Wild adventures near Perth

I fasten my aeroplane-style seatbelt and get ready for an exhilarating ride. I’m not actually attached to anything at this point but as I shuffle into a seated line with my fellow passengers, I grab the belt around the waist in front and feel someone grip the back of mine, then we’re suddenly off, hauled forward by the weight of our guide dropping off the back of the boat.

I tumble, gasping through my snorkel as my wetsuited body hits the cold water. Luckily, there’s a delightful distraction. As we bob face down in the waves, still gripping belts in a safely linked line, beneath us a bottlenose dolphin twists and tumbles, as graceful as we are ungainly. It turns on its side to gaze up at us, and I match its giant grin.

The experience, which departs 45 minutes south of Perth, has been organised by Rockingham Wild Encounters but really, it’s down to the dolphins. There’s no man-made lagoon here – we’re out in the ocean and all we know is that the local dolphins love to play.

As happens most days, our underwater heroes turn up shortly after the boat stops. They are not fed by our eco-awarded hosts, yet as our guide dives beneath us, propelled by a handheld aqua scooter, the dolphins arrive one or two at a time to squeak and curl alongside him, creating a visual vortex that we’re privileged to witness on several dips into the waves.

ANIMAL MAGIC

Perth is a popular Australian gateway and the city with the highest number of British ex-pats. As clients head back there to tour or visit friends and relatives, the Rockingham dolphin swim is just one of the excellent day trips you can pre-book. Of course, unlike dolphins, many of Australia’s animals are found nowhere else on earth. One, the quokka, is native to Rottnest Island, an easy 12-mile ferry trip from Perth’s trendy suburb Fremantle, or longer from the city centre.

In fact, Rottnest is a corruption of “Rats’ Nest”, as 17th-century Europeans considered the island to be infested with these supposedly rat-like animals.

Quokkas are actually a rather cute, plump-faced relative of the wallaby. In recent years, taking a “quokka selfie” has become a trend, with Roger Federer and Hugh Jackman among those posting shots on social media.

As I soon discover, getting the perfect quokka selfie is harder than it looks. Making my way around the 12 square mile island by hire bike, as most visitors do, I stop at intervals to scrabble in the dirt and get my face close to one of the friendly marsupials, which are about the size of a rabbit. Invariably the resulting shot includes just one of my eyes or the quokka’s departing bottom. Sadly, many visitors entice them with food, which is why the animals often hang out near cafes.

I content myself with enjoying views of turquoise sea, woodland and salt lakes. Though it’s now a nature reserve, with 20 stunning beaches, there’s a sad history to Rottnest. Aboriginal people inhabited what they call Wadjemup more than 7,000 years ago, when it was still connected to the mainland.

When British settlers colonised Australia in the 19th century, they turned Rottnest into a prison island for Aborigines arrested on spurious charges. The jail, built with forced labour, later served as a tourist hostel but now it sits empty, just a few metres from the ferry terminal, awaiting a more respectful use.

The island is deceptively large to cover by pedal power, and I keep an eye on the time to avoid missing my ferry departure. If clients want to stay overnight and relax among the white sand dunes there’s an attractive new glamping option, which opened just pre-pandemic. Discovery Rottnest Island has around 80 en-suite tented rooms, some with kitchenettes. I stop for sashimi and tapas at the site’s Pinky’s Beach Club restaurant and find it’s a particularly scenic spot beside the island’s lighthouse.

WHALE OF A TIME

The most rewarding sights, however, are to be found just offshore. I take 90 minutes out to join a remarkably accessible whale-watching tour. It feels like we’ve barely left land when our Adventure Boat Tour vessel cuts its engine for us to see two migrating humpback whales breaching and upending their flukes. As we continue to gaze and gasp from our small open-sided boat, they haul their huge bulks half clear of the ocean and slam themselves back down onto the water.

This behaviour is most likely intended to rid the whales of parasites but it’s such a show that I’m reminded of those playful dolphins. As we head back to calmer waters, the treats aren’t quite over. We re-enter Rottnest flanked by rocks covered in basking New Zealand fur seals. 

EPICUREAN ADVENTURES

For clients who prefer to ease into their Australian adventures, there’s a relaxed day trip to be had to the vineyards of the Swan Valley. I join the cruise from Perth’s smart Elizabeth Quay where recent additions have included a Ritz Carlton.

After an onboard wine tasting, we arrive at Mandoon Estate, where I enjoy another glass and a lunch of salt and pepper squid overlooking the vines. There are clusters of vineyards in the area, and we also drop in on a craft brewery and to admire the edible sculptures at Whistler’s Chocolate Company. We even try some more traditional fare during a bush tucker tasting at Maalinup Aboriginal Gallery.

Of course, this being Australia, even this sedate day trip is not without its wildlife encounters. As our boat slips along the Swan River through a canopy of trees, a squawking flock of cockatoos crosses before the prow of our boat. It’s yet another everyday glimpse of the exotic.

BOOK IT

Gold Medal offers 10 days in Perth and Fremantle from £1,589pp, based on 15 November 2022 departures, with two sharing four-star accommodation. Includes flights via Singapore; six nights’ room-only at the Mercure Perth and four at the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle; the Dolphin Swim with Rockingham Wild Adventures; a Swan River Cruise with Captain Cook; and Rottnest Discovery tour with Rottnest Express. • goldmedal.co.uk

Smarter 

The Rockingham Wild Encounters dolphin swim runs September to June. Humpback whales migrate past Rottnest Island between September and November (rockinghamwildencounters.com.au).

Better 

For stylish Perth stays, book COMO The Treasury, in beautifully renovated 19th-century buildings close to Elizabeth Quay (comohotels.com/en/thetreasury).

Fairer 

Water, energy and waste treatment are eco-accredited at Discovery Rottnest Island and tents are on raised boardwalks (discoveryholidayparks.com.au).