Tourist Attractions

The Convention Website has an overview of attractions. Advice should be sought on travel times to various destinations, as distances can be considerable.

The nearest ocean beaches are about 12 kms from the CBD. These are superb white sand beaches with crystal clear water and generally good facilities. Recommended is the iconic Cottesloe beach. Convention goers who are looking for surf however, will be fairly disappointed, as the line of reefs and islands off the coast means that swells on the metropolitan beaches are modest at best.

The port city of Fremantle is worth a visit, having numerous examples of very well preserved late Victorian and early Federation architecture and a superior restaurant scene to that of Perth CBD.
The Shipwrecks Museum is highly recommended and entrance is free. The Western Australian Maritime Museum, is also well worth a visit. Entrance fee is $10 ($5 concession: students, seniors & VIP backpackers).

A tour of the Swan valley wineries is a good day trip. The Pinnacles Desert north of Perth, is a unique natural landscape but is definitely a whole day trip with an early start and late return.

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island is a holiday island 12kms off the coast, with unique flora and fauna and fantastic bays for swimming.
It can be accessed by ferries from Fremantle or Perth (Barrack St in the CBD). To get the most of a visit to Rottnest, bike hire is advised so as to explore the more picturesque spots.
A full day trip.

Regional attractions

Visits to the South West country towns, wineries, restaurants and coastal regions will generally require overnight accommodation.

Remote attractions

The truly unique natural wonders of Western Australia lie many hundreds of kilometers to the far north of Perth.

These include:

Kalbarri National Park with its gorges,
Coral Bay with its whalesharks,
Monkey Mia and its friendly wild dolphins,
the unique multicultural pearling city of Broome,
the Kimberly and
Bungle Bungle ranges.

Western Australia is the largest of all the states in Australia and the distances involved are daunting. Any plans to visit these regions needs to be carefully planned in advance and budgeted for accordingly.

Advice to visitors

Even in early December, Perth can be hot, with the average temperature near 30°C and highs in excess of 40°C not uncommon. If you plan to spend any time in the sun, a good hat, high protection sunscreen and a supply of drinking water are strongly advised.

Perth and the surrounding regions are also notorious in summer for large numbers of bush flies. Not such a problem in the city, these can be extremely annoying on country trips and it is strongly advised that visitors include fly nets and fly repellent in their equipment.