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As published in Have A Go News: Staycations? I’m converted!
Category: staycation
ABC Saturday Breakfast Discovers Karrinyup and Gwelup
Last week for Hidden Treasure I explored Scarborough and promised something more about the area that make it a hidden treasure and perhaps the opportunity of a staycation to enjoy the sunset coast for longer than a day trip.
Earlier this year, Molly gave me some homework, made me read a book, and I think I met the challenge of studying about staycations and just how close they could be to home when we explored Innaloo as a Hidden Treasure.
I think she gave me a B+ on my assignment so I’m seeking permission to resubmit my assessment in the hope of attaining my first ever A.
Karrinyup and Gwelup. Enjoy the audio link below, reading the story and looking at a few pics as well.
These are suburbs that many of us are familiar with. Gwelup is a suburb you might travel through on the way to Karrinyup which has a shopping centre that was always big and has just emerged from a cocoon of scaffolding and is now even bigger and even has a mini golf course and bumper cars.
But while the shopping centre is Karrinyup’s known treasure there is hidden treasure in both Karrinyup and Gwelup.
There’s a place to stay in Karrinyup called Karrinyup Waters Resort that until a few weeks ago I’d never heard of and is where you go when you’re on L plates for camping and caravanning. There are very comfortable chalets if you don’t like the idea of reversing your caravan while every grown-up, child and resident duck watches you but that’s what staying here is all about. It’s like walking through an Anaconda catalogue.
Wherever you look there’s sparkling off-road rigs and camper vans and 4WDs and tongs being flourished for bbqs that have the look and gleam of King Arthurs sword Excalibur. This is where people come to learn how to reverse, set up and pack up all of this wonderful equipment before they venture into the world of regional Western Australia.
There are resort style pools that are as good as any of those we’re dreaming about when we can return to Bali and beyond and designed to be the reward for setting up camp successfully. There’s a café that even locals sneak into for breakfast because the mushrooms they serve are as big as my hand and the range for pizzas is great for everyone in the family.
Careiniup Reserve runs alongside the Karrinyup Waters Resort and you can walk along the edge of the Reserve and there’s a little grassed area and gazebo on the western side that’s wonderful to sit and watch the bird life and because there’s a bit of water from a local brook, there are great photographic opportunities in a small reserve that is genuinely a little green oasis in the middle of suburbia.
Now Molly has been wanting to me to try and do a Hidden Treasure on flower vans and I haven’t quite got around to it but I did recently visit The Karrinyup Flower Shed is an operating vegetable and flower farm that is a reminder of what these suburbs once were, full of operating farms, many by migrant families, growing all sorts of produce.
The Karrinyup Flower Shed is one of the few remaining small farms in the metropolitan area and as well as growing and selling more than 10,000 sunflowers every year they also sell the most bizarre multicolour flowers that are more like a kaleidoscope than a flower.
Lake Gwelup has a boardwalk that winds its way over a mangrove style environment and you can spot tortoises and all sorts of birds, including perhaps the Rainbow Bee-Eater.
This migratory bird flies down from the highlands of Papua New Guinea just to breed at Lake Gwelup, although if there’s no room at the inn and all the sexy nests have the sign up that says ‘If This Nest Is Rockin’ Don’t Bother Knockin’ sign they will find another lake elsewhere in Perth to get down to business.
Lake Gwelup also has a great trail around the lake that is about 2.5km and takes you past suburban cricket grounds with suburban champions at their best and through the wetlands.
There’s also another trail that’s just a kilometre in length that makes its way through the native bushland in the north of the reserve and if driving to our regional areas to find wildflowers is all a bit hard then this patch of bushland always has a great range of wildflowers.
Jackson Wilding is a really good, simple park that is just full of logs and branches. I love this park because it’s a small and safe space with a very random feel to it. There’s no colourful slides or swings, just logs to climb and clamber over and branches to mount up into piles or make patterns in the dirt with. It’s a park designed to let you get a bit dusty and maybe even a scratch or two if you’re a bit uncoordinated like me.
Now for sport, the Lake Karrinyup Country Club is on the other side of the road from the Karrinyup Waters Resort and if you are a member of an affiliated club or get special permission, you can relax on one of the great courses not just in Western Australia but in Australia. There’s even some resident and very judgemental big grey spectators!
Karrinyup and Gwelup is a worthy Hidden Treasure of Perth because you can find yourself part of a camping community you might not have experienced before that is not far from home and get you thinking about familiar destinations as a traveller does, with fresh eyes for adventure.
Always remember that what you spend on holidays, even a staycation, is outside your normal budget, it’s holiday spending. Karrinyup and Gwelup are also floral hidden treasures with a flower farm and natural bushland to explore. Do I get an A?
ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast: Snake pits to sunsets in Scarborough. There’s so much to see before you get to the sea.
Scarborough? Why is Scarborough a Hidden Treasure? It’s got one of the most famous beaches in WA and Australia stretching along our coastline. For locals and tourists alike, Scarborough provides relief from the summer heat and for generations has been the place to go.
Whether you’re a widgie or a bodgie, a skater or a surfer, a bruncher or a luncher, Scarborough is the beach precinct we pack out every summer. So, I was set the challenge of finding Hidden Treasure in a known treasure and this is what he found. Enjoy the audio link below and enjoy a bit of reading as well:
Scarborough. What I found was that you can enjoy Scarborough without getting the sand between your toes or anywhere else, or that pesky saltwater stinging your eyes.
There are buses, there is Aboriginal urban art, there are walking tours to clear the mind, lookouts to blow your mind and snake pits and whale skeletons to explore.
There’s even a hill just for watching the dying of the days light. And there’s enough burgers or fish and chips or ice cream for before or after all that activity.
Let’s start with Saturday Morning on the foreshore promenade where you’ll find Perth’s newest market.
You might be familiar with the iconic Sunset Markets but if you’re up and about early you can try the Scarborough Beach Farmers Markets full of healthy local fresh fruit and veges and breads and brightly coloured vans and stalls selling cookies and crème brulees and deep fried cheesecake!
Before we come back to the foreshore, let’s walk off some of the mornings treats with Bush, Beach and Bubbles!
Fun Fact! The sand dunes in the Trigg area (we’re calling it Scarborough today) are parabolic. Try a walking tour with the Hike Collective which is as much about mental health as it is about just a little bit of physical exercise.
So, back to the foreshore and still keeping our toes away from the sand and water and not giving the lifeguards anything to do, let’s have a walk through the giant Whale Playground which is great reminder of just how big whales are and just how much fun we can all have in a playground.
The playground flows into the grassy Sunset Hill and some really cool Climbing Walls and of course the iconic, notorious and infamous Snake Pit where my mum use to trek to Scarborough from Midland to dance as a widgie and then cool off with a swim and a malt milkshake that hopefully some boy would buy her.
These days the Snake Pit is for skaters, scooters and even little bikes if it’s not too busy. Tip that beanie back on your head, put a scowl on your face and if I’ve got my skater lingo right, “fill your dives to 3.5 metres and hit the ramps, rails and banks.”
Around the foreshore, take some time to follow the Tjunta Trail, an urban art trail that tells the story about how a spirit woman finds a group of children who go missing. There are five locations around the foreshore that tell the story although when the markets are on you might find them hard to see.
Is that enough walking about for a while? Let’s hop on the newest tourist experience in Perth that ….. drumroll please …. is free! It’s free!
It’s so free that queues are starting to form as word gets around of the double decker bus, the Sunset Coast Explorer, that makes its way from the Scarborough Pool and winds its away along the sunset coast.
The bus has a crew of conductors to answer questions and tell you to sit down if you’re clowning around up the top in the fresh air. It’s a hop on hop off service and is running all summer every Saturday and Sunday. Be a tourist, have some fun and wave at the locals at the all the cafes.
One of Perth’s best hidden treasure museums has to be the Mount Flora Museum. We’ve spoken previously about museums that only survive because of volunteers and Local Government support. This is one of the best if you’re interested in the social history of the area. Exhibitions feature ‘windows into the past’. Check online for when they’re open or call the City of Stirling.
On top of the museum is one of Perth’s best lookouts and we really are going to have to do a Hidden Treasure on views of Perth because it’s little wonder this lookout on top of the museum used to be an observation post during World War II. The lookout also has a really vivid mural that encircles you in a complete 360 degree burst of colour and representation of Australian wildlife.
Scarborough is a hidden treasure because there’s a lot to do and see before you get to the sea. Places to walk, places to sit, markets to explore, bus rides to whoop for joy and wave at the locals, local and ancient history, lookouts with views to forever all make Scarborough a staycation destination that I’ll tell you a more about next week. But that’s a story for another day.
ABC Saturday Breakfast … a great dad joke is at the heart of a great staycation
For Hidden Treasures on ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast, Ro and I finessed and found that the art of a good dad joke is at the heart of a good staycation.
Listen to our chat on the link below and read a few words below the link!
Staycations aren’t new but staycations are definitely increasing in popularity. Have you ever thought about staying for a weekend at a place not far from home? Have you ever wondered if it would be worth the trouble and the expense?
How far do you have to travel before you can say you’ve been somewhere, or that you went away for the weekend?
For Hidden Treasures this Saturday, Chris is handing in his homework after being set the task by Molly to study up on the art of being a traveller at home and whether it’s a waste of time or the best use of time.
Let’s not kid ourselves that the staycation is a construct of the pandemic. They aren’t that original but they have had a makeover. I sometimes wonder if my school holidays in Shoalwater Bay would now be seen as a staycation because we’re all so used to flinging ourselves all over the planet these days.
From Narrogin to Shoalwater Bay in 1980 was a bit like that first trip to London when people would come to the airport to see you off. The neighbours would line up along Grant Street and wave as the Toyota Crown made its way down the street and out of town. Messages would be left with friends about when we would be returning and jobs allocated for the collection of mail and watering the garden.
Let’s start by defining the staycation. Is it in your state, your city or town, or in your backyard?
A staycation has to be close. It doesn’t have to be cheap but it should be simpler to arrange than the itinerary of 10 days in Europe or 3 families convening at a resort in Bali.
A staycation should be about finding a different layer. If you’re having a staycation in the Perth CBD don’t just shop, go to a live comedy show or a secret bar, if you’re going to Rottnest don’t just snorkel at the Basin, participate in an Aboriginal Cultural Tour, if you’re going to Fremantle don’t just do the markets, see a footy match.
So, let’s find a staycation hidden treasure that is a very well-known weekend destination.
Innaloo. Now, this is for Tom who loves a good dad joke….. “I’d rather be Innaloo than Upper Swan.”
Innaloo is 15 minutes from my home. I’m familiar with it. I know it and sometimes it’s a destination, sometimes I’m just driving through it.
For a staycation the key is not to do too much and keep the ingredients simple:
Accommodation:
Stay there …. this isn’t a daytrip!
Quest Apartments is an interesting accommodation option because while it is perfectly located for an Innaloo staycation and has the level of friendliness at reception and comfort in your room to put you in a holiday mood, importantly it’s offering more than a splash of weekend luxury.
Up the road is the Osborne Park Hospital and Quest provides wheelchair accessible apartments for those on waiting for treatment and there’s a nearby medical facility that has clients travelling regularly from as far away as Albany.
They also have a program called ‘You Can Stay’ for young regional people who are diagnosed with cancer. If you live more than 100 kilometres from your hospital treatment they will provide you with free accommodation.
Dining:
There are restaurants and cafes within walking distance of your accommodation and Quest has charge back facilities with quite a few of the local establishments but not with Tom’s number one dining bucket list. While we did eat out at some great restaurants and try some quirky bubble tea, we did frequent, on two occasions, the IKEA restaurant. As part of his dining experience we got to see behind the door where your dining tray goes when you put it on that conveyor belt.
Leisure:
Movies (don’t take your packet of twisties in a bag, buy a choctop!)
Shopping (buy something outrageous)
Parks, (City of Stirling Civic Gardens and Lake Jackadder)
And remember that if you see someone you know, act with amazement that they happen to be at this same place on the planet as you and ask them where they’re staying.
Innaloo is a Hidden Treasure because of the opportunity to stay there. It’s what makes the difference between the combat of finding a car bay on the weekend and feeling like you’re on holiday by walking from your room to the shops or the movies and back again.
I expected we would have fun. What I didn’t expect was how quickly we would relax and detach ourselves from being a local to feeling like a tourist.
Innaloo is a Hidden Treasure if you stay there. It loses its sense of urgency and gives you a sense of indulgence. You spend money on things that you wouldn’t do normally but that’s ok because you’re on a holiday budget, not a home budget.
I hope Molly likes my staycation assignment. It’s not too long, it covers the requirements of the set task, and I think, just like Innaloo, it’s got A+ written all over it!
ABC Breakfast Show with Nadia and Russ: Staycations. You don’t have to stay at home to have one.
A whirlwind opportunity to talk about and redefine the staycation. You don’t need to stay at home and find yourself visiting Bunnings. A staycation can be about getting out and about in your state. Not very far from home but still out and about.
Chris Parry Writes For Us 