Quokka selfies and other tales - the fabulous city of Perth!

Qantas and our destination management companies in Australia and Singapore very kindly invited myself and nine others on this amazing FAM trip in November. On receiving the itinerary, I knew it would be a very exciting trip – not only were we visiting Perth, Brisbane and Singapore, I had also heard on the grapevine that we would be visiting the home of the Quokka, the cutest marsupial in the world!

We had a relaxing hour or so in the very luxurious Qantas lounge at Heathrow before our flight. This lounge is superb – if you like gin, there is a gin menu. If you like food, there is plenty of that! I had a superb smoked salmon and poached egg dish with a cheeky glass of bubbles (something I would not usually have for breakfast I assure you!) and left ready to tackle the next 17 hours on the amazing Qantas non-stop flight to Perth.

You would think nearly 17 hours would drag by, but the Dreamliner is so smooth and comfortable that even in Economy, time flew. You get the usual mod cons, but what stood out was the service, the food and the huge selection of movies and programs on a larger than average seatback TV. The lights are dimmed at around 4pm UK time to encourage sleep and we all arrived fresher than anticipated!

On arrival in Perth we went straight on a city tour of this magnificent city. Our wonderful guide, Claire, took us to Kings Park (one of the world’s largest and most beautiful inner-city parks) to see the views of the city, then Elizabeth Quay precinct to see the hidden laneways in central Perth.

We stayed for two nights at the Crown Promenade hotel, close to Perth’s CBD. This area has a casino and many restaurants and bars situated in the Crown entertainment complex. We ate on the first night at Epicurean, one of the hotel’s restaurants and I have to say, the food was out of this world – a mostly Asian buffet with amazing sushi among other delicious delicacies.

After a good nights’ sleep, we were to visit the Quokkas at their home on Rottnest Island, roughly a 1 ½ hour ferry ride from the mainland. Rottnest Island has a rich history and is very beautiful in its own right. Even if you don’t like tiny marsupials, a visit to Rottnest is a must as part of a trip to Perth!

After a day of exploring and trying to take a selfie with my new furry friends, we went to visit another fabulous hotel in Perth for dinner. COMO the Treasury is a stunning hotel located in the historic heart of Perth. The 48-room luxury hotel occupies state buildings from the mid-19th century and combines luxury, modern touches and history beautifully. We ate at Post, a classical Italian restaurant with contemporary twists and food that was out of this world.

Our trip to Perth was very short but in that limited time I did see what an amazing city Perth can be for a holiday. With the non-stop service, Perth is now more accessible than ever and should definitely be on your Australia go to list. There are many nearby places also that we didn’t have time to visit (this time!) such as Fremantle, Margaret River and more that make Western Australia a fantastic holiday destination.