Port Kenny

The inlet town

Port Kenny sits on the inland shore of Venus Bay's huge, almost-enclosed inlet — a one-pub town of a few dozen residents where the water is flat, the pace is flatter, and the fishing is the main event. The jetty reaches out over shallow, sheltered water that produces whiting, garfish, squid and flathead, and the inlet's calm makes it a favourite for kayaks and small boats when the open coast is blown out.

Between the famous bits

The town makes a handy, uncrowded base for the west coast's heavy hitters. The wind-carved sea cliffs, caves and blowholes of Talia are just 15 minutes south; the pink granite curiosities of Murphy's Haystacks and the sea lions of Point Labatt are within easy day-trip range to the north; and the ocean-side drama of Venus Bay's cliff-top lookouts is a ten-minute drive across the peninsula that separates inlet from ocean.

Slow water

Pelicans own the jetty, dolphins patrol the inlet most mornings, and sunset turns the whole shallow bay to hammered copper. If Venus Bay township feels busy in holiday season — a relative term out here — Port Kenny is the escape hatch: same water, fewer people, no fuss.