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.

The Busselton Jetty
Busselton Jetty in W.A.

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!

Western Australia map of Australia
Western Australia on a map of Australia

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.

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A Week in The Red Centre

After months of exploring Australian coastal cities and towns, we flew to Alice Springs for a week in the Red Centre. Adjusting to the moisture sucking air and miles of emptiness took some effort, but visiting the Outback in Australia’s Northern Territory was a good adventure.

Outsiders’ visions of Australia include mobs of kangaroos galloping across the plains, red rocks rising from the desert, and rednecks in bars crushing crocodiles. We have been in the country for a year without seeing the desert, so when we learned we had to wait two more weeks before Go’s haulout, we booked flights to Alice Springs. A week in the Red Centre was on our wish list, and we’re so glad we made the trip.

About The Red Centre

We’ve been learning Australia’s detailed terminology for their geography. The majority of people live along the coasts, where the big cities and towns are. Moving inland from there are the Hinterlands, mere miles from the coasts but still quite different. Beyond the Hinterlands is the bush, and then comes The Outback, the most remote lands in Australia.

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A Week in South Australia

We spent a few months waiting for approvals to fix our boat, so we used that time to visit places we wouldn’t take the boat. After flying to Melbourne and driving the Great Ocean Road trip, we crossed into South Australia. During a week in South Australia we stopped in Adelaide, its adjacent wine regions, and found some other gems.

Travelling Around Australia

One thing we’ve noticed is travelling around Australia is easy. Flying in Australia is much less of an ordeal than back in North America. It may not be cheap, but flights are priced better than in Canada.

Flights are usually on time, and you don’t even need ID to get into the airport or on board. Plus, people are respectful when boarding planes. We’ve flown several times within the country and have yet to see passengers try to board outside of their group. It’s a nice place to travel by plane.

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