South Western Escape

Perth may be the West Australian capital, but it’s home to a remarkable amount of green space. Join your Travel Director on a city sights tour and a stroll through Kings Park, whose Botanic Garden is home to over 3,000 floral species. It’s a relaxed entrée to the next 10 days of action and adventure. Your Western Australia tour from Perth is primed to begin. Meet again this evening for a Welcome Dinner with your Travel Director and travelling companions.

At the start of your tour from Perth, say hello to Wave Rock, a 110-metre, rainbow-hued granite swell formed more than three million years ago. Fun fact: the visitor centre here has the world’s largest collection of toy soldiers. Wave Rock local Sheenagh knows a thing or two about life on the land. She’s passionate about her farm, and proudly shows off the outback while you explore the wide open spaces that characterise the WA countryside. You'll also get to glimpse her collection of vintage cars – who knew folks in this part of the world were such avid collectors?

Today is deep – quite literally. Your journey through classic WA outback lands you in Kalgoorlie – view the wide gold rush era streets and buildings, and take in vistas over the staggering ‘Super Pit’ open-cut gold mine. Put life into perspective standing next to monstrous loaders and Haul trucks at Hannans North Mine. It’s a shimmering opportunity to experience gold rush history and discover the Golden Mile.

Nature humbles at Cape Le Grand National Park, a staggering 31,000 hectares of sweeping heathlands, rugged coastal peaks and powdery beaches. It’s so pretty that kangaroos come here for a little lounging on the beach – at Lucky Bay, you’ll see Australia’s national emblem dozing beside the water. And then there’s Thistle Cove, listen for the whistle of the Whistling Rock among the sounds of wind and sea.

Today’s tour from Esperance continues through some of the most bountiful wilderness areas in the state, including the Stirling Range National Park, filled seasonally with a staggering range of wildflowers – more than 1,500 different plant species, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Get an overview from the Bluff Knoll Lookout, topping one of WA’s highest peaks.

Albany turns on pretty much every charm, whether you’re ready for more nature, are a history buff, or feel like it’s time for food and wine. You have a day at leisure to go in whichever direction you please. Perhaps opt for a tour that relives the town’s heritage as the last port of call for ANZAC troopships departing Australia in WWI. Maybe explore Torndirrup National Park, where steep cliffs give way to dramatic rock formations and whales are a common sight during migration. Or get a taste for the region on a culinary excursion (all own expense).

Suspended 40 metres above the forest floor, the Tree Top Walk gives you a bird’s-eye view of the soaring tingle trees that stand large through the Valley of the Giants. The Margaret River region of Western Australia deserves its reputation as one of the county’s top grape-growing areas. There are too many high-quality vineyards to name here. So, we’ll give you just one: Hamelin Bay Wines. Since 1992, this postcard-perfect estate has been producing wines that hero this pocket of the state, where the Indian and Southern oceans converge. The result is delicious drops that span the spectrum from sparkling to shiraz, rose to reserve chardonnay, which you’ll enjoy during a hosted tasting at the cellar door and then dinner in the on-site restaurant.

The Margaret River is one of the only wine regions in the world where grapes are grown just metres from the sand. Winery backdrops follow you all the way to Busselton, home to the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. Tip your cap to those who built this 1.8-kilometre structure out into Geographe Bay. The remainder of the day is all yours in Freo. Why not explore the Fremantle Markets, which boasts over 150 stalls?

Sometimes, the most memorable travel days are those where you lose yourself wandering the foreshore, lingering over lunch or a cool ale. We highly recommend you spend this day of leisure doing just that (Freo’s Little Creatures Brewery is legendary). Of course, having a local show you around also has its benefits, with a Fremantle tour revealing those hidden haunts most visitors pass right on by (own expense). If you’re catching the ferry for a Rottnest Island tour, make sure you have your phone ready to capture selfies with the island’s smiley quokkas, not to mention the blindingly turquoise water (own expense).

Ten days. Too many beaches to count. Wildlife galore. A few wine bottles and a few thousand memories… this trip is one for the record books.