The Swan Valley Western Australia lies just east of the State Capital, Perth, and is perfect for a day trip and even better if you can spend a little more time. Like its larger companion, the Margaret River area south of the city, you will need wheels to visit many of the locations, although there are public transport options for some individual attractions.
Swan Valley Western Australia ‘Best of the Best’
When we were planning our visit to the Swan Valley, we had a few must go places, but they were all quite far apart and as we weren’t driving, and public transport options were limited, we looked around for a local tour company who could give us what we wanted. That’s how we found Paul, at Up Close and Local Tours. Not only did he make a good suggestion for lunch, he came highly recommended. And even better, all our stops are family owned and run.
Up Close and Local Tours
Corner Beaufort Street and James Street Mall,
Perth
WA 6000,
Australia
Phone: +61 423 454 795
website
We set off right on time and Paul ensured we had sufficient time at each spot to fully enjoy the experiences and was nearby throughout making sure we didn’t miss any of the special viewing times and photo ops. You’ll be taking lots of photos, so remember to bring your charging cables, because the van is fitted with USB ports.
Caversham Wildlife Park
233 Drumpellier Drive,
WHITEMAN 6068
(Located within Whiteman Park)
Open Daily 9.00am to 4.30pm
(except Christmas Day)
Last Entry 3.30pm
Getting there (including using public transport from Perth)
Phone: +61 8 9248 1984
Check out their Website and social media pages Instagram and Facebook
Caversham is a great place to see and interact with native animals and birds, as well as having a peek into some aspects of a farm life and the owners are closely involved in the daily activities. Learn how to shear a sheep, crack a whip and milk a cow, all handy skills on a ‘mixed farm’. **TIP Sit in the front row and volunteer to try cracking the whip.
Caversham Park offers a number of timed Daily experiences at stated times through the day. These are designed to benefit both visitors and the animals. The sessions aren’t too long, so get there at the time given, so the animals will not be stressed. They are also ‘rotated’, with different wombats , for example, being ‘on duty’ each time. You get to meet around 20 species of mammals, birds or reptiles. Apart from the beautiful Olive python (Liasis olivaceus), we did love the birds of prey, a Barking owl (Ninox connivens) which ignored us and kept eating its breakfast and the sleepy looking tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) .
There’s plenty to see and do at the park, meaning you could easily spend the whole day here. There is a small cafe, but they have three covered picnic areas, so why not bring your lunch and make a day of it.
Getting there on your own:
Travelling by Train is the cheapest, fastest and most direct option. From Perth Station, take the Ellenbrook line from Platform 7. The trip takes just under half an hour to Platform 1 at Whiteman Park Stn. There is a tram run by volunteers, although it wasn’t running the day we were there.
Mandoon Estate
10 Harris Road,
Caversham WA 6055
Phone +61 6279 0500
Get in touch by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or visit their Website for more information.
Like the Wildlife Park, this family owned business is also located in the Caversham area. Mandoon Estate is a portion of an earlier and much larger estate that was broken up some years ago. The vines are some of the oldest in the State, and certainly in the Swan Valley, where they have a beautiful property right on the Swan River. Why not come up from Perth by boat? People do!
After tasting the wines, a personalised experience, we bought two of our favourites to take home and joined our companions for lunch. While they loved their milkshakes, we tried the alcoholic offerings – a beer paddle and alcoholic ginger beer. Our lunch was fresh and well cooked, both delicious and a generous amount. They also have accommodation close to the main building if you’d like a longer visit.
Yahava KoffeeWorks
4752 W Swan Rd,
West Swan WA 6055
Open Daily 9 am–5 pm
Phone: +61 8 9250 8599
Get more information on their Website, and their latest doings on Instagram and Facebook.
This Australian family run coffee company offers specialty roasts, house blends and exotic teas in a surprisingly spacious, no-frills location. There are two KoffeeWorks roasteries, the other is in Margaret River. If you’re wondering about their name ‘Yahava’, apparently it’s derived from Arabic and is believed to mean “gift”.
Find your closest Yahava fix
You’ll only find Yahava coffee in Western Australia, but if it is a ready coffee fix you are after, they do have quite a few Yahava Kwik Koffee Drive Thru or Kiosks dotted around Swan Valley, Margaret River and Perth. After taking our place at the testing table, we had the difficult task of choosing our favourites to take home. You might like to think this over at their cafe just behind the shop.
506 Great Northern Highway
6056 Middle Swan, Perth
Phone (08) 9274 7777
Open Monday To Sunday 9am – 5pm
Public Holidays 9am-5pm
The cafe is open until 2pm on weekdays, 3pm on weekends.
Email [email protected]
Website: whistlers.com.au
Find them at Instagram and Facebook and they also have an online shop if you think of something else you want.
We could have happily spent much longer here! It’s chocolate! They have so many of our favourites and they’re already getting ready for Christmas and Easter. Keep your eye open for a guy in a chocolate spattered t-shirt. That’s Ian, the owner and chocolatier who shared his time with us for a quick chat.
House of Honey (The House of Honey & The Sticky Spoon Cafe)
Closed on Christmas Day (25th December),
Boxing Day (26th December) and Good Friday
Email: [email protected]
Get more information from their Website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
The cafe, serving Devonshire tea, coffee and cakes, was closed by this time, so we stopped for a honey ice cream, a lovely end to a great day out.
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