Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

PERTH 443
to its west, a replica of a gun salvaged from an 1878 wreck, is fired and a time
ball dropped at 1pm daily, just as it was in the 1800s, from a deck overlooking
the ocean. You might be that day’s honorary gunner chosen from the crowd! The
Roundhouse is a short walk from Fremantle train station.
10 Arthur Head (enter over the railway line from High St.). & 08/9336 6897. Admission by gold coin donation,
A$1 or A$2 (US65¢ or US$1.30). Daily 10:30am–3:30pm. Closed Good Friday and Christmas.
Shipwrecks Museum You will love the tales of old wrecks and displays of
pieces of eight, glassware, cannon, and other deep-sea treasure recovered off the
Western Australian coast. The museum is renowned for its work in maritime
archaeology. Displays date from the 1600s, when Dutch explorers became the
first Europeans to encounter Australia. One of the best displays is the appalling
tale of the Batavia, wrecked north of Perth in 1629, where most of the survivors
were massacred by a handful of mutineers.
Cliff Street.& 08/9431 8444. Free admission. Daily 9:30am–5pm; from 1pm on Anzac Day and Boxing Day.
Closed Good Friday and Christmas.
Western Australian Maritime Museum This fascinating museum
moved into a new home at the western end of Victoria Quay in December 2002.
The museum looks at Fremantle’s history and present-day operations as a port, signaling
and piloting, navigation ancient and modern, current sailing technology,
naval defense, sea trade, and Aboriginal maritime heritage. It also features historic
or rare boats, including Australia II (the Aussie yacht that won the America’s Cup),
and you can also tour the HMAS Ovens, an Oberon class submarine, every halfhour
from 10am daily. You can buy either a joint ticket for the museum and sub,
or just for the sub. Museum staffer Elaine Berry leads a 90-minute Maritime
Precinct Walk for A$10 (US$6.50) for adults, A$7.50 (US$4.90) for seniors and
groups of 4 or more, and A$3 (US$1.95) for school-age kids; book by calling the
museum & 08/9431 8455, or Elaine at home (& 08/9336 1906) on weekends.
Tours can be scheduled for a day and time to suit you.
Victoria Quay, Fremantle. & 08/9335 8921. Admission A$10 (US$6.50) adults, A$3 (US$2) children 5–15, A$5
(US$3.25) concessions, A$22 (US$14) for family of 6. Entry to submarine only A$8 (US$5.20) adults, A$3 (US$2)
children 5–15. Daily 9:30am–5pm; from 1pm on Anzac Day and Boxing Day. Closed Good Friday and Christmas.
WHALE-WATCHING CRUISES, TRAM TRIPS & OTHER TOURS
Boat Torque Cruises (& 08/9430 5844), Golden Sun Cruises (& 08/9325
9916), and Oceanic Cruises (& 08/9325 1191) run an assortment of morning,
afternoon, sunset, luncheon, dinner, half-, and full-day cruises on the Swan
River, some as far as Fremantle, and to historic homes and vineyards in the Swan
Valley. Oceanic Cruises does a lunch cruise to see wild sea lions at Carnac Island
just off Fremantle. The cruise costs A$79 (US$51) adults, A$69 (US$45) ages
13 to 17, and A$39 (US$25) kids 4 to 12 from Perth, less from Fremantle. Captain
Cook Cruises (& 08/9325 3341) also runs cruises on the Perth–Fremantle
route, and does an Aboriginal cultural cruise that includes a guided bushland
walk and costs A$35 (US$23) adults, A$30 (US$20) seniors and students, and
A$20 (US$13) kids 4 to 14. Cruise with lunch is slightly more.
September through November, Perth’s waters are alive with southern right and
humpback whales returning from the north with their calves. To join a 2- or
3-hour jaunt to watch them, contact Boat Torque Cruises, Oceanic Cruises, or
the Rottnest Express ferry (& 08/9335 6406), which does whale-watch trips
between ferry runs. Departure days and times vary from year to year with every
cruise operator, so check ahead. Prices range from A$25 (US$16) on the Rottnest