Femke de Vries
Perth on foot, ferry and bike
Based in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Femke swapped Utrecht for Fremantle in 2014 and now walks visitors through Perth's riverside paths, Kings Park and the Freo arts scene. She plans routes by ferry and bike rather than car, and knows which galleries actually open on a Monday.
Latest stories
Rottnest Island This Summer: Pinky Beach Music Sessions, The Mezz and Quokka Tips
Which ferry leaves you better off, and whether to cycle the island or ride the bus once you're there. Plus where the weekend DJs play, and the easiest way round to the quokkas and the northern bays.
Sandboarding the White Dunes of Lancelin from Perth
What the white dunes at Lancelin cost and when to climb them, plus how to get onto the sand without your own 4WD.
Walking the Pinnacles Desert on a drive north from Perth
Give the drive north from Perth a full day: a one-way sand track, limestone pillars up to 3.5m and a dark-sky town at the end of it.
Margaret River Caves and Spring Vines on a Day Trip from Perth
Three guided caves, two lighthouses, the Caves Road cellar doors and the free stops most day trips drive straight past, priced and timed for an October run out of Perth.
Swimming with Wild Dolphins off Perth in September
An hour south of the Perth CBD you swim with wild dolphins in a cold Indian Ocean morning. What the trip involves, what it costs, and how September differs from summer.
Gold Pours, Bullion and Vaults at the Perth Mint
One hour inside Perth's 1899 melting house: what you get for the ticket, what it costs, when to book, and the short walk that stretches it into a half day.
What Perth's Elizabeth Quay Is Worth in September
A walk around Perth's waterfront inlet in spring: what's free, what's worth a ticket, which rooftop takes walk-ins, and what to skip.
How to Build a Perth Weekend Around the Running Festival
Every distance of the Perth Running Festival finishes on the Optus Stadium turf on 11 October 2026, so here is how to sleep, eat, watch and recover around that one fixed point.
Two Days in Perth Without Wasting a Morning
A two-day plan with the opening hours and prices checked: Kings Park first, the train down to Fremantle, and the one call most first-timers get wrong.
Showbags, Wildflowers and a Perth Royal Show Weekend
The Show runs 26 September to 3 October 2026 at Claremont Showground. Here is how to build a real Perth weekend around it, including the free wildflowers and the ferry worth catching.
Driving South from Perth to Busselton Jetty and the Capes
An hour-by-hour plan for the 220-kilometre run south from Perth, and the one booking to make before you work out anything else.
Perth's Biggest Views for the Price of a Bus Ticket
The best lookouts in Perth cost nothing, a gold coin or A$3.50, and here is how to string them into three days without paying for a single overpriced viewing platform.
Perth Wildflower Walks and the Spring Day Trips Around Them
The Perth wildflower season is short and mostly close to town. Here is where it actually flowers, from a council park twenty minutes out to the sandplain two hours north.
Planning a Perth Weekend Around Tame Impala at RAC Arena
Two hometown arena nights in October 2026, and how to fit Northbridge dinners, Fremantle days and island ferries around them without wasting an hour.
Perth With Kids Without Renting a Car
Ferries, trains and one car-free island, ordered into a family week in Perth that works, with the closures, age limits and last-entry times that catch people out.
Walking the Perth Hills Waterfalls After Winter Rain
The falls above Perth run for a few short weeks each winter. Here is which one to drive to, how hard each walk really is, and where to eat afterwards.
A Perth family weekend built around the AWESOME Festival
Five days of free children's arts programming start on 29 September, which is enough to build a Perth weekend around. Here is how to fill the hours either side without crossing the city twice.
Above the Grid: Perth's Rooftop Bar Scene
Eleven rooftops across Elizabeth Quay, the CBD, Northbridge and Fremantle show where Perth actually goes to watch the sun drop — and which ones are worth booking ahead for.
The Furnace That Built Perth: Inside the Working Mint
Perth's gold rush never really ended — the Mint still pours molten gold on the spot where it started in 1899, and this route traces the boom from vault to Fremantle waterfront.
Where Perth Goes Vertical: Kings Park From Canopy to River
A route through the world's largest inner-city park, from a treetop walkway to a Whadjuk Dreaming trail, with real hours, prices and the honest gaps between the postcard stops.
Six Seasons, Not Four: Reading Perth Through the Noongar Calendar
Perth's official four seasons hide a more precise six-season calendar that Whadjuk Noongar people have read off this land for tens of thousands of years — here's how to see Kings Park, its wetlands and its hills through it.
Shipwrecks and Sundowners: Perth's Sunset Coast from Cottesloe to Scarborough
A beach-by-beach walk up Perth's Sunset Coast, from Cottesloe's heritage sand to Scarborough's redeveloped foreshore, with honest notes on which stops suit a group and which are better left for two.
The Pinnacles at night: a desert fantasy just outside Perth
A distance-and-price breakdown of every legitimate way to see Nambung's limestone spires after dark, from budget coach tours to a private table under the Milky Way.
Rottnest Island: Perth's Quokka-Filled Day Trip
How to cross to Rottnest, pick a car-free bay, meet a quokka properly, and understand why Perth treats this island like its own backyard.
West of Everything: How the Swan River Made Perth
A calm, honest walk down Perth's Swan River in 2026 — the cruises, climbs, paddles and riverside tables worth your day, and the few that aren't.
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