Oceania : Australasia : Australia : Western Australia

Western Australia

Table of Contents:
Regions / Cities / Other destinations / Culture and History / Talk / Travel to Western Australia, visa requirements By air By road By rail / Get around / Sealed highways and byways / Unsealed tracks / Western Australia attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Good restaurants and cheap meals / Western Australia nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Stay safe / Get out

More from Australia:
Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Australian Capital Territory, Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, New South Wales, Norfolk Island, Northern Territory, Outback, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (state), Western Australia

More from Australasia:
Australia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea

More from Oceania:
Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Midway Islands, New Zealand, Polynesia

Western Australia [1] is the largest Australian state, occupying the western third of the continent. The large majority of the the 2 million inhabitants live on the Southwestern area in or close to Perth, its capital and the most isolated city of this size on Earth. Beyond that, Western Australia's vast wilderness is very sparsely populated, with only a handful of townships over a few thousands residents. The state's main attraction resides precisely in its overall remoteness and huge expanses of untouched scenery.

Regions

In the far North, the remote Kimberley is a huge chunk of wilderness with astounding scenery. The Pilbara is a (hot) mining region, very lightly populated, with however various natural attractions worth the stop. The coast of the Gascoyne in the middle of the State offers various wonders: the Ningaloo Reef is far to be as famous as the Great Barrier Reef, but it easily equals or surpasses it in beauty, and Shark Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site. The Western coast (Mid West) has various surfing beaches. The closer to Perth, the more temperate the weather and hospitable the landscape. Regions around Perth ( Great Southern, Heartlands, Peel, Perth (region) and South West) are laid-back agricultural, with some fine wineries in the South and large forests.

Towards South Australia, the Goldfields-Esperance region is an extremely infertile dry and flat land, with the population concentrated in the town of Kalgoorlie.

A few hundred kilometers inland, the inner area of the state (technically divided between the Kimberley, Pilbara, Mid-West and Goldfields regions) is a huge remote barren desert with little to no population. This area encompasses fully several of the Australian deserts: the Great Sandy Desert, the Little Sandy Desert, the Gibson Desert, as well as parts of the Great Victoria Desert and the Tanami Desert. It is extremely challenging to access, and requires a lot of preparation.

Cities

These are some of the major towns and cities in Western Australia.

Albany, the largest town in the South of the State.
Broome, the gateway to the Kimberley and a fashionable tourist destination among Australians
Esperance in the South, with fine coastline and beaches
Exmouth is the gateway to the magnificient Ningaloo Reef
Fremantle, a lively suburb of Perth
Geraldton, the Surfer's Paradise of the West
Kalgoorlie, on the East, a relatively large but full of energy mining town in the East
Kununurra, the final stop before you enter the Northern Territory
Perth (state capital)
Port Hedland, capital of the Pilbara

Other destinations

The Pinnacles desert, a little over 100km North of Perth, is an eerie landscape of limestone pillars rising from the sand.
Kalbarri National Park, 500km North of Perth, is a comparatively easy to access park featuring nice gorges and clifs.
Shark Bay, 850km from Perth. Located on the Indian Ocean coast, the Westernmost area of the continent is a UNESCO world heritage site. The visitors can observe stromatolites, some of the oldest living organisms on the planet, as well as marine mammals (including a population of dolphins regularly paying a visit at the shores of Monkey Mia)
Mount Augustus, 900 km from Perth, a "rival" of the better-known Uluru in Northern Territory, is often claimed to be the largest monolith on Earth.
Coral Bay and Exmouth, 1250km from Perth, are the gateways to the magnificient Ningaloo Reef
Karijini National Park, roughly 1500km from Perth, is a major destination in the Pilbara, featuring huge canyons and gorges, and nice hikes through majestic scenery.
Purnululu National Park, approx. 2500 km from Perth, is a recently added UNESCO world heritage site. It is rather tough to access park through a rough 4WD road, but the remoteness of the park is precisely what makes it more attractive. It features the enigmatic Bungle Bungles dome formations.
Rottnest Island, directly out to sea in front of Perth, is a popular retreat for locals.
Margaret River, 270 km South of Perth, is at heart of a fine winery region.

Culture and History

Western Australia is a huge monster sized state encompassing various climatic zones (from the tropical north, to the temperate and mediterranean South, and the desert and barren inland). The state has a more independant spirit that its Eastern counterparts, and there have been several referendums in the past where it was close to actually become a separate country. The vastitude of the state is not to be underestimated when planning your trip. Visiting anything else than Perth will probably require some long driving.

Talk

English is the only language you will need, in case you meet someone in the more remote parts of the state...

Travel to Western Australia, visa requirements

By air

Perth International Airport (PER) is the only airport in Western Australia with regular international flights. The vast majority of interstate flights also land in Perth. However there are a small number of interstate flights to Kalgoorlie and Broome.

By road

Considering the huge distances, driving into Western Australia from anywhere else is a experience by itself.

There are only two sealed roads into Western Australia: in the south, the Eyre Highway is the most direct route from Adelaide to Perth. In the north, the Victoria Highway connects the Kimberley region with the Northern Territory up to Darwin. Both imply extremely long drives. Perth-Adelaide is at least 3 days of driving with stops only to sleep. Darwin-Perth is at least a week.

The unsealed Tanami Track and Gunbarrel Highway run between the Northern Territory and remote Western Australian towns.

By rail

There is one railway connecting Western Australia with the eastern states. The Indian Pacific train service runs between Sydney and Perth via Adelaide.

Get around

Unless you have a private plane, be ready to drive a lot to get from point A to point B. There are only a limited number of sealed roads (any map of the state will probably show you all of them), if you plan to leave them to get to more remote areas you will need to consider renting a 4WD. Contact the company to which you rent the vehicle to check the policy concerning driving on unsealed tracks, as you might have to get their authorization. Usually driving a rented conventional (non-4WD) vehicle on an unsealed track is forbidden.

Sealed highways and byways

Albany Highway, from Perth to Albany
Eyre Highway, from Perth to South Australia, a very long drive crossing the Nullarbor plain
Great Northern Highway, up to the the Northern extremity of the state
Victoria Highway, connecting the Great Northern highway to the Stuart Highway

Unsealed tracks

These roads are not what most people would call a "highway" or even a "road". They are unsealed,and should definitively not be taken lightly, especially if you have no experience in driving offroad in the Australian desert. Be extremely cautious if you decide to attempt these tracks, as they are adventures on their own. Petrol supply is scarce, water is rare and accommodation is close to inexistent. These roads should only be used with torough research beforehand, and a 4WD is very strongly recommended. On some more remote tracks, it could be weeks until anyone finds you or your body if you break down.

The legendary Canning Stock Route is 1800 km long cattle track going from Willuna in the South to Hall's Creek in the North, crossing the inner desert parts of the state. It is one of the most remote tracks on the planet, with absolutely no facilities, fuel or food supplies, and runs hundred kilometers from any civilization. Prior fuel dropping arrangements and torough research about the dangers involved in the crossing are absolute prerequisites. Attempting the track in the summer is madness.
The 650 km long Gibb River Road crosses through the heart of Kimberley in the North trough majestic scenery.
The Gunbarrel Highway crosses the heart of the continent to Kata Tjuta in the Northern Territory.
The comparatively easier Tanami track crosses the Tanami desert to the Red Centre in Northern Territory.