Global Travel Planning

Top 5 experiences in Perth Western Australia with Tess Moone

• Tracy Collins • Episode 53

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In episode 53 of the Global Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy chats with guest Tess Moone, a Perth travel blogger and content creator. 

Tess shares her top five must-do experiences in Perth, Western Australia, including meeting quokkas on Rottnest Island, wine tasting in the Swan Valley, and enjoying West Coast sunsets on the beach. She also provides insights into lesser-known spots, dining recommendations, and practical travel tips for visiting Perth. 

Discover what makes Perth a unique destination and the best times to visit this vibrant city. While Perth may be the world's most isolated capital city, it offers travellers a perfect blend of stunning beaches, world-class wineries, and unique wildlife experiences all within easy reach of its relaxed urban centre.

• Rottnest Island (30 minutes by ferry) is home to adorable quokkas and over 60 pristine beaches
• Perth's west coast location offers spectacular ocean sunsets best enjoyed with local fish and chips
• Swan Valley wine region is just 30 minutes from the CBD with over 40 family-run wineries to explore
• Kings Park Botanic Garden provides breathtaking city views and showcases Western Australia's unique flora
• Caversham Wildlife Park offers close encounters with native Australian animals, including kangaroos and koalas
• Hidden gems include Heirisson Island's wild kangaroos and the snorkelling-accessible Omeo shipwreck
• Summer evenings are perfect for outdoor cinema experiences at Kings Park or Northbridge rooftop
• Pinnacles Desert stargazing tour combines sandboarding, lobster tastings and BBQ under desert stars

Remember to venture beyond Perth's CBD to truly experience Western Australia's natural beauty, with numerous day trip options all within 1-2 hours of the city.

Guest - Tess Moone of Tessomewhere.com
Show Notes - Episode 53

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Speaker 1:

What are the must-do experiences in Perth, western Australia? Well, in this episode of the Global Travel Planner Podcast, I chat with Tess Moon about the top five things to do in WA's capital, from meeting quokkas on Rottnest Island to wine tasting in the Swan Valley and catching breathtaking west coast sunsets. Tess shares why Perth is worth exploring. Plus, she reveals hidden gems, seasonal highlights and the practical tips to help you make the most of your time in this relaxed yet vibrant city. Hi and welcome to the Global Travel Planning Podcast. I'm your host, tracey Collins, who, with my expert guests, will take you on a weekly journey to destinations around the globe, providing travel inspiration, itinerary ideas, practical tips and more to help you plan your next travel adventure. Hi and welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 1:

This week, we're delving into the capital of Western Australia, perth. Dubbed the most isolated city on earth, perth is home to stunning beaches, world-class wineries and a laid-back atmosphere that makes it a unique destination To uncover the best experiences in the city. I chatted with Tess Moon, who previously joined us in episode 46 to share tips for first-time visitors to Western Australia, and episode 5, where she shared about her three-month trip around Japan and Europe, but in this episode, she reveals her top five must-do experiences in Perth, including iconic attractions, hidden gems and expert travel tips. So hello Tess, welcome back to the podcast. So this is your third time on the podcast, but for listeners who haven't met you yet, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about where you live and what you do?

Speaker 2:

Hi everyone, I'm Tess. I'm a travel blogger and content creator. My social media handles and my blog is called Tess Somewhere I'm born and bred from, perth. I do love traveling around the world, but Western Australia is what is, I just think, one of the best places in the world to travel to? Um, and I spent a lot of time exploring it. I also love traveling around Asia. Japan is one of my favorite countries in the world other than Australia, so I spent a lot of time in Japan as well. Um, so I've been a travel blogger now for about five years, and before that I spent most of my corporate life as a corporate finance analyst.

Speaker 1:

I don't know. You're very successful in the blogging and travel writing world, so it's absolutely fantastic to talk to you about WA and especially about Perth today. Who else to talk to about Perth, but somebody who was born and bred and knows the city so well? So can you introduce Perth and tell us what is where it is for a start off? Because I mean, some people might not even know, but some people might think Perth and they think Scotland or there might be a Perth in, maybe there's a Perth in America, I don't know. So where in the world is Perth located and what makes it so special?

Speaker 2:

So Perth is the capital of Western Australia. So if you picture Sydney, that's on the East Coast, so we're on the West Coast, so we're going over to the other side of Australia. Western Australia is Australia's largest state. We're about a four-hour flight from Sydney. So basically one side of the country to the other and it's actually known for being one of the most isolated capital cities in the world. So I can fly for four hours and I'm in Sydney. I can fly for three hours and I'm in Bali. So a lot of people from Perth go to Bali because it's a lot closer and also a lot cheaper to go to Bali than it is elsewhere in Australia lot closer and also a lot cheaper to go to Bali than it is elsewhere in Australia?

Speaker 1:

Definitely, and you can actually reach Perth by direct flights as well, now from Europe.

Speaker 2:

It's very exciting. So there's now last time I checked three direct flights connecting Perth to Europe. So Qantas, the national airline of Australia, flies direct from Perth to London, to Paris and to Rome. So if you want to spend 17 hours, 17 hours, in one plane, you can do that.

Speaker 1:

I wouldn't want to, but you can do it well, dominique is, my daughter is actually flying back in August and she's taken that flight and I actually may join her on that flight to try it. And I actually met up with some lovely Aussies who took me out for afternoon tea in London, who were from Perth recently, and they took the flight because I was like well, how was it? And they said it was actually. It was okay. I think they must be medicated.

Speaker 1:

Well, I know I would be, that's for sure. I definitely would want to sleep through that flight.

Speaker 2:

Most people I've spoken to. They either love it or they hate it. I think it's one or the other.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely. Well, I'll let you know if I do it, and I'll definitely. Dominique's definitely do it and she's already booked it, so we'll see how it goes. Now, for those people who arrive in Perth, what would be your five top five experiences or must do activities in Perth and why they stand out? So what would be really quite good is to go through each of the five, give a kind of brief overview of each of them and some tips that could enhance the experience for visitors.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so my top five. I'm going to start with Rottnest Island. If you listened to our Western Australia episode, you know I already spoke about that. But as a quick recap, rottnest Island is a small island off the coast of Perth. It's about 30 minutes away by ferry and quokkas call Rottenness Island home. So I hope most people have heard of a quokka selfie. They're the most adorable little marsupial creatures. You get down low, take a selfie and they're just adorable and they're just free roaming all over the island. So a lot of people travel to Perth just to go to Rottenness Island and take the quokka selfie. A tip to enhance your experience is do what the locals do and rent a bicycle. There's no cars on the island. You can jump on a hop-on, hop-off bus or join a guided bus tour, but I recommend hiring a bike which you can get on the island and cycling around. There's over 60 beaches and 20 bays, so the beaches are just incredible. I think they're some of the best in Australia.

Speaker 1:

Oh, definitely they are beautiful, I have to say.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the water is like nothing else, all right. So while we're talking about beaches, it would be amiss of me not to talk about Western Australia and Perth's beaches. So in Perth, I think you're quite spoilt for choice. Perth is all situated along the coast, so you've got so many beaches to choose from for choice. Perth is all situated along the coast, so you've got so many beaches to choose from. And the reason why it's on the list is you can also catch a West coast sunset, which is such a special experience, I think, for a lot of people in Australia. If you're on the East coast, you can watch the sun rise over the ocean, but you can't see it set over the ocean, but you can on the West coast, and they're just beautiful. It's summer at the moment and even last night the sky has been putting on the most beautiful shows, so I love watching the sunset from the beach. Grab some fish and chips, have a takeaway dinner, have a beer or a glass of wine and just enjoy. It's beautiful, particularly in summer.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, definitely, and I've got some beautiful pictures from my last trip over, from the sunsets, just stunning.

Speaker 2:

I saw. I saw some of those Beautiful.

Speaker 1:

So what about your third experience?

Speaker 2:

So I'm going to go with wine tasting in the Swan Valley. It's a wine region only 30 minutes from the CBD, so it's one of my favourite day trips from Perth. The Swan Valley wine region has a bunch probably over maybe 40 cellar doors and wineries. A lot of them are family run and they've got fantastic wines. So I think Western Australia is quite well known for its wine. Most of it's coming from the Southwest region and Margaret River in particular, but we do have some great varietals that are grown just 30 minutes from the city, which I think is quite unusual. So being able to go out and have a wine tour, have a delicious gourmet meal, have lunch, you know, sitting next to the vineyard or sampling some beautiful wines is an amazing way to experience the city.

Speaker 2:

So my next on the list is Kings Park Botanic Gardens. It's one of the biggest botanic gardens in a city worldwide, I believe, and it's really picturesque. You've got beautiful manicured gardens. It's quite high. It's up on kind of almost like a cliff, overlooking the entire Perth CBD and the Swan River. So the views are unparalleled. There's so much beautiful native plants to look at from all over Western Australia so you can even see like a giant boab tree which is from the Kimberley region in Western Australia up in the Northwest. So whether you go in the morning and have a coffee, or you go and have a picnic lunch or go and watch the sunset, a visit to Kings Park at any time of day is highly recommended.

Speaker 2:

And then, lastly, we have Cavisham Wildlife Park. So again, this is probably only 30 or 40 minutes out of the city and it's a native wildlife sanctuary, I guess, and I think it's so great for particularly international visitors to go and see some really classic Australian wildlife. So Cavisham Wildlife Park is home to kangaroos, koalas, even big wombats. So my husband, dane just went on a team building event. He had some colleagues visiting from Houston in the US and they all went to Cavisham Wildlife Park and they got to take photos with koalas and photos with the wombats. Yes, it's a really special experience and a great way to really get, I guess, that kind of Aussie experience.

Speaker 1:

Oh no, that sounds really cool. I'll definitely add that to my list when I visit this year, because that sounds really perfect, and some of the beaches around Perth as well. I know you've mentioned the sunset, but do you have any particular favourite beaches that you'd recommend?

Speaker 2:

I think an iconic beach that is very popular for visitors is Connoisseur Beach. So that's on. That's probably about 20 minutes from the CBD. Um, it's got a quite a beautiful like uh building set on the coast. It's it's an old tea house, it's called the Indiana Tea House. It now has a lovely, um, modern Australian restaurant in it. Uh, it's really calm, you can. There's lots of like pubs and restaurants and cafes kind of along the strip of the beach, so you can, you know, grab a meal, watch the sunset, get fish and chips, take away. So that's a really great beach, particularly with all the dining options. And then my personal favorite is City Beach, which is about 15 minutes from the city and it's actually where I got engaged about six years ago.

Speaker 1:

So it holds a special spot in my heart.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's lovely. Yeah, and that's a really big, long, beautiful beach. Um, really it can. It can be a bit dumpy in terms of the waves sometimes, but if you visit on on a low wind day it's flat, calm, gorgeous, crystal clear water, so it's a really great spot oh, that sounds amazing.

Speaker 1:

Now that kind of I pivots really nicely into. Is there a better time of year to visit and experience Perth, or is it kind of an all-round destination?

Speaker 2:

That's the thing I love about Perth you can truly visit all year round. We do have quite a Mediterranean climate, and winters are usually quite mild. If you do want to make the most of those beaches, though, I do definitely recommend visiting around the warmer months. Probably more October to April would be best you don't have to visit in the peak of summer. Honestly, visiting even the peak of summer, like right now we're recording it's January and it's been 42 degrees today up in the Perth hills where I live, which is too hot. So, yeah, I do really think traveling kind of yeah, those shoulder seasons is a really lovely way to experience Perth as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely, In fact. Let's talk a little bit about the seasons again. So there are very distinct seasons in WA compared to because I live in Queensland, which is basically hot or hotter, but WA has definite season changes.

Speaker 2:

West Australia is very big, so if you're in the Northwest, the seasons don't change that much, because it's a lot closer to the equator, so it's a lot more tropical. If you're talking about Perth, though, there is distinct seasons, you know summer, spring, autumn, winter. It just doesn't get too cold. Yes, it rains in winter, but it's, you know, it's not torrential, there's no snow.

Speaker 1:

So, all things considered, it's, you know, it's not torrential, there's no snow, um so. So, all things considered, it's, you know, considered quite mediterranean, quite mild and beautiful blue skies. I know, uh, you get a lot of. We talked about that before, about how much sunny days that you get in perth.

Speaker 2:

Yes, apparently, 3 000 hours of sunshine a year which is incredible.

Speaker 1:

So when, with those 3 000 hours, you can enjoy those five experience that you already kind of discussed, you know, rock nests, the beaches, wine tasting, the botanical garden, wildlife park, which all sound fantastic. Now, if somebody's visiting Perth and they've already kind of covered those, what would you say would be the lesser-known spots or alternatives that they could include into their itinerary when visiting Perth?

Speaker 2:

Sure. So a few lesser-known gems. That I would recommend is there's actually an island right off, right in the CBD actually you can just walk there from Perth centre. It's called Harrison Island and it's actually home to native kangaroos and there's no entrance fee. They're just wild kangaroos that somehow many years ago got trapped on this little island in the middle of the city and there's a pedestrian footbridge that you can go across and see kangaroos and take photos of kangaroos, with a CBD in the skyline in the background. So I think that's quite unique and not many people know about it. So next one there's a shipwreck. So there's some great beaches. We already spoke about beaches but I don't know if many people know, but there's actually a shipwreck off the coast near Fremantle that you can just go snorkel out to, so it's called the Omeo Wreck and it's located at Coogee Beach, south of Perth, maybe 40 minutes from the CBD, and it's an amazing snorkeling spot. There's octopus, marine life fish in this quite well-preserved shipwreck. So that's a really cool spot.

Speaker 2:

And then, lastly, summer in Perth is beautiful. There's always lots to do. We have an event on that's happening right now, actually called Fringe Fest, which is like a cultural and comedy shows, but what I love to do in summer, on those warm summer nights, is go to the movies. So there's two spots I love. There's the rooftop cinemas in Northbridge, which is like Perth's kind of like entertainment and nightlife district. So you go to the top of like a 20-story building and, surrounded by the city lights, you watch a movie on the rooftop. That's really cool. And then also Kings Park that we spoke about. They have an outdoor cinema that's on during summer and it's just such a cool vibe.

Speaker 1:

So I cool vibe, so I love both of those. Oh, I love outdoor cinemas. I think there's nothing better than outdoor cinema. I absolutely love it. It's, uh, it's. It's one of my favorite memories from when I was a child, going to the drive-in cinema, which I just absolutely loved. Um, now, if you are visiting Perth and you want to go and experience all these amazing things, what's the best way to get around?

Speaker 2:

if you're just staying in Perth and you want to do maybe like a few day trips, you can definitely get around with just public transport and using tours for the day trips. There's lots of guided day trip options, so you don't need to hire a car. If you do hire a car, though, it obviously just gives you a little bit more freedom and flexibility and you can explore a little bit further outside of the city. So, for example, going to the shipwreck that I just spoke about, you could do it on public transport, but it's going to take a lot longer, maybe a bit more inconvenient. So I think you know. If you do want to hire a car and do a few more day trips, that's definitely recommended. Otherwise it's not necessary. So you can get around on public transport and, you know, using Ubers.

Speaker 1:

That's good to know and I must admit I did use the trains and uh and ubers and bosses actually when I was over, uh, last year. Now, um, I'm going to pivot to my one of my favorite topics, which is food and drink. So when I'm over there, what about dining options? What, what? Where should I eat? What should I? What should I eat? Where should I eat?

Speaker 2:

oh gosh, you're almost spoiled for choice, I think food is. I think perth has got some really great foodie options. So we spoke about Swan Valley doing a wine tasting. Definitely go out there and have a long lunch, have a few glasses of wine, one of my favorite wineries. Well, it's actually technically not a winery, it's a distillery in the Swan Valley. It's called Old Young's Distillery. They have the most incredible restaurant that serves native bush tucker inspired meals. So I actually went there in December for my mum's birthday. That was my second visit and we had things like crocodile chorizo and emu pastrami and gin made out of native botanicals and it's just amazing food. So I love that. That's, you know, very Western Australian as well. It's all native Western Australian bush tucker.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that sounds wonderful. I definitely want to try that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for general dining. Fremantle, which is, I guess, a suburb south of Perth, it's about 30 minutes from the CBD, you can get the train there. Frio has a lot of history. It's a maritime port so there's just so much old history from its port days. There's some really beautiful architecture there and Fremantle has so many amazing restaurants, bars, cafes. It's very much like they've got a coffee strip, so it's very buzzing, very hip.

Speaker 2:

There's actually a place where I recommend you can stay a couple of nights, if you want to mix it up, staying in Perth CBD and then a couple of nights in Fremantle, because it's also where you can go to get the ferry to Rottnest Island. So all the food there is actually amazing. I've got a few favourites. If anyone wants recommendations, they can feel free to contact me, but you can't go wrong with any foodie places in Fremantle.

Speaker 2:

And then, lastly, I just did something this summer which I would highly recommend. It's only on during summer, but it is a luxury seafood cruise that takes place on Rottnest. So you catch the ferry over to Rottnest and then you jump on a smaller boat and there's a private chef who's cooking fresh seafood, including big crayfish. So Western rock lobsters you have oysters, western rock lobsters you have oysters, free-flowing sparkling wine, beer, you know, ordinary wine, all from western australian wineries, and it was the most incredible experience and very well priced, considering the full day experience you got from it and the amount of amazing food we were served. So if you're looking for a special experience over summer, I would highly recommend the rottenness island luxury seafood.

Speaker 1:

Oh that sounds amazing. I did see pictures of that on your Instagram test. It looked fabulous.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I've got a couple of videos from that experience so you can go get a sticky beak of all the yummy things we ate.

Speaker 1:

Oh no, it sounds fantastic. So we've covered a good amount of information here about Perth and we can find more on your website and obviously beautiful pictures and videos on your Instagram. So just share again where we can find you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, my blog is testsomewherecom and on social media you'll find me under the handle Tess Somewhere.

Speaker 1:

Perfect. Now what is the one tip that you would share with someone visiting Perth for the very first time? I should have asked you this last year, shouldn't I?

Speaker 2:

It's all right. You had your daughter as your local tour guide, so my one tip is don't stay in Perth. Some of the best things to do around Perth aren't in the city. If you spend all your time in the city, I think you might get a little bit disappointed. Perth CBD is definitely not as hip and buzz and happening as maybe other capital cities go, but there is so much incredible nature and stunning places to see only a short you know, sometimes even one hour or less car ride away, and it's really quite accessible to get to, whether you have a car or join a tour. So definitely get outside of the CBD and explore.

Speaker 1:

And I know you've mentioned Rottnest and Fremantle, but, um, what would be the other kind of places that you would say that you would recommend? Because I actually should have asked you about the best kind of day trips. If you're based in Perth and I did look at some tours myself, actually to the Pinnacles, which I didn't get to, but I will be doing this time so what would be, as well as Rottnest and going to Fremantle and trying some of the fantastic food, what other kind of day trips out of the CBD would you recommend?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I have an article on my website with 25 day trip ideas from Perth, and the one that I think would be the most popular, that I sell the most tours for, is the Pinnacles Desert tour.

Speaker 2:

There's two options, and the one that's the most popular, that I advertise on my website and I see a lot of bookings come through, is actually Pinnacles Desert Stargazing Tour. So you leave Perth in the afternoon, you stop at the Lancelin Sand Dunes. You can go sandboarding down these towering white sand dunes, which is a really cool experience. You go have a stop at the Cervantes Lobster Shack, see how they process lobsters, maybe grab a snack or even some lunch, and then, by the time sunset comes around, you're heading to the Pinnacles Desert and they set up a barbecue for you under the stars so you can stargaze in the middle of a desert which is just absolutely surreal and has incredible reviews. Everyone I've spoken to that has done that has just absolutely loved it. So if you're looking for a really unique and memorable experience, um, that's a great way to allow you to have the morning in perth and then go spend the afternoon and evening exploring the pinnacles desert oh, that is definitely going on my list for when I visit later in the year test, because that sounds amazing.

Speaker 1:

Um, thank you again for coming on to the podcast and sharing your experience and knowledge, and you know just enthusiasm for travel in Western Australia and Perth and actually all around the world. It's always fantastic to chat with you.

Speaker 2:

Thank you. I look forward to being your tour guide when you come to visit in May.

Speaker 1:

Thank, you, tess, I'll see you soon.

Speaker 2:

Thanks again.

Speaker 1:

Thanks so much, tracey. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Global Travel Planning Podcast. For more details and links to everything we discussed today, check out the show notes at globaltravelplanningcom. Remember, if you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a review on your favorite podcast app, because your feedback helps us reach more travel enthusiasts, just like you. Anyway, that leaves me to say, as always, happy global travel planning.