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

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CHAPTER 9 . PERTH & WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Express up to around A$40 (US$26) for the other companies, and about half
price for kids. Most depart Fremantle; Boat Torque also does them from Hillary’s
Boat Harbour (near the AQWA aquarium; see “What to See & Do in Perth” earlier
in this chapter). The company provides coach connections to Hillarys from
Perth. The Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) runs whale-watching tours
on Wednesdays, weekends, and public holidays during the season (Sept to early
Dec) at 9am and 11:30am. Tours, limited to 12 people, are on board an ocean
raft which gives “eye level” encounters with these magnificent mammals. The cost
is A$90 (US$59) per person and includes admission to AQWA. Bookings are
essential (& 08/9447 7500).
The Perth Tram Co. (& 08/9322 2006) makes a daily-guided loop of city
attractions, the casino, and Kings Park in replica 1899 wooden trams; hop on and
off as often as you wish. Tickets, which you buy on board, cost A$15 (US$9.75)
for adults, A$13 (US$8.45) for seniors, A$7 (US$4.55) for children 4 to 14, and
A$37 (US$24) families. City-casino, city-Kings Park, and casino-Kings Park legs
are also available. Join anywhere; the tram starts at 565 Hay St. at 9:40am and
makes six 90-minute loops a day.
Feature Tours (& 1800/999 819 in Australia, or 08/9475 2900; www.ft.com.
au) runs half- and full-day coach tours to attractions in and around Perth.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES & SPECTATOR SPORTS
BIKING Bike tracks run along the Swan River, through Kings Park, and
down to the beaches. There is a great 9.5-km (6-mile) track around Perth Water,
the broad expanse of river in front of the CBD, that starts at the Swan River on
Riverside Drive in the city and goes over the Causeway bridge, back along the
other bank and over the bridge at the Narrows back to the city. The state
Department of Transport’s cycling division, Bikewest, publishes bike route
maps to the city. They are available in bike shops, most newsagents, and at Map
World, 900 Hay St. (& 08/9322 5733).
An hour’s rental with Koala Bike Hire, in the parking lot behind Fraser’s
restaurant in Kings Park (& 08/9321 3061), is A$5 (US$3.25), or A$16
(US$10) for the day, which includes a helmet (required by law in WA), lock, and
maps of Kings Park.
CANOEING, KAYAKING & WHITE-WATER RAFTING Rivergods
(& 08/9259 0749; www.rivergods.com.au) runs canoeing, sea kayaking, and
whitewater rafting adventures on the Swan and other rivers near Perth. The company’s
1-day sea kayak trip to snorkel and swim with wild sea lions in the Shoalwater
Islands Marine Park, just south of Perth, gets rave reviews. You also see
penguins being fed on Penguin Island. The cost for the day is A$125 (US$81).
This trip runs daily from September to June.
FISHING Dhufish, pink snapper, cod, marlin, shark, tuna, and mahimahi run
in the ocean off Perth. Mills Charters at Hillarys Boat Harbour, about 25km
(15 1 ⁄2 miles) north of the city center (& 08/9246 5334; www.millscharters.
com.au), runs full-day deep sea fishing trips aboard a 70-foot cruiser for A$100
(US$65) per person weekdays and A$110 (US$72) on weekends and public holidays.
That includes tackle and bait; BYO lunch and drinks. The company also
runs game fishing day trips, for which you’re looking at A$295 (US$192) per person
weekdays or A$310 (US$202) weekends and holidays. Another great fishing
spot is Rottnest Island (see “Side Trips from Perth” below). Rottnest Malibu
Diving (& 08/9292 5111) rents tackle for beach and jetty fishing, and does fishing
tours to the pick of the island’s bays in winter months.