For those of us who know this little treasure and make use of it on a day to day basis we are indeed lucky, and for those of us who are still to stumble upon it here is a short introduction.
Hyde Park is known for its unique twin lakes and its grand old plain trees which line the lakes and provide a wonderful canopy whether it is summer, autumn, spring or winter. It is the place where many people come to get married, take family photos, enjoy birthday BBQs, and where some seek solitude and rest from the stresses of everyday life.
The very name Hyde Park has a distinct call to it. It is the name of a few wonderful parks around the world: London, Sydney, and Adelaide all have their Hyde Park, and our city of Perth in Western Australia is no exception.
Perth has many interesting native birds right on the doorstep. You can walk to some of the locations mentioned below or catch a free Central Area Transit (CAT) bus*.
John Oldham Park - a series of lakes near the Narrows Bridge interchange. Hundreds of birds breed or visit here including cormorants, ducks, darters, coots, grebes, swamp hens, egrets, herons and black swans. A pair of black swans regularly breed here when conditions are favourable. Amazingly they often take the growing cygnets safely across 4 lanes of traffic to feed in the Swan River. Directions: get off the free Blue CAT bus at stop #19: Mount Hospital.
Kings Park - an internationally renowned bush treasure with a huge range of flora and birds - magic in spring but worth a visit all year round. Just some of the birds here include parrots, cockatoos, pardalotes, wattlebirds, honey eaters, wagtails, bronzewings, swallows, kingfishers and kookaburras. Birds Australia has a complete list of birds in their online guides** - including for Kings Park. On hot summer days it is best to visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon when it is cooler.
It may not seem likely from the outside, but stepping inside the ground floor of 20 Kalinda Drive, the site of the former City Beach High School, visitors are immediately whisked away to a little piece of Japan. With tatami mats, shoji screens, Japanese dolls, and sake barrels on view, it is easy to believe that the Hyogo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre office is actually located somewhere in downtown Kobe rather than coastal Perth.
Established in 1992 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the thriving Sister-State relationship between Hyogo Prefecture and Western Australia, the Cultural Centre is fully funded by Hyogo Prefectural Government in an aim to promote awareness of the Sister State relationship, act as a bridge of communication between Hyogo and WA, and support Japanese language and culture education in WA.
The Perth Walkabout Monthly Wrap is published at the start of each month to provide a snapshot of articles that hit the headlines in the last 4 weeks.
Here is Perth Walkabout's Monthly Wrap for the month of January:
Kununurra – The Last Frontier in WA
Closer to Darwin than its own capital Perth 3000km away, Kununurra is often described as the last frontier.
Situated at the heart of the East Kimberley in northern West Australia, Kununurra is a green oasis in the red dirt that in the local Aboriginal language means “the meeting of the big waters.”
My family and I were lucky enough to live there for three months in the mild season before the wet a few years ago. It is hot all year round with two distinct seasons; the wet (November – January) and the dry. Many roads are closed during the wet season so it is best to travel in the dry and plan ahead.
Public Outdoor Ping Pong is POPP. We make outdoor ping pong tables from 700kg of steel and we get local artists to do their artwork.
Each table is a non-porous steel canvas and we encourage the artist to do whatever they feel would be most daring. There are no briefs or limitations. Sean Morris illustrated a beast with a severed head and severed limbs and Jae Criddle trapped a man with wings, or a pheasant on his back - depending on the angle.
The tables then end up in public - parks, open spaces, town squares. People kind of look at them at first, ponder the artwork and sometimes they work out that they can play ping pong on them, too.
When the cafés close and the sun sets, the harbour hub of Fremantle comes alive with a smorgasbord of restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs serving up a feast of fun. Whether you’re seeking a subdued evening or are planning to party, you’ll find it in ‘Freo’.
Enjoy an afternoon brew
Hugging the harbour, microbrewery Little Creatures is the prime spot for a late-afternoon ale. The eatery is set in an industrial tin shed, with great glass panels overlooking the working brewery. This raucous place gets busy, so arrive early to bag a spot at a communal table and settle in to sample the scrumptious pub fare.
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