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ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast: Spitfires, Curry Puffs, Sculptures & Logs Over Creeks … Welcome to Bull Creek

July 17, 2021Posted in abcperth, abcperthsaturdaybreakfast, perth, Perth tourism, travel, travel fun, Western Australian TravelTagged #abcperth, #bullcreek, #perth, #perthtodo, #thisiswa, #wanderoutyonder, #westernaustraliaLeave a comment

On ABC Hidden Treasures we’ve recently been doing some special issues, like WAFL footy and Aboriginal Tourism. It’s time to get back to the idea of hidden treasures in our suburbs.

Some adventures require a lot of planning, other adventures are looked forward to with anticipation and excitement.

Other adventures are opportunistic moments to explore new ground and dare I say it, as just a reason to spend some time with the kids and get out of the house.

Not quite a road trip but more than a trip to your local café around the corner.

Welcome to Bull Creek.

Let’s start with a coffee and something to eat at the Little Parry Café.

When little Tom stands in front of a café that is named for his stature and his surname it is a remarkable photo opportunity to have him stand in front of it and an even better opportunity to try and work out why a dish simply called Waffle could appeal to an eleven year old boy.

No wordy review needed from Tom, just a thumbs up as the other hand wipes maple syrup from his chin.

This a little café that also doubles as a little art gallery and there some great local paintings and drawings in this little space.

You won’t wear off the waffles in the short walk from the café to one of Bull Creek’s most treasured shops, Bull Creek Oriental Supplies. This is a store that has been run by the gorgeously cheeky Li Ling for more than 20 years and as well as all those spices and flavours of Asia that you can stock up on you can also fossick for utensils and bits and pieces you won’t find anywhere else plus all the chips and chocolates you might be used to buying when you’re in Bali and other parts of Asia. Plus, I can assure you that their curry puffs are the best in Perth. Light and fluffy with a generous vegetable filling and my only regret was not buying the lot. Great to eat as you leave the shop and you do these quick exhales of breath because they’re nice and hot.

***Pork Floss! Lemon Water! So Much More and Don’t Leave Without A Bag of Curry Puffs***

A few years ago I wrote about the Aviation Heritage Museum in a story about all of the things alongside the freeway that you should have a look at. I rate this museum, firmly and proudly in Bull Creek and run by volunteers as an absolute treasure in this state and you don’t need to be an aviation buff to get a buzz from hearing a very real and very loud Rolls Royce Merlin engine from a Spitfire being started or crouch your way through the fuselage of an Avro Lancaster bomber or look at Catalina Flying Boat and imagine what it was like seeing these take off and land on the Swan River during their famous double sunrise flights during World War II.

***The Awesome PBY Catalina Flying Boat***

What I love most about this museum is that you’re not guided in a particular direction. My kids ran one way and I ran the other. We’d call out, “You’ve got to see this!” Admittedly there can also be a bit of “Where are you?” and “Tom, get off that aeroplane wing!” but the staff, who are volunteers and filled with stories to compliment the more than 30 aircraft on display, mostly just smile so long as you’re not trying to spin the propellors or sitting in cockpits pretending you’re Biggles.

There’s a dam down south and a few wheat silos with murals but the Stockland Shopping Centre in Bull Creek mural has to be one of the biggest in Perth and displays the Noongar seasons and local birds. It’s on the south side of the shopping centre.

An absolute highlight of Bull Creek is a sculpture in Centennial Park called the Pilgrim, by Western Australian artist Russell Sheridan and was part of Sculptures By The Sea about four or five years ago.

I spoke to the artist about this piece and it’s inspired by his love of Michael Leunig cartoons and the resemblance of the man featured in the sculpture to the main character in Leunig cartoons is very evident. Russell Sheridan explained to me that the dog is the passive observer to the burdens of life that we all carry, whether it be regret or being bullied or being discriminated against. It sounds a bit grim and heavy but just like a Leunig cartoon there is that element of inspirational whimsy that will lift you up and keep you in the fight!

While not the Nile, I was inspired by the Pilgrim to find the source of Bull Creek. In a glorious remnant piece of Bull Creek Park, next to Brockman Park and the playground, is the source of Bull Creek. There’s a small and steady flow of water that meanders through some of the most extraordinary bushland you’ll find on Perth.

In Mid-Summer Nights Dream, Shakespeare describes a character as “though she be but small she is fierce”. This is like Bull Creek Park. As Bull Creek flows towards the Canning River, it is surrounded by a small piece of bushland. There’s a log over the creek to walk across and a great path that requires you to push ferns out of the way and there’s bird life and enough green canopy to block out the noise of the busy city roads nearby. Interestingly, it’s very well protected by the City of Melville and you’re required to scrub and wash your boots before you enter to prevent dieback entering this small but fierce bit of bush.

Bull Creek flows into the Bull Creek Inlet which Noongar people called Gabbilju. The inlet has some good interpretive signage about the creek catchment area and an excellent walking trail that will take you from Gabbilju right around the river to the Riverton Bridge. But that’s a suburb and a story for another day.

Bull Creek is a Hidden Treasure because it will surprise you. A little walk on the wild side by a little creek, Spitfires, curry puffs, local art and inspirational sculptures make this your afternoon out when you’re too tired for a road trip but never too tired to have some fun with your kids.

As published in Just Urbane (June/July Issue): Pullman Bunker Bay Resort has Luxury, Landscapes and Culture

July 16, 2021July 16, 2021Posted in Aboriginal tourism, Aboriginal Tours, Chris Parry travel, family travel, perth, Perth tourism, roadtrips, Western Australian TravelTagged #bestresorts, #bunkerbay, #justurbane, #pullmanbunkerbayresort, #southwest, #thisiswa, #wanderoutyonder, #westernaustraliaLeave a comment

For the June/July issue of Just Urbane I contributed a story about one of Western Australia’s best and most loved resorts, the Pullman Bunker Bay Resort. Below is a pdf of the story published in Just Urbane:

justurbanepbbr Download

Writing about resorts is always interesting. I’ve just realised how much has changed for me in recent years when I’m looking for a resort. Firstly, they’re usually overseas.

In the Age of Coronavirus I’ve had to look closer to home for the resort experience and I found one that is not only in my backyard but has developed a reputation for more than luxury, it is being acknowledged for including the history of Indigenous people in their story in an environment that feels like the resort is part of the local bushland. It’s not about keeping the bush out; it’s about fitting in with the land how it’s always been.

Pullman Bunker Bay Resort is just over three hours drive from Perth and sits at the top of one of the greatest wine growing areas anywhere on Earth; the Margaret River Region. These days it’s also world renowned for it’s other produce, including everything from cheese to truffles and steaks to ice-cream. There’s also world class surfing and fishing that can be experienced on a coastline that is both rugged and beautiful and if getting wet isn’t your thing, you can trek the coastline along the Cape to Cape Walk, an unforgettable journey through national parks alongside coves and cliffs for a distance of around 120 kilometres.

Hang on. This is meant to be a story about a resort. Well I promise you it is but it’s nice to know that you’ll be staying in a region that should be on the bucket list of anyone who loves good wine, great food, amazing adventures and awesome scenery.

But let’s get back to the resort and just relax, maybe planning a few short trips around the region but also taking the time to adjust to the time you’re in, resort time.

It’s almost underwhelming when you arrive. It’s not that it’s not sophisticated. It’s just not grand. You know when you arrive at the big resorts and there are long, wide steps leading up to the huge atrium style space for the reception and the concierge area and there’s also a community of staff to open doors, take your bags, offer you a refreshing drink and maybe there’s even a local cultural performance going on, or local musicians? That’s not the Pullman Bunker Bay way. There’s lots of natural stone, a water feature, a simple driveway and an entrance that leads to a small reception counter.

But as I smile at the receptionist, I get distracted. Peripherally my vision is being pulled to the left and my mind is telling me to forget about checking in and to check out the view.

This is why Pullman Bunker Bay Resort exists. Bunker Bay.

Nestled just to the east of Cape Naturaliste, this small bay is extraordinary for being a sanctuary of shelter from the wild winds that batter nearby Cape Naturaliste to such an extent that a limestone lighthouse has been there for over a hundred years, warning ships from its rocky shores.

Bunker Bay is an aquatic paradise but probably not for those who seek the thrill of surfing. There’s a lot of surf to be found in the region but this little bay is for those who want to dip a toe in the water, maybe do some paddling or snorkelling but whatever it is you choose to do your heart rate won’t take much of a jolt as this peaceful stretch of perfect sand and water immerse and calm you.

The resort is slightly elevated above the beach and the restaurant and pool have a view of Bunker Bay that is probably the only frustrating aspect of the resort. I don’t know which way to look.

This is a resort that provides meals that source produce locally and present it in a style that will make you regret leaving your phone in your room. The view needs photos. The food needs photos. I need to lie down.

***Ideal, comfortable and despite what’s outside, I don’t want to leave it***

The resort has a community feel about it as you walk around. There are no hallways or corridors, just open paths and vegetation between small blocks of earthy toned rooms that feature massive floor to high ceiling windows that allow the light and colours of blue sky and green trees to pour in throughout the day before being replaced by the brilliant starlight of a night sky that you only see when you’re away from the city.

So what has really changed for me in what I look for in a resort has probably been connected to the growing age and expectations of my children but it’s also linked to what we all have to learn when we start travelling widely again; thinking about out footprints and the footprints of the airlines, accommodation and travel services and experiences we all use.

Beyond good sustainability and waste management, I’m looking for opportunities to engage with local culture as part of my luxury experience. I want local art in the rooms that are available to purchase to support local communities, I want to contribute in a way that’s more than just coming to the area and staying, eating and drinking for a few days. I want to meet local people and learn why their world is even more amazing than the most instagramable drone photo of yet another beach.

Pullman Bunker Bay does this. I came home with local art, I came home having met local Indigenous Elders and having participated in a tour of the resort that opened my eyes not just to the worlds longest surviving culture but to what the plants outside my room could do for my health, why the coastal plants down by the beach were so delicious, how to find frogs on trees and lizards in rocks, how to speak local language and why the six seasons of the Wadandi people make so much more sense than our western understanding of the weather in Australia.

This is a resort that is more than a base while you tour the Margaret River Region. It’s more than a family vacation or honeymoon destination. This is a resort that is like the best teacher you ever had. Remember those teachers who inspired you and made you forget to look at the classroom clock and as you made your way home at the end of the day you were thinking about what you had learned in that lesson? That’s what Pullman Bunker Bay Resort does for you. Sure, you’ll swim in the pool, play at the beach, and groan with delight at the end of every meal but somewhere along the way you will also learn something about a beautiful culture and a remarkable landscape. Best lesson I’ve had in a long time.

Escape Plan

Covid-19: While vaccination programs continue to roll out across the world and Australia has a program in place to vaccinate its population by the end of 2021 international travel is still not likely to resume until 2022. Check regularly with police, health and customs authorities before travelling.

Getting There: From Perth, the Pullman Bunker Bay Resort is an easy drive of just over three hours, all of it on good highway roads with regular service stations and the regional cities of Bunbury and Busselton along the way.

Visit the following websites for more information:

www.pullmanbunkerbayresort.com.au

www.margaretriver.com

www.westernaustralia.com

ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast: Aboriginal Tourism around Perth and a bit further.

July 13, 2021July 17, 2021Posted in abcperth, abcperthsaturdaybreakfast, Aboriginal tourism, Aboriginal Tours, Chris Parry travel, dryandra travel, dryandra woodland village, family travel, geocaching, perth, Perth tourism, roadtrips, travel, Western Australian TravelTagged #abcperth, #dryandra, #narrogin, #perth, #Perthnow, #wanderoutyonder, #westernaustraliaLeave a comment

***Beyond stories, Aboriginal tourism is about tangible opportunities to feel ochre on your face, touch kangaroo skins, dance and have some fun.***

For ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast, Ro and I thought that we should do something to be a part of NAIDOC Week, which celebrates the culture and contribution of Aboriginal people in Western Australia. Below is a link to our discussion about Aboriginal tourism experiences in Perth and down the road.

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/perth/programs/saturdaybreakfast/naidoc-hidden-treasures/13449400

I thought we’d look at just a few of the immersive experiences that are available to learn and understand more about Aboriginal culture and just to enjoy and have fun.

As a local, it’s a great time to be exploring tourism opportunities. Without the international tourists crowding the scene our world is our oyster and our world has the oldest and most remarkable living culture in the world.

Whether you’re after education or entertainment the opportunities to immerse yourself in an Aboriginal Tour and Experience aren’t just limited to the great red dirt northern expanses of the state, they’re right here in your backyard and in your neighbour’s backyard.

They’re even increasingly around where you’ve always walked and cycled or gone to the footy. Keep a look out for signage, statues and sculptures at your favourite spots, particularly for interpretive signs giving new life and understanding about where we live and who has lived here before us.

Here are a few of my favourite Aboriginal Tours and Experiences that are here in Perth and just a couple that are a little bit down the road.

All of them are accredited tour operators and are members of the WA Indigenous Tourism Operators Council who have the coolest corporate values you’ll find; 1) Connection to Country 2) Welcome to Country 3) Have Corroborees … to share and learn!

No buzz words. They’re real words.

Let’s start in Mandurah and welcome you to Mandjoogoordap Dreaming. Anyone who has taken the Freeway and Forrest Highway down south has seen the longest name sign Main Roads has ever had to install. The ‘Mandjoo’ means ‘meeting place’ and the ‘goordap’ means ‘of the heart’. George at Mandjoogoordap Dreaming will teach you how to make bush twine and forage for bush tucker and learn the bushcraft of the region during walks along the Mandurah foreshore and estuary and a little bit on a bus for little legs and older legs.

Let’s keep going a bit further down the road but only as far Bunker Bay just to the west of Dunsborough. Pullman Bunker Bay have partnered with local Elders to give guests the opportunity to do a Six Seasons Tour by exploring the gardens at the resort. When I did the tour with my kids, Elder Nina Webb showed them the plants that could be eaten, used for medicine, and showed me what ones just look good as a bouquet for. We found frogs behind leaves and lizards on rocks.

This is one tour that showcases not just the flora and fauna but also the culture and language of the local Wardandi people and are showing how to work alongside a modern hospitality experience to include some authentic culture in your resort getaway.

***Wardandi Elder Nina Webb takes resort guests at Pullman Bunker Bay on a tour of what is right before their eyes … and opens them!***

We’ll stay south for another experience but head east to Kojonup to the Kodja Place. It’s with great sadness that my friend and local legend Jack Cox passed away in March and I wish to thank his family for letting me mention his name today. Jack used to greet visitors with a bush tea that was actually bought at the Kojonup IGA and he used to tell international visitors that he needed their help to find lost sheep in the gardens surrounding Kodja Place. The Kodja Place will continue to tell stories about his remarkable life and his family who lived in the area. If you are putting together a bucket list of Western Australian cultural travel experiences, make sure the Kodja Place in Kojonup is on it because it’s a complete tapestry of stories from Noongar life to settler life in the area.

On our way back up to Perth let’s stop near Narrogin and go into Dryandra to meet my friends Ross Storey and Marcelle Riley. As part of the Narrogin Noongar Ranger Tours and Experiences these guys tell beautiful stories through the use of dollmaking and in bush walks. I grew up with Ross and if you’ve ever wondered if anyone can talk more than me then just listen Ross talk about his country.

***Ross Storey, based in Narrogin and telling stories about the Wheatbelt***

***Ross makes sure that all ages can participate, learn and have a lot of fun***

Back in Perth let’s look at some tours that will be so immersive you’ll no longer see the land around you as a city landscape, you’ll see and feel the land the way it was. Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours and Experiences will walk you around the city, the river, and even on Wadjemup and get you singing songs, touching kangaroo skins, using tapping sticks and smelling ochre and crushed leaves in your fingers. This is storytelling with knowledge, passion and fun and have you smiling all the way home.

Deadly Diva Experiences for Women is an experience I wish they’d let me participate in. Tahn tells campfire stories and does wildflower walkabouts and it’s all for the ladies. It’s inspiring and intriguing and let’s use my favourite word of the day … immersive. She is now looking at a once a year tour for the curious fellas so watch this space very carefully.

Get up to Kings Park as a family and participate in the Kings Park special events program that focuses on local Aboriginal culture and takes kids into the world of Kings Park before roads and playgrounds.

Finally, get to the Yagan Square Nyumbi where at 5:30pm every Friday you watch and participate in a smoking ceremony and dance. The performers change each week. Some Fridays it’s an Elders group and other times it’s the kids getting up and sharing stories with an audience that includes tourists, office workers and passers-by who never walk by when they see what’s going on. They also love a photo at the end of the performance and some of those kids will give you some cheeky feedback on your own dancing skills.

These are experiences for our community to be proud of and enjoy. Aboriginal tours and experiences are hidden treasures because they’re immersive and substantial on so many levels but most importantly, you can discover, learn, and have fun while you’re doing it.

As Published in Have a Go News newspaper … let’s go where the air is rarefied!

July 9, 2021July 13, 2021Posted in Chris Parry travel, family travel, perth, Perth tourism, Western Australian TravelTagged #perth, #Perthnow, #wanderoutyonder, #westernaustralia, #windwardballoonadventures, travelLeave a comment

Have a Go News is a Western Australian newspaper with a hardcopy circulation of over 80,000 each month and a very strong online presence.

Click on the link below and hopefully you’ll be whisked away to the July issue of Have a Go News. Scroll through to page 40 and you can read my published story about hot air ballooning in the Avon Valley.

Click to access 352digital.pdf

Have a Go News (July 2021)

There’s a reason that songs are written about being in the air.

‘Come Fly With Me’, ‘99 Red Balloon’s, ‘Up, Up and Away’ and ‘Danger Zone’ are just a few classics inspired by the feeling of being up there, where the air is rarefied.

Hidden Treasures is going on a special adventure beyond Perth this weekend. We’re going further than we’ve travelled before, past Guildford and Midland that we’ve explored before and up and over the hills and out to the Avon Valley.

Our hidden treasure can only be discovered in the darkness but is soon revealed by the dawn of a new day.

Let’s go hot air ballooning!

The Avon Valley isn’t far from Perth and if it was north or south it would just about qualify as part of the Perth Metropolitan Scheme. Being just over an hour’s drive away it’s wonderful how easy we can leave the city behind, even if it’s just for a few hours.

Arriving at the Northam Airport I’m the first to arrive and there is nobody at the airport except for the resident cat. It’s so cold that the cat jumps into my car.

As other people start to arrive and huddle around the coffee making facilities, I’m taken by news articles on the wall that describe the history of hot air ballooning in the world. This sounds like the beginning of a joke but it’s true, in 1783 a sheep, a duck and a rooster went riding in a hot air balloon in France.

I had thought that the airport would be our take off point but Damien, our chief pilot, has been letting go of weather balloons and squinting at the night sky like an old sea captain. For this morning’s flight with Windward Balloon Adventures we must head west of Northam.

These guys have all the permissions required from the shire and farmers to access properties, so long as we remember to close the gates.

Still in complete darkness, our pilots inflate the balloons as they lie on the ground and the roar and brightness of the gas burners is a bit like those aerobatic displays of jet planes whooshing over your head.

After a final briefing we climb into our basket and just like that, we’re away. No seatbelts. No worries.

I’ve done some wonderful air related activities in my life from the fastest and longest zipline in the world with my daughter Matilda down the side of a mountain in South Africa, to twice jumping out of aeroplanes, flying a beautiful Tiger Moth over Perth and the seaplane to Rottnest, and even trekking up mountains and being above clouds.

When I jumped out of an aeroplane I thought about the words of John Magee, a World War II Spitfire pilot who wrote a poem called High Flight with the first line, “Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth” and the last line, “Put out my hand and touched the face of God”.

Astronaut Michael Collins died recently, and he once remarked that he wondered what John Magee would have been inspired to write if he could have been in orbit above the Earth.

As we ascend from the paddock that becomes a mist shrouded valley beneath, I looked to the east and had author Douglas Adams’ words in my head, “There is a moment in every dawn when light floats and there is the possibility of magic. Creation holds its breath.”

I can tell you I held my breath and it was amazing. In so many of life’s travels and adventures it’s been the sights that are the most awesome but what was so immersively different about a hot air balloon experience is that sound becomes part of the canvas before you.

***There is the possibility of magic ….***

It’s mostly silent apart from the whoosh of the gas burners every so often to get some altitude. Looking down and around you’re suddenly struck by the sounds of parrots having an early morning squabble in the trees over who’s sitting on the best branch, sheep all going baa as they move across a paddock far below and even a dog barking from somewhere.

There are other balloons to help with the perspective of what we’re all a part of this morning. They drift along as we drift along and we rise and fall and our hearts sing with the joy of witnessing to a new day in a beautiful part of the world.

As we continue to drift, we travel over bushland with granite outcrops beginning to be warmed by the early rays of the sun and kangaroos jumping through the trees and in the distance on hills to the west we can see the shadow of our balloon and directly below us the reflection of the balloon is crystal clear in the river below.

We land in a harvester scarred paddock with a gentle bump and everyone helps roll up the balloon into a bag that is much easier to manage than any sleeping bag.

The Avon Valley stretches from New Norcia to Beverley, with the historic communities of Toodyay, York, and Northam all just a short Spotify playlist of flying tunes away.

Northam has the Avon River running through it and the champagne breakfast after the ballooning is held in a café overlooking the river, complete with white swans and suspension bridge. During a champagne toast we are all welcomed to the club of Balloonatics.

Hot air ballooning in Northam is a hidden treasure because maybe Northam doesn’t seem far enough for a big adventure. Also, ballooning may be somewhere on the bucket list but it gets pushed down the list because of the need to get up early. Get over the time thing and get it done. It’s just an hour away and you’ll be up, up and away.

***You don’t have to be religious to feel inspired by creation taking it’s first breath for the day***

***Coffee and Have a Go News newspaper … a perfect start to your morning (especially on page 40)***

ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast: The World of the WAFL is full of History, Heritage and Hotdogs.

July 3, 2021July 28, 2021Posted in abcperth, abcperthsaturdaybreakfast, Chris Parry travel, perth, sports tourismTagged #abcperth, #perth, #Perthnow, #southfremantlefootballclubLeave a comment

**I asked Ro to dress like a Champion but she wore her Swan Districts gear**

From Mandurah to Joondalup, Freo to Basso and a fair bit in between, there are footy grounds with enough heritage and heart to bring out your tribal colours, wave a scarf, admire some silverware and photos of yesterday’s champions and watch close up, todays champions of men and womens footy, and listen to their coaches support and spray them at quarter and three quarter time.

Wherever you live in the metropolitan area, there’s a WAFL ground near you. Click on the link below to listen to our ABC Perth Hidden Treasures story on WAFL grounds around Perth:

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/perth/programs/saturdaybreakfast/wafl-hidden-treasures/13430668

All of the WAFL grounds offer spectators the opportunity to get over the boundary fence at quarter time breaks and have a kick to kick or listen to the coaches and players as they huddle around the magnet board at quarter and three quarter time.

***Listen to a winning coach speak to his winning team***

It’s these moments that make WAFL truly special. Getting on to the ground. Kicking a footy. Getting close to the teams. Seeing up close the mouth guards being rinsed, the smell of liniment getting rubbed into legs that are fit and strong … but not quite as big as Ron Bouchers. And high level coaches instructing high level players. And big wins.

Mandurah has a redeveloped arena that is next door to the main shopping centre in Mandurah and highlights one of the characteristics of WAFL grounds, they’re accessible and central to the community they represent.

Clint Wheeldon fondly remembers when Rushton Park used to truly have that country footy feel with cars parked the oval. When he was on air for the ABC covering a game he’d give a shout out to the cars and they’d honk their horns and flash their lights. The lights thing didn’t work well for radio but he said it was lots of fun.

Up the road in Freo are two grounds that embody the rivalry between WAFL clubs. While East Fremantle fans love their Shark Park with its acres of grassy banks and its low stands with plank seating that is more splinter than plank, Fremantle Oval is completely different.

***South Fremantle is a great club and Fremantle Oval is a great ground***

The mightiest football team in the world, the South Fremantle Bulldogs, has allowed the Italian influence in Fremantle to literally pave the spectator terraces in concrete to follow many an Italian homeowners gardening creed that there are no weeds in concrete.

***Concrete terraces and seagulls? It could only be footy in Freo!***

Despite the concrete terraces, there is the beauty of some of Perth’s grandest old fig trees, the wall of Fremantle Jail just behind the scoreboard and a contender for the best stand in Perth the Victoria Pavilion, built in 1897.

Up Stirling Highway you’ll find the transformed Claremont Oval which in the Covid environment is the easiest way to get a resort experience in Perth. The fully redeveloped ground is only lacking a swim up bar to complete the picture. Much of the seating is sumptuous and there are even sofas and proper coffee tables with proper coasters!

Just up the road is the dual tenanted Leederville Oval, home to Subiaco and East Perth. As a venue for the 1962 Empire Games it’s grandstand reflects this era and if you like the look down spectator experience like major stadiums, this won’t cost you anymore to sit in than the gate entry price of $15 – with complimentary Footy Budget.

Joondalup is one of the pioneer grounds in Perth to make the transition from footy oval to multi sports complex, incorporating a swimming complex, gym and other sports while still retaining that great hallmark of WAFL grounds, the grass embankment.

Lathlain is another ground that has retained and redeveloped. There’s still a van with a loud generator making hot chips and big hotdogs but there’s also the sophistication and dominant architecture of the West Coast Eagles complex that is alongside the oval. It’s got the big stand from the same era as Leederville Ovals and has a great view of the game and you can sit close to the commentators and hear how they’re seeing the game unfold.

I guess now we’ve got to make the long trek out to Bassendean and have a look at Bassendean Oval. While it’s true that Swan Districts got a hat-trick of flags in the 80’s I don’t know if there’s much else to say about them.

They do have a spectacular grass embankment and two stands that put the grand in grandstand. The ground is a great hub for local kids with a skate park adjacent to the oval and on the my last visit there were two kids playing with a footy near the goals and taking turns pretending to be their favourite player as they kicked for goal.

***Putting the ‘Grand’ in ‘Grandstand is the Bill Walker Stand at Bassendean Oval***

Best ground that resembles a resort: Claremont – sofas, seating and service like a Nusa Dua resort

Best Gates: Bassendean Oval

Best Grass: Bassendean Oval

Best Stand: Victoria Pavilion, Fremantle Oval

Best Trees: Fremantle Oval

Best Ground Announcer: Leederville Oval “Describing children as ‘kiddies and young un’s’ and saying ‘please’ when advising spectators to get off the ground and to ‘please remember to help your kiddies gently over the fence’.

Honk your horns for WAFL grounds! WAFL grounds are hidden treasures that are well and truly in the open throughout suburban Perth. They’re accessible, good value and are a great way to connect with your community and watch good footy. Thank you to all the WAFL clubs who let me be a part of their game day experience. They’ve got heritage and heart and even if you’re not a member of your local club, you’re always welcome.

***The rough, tough Bulldogs! Southerners forever more!***

ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast: Hidden Treasures goes up, up and away in the Avon Valley

June 20, 2021June 20, 2021Posted in abcperth, abcperthsaturdaybreakfast, adventure tourism, perth, Perth tourism, roadtripsTagged #perth, #Perthnow, #wanderoutyonder, #westernaustralia, #windwardballoonadventures, WA travelLeave a comment

For ABC Saturday Breakfast Hidden Treasures, Ro and I went somewhere we haven’t been before … beyond Perth! Up and over the escarpment and east to the Avon Valley.

There’s a reason that songs are written about being in the air.

‘Come Fly With Me’, ‘99 Red Balloon’s, ‘Up, Up and Away’ and ‘Danger Zone’ are just a few of the classics inspired by the feeling of being up there, where the air is rarefied.

Let’s have an adventure that is discovered in the darkness but is soon revealed by the dawn of a new day.

Let’s go hot air ballooning!

Arriving at the Northam Airport I’m the first to arrive and there is nobody at the airport except for the resident cat. It’s so cold that the cat jumps into my car.

These guys have all the permissions required from the shire and farmers to access properties, so long as we remember to close the gates.

After a final briefing we climb into our basket and just like that, we’re away. No seatbelts. No worries.

Astronaut Michael Collins died recently, and he once remarked that he wondered what John Magee would have been inspired to write if he could have been in orbit above the Earth.

I can tell you I held my breath and it was amazing. In so many of life’s travels and adventures it’s been the sites and sights that are the most awesome but what was so immersively different about a hot air balloon experience is that sound becomes part of the canvas before you.

*A Collective Noun for Hot Air Balloons is a … Drift*

We land in a harvester scarred paddock with a gentle bump and everyone helps roll up the balloon into a bag that is much easier to manage than any sleeping bag.

The Avon Valley stretches from New Norcia in the north to Beverley in the south, with the historic communities of Toodyay, York, and Northam all just a short Spotify playlist of flying tunes away.

Hot air ballooning seems to be on the bucket lists of many people but keeps getting pushed down the list not from the fear of hanging from a basket but from getting up so early. Get over the time thing and get it done. It’s just an hour away and you’ll be up, up and away.

*Windward Balloon Adventures in the Avon Valley*

Special Tip: The National Ballooning Championships will be held in the Avon Valley between 30 August and 4 September, with lots of opportunities to be a spectator and a participant.

ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast: Hidden Treasures discovers Bicton, a very green riverside suburb.

June 13, 2021June 16, 2021Posted in abcperth, abcperthsaturdaybreakfast, perth, Perth tourism, Swan RiverTagged #perth, #perthlife, #westernaustraliaLeave a comment

Bicton is south of the river and it runs right alongside it.

It’s east of Fremantle and nearly a third of the suburb is dedicated to a green belt of bushland, parkland and outdoor activities that is just as important to families today as it was to Aboriginal women and children before the Swan River Colony, when the men hunted and hung out on the Mosman Park side, while the women and kids got to hang out at Jennalup, what we now call Blackwall Reach.

The hidden treasure of Bicton is its access to the river and how it has retained its pristine riverside bushland while providing open spaces for picnics, concerts and beaches for sandcastles and swimming. And it has jetties.

It’s a tradition with Hidden Treasures that we start by meeting Ro’s requirement for “What’s there for sport?”

When we spoke about Midland a few weeks ago I encouraged people to get out there and watch baseball as something a bit different to the footy, basketball and cricket.

Bicton is home in WA to a sport that is worth watching and has tamed down a bit since the infamous 1956 Melbourne Olympics clash between Hungary and Russia. Have you guessed it?

Water Polo! At the Bicton Pool you can watch the home games in the Australian Water Polo League for the Fremantle Mens Mariners and the Fremantle Womens Marlins and they’re the most successful teams in the competition, kind of natural for Western Australian sport. It’s a great spectator sport and I wish other sports could start off as exciting as the ‘swim off’ where both teams swim furiously to get the ball first. And those little caps are kind of cool as well.

Next to the Bicton Pool you’ll find Freestyle (pic above), a very popular meeting point sculpture that is part of the City of Melville We Love Art Project.

Also next to the Bicton Pool and the Freestyle sculpture you’ll find the Bicton Baths which is almost unique in Perth now for being fully enclosed by a jetty that is perfect for jumping off or fishing for big bream and even bigger flathead.

Incredibly, this little area has more! It’s also the location, in the adjacent Quarantine Park, for the annual Broome to Bicton Concert featuring the greatest band in the world, the Pigram Brothers. It’s a popular park all year long with families and for this reason Mr Whippy makes regular visits.

Continuing north along the river foreshore you get to the slightly controversial Blackwall Reach limestone cliffs. Whether it’s just for the adventure, a rite of passage or reckless tomfoolery, it’s a long standing activity to jump off the 10 metre high limestone cliffs into water that can reach 25 metres deep and where scuba divers can discover an old barge at 14 metres and is the most intact wreck site in the Swan River, and populated by all sorts of fish, including sea horses.

This area is actually an underwater tidal gorge and probably the most diverse and highly populated area of the river for underwater life which makes it popular with humans and dolphins for fishing and is one of the best spots on the Swan River to watch dolphins.

On land at Blackwall Reach is the Jenna Biddi Yorga (Womens Feet Walking) walking trail, described by Trails WA as Grade 1. It’s 2km in length and is one of the most scenic, peaceful and bird filled walks in Perth.

Continuing our way north we find ourselves at one of Perth’s best family spots, Point Walter, with its rite of passage walk on the sandbar, great BBQ facilities, little beaches, public art, including the famous Habibi sculpture, and another jetty!

The joy of Point Walter is how perfect it is for everyone to learn their water activity. It’s perfect for learning to swim or use a stand-up paddleboard, fish off the jetty, or do bombies onto big brown jellyfish.

Each year (though currently paused for Covid) there is one of the best outdoor family concerts held in Perth, the Point Walter Concert. It’s currently scheduled by the City of Melville for January 2022.

If you decide not to take a picnic, there is a very good café, although I much prefer to call it a kiosk! Order up some milkshakes and some hot chips and a day at Point Walter with the sun setting behind the western suburbs can’t get any better.

If you head into the streets of Bicton check out the iconic Leopold Hotel which revels in its link to AC/DC (although these days you’re more likely to find families playing Jenga in the big sofas than screaming lead singers doing stage dives). Also seek out Little Stove, a little café that is a big meeting point for those in the community who need coffee to survive. It has local produce, including honey, giftcards and eggs from their own chickens.

Bicton is a hidden treasure next to known treasure. Next door to Bicton are the flashy lights and attractions of the Fremantle district with its heritage and café culture to lure us in.

If you cast your net a bit wider though you’ll find that Bicton is a treasure trove of riverside activities to explore or just relax in. Bicton rivals Kings Park for its ability to provide bushland activities in the metropolitan area that appeal to all ages and abilities. In some ways it’s better than Kings Park because Bicton has jetties!

ABC Saturday Breakfast: Hidden Treasures in the streets, trails and hills of Armadale

June 6, 2021Posted in perth, Perth tourismTagged #abcperth, #perth, #perthhillsarmadale, #Perthnow, #wanderoutyonderLeave a comment

A full studio, full of fun with Ro, Molly, Matilda and Tom all part of the action. How cool is the ABC? Participating in making great programs and having my kids watching it all come together is very special. For this edition of Hidden Treasures we recounted the recent experience of a trip to Armadale that included Tom and his mate Nick.

Armadale is tucked up against the south eastern corner of Perth. This side of the hills but right on the edge of them.

With our Hidden Treasures we often talk about one of the characteristics of a Hidden Treasure being that they’re often bypassed or driven through at a great rate of knots.

Armadale is a great example of a suburb that gets driven through a lot that is worth slowing down for and having a look around.

It was always the first taste of the city for me when we’d make the drive up in the Toyota Crown. You’d hit those first traffic lights and be in awe of the city traffic and annoyed that Mum hadn’t stopped at the Pioneer Village. I always wanted my picture on one of those ‘Wanted’ posters.

It’s become Perth’s version of Melbourne’s Daylesford. Lots of places with the words wellness, calming, spiritual, organic and retreat in their names.

Ro loves her sport and so let’s start at the Champion Lakes Regatta Centre. If you’ve ever wondered when flying into Perth what that big rectangular area of water is, it’s the home of rowing and there’s even a beach and some good walking and cycling tracks around the lake. Remember, rowers row early if you want to catch the action.

Armadale Visitor Centre – lots of information and free maps with walking trails for trekkers, families and dogs. There’s also local produce including chutneys, jams, pickles and …. lemon butter!

Bert Tyler Vintage Machinery Museum has really well restored and refurbished agricultural machinery and there’s even a Furphy water cart.

The History House Museum has some good recognition exhibits of Aboriginal history in the district and also some very cool old harpsichords, pianos and organs with musical links to many of the old churches in the area.

Urban Art Trail – big murals by local and international artists. How cool are murals? This is a walking tour through the urban heart of Armadale that has identified tired old spaces and turned them into breathtaking, inspiring places.

Heritage Tree Trail – Lou from the Armadale Visitor Centre has written the Heritage Tree Trail Guide that takes you on an urban walk to 13 of the best-looking senior flora citizens in Armadale. There’s a Sugar Gum planted in 1910, Moreton Bay Figs planted in 1890, a Jarrah tree more than 500 years old, a carob tree which is the sole survivor of an orchard back in 1900 and lots of others all waiting for you to give them a big hug.

30km’s of Bridal Trails in Darling Downs, which isn’t an old 1950’s radio serial, it’s a horse inspired residential area in the southern Armadale area. (properties connected by the bridal trails.

Brackenridge Village and Retro Rescue Antiques and Collectibles is one of those shops where you keep saying, “I used to have this!” I looked at the Skippy melamine cup and plate and was thrown back to my childhood having a vegemite sandwich and apple juice. From daleks to car badges, glow mesh purses to optic fibre lamps, this store has more than enough for anyone who loves the stuff we used to have.

Locke View Poultry Zoo requires a call before you visit. Astrid was kind enough to allow myself, Tom and his mate Nick to visit unannounced … but only after I made Tom and Nick clean out the cages and move a load of firewood.

Astrid showed the boys some quails as they were hatching and how she helps the little chickens who are born unable to walk. She makes little braces with bandaids and is a lot easier than making little crutches out of toothpicks. She had such an impact on Tom that he is no longer saving his allowance for Nintendo games, he wants chickens.

Canns Road and Soldiers Road are part of the Armadale Hills Scenic Drive. On the map you think you’ll take about half an hour to get from one end to the other but you end up taking three hours as, along the roadside, are signs that say, ‘Honey Here’, ‘Fresh Persimmons’ and other local produce as well as kangaroos that are paid by the Armadale Visitor Centre to sit in the bushland of Wungong Regional Park and wait for you to stop and get out of your car for a photo before skipping away.

Armadale is a hidden treasure within a hidden treasure. There’s a lot that’s easy to discover in the heart of Armadale but if you take the time to get up to the hills and onto some winding backroads you’ll find even more treasure.

ABC Saturday Breakfast: Hidden Treasures discovers a shipwreck and how many rocks it takes to name a suburb

May 30, 2021May 30, 2021Posted in perthTagged #abcperth, #perthlife, #perthtravel, #westernaustraliaLeave a comment

***King Neptune from Perth’s iconic past … the Atlantis Marine Park***

Click on the link below for a Hidden Treasures discussion about unexploded ordnance, a shipwreck, an icon and a suburb that’s more like a town:

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/perth/programs/saturdaybreakfast/hidden-treasures-chris-parry/13365360

Hidden Treasures recently crossed the fine line that exists between a ‘Sunday drive’ and a ‘road trip’.

On this episode of Hidden Treasures on ABC Saturday Breakfast, Ro and I walked up and down dunes and along windswept beaches to find a shipwreck, find lost statues from Perth’s iconic past and find out how many rocks it takes to name a suburb.

How many suburbs in Perth would you find an internet description that says;

“Large sections of the suburb are fenced off due to unexploded ordnance left behind from past military activity in the area.”

How many Perth beachside suburbs would have a beach sign at a prominent lookout spot that warns of;

“No lifesaving service, steep stairs, dangerous current, submerged rocks, dumping waves and snakes.”

Welcome to Two Rocks. Perth ends here.

Two Rocks is the furthest northern extent of the Perth metropolitan area. It’s over 60 kilometres from the Swan River. Its better-known neighbour, Yanchep, is 7 kilometres to the south.

It’s a big suburb, more than 50 square kilometres with the suburb’s population living in just 2.3 square kilometres.

Two Rocks has a distinct feel. It’s more like a seaside town than a suburb. There are dinghy’s on street verges. Flotsam and jetsam gathered after storms adorn the verandas of houses like some sort of trophy collection. In the southern suburbs we hang Christmas lights. Up here, they hang what the sea has hurled at them.

The adorning doesn’t stop there. To complete the seaside town impression, many of the street poles have opportunistic handwritten signs selling a local service or seasonal produce. Octopus is a current favourite for $20kg! I’m sure when the time is right there are signs that say, “Crays 4 Sale”. Not lobsters. Crays.

***Not a bad price. I think it would be better to just say ‘Occy’***

As you head up Two Rocks Road turn left at ‘The Spot’. It’s a sandy track to the best left-hand break surf spot we’re allowed to talk about. It takes a bit of paddling to get out to the break and if the waves are more than a metre there’s normally a rip.

As I drive into carpark at ‘The Spot’ I feel like a new cowboy in town swinging open the saloon doors. All heads turn to look at this Narrogin plated vehicle that takes the last bay at the end of the line. Tying my car up to the rail I turn and see that the faces are all still turned towards me. Not only do I have Narrogin number plates but I’m wearing a flannelette shirt.

The black steamer wet suit clad lads give me a “G’Day” and I give one back and then we’re all friends, talking about the conditions and which way I need to trek to find the Alex T Brown, a shipwreck that reveals herself differently each season, depending on the wind and tides.

***The track from the car park to the shipwreck of the Alex T Brown***

The Alex T Brown was a 65m, four masted schooner that blew ashore on this day(29 May) in 1917. Many parts of its hull and rigging can be found in Two Rocks and Yanchep, including the Yanchep Inn. For my visit, I found a long line of metal rivets attached to a beam, possibly the backbone of the hull. I sat next to the wreck, looking out to sea for a while before the trudge back to my mates in the carpark, a round trip of about 700 metres through up and down dunes and very soft beach.

***A schooner lies here, the Alex T Brown***

From the history of the sea to the history of iconic Perth let’s head to the lightly wooded and weed entangled paths of the old Atlantis Marine Park and make our way to King Neptune who sits on top of a small hill with a big smile and an impressive trident held in his mighty limestone hands.

Atlantis Marine Park was the place to go throughout the 1980’s. Built at the beginning of the 80’s and closed at the end of them. There were dolphin shows and lots of water related adventures that involved tubes, mats and slides while wearing a pair of stubbies, a terry towelling hat and no sunscreen.

These days the remains of the park rival anything you’ll find in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. As well as King Neptune you can be an amateur Perth cultural icon archaeologist and discover statues of dugongs, narwhales and elephant seals and if that’s not enough statue action for you, head up to the gardens at the local tavern and you’ll find many other marine themed statues that were in the park.

Check out the local bakery and cafes that overlook the marina. It’s a great spot to hold a coffee in one hand, pastie in the other and watch boats being launched and retrieved, old hulls being sanded and kids fishing from the marina jetty.

***From the Tavern, cafes or bakery, it’s a great view of the action in the marina***

Are there two rocks in Two Rocks?

There are definitely a couple of very impressive rocks that are at either end of the beach that begins at Wreck Point and then further up the beach at the Marina end. The rock off Wreck Point has a raggedy hole that is a photographers dream in any weather. The beach allows dogs and it doesn’t take more than a few minutes to walk to the other end where this bigger rock is a bit like a bridge with a tunnel at the bottom, that allows the breaking waves to impressively spray from.

Two Rocks is a hidden treasure because it’s a suburb that doesn’t feel like a suburb. It feels like the seaside town you used to visit and wish you could get back to. You can. It’s called Two Rocks. Perth ends here.

How to Turn a Pinnacles Weekender into a Cut-Down Day Trip, as published by the West Australian.

May 18, 2021Posted in Chris Parry travel, family travel, perth, roadtripsTagged #daytrips, #perth, #pinnacles, #westernaustraliaLeave a comment

As published in the West Australian weekend travel supplement, West Travel.

So Chris Parry has packed the car and the kids, and headed north. Not really north. But still north.

In an article some time ago, Travel Editor for the West Australian, Stephen Scourfield, showed how to do the Pinnacles area as a weekender. Now for the cut-down version, designed to tick the box on a great experience and demonstrate great parenting by me.

School holidays should be relaxing but the pressure as a parent to deliver new experiences and encounters can become a quest. “Not another playground!” was the despairing exclamation the night before. Inspired by Stephen’s article, I thought I could do a version that would be cheaper and maybe leave the kids exhausted the next day (and on the following day there was cricket on the TV).

Stephen had left home at 10.30am on Saturday. Scratch that. Get up at sparrows, wrap some toast in some Alfoil for the kids and hit the road.

The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park is about 250km north of Perth and a trip is made all the more enjoyable since the 2010 opening of the Indian Ocean Drive. Trying to enjoy a northbound day trip on the heavily trucked inland Brand Highway is near impossible.

How good is the Indian Ocean Drive? If you ever spin a bottle to work out what direction you’re going to head for a day trip out of Perth, make sure the bottle points north. Indian Ocean Drive offers a great driving experience. It is scenic which is enough to tick the boxes of all the occupants in my car.

Looking at Stephen’s itinerary, we are experiencing the wonder of the Pinnacles just after he has left home. It’s a summer’s day and by 10.45am it’s warm but the Kids’ Driving Songs CD still hasn’t melted on the dashboard from my apparent carelessness. Yes we still like a good compact disc in the domain of my car.

While Stephen is still on Wanneroo Road, I have paid my $12 entry per vehicle and begun the 4km Pinnacles loop in my seldom-tested four-wheel drive.

Here’s a photography and driving tip in one: you don’t need a 4WD for the Pinnacles loop but your photos will look better with a rugged vehicle to match the landscape.

As Stephen explains, the Pinnacles are “limestone pillars thought to represent the remains of a forest covered by moving sand dunes and petrified”. Alternative suggestions for their creation include the raw material for the limestone coming from seashells that broke down over time into lime-rich sands and then a bit of research adds some descriptions none of us are going to remember, such as “vegetation forming acidic layers of soil and humus” and “precipitation of indurated calcrete with subsequent erosion of the aelolianite”.

The Pinnacles Discovery Centre has now taken it under my advisement that my kids’ explanation deserves a display board. According to them, the Pinnacles were formed in ancient times by a group of children competing in a sand castle competition.

All of the children coincidently built the same style of structure that we now know as the Pinnacles. To celebrate this coincidence, it was decided not to smash the sand castles at the end of the day and let them stay there forever.

While we’re at the Pinnacles Discovery Centre, I reckon on Stephen’s trip you would probably be somewhere around Seabird, a small community 100km north of Perth. The Seabird community of the 1960s rejected the proposed name of Chalon and chose the name Seabird after a schooner of that name wrecked nearby in 1874.

The Pinnacles Discovery Centre is a very well articulated display of history and local flora and fauna. While the displays of snakes and lizards easily impress, it is noticeable how intrigued people are by the display of sandgropers. All I’ve ever known about this elusive insect is that it is the colloquialism for West Australians.

The sandgroper is subterranean and occurs widely across Australia in sandy soils. In WA it was available in the 1970s as a soft toy to raise money for Telethon.

After stocking up on some cold drinks, snacks and other essential items, such as glow-in-the-dark tshirts at the Pinnacles Discovery Centre shop, we make our back to the now suitably dusty 4WD and back on to Indian Ocean Drive, but only for a minute.

Spying a track on the coast side of the road, I pull into it and we make our way along a suitably narrow, sandy track, a genuine air of concern in the car. Surrounded by scrub with just a narrow band of white sand ahead of us, we round a bend and there’s a vehicle in trouble, spinning sand like a sprinting sandgroper.

With the owner pulling the shirt off his back and kicking his floor mats under the back wheels I ask if he needs some help. I realise immediately it’s the wrong question to ask of a man in trouble being watched by his girlfriend. No man in trouble wants help. I should have said, “I’ve got some gear in the back. Do you wanna use it?” It’s too late. He’s committed to refusing my help. We look at each other, both of us understanding what I must do. Slowly I get back in the car and complete a 15-point turn. As slowly and as quietly as possible, I drive off back the way we came.

The silence in the car doesn’t last long. An even smaller track leads off to a massive sand dune that is crying out to be explored. We leave the car and climb this monster of bright, white sand, surrounded entirely by bush. I remember the kids just running, falling and laughing but my favourite memory is of my boy running off into the distance, at least 150m away, on his own, flat-strap and barefoot.

Back in the car, we continue the drive south, taking in the recommended scenic lookouts until we arrive in Lancelin. At the Endeavour Tavern we grab a massive wooden table outside in the beer garden and order some equally massive pizzas to fill it — and somehow make some space for drinks. The kids run off to explore the expansive lawns and roll down the grassy slope, occasionally colliding with like-minded happy kids.

Looking at Stephen’s itinerary he has checked into the Pinnacles Edge Resort, enjoying his exploration of the surroundings and looking forward to a luxurious evening before taking in more of the area’s sites tomorrow.

At about the time Stephen is slipping easily into the comforts of good service and good food, I’m making my way back down Indian Ocean Drive.

I will be home in a couple of hours, having provided my family with more stories to tell and more adventures to remember, and all done in just one day.