Week 587 · Cervantes · Fremantle · Penguin Island · Swan Valley
Leaving Perth —
Our big trip was to Albany and I flew to the Ningaloo Reef on my own — both separate posts. But we did have a couple of short overnight and day trips focused on finding good places to snorkel. Snorkeling this far from the equator with colder water has much less colour — very little coral and very few tropical coloured fish.
The north areas were of particular interest to me because the transmission line on which we were working — connecting to wind and solar projects — went through these towns.
Cervantes — we stayed overnight, just one step up from the backpacker dorm, with kangaroos right outside the door. Entire town closed about 8:12pm. Snorkeled just north in Sandy Cape — wasn't great as a cyclone had recently hit north and stirred up the seas. This is an area with 300-foot high sand dunes and people "sand board" down them. Pinnacles Desert — one of the top tourist spots in WA — we really didn't get it. Interesting but would not have been worth a 2-hour drive each way. Moore River — we pulled in to get gas when we saw a sign that this was last gas stop for 200km. Nice family spot with a river that didn't spill into the ocean unless there was a flood. Yanchep — best reef to snorkel near Perth (about 45-minute drive). Great beach and cliffside environment.
Fremantle — we had several trips, including when we came back in November 2024. Great place to visit and probably the most lively area in Perth. Also home of the famous Fremantle Prison — we did a tour, pretty grim. We found that it was only a short period of time in the 1850s that it was an English convict prison — then up to 1990 it was for Australian prisoners. Omeo Wreck — barely a day trip, just south of Fremantle. We did some snorkeling there. Rockingham — went twice, snorkeled there. Penguin Island — we did a tour, generally pretty good, but we were supposed to snorkel with sea lions and we never really saw them.
We also did a couple of trips to the Swan Valley Wine Region — a night to see a great INXS tribute band ("What You Need") and a boat trip out with work colleagues to a couple of wineries. The Swan Valley Wine Region is older and not as well known as the Margaret River region but a great day out close to Perth.
"The Swan Valley Wine Region — a great day out close to Perth. Hardest part: the most expensive red wine was $12/bottle."
