3rd and 4th October, Perth – Western Australia

After a long journey to the other side of the world, our first days in Perth were all about finding rhythm — shaking off jet lag, navigating city life with kids, and getting our first taste of Western Australia before heading off in our campervan.

Settling Into East Perth

We were still recovering from the flights and slept through breakfast again. We had to hunt down a laundrette, which has become a familiar stop for us. We got lucky with the first one—it was actually pretty exciting! The machines had card readers and automatically included detergent. Not all laundrettes are created equal; these even had fitting names.

Our hotel was located in East Perth, just a short Uber ride from most of the places we explored. We took a brief stroll to the nearest park, Queens Gardens, in search of a playground for the kids — another of the local amenities we found ourselves visiting often! We didn’t find a playground, but the park had some interesting ducks and some snake-necked turtles which provided some entertainment.

A Spin on the Swan River

We then jumped in an Uber and headed to the Elizabeth Quay area — Perth’s modern waterfront precinct filled with cafes, public art and access to river cruises. We had booked a boat tour of the Swan River with Wild West Charters (literally on my phone whilst we were in the Park!).

There are lots of options for getting afloat on the Swan River ranging from an hour to 3 hours plus. Knowing our kids, we went for the short, fast option to keep them engaged and hopefully prevent the classic ‘how much longer’ / ‘ I am bored’ scenario.

Wild West Charters fitted the bill, a 90 min cruise on a fast jet powered boat.

We grabbed the front seats and Capt. Davo took us around the Swan River with some fast turns and doughnuts. Davo said there was a chance we might see some marine wildlife like dolphins and pelicans, but we didn’t see anything. The first stop was the blue boat boatshed, which seems to have become a classic insta spot to grab a selfie.

We then carried on around the river as far as the Boorloo Bridge, with Davo providing an interesting running commentary along the way. He pointed out Heirisson Island which has Kangaroo Sanctury and a disappointing visit the next day ensued.

Twilight Markets & City Wanders

We got our sea legs back with a short walk to the Twilight Food Market on Forrest Place. We had actually tried to go the night before but got the wrong date.

We failed to get any photos of our food, probably because we were so ravenous. There was so much choice and we grabbed some different dishes and soaked up the atmosphere with bed time approaching quickly! Not before a quick visit to the Boorloo Bridge for Jamie and Ella. During our boat trip, Capt. Davo said that the bridge talked so we were intrigued. After a long walk there, we found no evidence of talking, but the lights were cool and we saw some pelicans chilling on the water around it.

Rain, Rugby & Campervan Adventures

Our final day in before heading south was mainly spent avoiding the rain! We had to pick up our campervan today which would be our home for the next three weeks . We also had tickets to watch the Wallabies vs All Blacks rugby game at the Optus Stadium.

Lauren and the kids started by heading to Heirisson Island, again of Capt. Davo fame, for the Kangaroo sanctuary. They only Kangaroo they saw seemed to be swimming towards another island to get away from them! Not long after the heavans opened up.

With Diwali festival plans washed out by rain, we regrouped back at the hotel, grabbed our new wheels, and made our way to Optus Stadium for Wallabies vs All Blacks.

Ella got her face painted — Wallabies colours only, apparently! No split-loyalties allowed according to the face-painting lady.

We settled in nice and early so we wouldn’t miss the Haka. We’d shown the kids a video of a school in NZ performing it before we left Jersey, and seeing it live was just as powerful. Goosebumps all round. The Wallabies put up a fight early on, but the All Blacks proved too strong and won 28–14. We snuck out just before full-time to beat the taxi rush and headed to our first night in the campervan.

Australia put up a good fight in the early stages but the All Blacks were too strong for the and ran away 28-14 winners We left slightly before the end to beat the taxi queue and settled in for our first night in the camper van.

Ready for the Road

Perth turned out to be the perfect starting point — easy, friendly, full of surprises (and laundry). With the kids finally adjusting, laundry folded, and our campervan packed, we rolled into the night with no route planned and a whole lot of road ahead.

Time for the real adventure to begin. 🚐✨.