Perth Attractions
Kings Park:
Check out the superb views from Kings Park, the lungs of the city centre. The park includes a 17 hectare (42 acre) Botanic Garden and a section of natural bushland, which represents
Perth as it was before the white fella got here. In spring, theres a cultivated display of Western Australias famed wild flowers. The park also has some pleasant bike tracks - you can hire bikes just outside the park - and a coffee shop.Museum of Western Australia:
The museum, in Northbridge, has an excellent gallery of Aboriginal culture, a marine gallery with the skeleton of a 25m (82ft) blue whale, vintage cars, a gallery of dinosaurs and a good collection of meteorites, including the 11 tonne Mundrabilla specimen. In the courtyard, set in its own preservative bath, is Megamouth, one of the largest species of shark. Only about five of these benign creatures have ever been captured.The museum complex also includes Perths original prison, built in 1856 and used until 1888 - a favourite spot for hangings in the past.
Berndt Museum of Anthropology:
This is one of Australias finest collections of traditional and contemporary Australian Aboriginal art and artefacts. It combines material from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and the south-west, desert and Kimberley regions of WA. Youll find the museum in the University of WA, in Nedlands.
Underwater World:
This is not your run-of-the-mill aquarium. Underwater World, north of the city, has a 98m (321ft) underwater tunnel aquarium displaying 2500 examples of 200 marine species, including sharks and stingrays. If you turn up at the right time you can watch the sharks being fed or, if youre a qualified diver, join in the feeding yourself (hopefully in a not-too-participatory manner). There are also interactive displays inside such as a touchpool and Microworld.
City Beaches:
Perth has some of the the best city beaches in Australia, though they can get a bit unpleasant and windy in the afternoon. There are calm bay beaches on the SwanRiver at Crawley and Peppermint Grove. Or you can try a whole string of patrolled surf beaches on the Indian Ocean coast, including Perths very popular nude beach at Swanbourne. Scarborough is known for its beachside caf? society, and is great for experienced surfers and sailboarders. Perhaps the best beach of all is on secluded CarnacIsland, frequented by the odd marooned human and some sea lions. RottnestIsland:This sandy island, 19km (12mi) off the coast of Fremantle, is home to small indigenous marsupials known as quokkas. These were mistakenly identified as rats in 1696 by
