The Smoke Free Perth Royal Show is Perth’s biggest community event attracting 400,000 visitors from the city and the country every year. With a rich history spanning 170 years, the Show is an iconic social and cultural event which showcases WA agriculture, small business and entertainment.

See newborn chicks, hungry baby goats and dairy cows along with working draught horses, curious alpacas, sheep, chooks, pigeons and other farm animals. Enjoy a wide array of family friendly activities, free live entertainment, thrilling rides and great value showbags.

Go to their Calender of Events to see what’s on or hurry to their Tickets page to buy your tickets online. View the Perth Royal Show’s official website for more details.

Come join in the month long celebration at King’s Park. Be a part of the intensive program of events during the wildflower season in September. There will be a wide range of delightful activities to suit all ages and interests. Choose from guided walks, workshops and live musical and theatrical entertainment. Read more on the King’s Park Festival on the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority website.

For more information:
a : Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Fraser Avenue, Kings Park, Perth, 6005
p : +61 08 9480 3600
e : enquiries@bgpa.wa.gov.au
w : http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/festival

“Majestic salmon gums and brilliant red and gold macrocarpa flowers will be highlights of this year’s Victoria Plains Wildflower Walk.” – Shire of Victoria Plains

Visit the Shire of Victoria Plains website for more details. You can download the event poster here: Victoria Plains Wildflower Walk 2010 (996kb).

Tickets and more information are available through the Shire of Victoria Plains on 96287004 or reception@victoriaplains.wa.gov.au. Pre-paid tickets including all food and entertainment are $30 with a 10% discount for groups of eight or more.

Flavours of Chittering is a one-day food and wine festival which celebrates the unspoilt valley and its wonderful produce.

At the Flavours of Chittering 2010, you will be able to

• Buy locally grown food at the growers’ market
• Taste and purchase from award-winning wineries of the Chittering Valley Wine Trail
• Enjoy cooking demonstrations by local and celebrity chefs
• Pet farm animals, pet alpacas and buy alpaca products
• Enjoy freshly-brewed coffee and indulge in wood-fired pizzas and country style teas

Click here to download the Flavours of Chittering ebrochure (1.34mb). You can also visit the Flavours of Chittering website for more details.

For more information:
Nelson and Julie Mews
p : (08) 9571 8850
e : nelson@mews-walkabout.com
e : julie@mews-walkabout.com

Information and pictures courtesy of Flavours of Chittering.

The program for the Shire of Toodyay’s Festival of Food 2010 is now out! From 10am to 4pm, you get to enjoy a vast array of activities promising you a whole day of fun and laughter.

Check out more than 25 stalls of food, drinks and local produce – Elmar’s in the Valley, Bee Happy Honey, Churro Central, Andy’s Bratwurst Hut, WA Pistachios and many more!

Come see Reality TV Chef Kate Rodrigues at 11.05am and 1.15pm. Watch local businesses battle it out for the title of Toodyay’s Top Chef.

View the full program, activities and maps on the Shire of Toodyay’s Festival of Food 2010 e-brochure (483kb).

Boshack Outback has a new tour package! By popular demand, we have come up with a tour package that covers accommodation, tours, meals and pick up from Toodyay. With our ready-to-go tour package, you can save the hassle of planning for your trip.

So, why pick up from Toodyay? Well, your tour will start from Perth where you catch a train to Toodyay. You will experience one of Western Australia’s most scenic train ride through the Swan Valley wine region and Avon Valley. See the Avon River, where the international Avon Descent takes place every year, and picturesque hills. You will also get to pick up a special Boshack lollie package for the children at the Toodyay Visitor Centre.

Here is a sample of activities that await you:

• enjoy billy tea and damper scones
• netting of fresh water crayfish
• feed free range farm animals
• throw a boomerang and see if it will come back
• learn to find water in the bush
• listen to aboriginal dreamtime stories and taste a witchetty grub
• take an eerie paper bark forest walk
• view the historic well founded by early pioneers
• hay ride through open spaces on the Boshack Express
• bush walk on old kangaroo trails
• experience positive energy at the area picked out by Dr. Copa – the popular feng shui master
• sit under the trees at the reflection area to soak in the peace and tranquility
• canoeing on safe shallow waters
• feeding of the kangaroo and emu
• seasonal campfire
• enjoy skies full of millions of stars
• two nights in our lakeside humpies
• all authentic Aussie meals provided, including full BBQ lunch, pizzas and burger

Read more about our tour package here.

Where: Duidgee Park (on the banks of the Avon River)
When: 7 August 2010 (Saturday)

For more information, visit the Shire of Toodyay’s website at www.toodyay.wa.gov.au or call Tammy Wayne-Elliot on 9574 2258.

Toodyay had a triple celebration last month with the relaunch of the Shire Library, Connor’s Mill and Newcastle Gaol.

The Minister of Moore attended the functions to officially launch the buildings, which have undergone unique transformations for the benefit of community members and visitors to the Town.

Changes -

• Toodyay Public Library: RFID checkout technology, increased Internet facilities, plasma displays and interior enchancements
• Connor’s Mill: Upper floor opened, new displays featuring Agriculture theme, external lighting to enhance night beauty
• Newcastle Gaol: Elimination of dampness on walls, historic work equipment installed outside of building, upgraded displays and new temporary exhibition area

Also worth noting is the return of the “Crime and Punishment” – one of Newcastle Gaol’s well-known exhibitions. It features the chance to become convicts for a day – experience rules, mock punishments and wear convict uniform of the 1850s. The exhibition focuses on the life of convicts in the Shire, as well as some of Toodyay’s notorious criminals. A great experience for students. The exhibition will run from 15 April to 15 June 2010. Call the Gaol for details at 9574 2435.

Be sure to check them out if you’re in the area.

Toodyay Public Library – 96 Stirling Terrace
Connor’s Mill – corner Stirling Terrace and Harper Road
Newcastle Gaol – Clinton Street

Information and pictures published here is with courtesy of the Shire of Toodyay.

Boshack has preserved the real Australia of pioneering times. It’s unique and pristine.

A magical place where emotions of wonderment and admiration evolve as the meander through the special places begins.

An important reminder of the heritage of pioneering settlers and the aborigines before them, it’s nature’s shrine to their lives.

The bush areas remain untouched, and authentic structures replicate early shelters built from found timber and natural brush thatching just as the pioneers constructed them.

Hear of their Spartan diet provided by living off the land. They learned how to utilize natural bush tucker such as nuts, seeds and roots to supplement the native animals they caught. Times were difficult and how enterprising and resourceful they had to be to survive.

The Boshack experience walks you back in time and for part of a day you can see, feel and absorb the peace of the Australian bush and only imagine and admire the resourcefulness displayed by our forebears as they settled the district.

The owners have developed a wonderful tour following the natural trails through the bush highlighting the features and species of flora in their native environs. Informed and descriptive commentary on the local wildlife makes the walks interesting.

Contemplate the serenity of the beautiful freshwater lake and its wild birds as you canoe and drink in the calming atmosphere on the water. No excursion is complete without refreshments and the tastes of the food the early pioneers and a hearty Aussie bush barbeque lunch and afternoon tea as part of a perfect package.

A day at Boshack offers a new perspective on eco tourism and a rare peek back in time with custodians who respect and love the bush and welcome the chance to share an unforgettable experience.

- Written by local correspondent Gwenda Mcgill

Once a booking has been confirmed we supply a google map and allowing two full days and 2 nights in the country we can give you a map of locations inspected by Boshack that we can recommend you visit. This is a new tour area and has just been used for group tours and is becoming very popular for Self Drive as well as groups especially with the price of fuel.

The journey covers the oldest to the newest wineries, lavender and Olive farms, wildlife parks, small animal parks, boutique breweries , organic wineries, free candy shop , pick your own oranges in season, Pinnacles ,Beaches , Tree Top Walk , El Caballo Blanco (Andulusian dancing horses ) and some amazing drives all within 100k as the crow flies from Perth. Hopefully coming on soon Wild Kangaroo feeding.