Children's favourite and other Perth, Australia Off The Beaten Path Tips

Right down at the eastern end of the city, you'll find the delightful green oasis that is Queen's Gardens. Waterlilies crowd the large ornamental ponds where little bridges cross from bank to bank. Wood duck and black swans glide among the lilies while coots and other waders pick their way around the edges. Children love this garden for all those things, but its main attraction is the statue standing right in the middle. It's Peter Pan - the little boy who didn't want to grow up. One of only six castings made by the sculptor, Sir George Frampton, (and autographed by the author, J. Barrie) of his famous statue of Peter Pan in London's Kensington Gardens, it was bought for the children of Perth as a centenerary gift in 1929 and generation after generation has been brought to the gardens ever since, to stroke the rabbits, count the fairies, look for the snails, the squirrels and all the other creatures that cluster around the pedestal, and gaze up at the boy from Never-Never Land.

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Other Contact: Hay Street East, Perth

Dutch explorer, Willem de Vlamingh would surely see some changes if he were to return to the place he visited in 1698. Then he was the first European to navigate the sandbars and shallows of the river we now call the Swan - and he and his men were the first Europeans ever to see a black swan. Take a walk around the park surrounding the Burswood Casino and you'll find a sculpture commerating that first encounter. The sculpture (one of several along the park's Heritage Trail) is located by the river, at the spot where de Vlamingh and his men came ashore.

Other sculptures to look out for as you go include Henry Camfield (one of Western Australia's pioneer settlers who took up land at Burswood ) wiping the sweat from his brow as he leans on his spade and Paddy Hannan pushing his barrow to the inland goldfields - Paddy made the first strike at Kalgoorlie in 1894 and thus began one of the richest goldrushes the world had ever known.
Closer to the river, writer Mary Durack ( grand-daughter and chronicler of Patsy Durack who opened up the vast cattle lands of the Kimberly in WA's Far North) sits on a bench reading a story to a litle girl - Mary herself in her childhood. There's room on the bench for another child to sit and listen in.

These sculptures (and more) are to be found in the section of the park around the Swan Fountain. Free guided walks are conducted daily at 11.30 from the Visitor's Information Centre.

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Phone: 9361 4475
Website: http://www.countrywide.com.au/attractions/index.html

With over 1,000 wetland sites around the city, Perth is a great place for nature-lovers. The lakes and swamps of the wetlands chain are a haven for both local birds and other wildlife as well as many migrants. They also provide a summer habitat for birds from the dry inland and a stopping place for the great migrations of birds from Siberia, Japan and China.
Birds are not their only attraction of course. They are lovely places to walk and relax beside, some have cycle paths around them and there are lots of picnic places with barbecues, playgrounds, etc. You'll find information boards at many of them with descriptions of both the wildlife and their historical importance to the Nyoongar people for whom many of them had great significance as hunting and ceremonial grounds.
Early mornings and just around sunset are the best times to visit, especially if you want to see a lot of birds. Many of the lakes dry up in a normal summer, pushing the waterbirds on to the fuller places and leaving the marshy lands remaining for the waders. The winter rains then replenish the system and spring sees a rush of nest building and new hatchings everywhere.
Wherever you stay in Perth you will not be far from one of these areas, so why not pay one a visit. Some favourites of mine are:
Herdsman Lake in Floreat. The headquarters of the Gould League are here, just at the end of Selby Street, and you can pick up a lot of information from them about wetlands, their inhabitants and their vital place in the ecosystem.
Lake Monger - this lake is fed by a spring and is always full so that it becomes heavily populated as the others dry up. Huge flocks of black swans are a big attraction here.
Bibra Lake, south of the city, off the Kwinana Freeway. A 6km cycle and walking path circles the whole lake and there is a bird hide on the side opposit the car parks.
Lake Joondalup some 20km north of the city is part of the 1500 hectare Yellagonga Regional Park, one of the most significant wetland areas within the city area.

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Website: http://www.wagouldleague.com.au/

.....and mandarins, grapefruit, limes, just about any citrus fruit you care to name, can be found growing in the pretty Chittering Valley, just a short 3/4 hour drive out of Perth. Take the turn off the Great Northern Highway at Bullsbrook onto the Chittering Valley Scenic Drive and you will soon find yourself in a peaceful little valley, following the Chittering Brook as it winds its way through citrus groves and small holdings. This is a world away from the flat coastal plain and sandy banksia scrub you've just driven through if you've come via the northern approach up the Mitchell Freeway, or the wider vineyard-filled shallow slopes of the Swan Valley if you've driven east from the city. No wonder someone chose to call their property here "Peace Be Still".

If you want to make a whole day of it bring a picnic, visit a vineyard in the upper valley as you head for Bindoon or Gingin - or do as we do, stop at Golden Grove Orchard to stock up on the freshest fruit and for a taste of Rocco's delicious orange juice, buy a bunch of flowers from a farm gate, chat to an emu and simply enjoy a few hours in this lovely place.

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Website: http://www.chittering.iinet.net.au