To soak up the summer rays, you can take a day cruise along the beautiful Swan River. The first leg of the journey will have you travelling past some of Perth's ritziest real estate. However, it's the next leg of the journey that's really worth sticking around for - a 15-minute cruise out to Carnac Island. Oceanic Cruises is the only company allowed to take visitors onto Carnac, and the trips run just three times a week. Once a whaling station, the island is now a fully protected haven for marine life. This includes a large population of male sea lions, with the females living a few hundred kilometres up the coast. Summer's a great time to come and see them because they're a little bit worn out from mating season - they'll happily pose on the beach all day long! A qualified biologist is there to guide visitors around the nature reserve, which also includes amazing bird life - Carnac's a seasonal home for tens of thousands of gulls and terns.You might also score a bonus on the trip back to Perth. Close to five thousand humpback whales migrate along the coast of Western Australia each year, so the chances of spotting one are pretty high!
The facts
The Carnac Island cruise with Oceanic Cruises costs $89 per person, and this includes lunch.
Oceanic Cruises
Tel: 08 9325 1191
As a special Summer deal for viewers of the Great Outdoors, the Observation City's offering one night's luxury accommodation for two adults and two children including breakfast - plus a family day trip pass to Rottnest Island with Oceanic Cruises - for $240 per family. That's a saving of $200!
Rendezvous Observation City Hotel
Tel: 1800 067 680
Western Australian Tourist Centre
Tel: 1300 361 351
