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The Rest of Western Australia
Margaret RiverIf you like wine, or surfing, or both, then Margaret River is a must. Get on a wine tour for around $80, there's a lot to choose from. There are some great surf beaches in this area. Christmas, Summer, and Easter are extremely busy so book your accommodation ahead. AlbanyAlbany is the oldest European settlement in Western Australia. Fabulous diving and great beaches make this one of the best places to visit on the southern coast of WA. There's good whale watching here from June to November. The PinnaclesDrive up north from Perth for around 2 - 3 hours, to the Pinnacles Desert, where there are massive pillars of limestone standing up out of the sand. Come here at first light or at sunset, it's just that bit more spectacular. Bring your camera. Kalbarri NPAdventurers will love this place, there's abseiling, canoeing, hiking, sandboarding, or just take in the views of this spectacular national park. You will need a 4WD on the inland roads as they are not sealed. Shark BayThe Shark Bay area is a world heritage site and it is stunning. Like a lot of places in Australia it's quite far out of the way. Shark Bay is home to Monkey Mia, which is famous for the dolphins that come into the beach three times a day for a feeding. Nicky, Ule, Puck, Shock, Surprise, and Picola are just some of the dolphins that stop by every day almost without fail. Monkey Mia Resort is the only accomodation in Monkey Mia itself, although you could stay in Denham and travel here. The Resort is almost like a small town, with accomodation, a bar, shops and restaurants. It might be a good idea to bring your own food and drink as it can be quite expensive in the resort and you won't be able to get take out alcohol. The best time to see the dolphins is early morning. They only feed them three times a day as they don't want the dolphins to become too reliant on them and lose their ability or desire to hunt their own food.You may even get to partake in the actual feeding yourself. When feeding them, be careful as they could quite easily take off your fingers with their razor sharp teeth. Don't touch them either as it can be quite harmful for them. A little known secret is the fact that two large turtles live under the end of the jetty. If you sit down on the end of the jetty and patiently wait there, you should observe them popping up and down for air. They seem to a mother and her offspring. The mother is really quite large. NB: It's important to remember that the area isn't called shark bay for nothing. There are massive tiger sharks in the area. Although tiger sharks are generally deep sea sharks, they have been known to come into the shallows, in fact one of the baby dolphins were killed by a tiger shark just off the jetty a few years back. Remember it's a myth that sharks won't be around if dolphins are. Quite the opposite can be true as they sometimes hunt young dolphins. Staying in Denham might appeal to some people as there are less crowds and it's closer to the other attractions in the Shark Bay area.
Shell Beach - Wear footwear as these shells can be quite sore on your feet. Shell Beach is as the name suggests, a beach made from shells rather than sand. Coral Bay and ExmouthCoral Bay and Exmouth are the gateways to Ningaloo Reef. Coral Bay is absolutely beautiful and is enclosed by a reef that is great for snorkelling. It's only 50m off the shore. Coral Bay is quite small and has only one street and two small shopping centres. There are less boats leaving here for whale shark tours, but it's supposedly got a higher encounter rate. Exmouth is further North and caters to more people. It has more tours and more accommodation. Both places offer dive trips, manta ray tours, whale watching tours, and the most popular one, the whale shark tours, where you get to snorkel with the worlds' largest fish, some can get as big as 18m long. It costs around $350 and you are not guaranteed to see one, however, they will allow you to go out again another day if you don't. Karijini NPKarijini is aussie outback at its best, gorges, waterfalls, termite mounds, red earth, bats, wallabies, and snakes. It's spectacular and very remote so wrap up for a night of camping. Get off the North West Coastal Highway at Roebourne. It's around 5 hours drive from there. Situated inland, between Exmouth and Broome. BroomeBroome is a laid back town. There's a big pearling industry here but it's Cable Beach it's most famous for. Ride a camel and enjoy one of the most spectacular sunsets you will ever see. Or drive your 4WD onto to beach, climb on the roof with a tinnie and enjoy. Cable Beach is around 20km long. The tide here is amazing, it'll come almost right up to the wall at high tide, and out for what seems like mile at low tide. There are lots of hostels out near the beach, which is a bit out of town. Be aware of the stingers, Irukanj and the box jellyfish from November to March. The KimberleyHome to the famous Bungle Bungle, or Purnululu, the Kimberley is absloultely massive, over 400,000 square kilometres. There's plenty to do for you outdoor types, bushwalking, four wheel driving, rock climbing, and horse riding among others. Most people do come here with the intention of seeing the Bungle Bungle. Purnlulu means sandstone in the local aboriginal language, the Kidja. Bungle Bungle may actually suppose to be Bundle Bundle, which is the name of a common grass in the area. The Bungle Bungle range consists of massive sandstone rock towers. Wolfe Creek Meteorite CraterRecently made famous by the horror movie 'Wolf Creek'. Don't let this put you off one of natures' wonders. The crate is the second largest in the world, and is 50m deep and 850m wide. Around 20km out of Halls Creek you'll come to a turnoff for Alice Springs (Tanami Rd). You can also get a scenic flight over the crater from Halls Creek.
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