing or body boarding, playing tennis or other sports and so on. 

If you do find yourself in Perth on a rainy day not all hope is lost. To get a load of culture and art a visit to Fremantle’s Prison and museums might be worth it. Close to Perth’s library in Northbridge you can find the Blue Room theatre in which individual artists perform their plays. Florian saw one of those and quite liked it. Alone this show makes it worth getting a YHA hostel card, which offered him a ten dollar discount. Otherwise you might like a trip to the cinema, if you go on the right day! The Picadilly Cinema between Hay Street and Murray Street offers Backpacker Monday discounts with 8 Dollars per movie for anyone who brings their foreign passport. Most cinemas don’t have a seating order and don’t even control who enters the room, so that it was possible for us to watch the last half hour of the Smurfs2 without paying! However, I wouldn’t try to sneak in. If you get caught it might put you in a rather embarrassing position. The Paradiso Cinema on James Street in Northbridge primarily shows foreign films. It’s where I saw Ben Hur, which was surprisingly funny. A few meters further on James Street is the Northbridge Plaza which begins playing free films when spring starts. 

Before I head on to the nicer season of spring, there is one last activity to do, when it’s raining -> Shopping obviously. I quite like how organised the shopping area in Perth is. It is easy to access by the main road William’s Street which runs from the river up through Perth and into Northbridge. The shopping area consists of Murray Street Mall and Hay Street Mall which are parallel to each other and end in Barrack Street on one side and William’s Street on the other. There you will find the more high end expensive stores in the actual malls and the normal people stores just along the streets. Anything from electronics to clothes, food and souvenirs can be obtained here. For cheap electronic deals I would advise anyone to check into JB Hifi first, and for fun and affordable crafts and odd items I suggest Red Dot. As a passionate opt (thrift) shopper I grew quite fond of Good Sammy’s which is just a little further along Murray Street. On your way there on the left side there also is an amazing chocolate shop, where you can taste chocolates for free.

Food in general is a little cheaper in Northbridge though, where most hostels, bars and clubs are. There you also find a wide variety of Asian cuisine and the wonderful San Churros which everyone has been raving about. We have been to the New Moon Dim Sum restaurant on James Street, which was delicious once you understood how it worked and found a waitress you could understand. For less experimental tummy’s Subway is on the same street. A lot of restaurants have deals depending on the day of the week. Domino’s Pizza offers a huge pizza for 5 dollars every Monday and the universal bar serves pizza and a large cider or beer for 10 dollars. Both are reasonable and good. Before I forget to mention it: A really awesome place is down by the river. It is called Annalakshmi and serves a Indian vegetarian buffet and a glorious view over the river and east Perth. The special feature about this restaurant is the price: There is none. Every customer pays however much they chose to, which can be dependent on the amount eaten, the food’s quality or the budget, but nobody controls these. It’s up to every visitor to decide and the food was very yummy! 

I wouldn’t call myself a nightclub expert, I have only been to three and only once each. The Deen in Norhtbridge plays modern music, mostly made danceable in remixes. I liked it because I enjoy dancing to songs I know. The crowd was a little less pleasant. For girls in Perth there must be an unwritten rule: ‘If one isn’t allowed to see it, it isn’t pretty.’ Therefore less is more and the prize of best outfit is won by a girl who’s three Bs are well visible. This sort of look was very prominent in The Deen. Still entry is only five dollars on Saturdays and supposedly free on Fridays.

The Shed is on Aberdeen Street as is the Deen. I went there on the Friday after Halloween so I am unsure whether the free entry was due to the Holiday or the Friday. This place is suitable if dancing is not your primary planned source of entertainment. There is a life band playing a mix of songs in the back (it is open Air by the way) and towards the entrance there are undercover bars and seating options, so getting drunk or just having a chat at comfortable volume are possible.

Who doesn’t mind the distance could get a bus and later a taxi to and from Fremantle. It is a good place to have a day out by the docks, go for a coffee on the coffee strip or sit down in one of the many restaurants. For nighttime entertainment there are bars and two main nightclubs: The Newport Hotel and the Metropolis. I have only been to the latter the week before Halloween and I think entry was 10 dollars. They definitely get credit for the looks of the club. All staff was dressed up in scary costumes, the stage was fully covered in spider webs and other halloweeny decorations and big tubes of bubbly red liquid reached from the floor to the ceiling. There is a 80s/90s area upstairs for those who prefer this music and a hidden cocktail bar which is worth the visit once you find it. Apparently it was new when we got there so the club promoted it by giving out one free cocktail per person. The venue only really filled up by 11-12 and shortly before that the music got better. Then the later the time and the more drunk the guests music got worse, so we left. Still not a bad club and it’s supposed to be better than the rather sterile Newport according to other people.

Now we may head on to spring. As I mentioned winter rather took it’s time. During the spring holidays in Mandurah the weather was lovely and warm, except of course for the one weekend we went traveling down south towards Melbourne and after this weekend the rain kept coming back. Perth also is very windy, especially in the afternoon, so that warm clothes often enough are required. But without warning the weather just changes into almost unbearably hot - and this is still spring! During the centenary concert at the Primary School the families were required to sit on the lawn in front of the stage and all the early birds wisely settled down next to the trees. We sadly were a little late, so our blanket lay flat in the sun, which then led to us shuffling into the shade before the show started. I went back later because I felt like I was burned alive. Maybe not that bad, but it was rather very hot until the afternoon wind kicked in.

As soon as the weather gets better though, Perth and South Australia really open their gates to you. Festivals start like the King’s Park Wild Flower Festival. In general King’s Park is well worth a visit. It is nice for bike riding, a comfortable pick nick or simply catching a gorgeous view of the city and its proud Swan River. Biking is also very easy along Swan River and around Perth as it is mainly on flat ground. I have been to numerous beautiful spots by the river around where I live so I am sure from anywhere you can find a lovely spot to have lunch and dip your feet in the water. A few of my Nedlands/Crawley favorites where Mrs Herbert’s with lots of trees to hide underneath, the foreshore by the rugby club and Pelican Point. Most of these have playgrounds and BBQ spots. Depending on where you stay, but I assume it would be Perth City, a little longer of a trip would be to the beach. Scarborough and Cottesloe are preferred spots and as long as you just move up the beach from the main Cottesloe area where the hostel is you will find a quiet and more lonely spot.

I thought Mandurah was quite lovely if you would like to pay it a visit and not too far off from there along Pinjarra Rd you will be able to find Peel Zoo. It is a zoo specified on Australian animals including multiple animal feeding experiences from deer over alpacas to kangaroos. You will also find Tasmanian devils, sleepy koalas and free peacocks and pheasants.

Down South, not in Perth anymore, you will find Dunsborough, which we wrote about in an earlier post. The city itself is nothing special but for nice washing facilities you may want to head towards Cape Naturaliste and Meelup Beach. Be sure to safe Cape Naturaliste for those sunny days to have it really pay off. Bunker Bay is absolutely gorgeous and doing one of the walk loops around the actual cape as well, best to start from Bunker Bay and then deciding how long of a walk to take on. The walks itself are not too difficult and I managed fine in normal shoes. For a large part of your walk you will have a beautiful view of the sea and most likely spot a few whales. Visiting the lighthouse itself is not supposed to be worth paying for it, but a walk around there should be lovely as it wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. 

Towards Yallingup one will find the Ngilgi Caves which I enjoyed a lot and would recommend to anyone. When you are there follow your guide’s tip to sing in the main chamber and lay down. Also take your time to listen to the fascinating background information about the stalactites.

Even further south following the Albany Hwy reaching Albany you want to head back west to see the nature around Denmark and Walpole. Shelley Beach is a great spot to camp right at the sea and only costs 7 dollars, if the ranger comes down at all to collect the fare. For the same cost you can camp further inland by the Fernhook Falls which also is a great camping place with fire making facilities. However, these may only be used before November. The Tree Top Walk which is always highly advertised on the Valley of the Giants Rd is not worth the money. 400 meters long for 15 dollars and not even taking you above the trees. On the other hand the Ancient Empire walk on the ground between the huge stems of those giants is much more worth it! To have a nice time at the beach check out Conspicuous Cliffs and maybe take on part of the Bibbulum Track there to feel like you are in a jungle, or head to Elephant Rocks and Greens Pool which are both beautiful and right next to each other.

Back to Perth there is one surprising thing, which I though was the most beautiful of all. Every time I went home from the city (usually by bus) I gazed out towards the river to see the distant lights be reflecting on its surface. It’s an amazingly peaceful and gorgeous sight, to me at least. Because of this reason a trip to the river is also always worth it at night.

I would love to spot at this point but since you will be grocery shopping one last tip on that part. Farmer Jacks usually has the cheapest vegetables if you get those which are out front. Coles is probably the cheapest but usually harder to access than IGA. For discounts it usually is better to head into Coles just before it closes. The only hazard is, you might not find all the baking goods and meats anymore then.

This from me on the city of Perth. Enjoy your stay ;)

Flipper

ps: Now that I am in Adelaide I am 8,5 hours ahead of Europe in your summer time and 9,5 in your winter time and 15,5 hours in front of the Us in you summer time. I will not be accessible by post for a while, so don’t send anything anymore ;) Phone number is the same.