Western Australia

Perth

Perth reminded me a lot of Sydney because of its location on the bank of the Swan River and its attractive parks. The highlight for me was King’s Park, from which there are great views over the city and the Swan River. Apart from the views, the park has many attractive walking trails. There are also a number of gardens with historic buildings on the waterfront in the downtown area. I highly recommend the boat trip with Captain Cook Cruises down the Swan River to Fremantle. This takes about an hour and the captain’s commentary on the different sights along the river is very interesting. You might even see dolphins if you’re lucky. www.captaincookcruises.com.au/cruises/perth-cruises
 

Perth from King's Park

(Click on the photos if you want to enlarge them.)

 

Fremantle

Fremantle is a good option if you’re looking for somewhere to stay in the Perth area but outside the city itself, as it has lots of accommodation and dining-out options as well as a number of interesting historic places to visit. I did the guided “Doing Time” tour at the Fremantle Prison, which gives you a real insight into what life was like back in the early days of the colony. The Bathers’ Beach area is a pleasant place to stroll around. Don’t miss the Fremantle Markets, where there are lots of souvenir and food stalls. From Fremantle you can take the scenic Captain Cook Cruise up the Swan River to Perth, which includes an interesting commentary by the captain. Staying in Fremantle also means that you can take the earliest morning departure of the Rottnest Express ferry to Rottnest Island, which gives you more time on the island.
 

Fremantle Prison

Rydges Esplanade Hotel

Very well situated in the centre of Fremantle within walking distance of most sights and restaurants, this hotel has large and well-appointed rooms and offers a good breakfast in the attractive lobby area. www.hotelesplanadefremantle.com/

Little Creatures

This brewery-cum-restaurant is a great place for a cheap meal in original surroundings. The food is good and the service fast and friendly. https://littlecreatures.com.au/
 

Quokkas on Rottnest Island

Bread in Common

This restaurant serves excellent dishes in a large heritage-listed building which has been tastefully renovated. www.breadincommon.com.au/

Bathers Beach House

Right on the seafront next to the eponymous beach, this restaurant has an extensive seafood menu and the dishes I chose were very well prepared and presented. www.bathersbeachhouse.com.au/

Rottnest Island

A visit to “Rotto” is a great day’s excursion from the mainland. It only takes about half an hour to get there from Fremantle on the Rottnest Express ferry and there are a number of easy walking trails around the island. I particularly liked Geordie and Longreach bays and of course the quokkas are very tame and cute. www.rottnestexpress.com.au/

Longreach Bay, Rottnest Island

Pinnacles Desert

This is an incredible place. Rocks of all shapes and sizes protrude from the sand and the visual effect is stunning. Apparently nobody knows how these pinnacles were formed, although the informative visitor centre explains the theories. https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/pinnacles-desert-discovery-centre
 

Pinnacles Desert

Cervantes

A small seaside community which is a convenient place to stay if you’re visiting the Pinnacles Desert. I stayed at the Pinnacles Edge Resort. www.pinnaclesedgeresort.com.au/ The room they offered me when I checked in was very small, but I got an immediate upgrade to a large apartment for no extra charge as soon as I asked for a bigger room, so no complaints there. They serve a good cooked breakfast too. I also recommend the nearby Cervantes Bar & Bistro restaurant for dinner. www.pinnaclesedgeresort.com.au/   http://cervantesbarandbistro.com.au/

New Norcia

This monastery is a good place to while away an hour or two if you are in the area as there are some curious buildings to wander around and a museum with some interesting historical exhibits. However, I would definitely avoid staying at the New Norcia Hotel. The rooms are small, dark and don’t seem to have been  redecorated in decades. The whole place is a bit run down and depressing. Its only saving grace is its restaurant, which turns out well prepared dishes and has a spacious sundeck outside.

 

Swan & Avon Valleys

Toodyay

Formerly known as Newcastle, Toodyay’s main street has some well-preserved colonial buildings and the Newcastle Gaol Museum Precinct is worth a visit as it has some interesting exhibits about life in colonial times, including the story of Moondyne Joe, WA’s most famous bushranger. www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/Community-Visitors/Museums/Newcastle-Gaol-Museum
 

Kookaburra at Caversham Wildlife Park

York

WA’s first inland town has an attractive setting in the Avon Valley and its centre has a number of historic buildings. It’s also a good base from which to explore other places of interest in the area. I stayed at the excellent Faversham House, a beautifully restored colonial mansion with great views over the valley. The managers are a charming and attentive Italian couple who make you feel very welcome and they serve an excellent breakfast in the hotel’s grand dining room. www.favershamhouse.com.au/home

Northam

Not as quaint as Toodyay or York, but it has a very good visitor centre and it’s pleasant to take a stroll along the river bank.
 

Koala at Caversham Wildlife Park

Guildford

A good place to base yourself while visiting the Swan Valley. It’s only 15 minutes’ drive from the Caversham Wildlife Park, where you can see lots of Australian animals and birds. The nearby Houghton and Sandalford wineries are set in attractive grounds, but only the latter organises tours. Accommodation-wise, I strongly recommend the Rose and Crown Hotel. The rooms in the motel-style block are modern and comfortable and the restaurant is very good - it was full of local people the two nights I dined there. It prides itself on being the oldest operating hotel in WA and occupies a heritage building that dates back to 1841. www.cavershamwildlife.com.au/    www.rosecrown.com.au/

Broome & the Kimberley

 

Broome

After visiting Perth and some of the sights around it, I took a 2½ hour flight north to Broome. Established originally as a centre for the pearling industry, nowadays the town’s economy is based on tourism. That said, it doesn’t feel very touristy at all, perhaps because many of the hotels are 6km away at Cable Beach. It’s very pleasant to wander around the town centre. If you’re into books, don’t forget to drop in at the Kimberley Bookshop, which has a good selection of titles on Broome and the Kimberley. On the subject of books, those interested in history should read the excellent “A Pirate of Exquisite Mind” about the life of William Dampier, after whom the peninsula north of the town is named and which is available there. The Broome Museum has some interesting exhibits.

The very helpful visitor centre can provide you with information and brochures on all aspects of Broome and the Kimberley. I stayed at the boutique McAlpine House hotel, which is where the construction tycoon Lord Alistair McAlpine lived when he was promoting the Broome tourism industry. The staff are very pleasant and my room, although a bit on the small side, had a large private lounge area outside. Breakfast is served at a large communal table and is fine except for the fact that for some unknown reason they refuse to serve orange juice, or any other kind of juice for that matter! http://mcalpinehouse.com.au/
 

Broome

I had dinner at Matso’s and 18 Degrees, both of which are a 10-minute walk from the McAlpine House and I would recommend both. I hired a 4WD camper through Apollo, who are very well represented in Broome by the friendly and efficient owners of the Broome Hire Centre in Blackman St. www.matsos.com.au/restaurant/   

Derby

My next stop was 200 km away at Derby, which is the western gateway to the Kimberley. This is the place to stock up on supplies before starting along the Gibb River Road. I recommend the Kimberley Entrance Caravan Park, which is conveniently located within walking distance of supermarkets and restaurants and is run by a very friendly couple. The nearby Jila Gallery restaurant, which also displays artworks created by local artists, serves excellent pizzas. Another good place to see, and maybe buy, art by Aboriginal artists is the Norval Gallery on the outskirts of town. Some of the paintings are very good and quite reasonably priced compared with other Aboriginal art galleries I’ve visited. https://kimberleyentrancecaravanpark.com.au/     www.jilacafe.com.au/   
 

Sign at start of Gibb River Road

Gibb River Road

I must admit to having felt excited and daunted in equal measure by the idea of venturing into the outback along the Gibb River Road (GRR). Much of the literature I had read about it beforehand, in addition to highlighting the beauty and the opportunities for adventure available in the Kimberley, also stressed the remoteness and potential dangers of travelling in this part of Australia. So it was with some trepidation that I turned off the main highway just south of Derby and pointed my 4WD campervan east. Now, after having spent nearly a week in the area and having covered around 1000 km on mainly unsealed roads, I realise that my fears were largely unfounded.

During the dry season there are many other vehicles on the GRR and on the tracks that radiate from it, so you never feel like you’re alone in the middle of nowhere. Having said that, it is obviously essential to drive carefully and carry enough food and water in case something unexpected occurs, but if you follow the safety advice available and behave sensibly nothing untoward should happen to you. One aspect that worried me was the possibility of running out of fuel as there are very few places where you can fill up along the GRR. So having a 4WD with two tanks holding 180 litres of diesel altogether greatly allayed my fears in this respect. I found that just one of the two 90 litre tanks lasted for around 600 km, so there was never any danger of running out and being stranded miles from anywhere.

A lot is made of the roughness of the unsealed roads, but while some sections had quite deep corrugations most of the GRR and the tracks leading off it that I travelled on were in pretty good condition. Many people recommend that you lower your tyre pressures, but I found I was able to drive at between 60 and 70 kph most of the time with very little discomfort while maintaining them at the normal pressure.

So I would encourage anyone who might be thinking of visiting the area to go ahead and do so as I’m sure they will enjoy it as much as I did. If you need any more encouragement, check out Birgit Bradtke’s excellent website and publications as it was she who convinced me to organise my trip to the Kimberley despite my initial misgivings. www.kimberleyaustralia.com/
 

Campground at Mornington

Mornington Wilderness Camp

Run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), this camp is a long way (90km) off the Gibb River Road. The approach track is not as scenic as the guidebooks suggest and I didn’t see much wildlife there either. The two gorges that lie within the property (Sir John Gorge and Dimond Gorge) are worth visiting, but to my mind are not as beautiful as Bell Gorge and Windjana Gorge, which don’t require such a lengthy detour off the GRR. So I’m not sure I would have made the nearly 200km round trip if I’d known what it was really like beforehand. That said, the AWC do excellent conservation work that deserves public support and the camp is in a picturesque setting and is well run, so if, unlike me, you have plenty of time it might be a good option. www.australianwildlife.org/mornington-wilderness-camp.aspx
 

Sir John Gorge

Bell Gorge

Whatever you do, don’t miss this gorge! It’s easily accessed via the Silent Grove campground and a 20-minute walk from the carpark. The gorge is very beautiful with a waterfall that falls in tiers between two large pools. The highlight of the Kimberley for me, although I only visited the western part. https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/bell-gorge
 

Bell Gorge

Imintji Store

Run by a very helpful couple who sell a few basic supplies plus diesel. http://imintji.com.au/comunity-store

March Fly Glen

Between the turn off to Mt Hart Homestead and the one to Bell Gorge, this picnic area is a very pretty place to pull over and take a break from driving for an hour or so.
 

March Fly Glen

Mt Hart Homestead

The approach road is more scenic and in better condition than the one to Mornington. However, while the staff make a big effort to make you feel welcome, the homestead itself and the campground are a bit run down . I didn’t do any of the recommended excursions, so I can’t say if they’re worthwhile or not. http://mounthart.com.au/
 

Creek on track to Mt Hart Homestead

Windjana Gorge

It’s definitely worth spending an hour or two at this atmospheric gorge. The scenery is attractive and there are many birds and freshies (freshwater crocodiles) there too. https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/windjana-gorge
 

Windjana Gorge