Escape the grind, get on the water

WHETHER it’s airlines, cruise ships, luxury rail or amazing escapes, Premium Traveller is ready to take you on a journey of discovery.

Western Australians are among the world’s great travellers; be it a long-range commute to work, visiting friends and relatives in distant lands or just relaxing with family enjoying the fruits of your labours.

We have it in our genes – a variation of DRD4 – dubbed 7R, to be precise.

This is often called the wanderlust gene and a report by the National Geographic found links to curiousness, restlessness and passion.

A study by the University of California in 1999 determined that the 7R variant was more common in migratory cultures than settled ones.

About one in five people are thought to possess the mutant gene.

Bringing that into a WA perspective, almost 33 per cent of residents were born overseas and 20 per cent of those born here have one parent born overseas; so, it appears we have DRD4-7R in abundance.

And those statistics do not include the hundreds of thousands who have moved to WA from other states.

Those of us on the western side of the Nullarbor take more overseas trips that any other Australians, and our increase in air travel from 1960 until COVID has averaged more than 8 per cent a year.

Premium Traveller is ready to help you discover adventures at home in WA or overseas with the latest news, trends and products in travel, as well as bargains and where to find them.

Lapping it up

WITHOUT doubt one of the most relaxing getaways from the Perth CBD is offered by Houseboat Holidays in Walpole.

Instead of meetings, traffic and constant interruptions, be prepared to see very few (if any) people but an extraordinary array of wildlife instead: from ospreys, dolphins, stingrays, pelicans and herons to swallows and oystercatchers.

On Nornalup Inlet the company is osprey, heron, dolphins, pelicans, swallows, oystercatchers, waterfowl, and maybe a couple of courageous crows.

And the good news is you don’t need a skipper’s ticket.

A comprehensive briefing from hosts Rob and Louise and you are away.

If you overlook some aspects of the briefing there is a comprehensive illustrated and easy-to-follow manual, as well as detailed maps of where to go and, more importantly, where not to go.

Houseboat Holidays has three boats sleeping four, six or 10.

They are air-conditioned and heated, with all the facilities you will need, plus a runabout.

There are 16 anchorages in the Nornalup Inlet and the Frankland River, and with a little care the pink buoys are easy enough to pick up if you approach them at slow speed and into the wind.

Once hitched, it’s time to relax and perhaps throw a line in the water.

The local pelicans cruise by knowing you will catch some undersized fish and have to throw them back.

But feeding of the birds is not allowed. One of our favourite spots is Robbie’s Hole, which is a small bay on the southern side of the inlet and the home of nesting ospreys.

On our most recent trip we saw and photographed the babies as well.

Magic.

While the tranquility is therapeutic, you can truly relax in the knowledge you haven’t dropped out of range of a mobile tower, with excellent 4G coverage from Telstra and Optus in the inlet and a short way up the Frankland River.

There is no coverage up the Deep River, which by the way is not that deep, so it’s dinghy only and with care.

You can choose to chill on the houseboat or explore; and there is plenty to see.

There are several coastal tracks that lead to deserted beaches, forest walks and beach fishing, or just take the dinghy up the Frankland or Deep rivers.

At Nornalup, up the Frankland River, just beyond the bridge you will find the excellent Nornabar Cafe for a delightful brunch or lunch.

It opens from 10am till 3pm, except Monday and Tuesdays.

For your great escape from the Perth CBD, you will need to bring food, drinks, sheets, towels and tea towels, fishing kit, insect repellent and sunscreen.

And don’t forget hats.

There is power onboard, a radio/ CD player and a barbecue on the front deck.

Above there is a sundeck with tables and chairs, which is a great spot for the evening champagne and nibbles.

What are you waiting for?

Slow delivery

DELAYED deliveries of new jets and the reopening of China to international visitors will slow expansion of flights to Perth, according to industry sources.

Both Airbus and Boeing have been affected by technical and supply chain issues that have slowed deliveries of most of their product lines, including the 787 and A350.

International visitors through Perth Airport reached 332,217 in January, still well short of the peaks of 453,000 in January 2020.

Qatar Airways, Emirates and Singapore Airlines are carrying the bulk of international traffic.

The two Middle East giants are operating daily A380 flights, while Singapore Airlines has three flights a day with 787-10s or A350-900s.

From March 29, Singapore Airlines will operate all 787-10 flights, increasing the weekly capacity by 238 seats.

Cathay Pacific Airways, which once operated 10 flights a week to Perth, is only operating three flights a week and that is locked into its system until October 29.

From then, the reservation systems show 10 flights a week, but seven are not on sale.

“[This is a] big shame, as Cathay was always great for Japan and Canada-USA destinations with excellent fares, connections and destinations,” Amity Travel’s Luke Chittock said.

While still high, fares were easing, he said, and there were some better deals to be had to Europe.

For those hankering for Japan, All Nippon Airways has announced its return to Perth from late October with three flights a week.

It is yet to specify days, and bookings are not open. Because of a shortage of aircraft, Air New Zealand has been forced to extend the lease of the Wamos A330 till October, when the 787 returns.

Like Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand has been affected by delays in delivery of the 787.

Qantas’s daily 787-9 nonstop flight to London’s Heathrow Airport is operating at near capacity and the three-times-weekly Rome service will return this year.

However, the airline’s three-times weekly Johannesburg service will end on March 25.

Qantas has just brought back its seventh of 10 A380s and will get three 787-9s in June, which will ease capacity issues and possibly take pressure off fares.

Another European carrier option worth consideration is Air Mauritius, and you can add a short break on the picture postcard island.

The airline relaunched twice-weekly services to Perth late last year with its new generation Airbus A330-900neo.

It operates from Mauritius to Perth on Tuesdays and Saturdays, returning to Mauritius on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Air Mauritius serves Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport on a daily basis with more than 70 connecting destinations beyond Paris CDG with Air France, including 40 codeshare destinations.

London Heathrow is also served five times a week.

Qatar Airways is operating daily A380 Perth flights.

The Paris and London flights are on newly delivered Airbus A350-900s, with 28 lie-flat business class seats and 298 economy class seats.

Malaysia Airlines has stepped up its flights with daily wide-body A330s through the night and five-times weekly Boeing 737 flights.

Philippine Airlines launches direct flights to Manila from March 27. Bali, WA’s favourite holiday destination, is being served by Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar and Batik Air with up to seven flights a day, which is still down on the peak of 10 flights a day prior to COVID.

Garuda announced last week that it would give refunds to passengers instead of credits, indicating that it won’t be returning to WA in the short to medium term.

Another airline missing – aside from a few charters – is Thai International, which had operated to Perth for decades.

China Southern may return but not till later this year and South African Airways is but a shadow of its former self and not likely to return to Perth.

The WA government, Tourism WA and Perth Airport continue to work with airlines in India and Vietnam on possible services, but global airline disruption caused by shortages of staff and aircraft have so far thwarted efforts to attract new airlines.

Industry watchers suggest it may be another 12 months before the airline system approaches anything near its pre-pandemic fitness.