Posts Tagged ‘coolgardie’

Western Australia

Western Australia is the largest of all the States and Territories of Australia and takes up approximately on third of the whole continent.

Western Australia covers 2,525,500 square kilometers and has a coastline of 12,500 kilometres long.

The Inland of Western Australia has a vast area of deserts such as in the north the Great Sandy Desert, and central is the Gibson Desert and the Little Sandy Desert and in the south is the Great Victoria Desert and far south to the Nullabor Plains.

The capital of Western Australia is Perth situated in the far south coast and the port of Perth being Fremantle. Fremantle is more well known for being

the home of the America’s Cup for the prestigious yacht race in 1983.

Perth sits on the banks of the Swan River with its sandy bottom and crisp blue waters where the swans can be seen paddling around at their leisure.

Cottesloe being the main surfing beach in the Perth area.

Rottnest Island

To the west of Perth is an island we call Rottnest. Rottnest Island was discovered in 1696 by a Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh.

The Island was first used as a prison and then in the Second World War as a strong hold and still to-day you can visit the Oliver Hill Gun Emplacement.

Rottnest Island is to-day a special holiday attraction and home to Australia’s smallest wallaby known as a Quokka. 

Valley of the Giants

To the south east of Perth is the Walpole National Park noted for the tallest Karri trees in the world. Known as the Valley of the Giants. Pemberton being the hub of this area and established in 1913 as a timber town. Visit the Karri forest and take a walk along the walkways among the canopy of the trees.

Mandurah and Busselton

Heading south now from Perth you’ll come to the beaches of Mandurah and on to Busselton both wonderful holiday spots for camping, caravanning or staying in one of the many holiday resorts.

Margaret River

Further south and slightly east of the coast is Margaret River. Also a great holiday destination, however better known for its wines. The wines of the Margaret River district are found in restaurants around the world.

Albany

Continuing along and around the coastline is Albany. Albany is the oldest European settlement of Western Australia and is situated on King George Sound. This was once a major whaling station and also a shipping port for coal. It is still a shipping port but these days it is for grains such as wheat, oats and barley to name a few.

On display is the ship Amity that arrived in Albany in 1825 with settlers for the region. Some beautiful historical buildings still standing since the 1850’s

• Courthouse
• St.Johns Anglican Church
• Town Hall

Heading northward from Perth and in the immediate area to the northeast is the Avon Valley known around the world for its white water rafting and more importantly for the wildflowers. In spring the wildflowers are so spectacular that there are special tours from Perth daily just to see this wonderful flora with numerous amounts of species and the emblem of Western Australia we call the Kangaroo Paw.

Along the stretching coastline you’ll pass through towns such as:

The Central Coastal Region

Cervantes situated on the edge of the Little Sandy Desert, famous for what is known as The Pinnacles. A great tourist attraction. The Pinnacles are hundreds of small mounds some reaching several metres high.

Geralton, a lobster fishing area and well known for Geralton Wax, a native bush that gets covered in small wax like flowers.

Kalbarri, on the banks of the Murchison River. Kalbarri has a history of shipwrecks along the emmediate coastline from rocks and reefs in the ocean nearby. Shipwrecks used these days for diving and exploring the surrounding sea.

Monkey Mia a tourist area where you can hand feed and swim with the dolphins. At times of the day the dolphins will come in from the sea looking for a hand out of fresh fish. A wonderful attraction.

Carnarvan is warm and tropical with its tropical fruit growing area such bananas and pineapples just to name a couple.

Carnarvan is situated on the banks of the Cascoyne River and to the east is the Kennedy Ranges with its National parks and abundance of wildlife.

Still heading north we come to the coastline known as the Coral Coast.

This is a fantastic eco-tourism tourist of Ningaloo Marine Park out from Exmouth with its beautiful beaches, coral reef, eco tours and fishing, diving and whale watching.

Continuing further up the coast we come to the Pilbara Region.

Port Headland is the port of the Pilbara and also home to the flatback turtles. Whale watching is another pass time where you can see the humpback whales playing in the ocean.

There are a number of National Parks in the area such as the Millstream-Chichester National Park and the Karijini National Park with its walkways and rest areas to fill your day.

Broome the old pearling town where the Pearl Divers have worked for many years. The original divers were all Chinese Immigrants However it is a much smaller business these days with only a couple of vessels still running, known as Pearl Luggers. There is a lot of heritage in and around Broome with the Historical Society Museum and Pearl Luggers and make sure you take time out to visit the old part of Broome with Chinatown situated in Carnarvan Street. Broome is the last coastal town and from here the road heads east to the Northern Territory.

To the east of Broome is the Kimberley Region.

Kimberley region has a number of wonderful places to see and explore.

The Bungle Bungle Ranges and National Park with the beautiful scenery and landscape. The rocks carved out in the colors of the soil in black and orange.

Gorges, waterfalls and a never ending amazement of spectacular views.

To the east of Perth and heading into the outback of the state you’ll find the gold fields of Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie noted for the gold rush days and to the north west the wheat fields of Western Australia.

Travelling east of Kalgoorlie is the Nullabor Plains a vast stretch of sandy desert. Nullabor which is latin for “no trees.” The Eyre Highway runs through the Nullabor Plains and is a long surfaced roadway that takes you all the way to South Australia.

The Bungle Bungles are located in Purnululu National Park in the Kimberly region of WA.
(They were discovered in 1983 by a film team!)
The sandstone formation of the Bungle Bungle ranges is estimated to be 350 million years old.
The impressive striped domes, (almost like giant beehives) originated as the sediment of an old river bed, with layers of clay and sandstone. The oxidization of iron in the sandstone gives the range its beautiful orange colour.
The raging waters of the wet seasons have washed out wide creeks and deep canyons, steep sided rifts and chasms leaving amazing places like “Cathedral Gorge”, which was formed as a result of a massive wet season whirl pool.
A spectacular place to visit but access is by 4 wheel drive only as the track getting in there is pretty rough.
There are a few small water crossings and one particularly nasty bull dust hole seen right at the beginning of this video.
Funnily enough there WAS an actual bull right near the bull dust hole.
I only noticed him after I got out the car to film Richard driving across it and freaked out realizing that after the car disappeared all there was was me……the dust and a BULL!
And yes, he had four legs…..
We have no idea about the disembodied “leg” on the road but it seemed an interesting thing to film.
I hope you enjoy a tiny glimpse into a really beautiful part of Australia!

Take your time to visit this vast state, as there is much to see and do.