Take a Walk on the Wild Side of Western Australia
Visitors to Australia who venture out of the main centers like Melbourne and Sydney are often struck by just how much empty land there is between big cities. Even a drive up the coast from Sydney to the Gold Coast is punctuated with miles and miles of unpopulated areas. On the south and west coasts, however, distances between towns and even villages can be measured in the hundreds of miles. Take a walk on the wild side of Western Australia and see for yourself.
As a “city slicker,” you’ll want to start off in someplace civilized. There’s no place more civilized than Perth, so that will no doubt be your first stop. From there, you can fly in any direction, but going by road is the only way to really see it. You can do this in a few ways. You can travel in a comfortable coach, but if you’re the adventurous type, you’ll hope the bus breaks down, allowing you to explore all the little spots you pass on the way from one town to the other. You can rent a car or 4WD, but if it breaks down, you’ll wish you had a seasoned local to help you.
The best way to explore Western Australia is with an experienced guide. They will not only get you to your destinations safely, they will know they best destinations for you to see, ensuring that you don’t miss out on anything. An exhaustive list of all the available routes could fill a book, so we’ll limit our selection to the Perth-Esperance-Perth loop, one of the shortest and easiest trips you can make.
Perth to Esperance and Back Again
After setting out from Perth, you’ll travel through the Darling Ranges to a place called Wave Rock. Although it doesn’t have an exotic aboriginal name, it is descriptive, because that is exactly what this incredible rock formation looks like: a breaking wave. After having your picture taken “surfing” Wave Rock, you’ll stop for lunch before proceeding on to Fitzgerald River National Park on the wild and rugged coast.
You’ll get up the next morning and proceed to Esperance. If you were hoping for a beach resort, you’ll be disappointed, because it is a wild and untamed part of the Western Australia coastline. It’s so wild, in fact, that the only “bathing beauties” you are likely to encounter will be the kangaroos and wallabies that come to visit you in your campground at Cape La Grand National Park. There won’t be any easy way to take in a sweeping view of the coast, either. To do that, you’ll have to hike up to the top of Frenchman’s Peak.
After spending a couple of days exploring the region around Esperance, you’ll head off to the Stirling Ranges, a natural wonderland filled with rivers, waterfalls and, in springtime, acres of gorgeous flowers. From there, you’ll continue on to the aptly named Valley of the Giants, where you will pose for photographs inside a 200 foot tall tree and explore more of the rugged coastline, where your camera will probably never leave your hands as you stumble across one amazing sight after the other.
A tour like this lasts only about six days, but the memories will last forever. Whatever you do, don’t accidentally leave your camera in Perth, because you’ll need your photographs to prove to your family and friends that the sights you saw were real.
Rob enjoys exploring Australia’s great outdoors. Would you like to take a walk on the wild side of Australia? Then hop onto our website for some great deals on accommodation Perth as well as many other top destinations around Australia.
