WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Qantas route from London to
Perth, introduced in March 2018, puts Western Australia just one flight away from the UK. And while this mammoth region is not the cradle of Australia’s modern history, it is a fascinating place to explore. This is a landscape that has been shaped by indigenous life going back millennia, and more recently by waves of colonial activity and gold-rush development.
You’ll arrive in Perth, the laid-back capital of the west and a good starting point for exploring the region. At the Art Gallery of
Western Australia you can dive into the region’s Indigenous art scene; it also has a rightly celebrated collection of historical paintings. The city’s port, Fremantle, has a well-preserved historic heart populated with bohemian cafes and small independent shops. At the WA Shipwrecks Museum you can learn about the colourful history of the Batavia, a Dutch merchant ship wrecked off the coast in 1629.
The south-west of Western Australia is a beautiful, green region, home to wineries and a lively microbrew scene, with forests and rural roads perfect for driving. Once you’ve toured between Bunbury and the towns of Margaret River and Denmark, via the mighty Valley of the Giants with its tree-top walk, aim for Albany. It’s the state’s earliest European settlement and a great base for exploring the south coast to celebrated spots such as Esperance on Great Ocean Drive, a 25-mile circular loop.
You’ve probably come for dramatic landscapes and a wild, remote take on Australia. For that, aim north, travelling from Perth to Exmouth, or even as far as
Broome (1,400 miles) if you have a few weeks to spare. Along the way you’ll encounter the Pinnacles desert, with its weathered stone pillars; the excellent Western
Australia Museum in Geraldton; and find solitude in the dramatic gorges of Karijini
National Park. The intrepid can continue across the north on the four-wheel drive, dry-season-only Gibb River Road. IF YOU LIKE THIS…
• Enjoy more antipodean delights on New Zealand’s North Island, including Wellington’s marvellous national museum, Te Papa, and the art deco city of Napier, rebuilt in the 1930s after an earthquake. • Otherworldly desert touring in Damaraland in Namibia, Africa rivals the stunning scenery to be found in the north of Western Australia.