A Month in Western Australia

After spending a year and a half in Australia, we still never made it to W.A. For non-Aussies, W.A. is the short form for Western Australia, the state that covers the entire length of the west coast of Australia. It’s funny that we had to get to Indonesia to visit Western Australia. We sailed to Indonesia and spent a few months there, then stopped in Lombok when the wind turned against us. That’s when we flew back to Australia. We spent a month in Western Australia and enjoyed exploring some cities, beach towns and more in this sprawling state.

Where We Went in Western Australia

Western Australia is the hugest part of a massive country. It covers over 2.5 million square kilometers, a third of Australia. It’s 4x the size of Texas and 10x the size of the United Kingdom. We knew we could barely see any of it, so we had to be selective. It was hard to choose!

We flew direct from Bali to Perth airport, shorter and cheaper than flying from New South Wales. We got off the plane in Perth and changed terminals for our domestic flight to our first and northernmost destination in W.A.: Broome.

Famous for pearling, dramatic tides, and rugged coastlines, we spent three days in Broome for a great intro to Western Australia. We kayaked wth sea turtles, walked the beach at sunset, and enjoyed Christmas at our Broome apartment. Then we flew south for the rest of our adventure.

We spent a week in Fremantle and then drove south to the coastal towns of Mandurah and Busselton for a couple nights in each. Then we made a quick jump south for a week in Margaret River.

On the way north, we had one night in busy Dunsborough before heading inland to Collie for two nights. After that, we drove to Perth and parked there for a few nights. From Perth, we drove north to Lancelin for a few nights to see a friend, the sand dunes, and The Pinnacles National Park. We spent the final days of our month in Western Australia in the capital city of Perth.

Driving

We had no problems driving in Western Australia. The roads are good, and unlike the Great Ocean Road, which was full of tourists, the roads in W.A. were mostly quiet. It got very hot and the wind was sometimes strong, but the driving was smooth. Don’t get me wrong, we visited W.A. during summer holidays, so tourist attractions were as busy as it gets. But the roads were good.

Highlights of a Month in Western Australia

We enjoyed our month in Western Australia exploring beautiful places at a relaxed pace. After many prior road trips we like to take our time and spend a few days or more in key places. Once we have a base, we take day trips and explore at leisure. It’s nice when you don’t have to pack up and move every day or two. We didn’t get to the extreme south of the state or go far inland. But, we saw beautiful beaches and cool animals, enjoyed great wine, and met up with some Aussie friends.

Fremantle

One of our favorite places we visited during our month in Western Australia was Fremantle. Freo, as the locals call it, is a port city south of the capital city of Perth. While in Freo, we visited the historic prison, rode bikes on the beachfront and along the river, saw live music, and visited breweries and cocktail bars. It’s a great place to spend a week.

Quokkas

From Freo, we loved seeing the quokkas on Rottnest Island. They are friendly and adorable animals who only live in a few places in WA. We took the most expensive ferry ever to get to see these cuties, which rank up with Tasmania’s wombats for cutest Australian animal.

Margaret River Region

Another highlight was our week in the Margaret River region, one of Australia’s top wine regions. Aside from excellent wineries, breweries and restaurants, the region offers many outdoor adventures. We rented bikes, saw live music, visited caves and beaches, and saw kangaroos and birds of prey. It sounds busy but we also had time to relax in this beautiful part of WA.

We cycled and walked a lot and stopped at some quirky roadside attractions like Gnomesville. That was a hoot!

Live Sporting Events

In Perth, we took the opportunity to see some professional sporting events for the first time. The first was The Perth Scorchers, the championship T20 cricket team, and we loved it. Not only for the cute mascots, which always make me smile, but for the energy of the crowd and the quality of the play. We went to the last game of the season when a lot was on the line. The Scorchers one and it was a fun night. The only negative was finding something worth eating, which I didn’t manage at the stadium. Fortunately it ended at 8PM, so we ate after the match.

The next day we went to the SailGP race on the Fremantle waterfront. If you ever have a chance to see these superfast boats in action, go!

A true highlight of our year, we had so much fun and front row seats. And the Freo winds did not disappoint. Plus, Team Canada won a race!

W.A. Surprises

The weather is extreme in Western Australia! We visited in summer and we expected heat, which we only got in Broome at Christmas. We saw temperatures in the mid 30s C, but in Perth and Margaret River it soared into the 40s.

After Christmas, the temperature dropped and was generally colder than expected. In fact, we both wore long pants a lot and I bought a hoodie in Margaret River for the 15C nights.

Also weather related, we couldn’t believe how cold the Indian Ocean was in W.A. The temperature was comfortable in tropical Broome, but the stinger jellyfish kept us out of the water. When we got to Mandurah, Rottnest, and Lancelin, we went in to cool off, literally because the water was shockingly cold, under 20C. While the beaches in W.A. are big and beautiful, the surf is rough and dangerous with rips.

Conclusion to a month in Western Australia

I am very happy we got the chance to enjoy a month in Western Australia. We spent more time there than on our other trips around the country and got to relax and and even catch up with friends. It was lucky we had the vet to look after Domino in Lombok so we could relax without worrying about her.

Have you been to Western Australia? It’s Australia’s largest state and we feel like we only got a taste. Share your recos in the comments. We’re glad we got to see some of W.A!