Perth
This pointy glass spire fronted by copper sails contains the royal bells of London's St Martin-in-the-Fields, the oldest of which dates from 1550. The 12…
Must-see attractions in West Coast Australia
Broome
These three coral atolls lie approximately 300km from Broome in the Indian Ocean, on the edge of Australia's continental shelf, and have a reputation for…
Broome
The original pearl luggers' jetty at the entrance to Dampier Creek dates from the 1880s and has been rebuilt a number of times. The thin rickety wooden…
Broome
The RAMSAR-recognised tidal mudflats of Roebuck Bay are a vital staging post for thousands of migratory birds, coming from as far away as Siberia. In a…
Broome
For a blistering sunset without tourists, camels or 4WDs, pull into any of the turn-offs along Kavite Rd between Gantheaume Point and the port and watch…
Broome
Sink back in a canvas deck chair under the stars in the world's oldest operating picture gardens, dating from 1916. The history of the Sun building is the…
Perth
Perth's safest swimming beach, Cottesloe has cafes, pubs, pine trees and fantastic sunsets. From Cottesloe train station (on the Fremantle line) it's 1km…
West Coast Australia
Just a tick over 50km south of Mandurah, this 12,000-hectare park protects 10 lakes and their surrounding woodlands and dunes. It's an internationally…
Broome
This 3m cast bronze statue of an Indigenous female diver clutching a pearl pays tribute to the role women played in the brutal pearling industry. The…
West Coast Australia
Within easy reach of Perth, the woodlands and wetlands of Yanchep National Park are home to rampant populations of native fauna, including koalas,…
West Coast Australia
Geraldton's foreshore is a great example of waterfront redevelopment: loads of beach space and grassy spots, walking paths, picnic shelters, free…
West Coast Australia
The 535-sq-km Shannon National Park is on the South Western Hwy, 53km south of Manjimup. Until 1968 Shannon was the site of Western Australia's biggest…
Shoalwater Islands Marine Park
West Coast Australia
Just a few minutes' paddle, swim or boat ride away from the shore 5km south of Rockingham is strictly protected Penguin Island, home to penguins, silver…
West Coast Australia
Featuring granite outcrops, forests and bountiful fauna, the Avon Valley's eponymous national park is most easily accessed vie Toodyay on Morangup Rd,…
West Coast Australia
This botanical nirvana, 30km northeast of Jurien Bay, protects 900 plant species, many of them rare and endemic, such as the pine banksia (Banksia…
Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park
West Coast Australia
Despite the vast areas of aridity it contains, WA also boasts a startling variety of endemic wildflowers. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park explodes…
West Coast Australia
Around 8km northwest of Margaret River, Ellensbrook (1857) was the first home of settlers Alfred and Ellen Bussell. The Wardandi people welcomed them,…
West Coast Australia
This 500,000-year-old cave is associated in Wardandi spirituality with the victory of the good spirit Ngilgi over the evil spirit Wolgine. A whitefella…
West Coast Australia
Restraining the Helena River, Mundaring Weir is a concrete dam built in 1903 to the designs of engineer CY O'Connor as part of a dazzlingly ambitious…
West Coast Australia
Located in Caversham in West Swan, at 26 sq km this is Perth's heftiest park – a marvellous grassy reserve with over 30km of walkways and bike paths, a…
West Coast Australia
The Avon River cuts a narrow gorge through the Perth Hills at the 18-sq-km Walyunga National Park, before it morphs into the Swan River as it continues…
West Coast Australia
Busselton's 1865 timber-piled jetty – the southern hemisphere's longest (1841m) – reopened in 2011 following a $27 million refurbishment. A little train …
Old Geraldton Gaol & Craft Centre
West Coast Australia
The gaol's gloomy cells held prisoners from 1856 to 1985, and framed historic documents weave a fascinating tale of daring escapes, gruesome executions,…
West Coast Australia
This natural pool on the Avon River is a significant Aboriginal site – as legend has it, the summer home of the Wargal, the giant snakelike creature that…
West Coast Australia
Immediately south of Mundaring is Beelu National Park, part of a continuous swath of forest that includes Kalamunda National Park. There's a handy…
West Coast Australia
This 15m sluice of water is within Serpentine National Park, feathering down the face of a smooth granite escarpment. Falls Rd is off the South Western…
West Coast Australia
Opposite the now-defunct gold mine, 7km out of town, the caretaker (Gerald) of this absorbing little museum is happy to talk you through the history of…
Carnarvon Space & Technology Museum
West Coast Australia
Established jointly with NASA in 1966, the OTC Satellite Earth Station (or OTC Dish) at the edge of town tracked the Gemini and Apollo space missions, as…
Perth
Part of the fun is getting to this zoo – take a ferry across the Swan River from Elizabeth Quay Jetty to Mends St Jetty (every half hour) and walk up the…
West Coast Australia
The lovely russet-red Edenvale Homestead, built in 1888, now sustains a a tearoom in the main house (snacks $3 to $13), plus art-and-craft galleries and a…
Barna Mia Nocturnal Animal Sanctuary
West Coast Australia
This excellent predator-free sanctuary within the Dryandra Woodland is home to endangered marsupial bilbies, boodies, woylies, dalgytes, wurrups and…
Perth
A vital part of the city's urban redevelopment is Elizabeth Quay, at the bottom of Barrack St. Luxury hotels and apartments – including the Ritz – are…
West Coast Australia
The vast Lane Poole Reserve, on the jarrah-lined banks of the Murray River, is an ace place to stop for a barbecue, a picnic, bushwalk or (in summer, when…
Gantheaume Point & Dinosaur Prints
Broome
Beautiful at dawn or sunset when the pindan cliffs turn scarlet and the Indian Ocean brilliant turquoise, this peaceful lookout holds a 135-million-year…
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts
Perth
PICA (pee-kah) may look traditional – it's housed in an elegant 1896 red-brick former school – but inside it's one of Australia's principal platforms for…
West Coast Australia
To discover how the world's most expensive produce is harvested, follow your nose to the Truffle & Wine Co. Join a 2½-hour truffle hunt with the clever…
West Coast Australia
South of Kalamunda, just off Brookton Hwy, is Araluen Botanic Park. Constructed in the 1920s by the Young Australia League (YAL) as a bush retreat for…
West Coast Australia
The 16-sq-km John Forrest National Park, 8km west of Mundaring, was WA's first national park (1900). Protected groves of jarrah and marri are scattered…
West Coast Australia
On the east coast, a very scenic, partially sealed and at times dramatically narrow 11km-long road ascends a knife-edge ridge via rickety corners. A rough…
West Coast Australia
Visit this unstaffed interpretive centre by day to study turtle life cycles and obtain the Parks & Wildlife Service pamphlet Marine Turtles in Ningaloo…
