Nauti Picnics

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What's better than a picnic with friends? A picnic with friends on the beautiful Swan River! With , you and up to seven others can enjoy a day on the water.



Leaving from Maylands, you can either head towards the city or in the opposite direction for more tranquil surrounds. Upon arrival at the boat ramp in Maylands, Yvonne, who owns , gave my husband and I (and two black swans who had glided up) a quick introduction to the boat.



It's an electric boat and because of the small size of its engine, you don't need to have a skippers ticket to take it out. After going through the basic rules of boating and how to operate the boat, we were off.

Boat hire is for either three or six hours, so if you want to be on the boat for longer, you could either do a round trip both ways or just take your time one way.

We chose to head towards the city.



The day we went out was a little windier than usual, so we weren't able to put up the sunshade, but we didn't really need it anyway.

Thanks to a handy map that comes in the boat, we were able to keep track of where we were along the river. We watched birds dance across the water as we went down past Maylands Golf Course and the Belmont Racecourse before we started to get a glimpse of Optus Stadium.

Given the boat's small engine, it doesn't travel super fast but there's no rush, three hours is enough time to travel all the way to Elizabeth Quay near the city's CBD and back to Maylands.

Further along, the river is Matagarup Bridge as well as Claisebrook Cove where you can choose to have a short stop.



Mooring is allowed for up to 15 minutes which is enough time to grab a coffee from one of the cafes in the area and get going again.

From the water, you get a great view of the modern, bronze facade of Optus Stadium.



We took in the riverside scenery as we enjoyed a gourmet picnic that we picked up from Smoult's Larder in Maylands on the way to the boat. (This can also be arranged through .)

There's something calming about being on the water and combined with good company, yummy cheese and olives, it really does make for a lovely way to spend a morning.



We grazed as we made our way along the river, passing The Point Bar and Grill where you can also stop quickly when it is open.

Further along, is Heirisson Island on one side and further up on the opposite side is Riverside Drive which leads towards Elizabeth Quay.

Boat mooring for up to three hours is allowed in the quay if you have the time.



Being on a boat inside the quay itself provides a different perspective of a such a well-known part of Perth as you look up to the Perth skyline and across to Spanda (the sculpture Perth people better know as the paper clip).



We turned around and cruised back in the direction we had come from, enjoying the brownies from our picnic spread while heading back to Maylands.

It was so nice being on the water and seeing Perth from the river, next time we'll definitely have to bring a bigger group to share the experience with.


#boating
#brunch
#byo
#food_wine
#maylands
#near_perth
#outdoor
#perth_city
#swan_valley
#things_to_see
%wnperth