Penguin Island tourism under threat

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I have such fond memories of Penguin Island as a kid — plenty of family day trips, a bunch of school trips and, once I got a little older, a few cheeky surf missions off the back of the island. So it’s been sad to see its steady decline over the years — something Jamie dives into below with Perth Wildlife Encounters.

If you’re looking for some good news instead, yesterday we got an answer to a question Jamie asked a few weeks ago about who was going to be in charge of the beers at Optus Stadium for the next few years. Banh mi fans have plenty to be happy about too with the ahead-of-schedule relocation of Le Vietnam in the CBD.

Plus, you can get all the details on a new slow food fest headed for the Perth Hills next month, and check out a cracking photo by Broome-based photog Matt Deakin, who was just announced as Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

^{Troy Mutton, Editor-In-Chief, Perth is OK!}

Penguin Island is a special spot. Home to a cute-but-dwindling colony of penguins, it truly does what it says on the tin.

Located just off the coast of Shoalwater, it’s been a Perth winner for decades. Going back a few years, more than 100,000 people would visit the island annually.

Along with a dose of animal cuteness, there was good diving and snorkelling, and even a cheeky wave out the back for bodyboarders.

But its future as a tourism and local favourite is under threat.

Perth Wildlife Encounters CEO Chad D’Souza has run ferry tours in the area for more than three decades. He says the closure of the local Discovery Centre, along with sand movement blocking the jetty, has seen visitor numbers plummet.

“It really feels like it’s been death by a thousand cuts,” he explains. “The situation is so dire, we have cut staff numbers from 65 to just three, since April.”

A few weeks ago, we told you about Le Vietnam’s incoming move after 12 years at their longstanding Barrack Street location. “Oh no!” we heard you cry, “But what will I do before the new store opens? How will I get my hands on their world famous banh mi?!”

Well, you needn’t have worried: the crew have hustled, grinded and worked through the night, softly opening the doors to their new Raine Square store just a couple of days after they closed their Barrack Street doors.

“It was a record breaking day for us – we tried to keep it low profile so that we can ease our way in, and somehow people came near and far to search for our location,” wrote “forever grateful” owners Lee and Emily.

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