Location - Western Australia
Below is a list of all the pages on this website which are concerned with places in Western Australia, or else something to do with Western Australia.
Click on the titles (or the "read more" links) to go to that page.
Plane spotting at Perth Airport
Where is a good spot to watch planes taking off and landing at Perth Airport? In the past, officially sanctioned viewing was limited to the international terminal's observation deck, or the windows in the domestic departure lounges. Or else you could look through a fence and hope not to look suspicious. However in December 2011 Perth Airport opened a new dedicated public viewing area close to the end of the main runway. Since then I have road-tested this new viewing area to see whether or not it is a planespotter's dream come true. Read more ...
Mt Frankland
Mt Frankland is a granite dome looming large over the forest north of Walpole in Western Australia. At 411m above sea level it is not big even by Australian standards, but it is enough for some great views over vast tracts of barely disturbed karri and jarrah forest. It is also accessible to anyone able to walk up a steep path with lots of steps. Read more ...
Walpole wilderness by boat
Fancy an interpretive eco-cruise into the Walpole wilderness area and marine park? That's how the brochure describes this small boat trip in one of the most unspoiled inlets on the Australian coast, and it really is a beauty. The guide is pretty amazing too. Read more ...
Lake Grace hospital museum
Lake Grace is a small town in Western Australia's southern wheatbelt. While it doesn't boast major tourist attractions (or many tourists), it does have a unique and very well presented hospital museum which provides a glimpse of how the Australian Inland Mission brought medical care to the outback nearly a century ago. Read more ...
Mukinbudin Caravan Park
Visiting small out-of-the-way towns can sometimes lead to pleasant surprises. This happened to me in Mukinbudin, near the fringes of Western Australia's wheat belt, where I found some cheap but unexpectedly good accommodation in the small town's caravan park. Read more ...
Sunsets at the Albany Wind Farm
The coastal wind farm near Albany attracts visitors; mainly to view the turbines. If you time your visit right, it can also be an excellent spot to view and photograph the sunset over a great stretch of unspoiled coastline. Read more ...
Good coffee at Kellerberrin
The internet attracts criticism, but praise is also warranted for the good it can do. For example, it can help a desperate coffee enthusiast find an oasis of quality coffee in a desert of coffee ordinariness in rural Western Australia. Read more ...
Mulka's Cave
Last time I passed by Wave Rock, one of Western Australia's well known attractions, I dropped in for a look. But the famous rock wasn't the highlight of that day for me: instead it was a less-visited site not far away, known as Mulka's Cave. Read more ...
Salmon Beach
Rugged, pristine, scenic, isolated and deserted ... If you like walking along beaches fitting that description, then you might like Salmon Beach. Just don't expect to go for a swim there. Read more ...
Wilderness views from Mt Chudalup
If you're visiting Northcliffe in Western Australia and driving to the coast, it's easy to whizz straight past Mt Chudalup, as so many do. I reckon it's worth stopping for the short but scenic climb. Read more ...
Yeagarup Dunes - where sand invades forest
The Pemberton area in Western Australia is best known for its spectacular forests of karri and other native trees. But rising suddenly out of this forest - and slowly creeping inland - is an expanse of big sand dunes on the move. These are the Yeagarup Dunes, the largest land-locked mobile dune system in the southern hemisphere. Read more ...
Merredin Railway Station Museum
Many country towns have small historical museums, and standards vary. One which I found to be rather interesting and well done is in the Western Australian town of Merredin, and although it focuses on railway history there is more to it than train memorabilia. Read more ...
A drive through Boranup Forest
Pleasant forest drives in Western Australia are not limited to the southern forests region. The Margaret River region, known more for its wine and surf, also has a delightful gravel road winding its way through majestic karri forest. Read more ...
Merredin town tour
The Western Australian country town of Merredin looks fairly average at first glance, the sort of place most travellers might briefly stop for food and fuel before moving on. But it's far from average, and boasts a town tour that is surprisinqly worthwhile. Read more ...
Internet access in country WA
Finding internet access is easy enough in cities and popular tourist spots, but what if you need to check your e-mail in less-visited country areas, where tourist facilities may be scarce? In Western Australia, telecentres are a useful solution. Read more ...
Guesthouse in a monastery at New Norcia
New Norcia in Western Australia is definitely not off the beaten track, but it offers some accommodation which is truly out of the ordinary. It is Australia's only monastic town, and the accommodation is a guesthouse run by the monastery following a fifth century tradition. Read more ...
Good budget accommodation in Augusta
One of my favourite places to stay in Western Australia in recent years has been the Baywatch Manor in Augusta. Frequently voted the best YHA hostel in Australia, it is much more than you might expect from backpacker accommodation ... and has a wonderful bakery nearby. Read more ...
Lake Clifton thrombolites
The stromatolites of Shark Bay, on Western Australia's north western coast, are well publicised in the tourist literature. However you don't need to go to such a remote place to see these pre-historic living rocks. Their close cousins - thrombolites - can be seen just south of Mandurah, within 100km of Perth. Read more ...
Wild solitude at Mandalay Beach
Between Walpole and Augusta in Western Australia lies nearly 200km of unpopulated and undeveloped southern coastline. Only two points on this remote stretch can be reached by normal car - one of them is the ruggedly handsome Mandalay Beach. Read more ...
Ludlow Tuart Forest
A minor detour off the bypass between Bunbury and Busselton reveals some unique native West Australian trees, growing almost to the edge of the bitumen of what was once the main road. Read more ...
The little pinnacles of Cape Leeuwin
The Nambung National Park north of Perth contains what must be the most impressive examples anywhere of limestone pillars, but lesser examples can be found elsewhere ... such as this patch of dwarf pinnacles near Cape Leeuwin. Read more ...
Elephant Rocks, WA
Having visited Elephant Rocks in New Zealand, I was keen to also check out Elephant Rocks in Western Australia to compare them, and see which ones look most like elephants. Read more ...
Lane Poole Falls
Western Australia may not be known for big waterfalls, but size isn't everything! Some of our modest falls can be truly gorgeous after seasonal rains, with relative isolation and lack of crowds more than compensating for size. Read more ...
Beautiful Misery Beach
Western Australia's south coast has some beautiful beaches, and Misery Beach is one of my favourites despite its completely inappropriate name. It is a delightful sheltered beach near Albany on WA's south coast. It faces north and has great views, yet is little-used. Read more ...
