Car-less and carefree in Perth

Adrian Thirkell ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 06/01/2008 10:44 AM  |  Travel

Quinns Rocks beach: (JP/Adrian Thirkell)

Every visitor to Perth must have breakfast at the posh No. 44 King Street cafe bakery, where a couple of lattes and a serving of Etruscan toast will set you back about A$15 (Rp 134,000). Not bad, until you compare it and everything else in Perth with the cost of a Family Day Rider ticket on the city's incomparably efficient train-meets-bus-meets-ferry public transport system.

At A$8.10 for two adults and a brood of kids under 12 it's the city's -- and perhaps all of Western Australia's -- best travel bargain, so long as you're traveling during the Aussie school holidays.

With it, two adults accompanying up to five - yes, five! -- children can set off for the day to explore whatever suits your mood. Head east for the historic town of Guildford, the gateway to Perth's wine and olive growing valleys, a 30-minute, 11-station train ride from the city and worth the trip if only for the sumptuous, local-fare organic cuisine at James' Street gourmet deli, Indulgence, where you can also stock up on olive oil and preserves. Alternatively, take the bus south to the shockingly gorgeous beach of Mandurah, an hour's journey from Perth's esplanade bus terminal. And, of course, there's everything in between, including the pristine waterside city of Perth itself.

The Family Day Rider is a preposterously good bargain. Whichever public transport guru thought it up deserves a civic medal. The system itself is an ingeniously planned interlocking web of routes offering day-tripping families virtually seamless travel within and beyond the city, including the ferry which shuttles across the Swan River for those heading for south Perth and the city zoo.

But it's not only the interconnectedness that's so attractive; the system's punctuality and regularity; the spick and span newness of the Mercedes Benz buses (all of which carry printed timetables and route maps) and the glide-on-air-feel of the electric trains. What's more, stops and stations inform you, either by printed timetable or by continuously updated digital monitor, when the next train, bus or ferry is due -- an act of civic thoughtfulness that allows travelers to time their museum visit or cappuccino break to the minute.

The system's also rarely crowded thanks to Perth's never-say-die motorists, who don't or won't appreciate that the city's hassle free, quietly humming and supremely versatile public transportation is second to none. The result? You always get a seat.

If you're eco-friendly, you'll also love the gas powered "CAT" buses that prowl the city center in continuous, hop on, hop off loops. Stay on, and in 25 minutes you're back where you started, so you can opt for three different city tours, red, yellow or blue, all for free.

An orangutan at the Perth Zoo: (JP/Adrian Thirkell)

Buy your first ticket at 9 a.m. (or 8.30 a.m. weekends) and the little bit of earth called Perth is laid out for your delight in all directions, from ocean to vineyard; from city to suburb for the same one-family-one-ticket flat rate fare.

Our first bus ride as a family of three revealed another wonderful feature of the network: its human face. The drivers, without exception, are polite and informed. We asked ours for a ticket to the nearest station from our suburban holiday rental and he intuitively advised us to buy the Family Day Rider. It was the key that unlocked all public transportation doors for the rest of our two-week break, which coincided with the Australian school holidays. We never looked back, leaving the house every day at 9.05 a.m. for the first bus at 9.12 a.m. Exactly.

Whether Greek, Jordanian, Italian or a scouser from England, as was our experience, the drivers appear to have been to charm school. They know not only their own route, but the routes they connect with, and are happy to oblige hapless first timers about how to get to anywhere. And anywhere in Perth, especially under winter's brazenly blue skies, tends to be somewhere you want to be.

It all means that half the fun of a car-less holiday in Perth is the getting about. The other half is Australia's "boutique" city itself, which feels delightfully Mediterranean -- an impression helped by the city's profusion of al fresco dining spots, its palm trees and desert grasses and by the fact that it rubs shoulders, in nonchalant camaraderie, with both river and Indian ocean: yes, Perth's as exotic as that!

It's from the ocean that it pulls all its marvelous oysters. If they're your thing, try the Oyster House two minutes from the zoo, directly opposite the south side ferry terminal, once you've made the five minute river crossing from Barrack Jetty via the Blue Cat from the city center.

For the family, (and despite the backpackers' hostels near the station, Perth's a family destination first and foremost) top of the "must do" list is Kings Park and the Botanic Gardens, a sprawling 400-acre mix of manicured flower beds and woodland scrub which, when we visited, was awash with children playing Aussie rules football in its open spaces. Take a picnic or forage from any of the park's three cafes (you can even barbecue) and spend all day, taking the free bus 37 or 39 from the city's axis road, St Georges Terrace.

When it's the beach you need, as you surely must for your holiday to feel authentically Australian, take bus 400 from Glendalough train station, two stops from Perth central (Platform 1 or 5 on the Clarkson line), and alight right on Scarborough Beach, at Observation City. Have a coffee and then take a walk along the pristine shoreline, watching Perth's surfers do their thing. If you've the stamina for an hour's stroll, you'll reach City Beach, from where you can catch a bus back to the city. If you want your beaches more spectacular, take the bus to Mandurah.

There's plenty of good stuff, too, within the city itself, of course. A good way to start the day is with coffee on the terrace at Alda's, Perth's little bit of Italy. From the station, exit right, cross Wellington Street, and walk up Queen Street, after the backpackers' hostel, and cross obliquely into a grey-painted, potted tree-lined alley. At the end you'll find the city's friendliest baristas, Tim and Simon, who'll serve you sumptuously foamy coffee and to-die-for panini. Afterwards, take the Blue CAT, heading down William Street, and alight at Barrack Street Jetty for the zoo.

The ferry crossing takes five minutes and the walk to the zoo another five, if you can resist grazing from the strip of restaurants on the way. For a family of two adults and two kids, the zoo's $45. The Sumatran orangutan enclosure offers the best spectacle, where a number of the contentedly active animals live in peaceable, rope-dangling harmony high up in an array of tree houses. Apart from this little bit of Indonesia, though, the zoo's somewhat tame, and in winter the animals sleepy, although youngsters will love the lawns to run about on, and the fact that you can get up close and personal with the kangaroos.

Alda's italian cafe in Perth: (JP/Adrian Thirkell)

From the zoo, which needs three hours to take in native Australian, African and Asian animals, including a magnificent crocodile, cross the road for bus 31 which sweeps you back into the city across the broad reach of the Swan River past the brewery bearing the river's name.

There are just two things the public transportation user has to get used to: when standing at a bus stop, passing drivers invariably ogle you, as if you're a strange species they don't quite comprehend. The second: when riding the bus or the train over the school holidays, teenagers habitually pockmark every sentence with swear words. Hey, I wanted to tell them, when life's this good, and the sky this blue, what's there to curse? The redeeming irony is that local bus-riding lore has it that when you get off, whether pensioner or surly teenager, everyone without exception thanks the driver.

On our last day, we headed for Mindarie Keys marina: from the city take the train to end-of-the-line Clarkson station (30 mins) and then bus 481 or 482 (15 mins) alighting shortly after Ocean Keys shops in Anchorage Drive -- the driver will tell you where. From there, it's a gentle five minute walk to the marina, where you can enjoy a gourmet meal or fish and chips and an ice-cold beer at suburban Perth's best kept dining secret, bang on the ocean. Go in winter, and you'll have it almost to yourself.

If you want to venture yet further, head north again for olive-grove growing Waneroo and the ocean front village, Two Rocks, a 40 minute, 490 bus ride from Clarkson and the furthest north you can go on Perth's public transport system. It's worth the trip for lunch at The Sea Salt Restaurant, the terrace of which overlooks the marina with ocean views to the horizon. The seafood's superb, with local-caught crayfish a specialty in season.

It's a shame after all the bargain priced travel that you can't make it to the airport by bus (unless you're heading for the domestic terminal, in which case, take bus 37 from St George's Terrace). A cab costs up to $30.

For before you go transport planning try www.transperth.wa.gov.au; general tourist information www.westernaustralia.com. Once there, the Visitor Center is right opposite the train station.

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