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Western Australia is the biggest state in Australia. It is 5 times the size of Texas and travelling from the south of the state to the north is almost the same distance as travelling from London to Moscow.
The population is 1.6 million and 1.2 million of these people live in the state capital, Perth.
You don't have to got too far North of Perth before you enter the 'Outback'. While one third of Western Australia lies in
the Tropics, it is only the northern end of the state that is fringed with Tropical Rainforest.
While WA is famous for it's spectacular wildflowers, it is also renowned for its deserts such as the Simpson Desert, The Great Sandy Desert, and
the Nullabor Plain.
Furthermore, Western Australia also has more coastline than any other state and much of this coastline is pure white sand with sparkling clear and warm inviting water. And because the population outside Perth is so small, it means that it is possible to virtually find a beach all to yourself.
Western Australia is full of interesting things to see and do, amazing landscapes, abundant wildlife, as well as man-made spectacles, such as the huge open cast iron ore mines in The Pilbarra.
Links
Western Australia, Land and People
Guide to Western Australia
Perth
Perth again
Cervantes
Batavia Coast
Shark Bay area
Exmouth Diving Centre
Pilbarra (North west cape/Inland)
Far North (Broome & Derby)
Broome Information
The National Parks
Nambung
Kalbarri
Shark Bay
Cape Range
Ningaloo Marine Park
The Pilbarra
The Author
Trina and her husband Ian are embarking on a RTW trip beginning early next year. Check out their
Big Trip website and follow their journey.
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The plan was to drive up the West coast of Australia from Perth to Broome in two weeks, stopping along the way to see the incredible natural wonders, like the gorges of Kalbarri, the World Heritage area of Shark Bay, and the dolphins of Monkey Mia.
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Perth
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On Saturday 19th June, we flew from Melbourne to Perth, as the starting point for our Western Australian adventure. The city itself seemed kind of a sterile, very new and modern, it felt like somehow, something was missing, but what? It is certainly in a beautiful setting, along a lovely wide river, water everywhere, boats and waterfront houses.
As we didn't find too much of interest in the city, we headed up to Kings Park for its spectacular views. We saw colourful parrots (Port Lincoln Ringtails), Wattlebirds, incredibly tall and majestic Eucalyptus trees, Grass trees, "Kangaroo paw" - an interesting flower, and beautiful big Banksia's in soft peach colours.
Eventually, we headed back to our hotel for a rest, and to plan our evening out. Unfortunately, we never discovered what the Perth nightlife was like as we fell asleep at 6pm (meant to be a cat nap!) and woke up at 1:00am!
Our 4WD Adventure Begins
DAY 1 ~ Sunday
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Our Home, parked at Regan's Ford
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After the aforementioned generous amounts of sleep, we went down and stuffed ourselves with a great "all you can eat" buffet breakfast, including lots of fruit and pancakes! Then we headed off to pick up our campervan. A cool clanky Toyota Landcruiser. This done we headed north on the Brand Highway (Hwy 1), aiming for Cervantes, the town closest to The Pinnacles (Nambung National Park). We stopped for a picnic lunch at the idyllic Regan's Ford and discovered the joys of having a mobile kitchen!
After ensuring ourselves a campsite in Cervantes, we headed straight to the Pinnacles for our first 'encounter'. Our main impression of them had been from watching the Scottish comedian, Billy Connolly and his tour of Australia. In true Hippie style, he had stripped off and danced round
the stones in the buff! So as we arrived we were on the alert for similar sites, while daring each other to do the same.
The drive out to the Pinnacles was quite far, but the height of the van
meant we got great views of the surrounding area, massive white sand dunes which were engulfing the vegetation, it was like that great movie 'The Blob' - fascinating but kind of horrifying! We also saw our first 'roos' of the trip, just standing alongside the road.
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The Pinnacles
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The Pinnacles themselves were pretty cool and there were far more of them than I expected and in a wider area. I think the circular drive around and through them was about 5 km, though we stopped along the way and took pictures. It was fascinating. They varied in height, shape and size, just like people - whatever you can imagine. We were lucky as there weren't many people there, which made it kind of lonely and
eerie. The light was golden, and the shadows long, as the sun was going down. I had my first drive of the van, great fun trying to navigate round some of the tricky corners with pinnacles virtually in the middle of the track.
After two circuits, we headed back to the campsite to cook our dinner. Inundated by mozzies, we decided to cook inside with the van doors shut: tuna and pasta - Ian's favourite. Then we had to figure out how to put the bed together - a few pieces of plywood and some cushions! We
successfully assembled it, but throughout the night our bed had a mind of its own. Despite this and it being a bit chilly, surprisingly I think we both slept fairly well.
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Pacific Insiders page.
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