Movies under the stars and other Perth, Australia Nightlife Tips

Nightlife Spot: Somerville Auditorium and others

Visiting Perth in the summer? No visit is complete without a night spent watching a movie out under the stars. Perth's wonderful balmy summer evenings make this a favourite pastime and you will have to arrive early to make sure of getting a seat. That's OK though - pack a picnic or buy something when you get there and fill in the time waiting for the show to start enjoying your meal and a glass of wine or a cold beer.

My favourite outdoor cinemas are :

Somerville Auditorium at the University of WA in Crawley - deckhairs inside a ring of enormous Norfolk Island pines. A 12 week festival of films from all around the world that is part of the Perth International Arts Festival.

Camelot in Lochee Street, Mosman Park. Limestone walled "picture gardens" overlooked by a balcony area with tables and chairs for picnickers with stiff knees. Wood-fired pizzas made to order. A mix of arthouse and indie films mostly with a few family favourites on new release.

Luna Outside - part of the Luna Leederville group on Oxford Street. Films the same mix as the Camelot. The best choc-bombs (chocolate coated icecream cones - a cinema institution in Perth) in town.

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Website: www.lunapalace.com.au

Nightlife Spot: Llama Lleisure

Want to do something quite different for an evening in Perth? Why not take a leisurely sunset stroll with one of Wendy Fandry's handsome llamas - he'll carry the food and wine for you as you make your way through the bush to a picnic spot by the river or in a peaceful clearing. There you'll tuck in to a delicious supper, drink some good wine and relax to tune of the llamas' quiet humming and the twilight sounds of the bush before making your way up to the rooftop of Wendy's wonderful hacienda for coffee and yummy chocolate cake as night falls over the valley.

Prefer to walk in the morning? Champagne breakfast walks are another option, as are bush barbecues for the late risers.
The bush here is home to lots of kangaroos and a variety of birds. Twilight and early morning are prime kangaroo viewing times.
Evening or morning, it's a lovely thing to do.

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Dress Code: Sensible shoes are a must.
Phone: (08) 9298 8617.
Address: Southglen Estate, Glen Forrest
Directions: Glen Forrest is 30km east of Perth in the Darling Ranges.
Viewing the llamas is not possible without an appointment.
Once a booking for a llama walk has been made, directions will be posted to the guests prior to the booking date.
Website: http://www.llamaleisure.com.au/index.html

Nightlife Spot: Perth Observatory

There are advantages to being a isolated city on the edge of the continent - as is apparent to anyone interested in astronomy. Perth's clear skies and relative absence of reflected light makes for some excellent night sky viewing and the proximity of the Perth Observatory to the city makes a visit an easy option for a different - and fascinating - night-time excursion. I took a young English visitor to one recently and she thought it was just about the best thing she had done in all her time in Perth!

Night tours are usually held on 3 weekends a month, from September through to May. They involve looking at stars and constellations through the various telescopes on the site and plenty of opportunity to ask questions as numbers are kept small. They are very popular and booking is essential.

Day time tours of the observatory are held 1 week each month. Obviously these do not involve any star-gazing but they do give the visitor a really good look at the telescopes and the museum and an interesting talk from one of the astronomers. Again, bookings are essential.

Check the observatory skycam for the latest view of the night sky over Perth.

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Dress Code: This is essentially an outside activity - the buildings housing the telescopes are set apart on very dark pathways - for obvious reasons lighting on the site is kept to an absolute minimum. It can be cold so bring a sweater and be sure to wear sensible shoes.
Phone: 08 9293 8255 (Bookings)
Address: 337 Walnut Rd, Bickley
Directions: Check the Observatory website for full information about visiting times, charges, access, etc
Website: http://www.wa.gov.au/perthobs/index.html
Other Contact: 08 9293 8109 (Information)