Western Australia is Australia's largest state by land area, making up the western third of the continent. It is the world's second largest subnational entity, after the Sakha Republic in Russia (so it's indeed larger than Greenland, Nunavut, or even countries like Mexico). Most of its 2.6 million citizens live in or around Perth, leaving most of the inland areas with widespread small communities.
The state capital on the Swan River sandy coastal plain, the beaches to the west, the hills to the east.
A complex patchwork of agriculture and reserves in the interior and empty beaches on the coast
The Western coast has surfing beaches. The closer to Perth, the more temperate the weather and hospitable the landscape
The central coast offers a variety of features -the Ningaloo Reef is not as famous as the Great Barrier Reef, but equals or surpasses it. Shark Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site.
A hot mining region, sparsely populated, with various natural attractions.
In the far North. It is a large wilderness area, including the resort town of Broome on Cable Beach. Vast areas of spectacular scenery.
A barren and flat interior becomes greener toward the coast where chilly king waves sent from Antarctica pummel the rocky shore.
Known for its wineries, surfing, forests and caves
The large majority of the 2 million inhabitants live in the southwestern part of the state, in or close to Perth, the capital and one of the most isolated cities of this size anywhere in the world. Outside of the Perth area there are fewer than 500,000 people, hence the demonym Sandgropers. The largest towns outside Perth metro include Albany and Broome, less than 30,000 population each depending on seasonal fluctuations. Beyond the coast, Western Australia's vast interior is very sparsely populated, with only a handful of townships with over a few thousand residents. Mining settlements and cattle stations are thinly-spread so it is all too easy to find yourself alone in a 100 mile radius.
One of this state's main attractions is its overall huge expanses and distance between places.
Western Australia covers about a third of the total land mass of Australia. It encompasses climatic zones from the monsoonal and tropical north, to the temperate and Mediterranean south, and the desert and barren inland. Apart from the south-western coast, the majority of the land is extremely old, eroded, flat, arid and infertile.
Many of the population centres are isolated from one another, and from the other populated zones of Australia. This and the tough environment may account for a more independent spirit than in the eastern states.
The vastness of the state is certainly not to be underestimated when planning your trip. If it were a country, it would be in the top 10 by area, as large as Argentina, larger than any African or European country, and one and a half times the size of Alaska. It is the largest sub-national administrative division in the world besides the Sakha Republic in Russia.
Perth and the south-west corner including Margaret River and Albany are easily accessible. Visiting much of the rest of the state requires some planning, and will probably require some long drives. Never plan on doing a road trip, without clearly telling either the authorities or someone else, on your planned route, as you could have considerable delays if you break down. Make sure you always have lots of water (and spare fuel) with you.
The first European to reach Western Australia was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog in 1616 while en route to what is now known as Jakarta. In the following decade, other Dutch explorers would encounter the land here, but with no apparent natural resources to exploit, left as quickly as they came. During the late 18th century, the British and the French began to explore the more Southern regions of Western Australia and in 1826 the British decided that King George Sound would be a suitable location for a settlement. Three years later the Swan River Colony was established and this would later become the city of Perth. The state grew slowly until the discovery of gold in Kalgoorlie in the 1890s, which led to a huge influx of people.
Western Australia is the only state to never have been part of New South Wales and is the only Australian state to have tried to leave the federation, voting to secede in 1933. A delegation was sent to Britain to petition parliament to pass the legislation needed to enable independence, but it was determined that the British parliament did not have the necessary powers to pass such legislation. The suggestion of secession still appears in the Western Australian media from time to time and generally gains most attention during mining booms. A quarter of Western Australians still support the idea.
Most of Western Australia is in the Australian Western Standard Time Zone (AWST), 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+8). It doesn't observe daylight savings time, and is two hours behind the east coast of Australia during winter, and falls three hours behind New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania when they move to daylight savings. Note that not all of WA is in the same time zone! Residents of towns east of Caiguna on the Eyre Highway (including Eucla, Madura, Mundrabilla and Border Village) in the southeast corner near the South Australian border do not follow official Western Australian time. Instead, they use what is unofficially known as Central Western Standard Time, which is halfway between Western and Central time--UTC+8:45. Additionally the Aboriginal communities of Papulankutja (Blackstone), Irrunytju, Warakurna, Wanarn, Kiwirrkurra and Tjukurla all follow +09:30, not +08.
Perth airport in Western Australia is the main access point for international flights.
The vast majority of interstate flights also land in Perth. However there are a small number of interstate flights to Kalgoorlie, Kununurra, Karratha and Broome. Skywest has a weekly flight from Kalgoorlie to Melbourne, however it may still be cheaper to fly Kalgoorlie - Perth - Melbourne depending on the travel dates desired.
The price of flights from other Australian capital cities to Perth fluctuates wildly. The red-eye overnight flights can often be obtained at a discount over the more civilised flight times.
Considering the huge distances, driving into Western Australia from anywhere else is an experience by itself.
There are only two sealed roads into Western Australia: in the south, the Eyre Highway is the most direct route from Adelaide to Perth. In the north, the Victoria Highway connects the Kimberley region with the Northern Territory up to Darwin. Both involve extremely long drives. Perth-Adelaide is at least 3 days of driving with stops only to sleep, and much of the drive is across the extraordinarily barren Nullabor Plain. Darwin-Perth is at least a week.
It is often possible to organise one-way car hire without additional fees from Adelaide to Perth. Shop around, and check conditions carefully, as some cars hired in Adelaide cannot even be driven into Western Australia.
The unsealed Great Central Road, Tanami Track, Buntine Highway and Gunbarrel Highway run between the Northern Territory and remote Western Australian towns.
There is one railway connecting Western Australia with the eastern states. The Indian Pacific train service runs between Sydney and Perth via Kalgoorlie, Adelaide and Broken Hill. More expensive than air travel, but you can put your car on the train. The train ride is a unique experience in itself, as it can take 3 nights to get to Sydney at the other end of the line.
There are quarantine rules if you are coming from other states in Australia. You cannot bring fruits and vegetables (including seeds and cuttings) into Western Australia. Frozen fresh food is also not allowed but you will be OK with commercially packaged foods, except honey and bee products. There are quarantine checkpoints set up on the state borders and rules are strictly enforced. Inspectors board trains into the state to check passengers, and there are checkpoints at all airports.
If you are arriving directly from overseas, additional quarantine rules apply. See the Australia article for details.
If you want to travel across WA by road, be ready to drive a lot to get from point A to point B. There are only a limited number of paved roads (any map of the state will probably show you all of them) with nearly all of them concentrated on the coast. If you plan to leave them to get to more remote areas you will need to consider renting a 4WD. Contact the company to which you rent the vehicle to check the policy concerning driving on unpaved tracks, as you might have to get their authorisation. Driving a rented conventional (non-4WD) vehicle on an unpaved track may breach your rental contract and void your insurance. Check with the local depot before arriving.
Never under-estimate the distance involved in travelling around Western Australia. Fatigue from long drives annually kills drivers from overseas, falling asleep at the wheel is a genuine issue.
Always make allowance for fuel stops, rest stops, toilet stops, and refreshment stops. There is a speed limit on all roads, never catchup with speed.
Unpaved roads require preparation and research. They should not be taken lightly, and you would be unwise to just set off down a dirt road without having done your homework. Be cautious. On some more remote tracks, it could be weeks until anyone finds you or your body if you break down. Road conditions, weather, availability of fuel and spares, contact (phone/radio), and survival supplies should be on your checklist.
The Gunbarrel Highway may not be what you would think of as a highway. It may not even be what you would think of as a road.
That said, some of the best scenery and adventures that Western Australia has to offer lies on its dirt roads. Some can be traversed, slowly, and with care, by an average driver. Study your route, and be prepared for conditions.
Given the distances involved, plane travel is a vital connection to many Western Australian communities. Many towns based on mining have private 'Fly-in Fly-out' (FIFO) services for their employees, which are difficult for travellers to access.
Most larger towns have some form of commercial scheduled air service. Charter services are commonly available to access more remote areas, and airstrips available for landing are available even in the very smallest towns. If you can get a group of 6 together, a charter flight need not cost significantly more than a scheduled commercial service, but don't expect to be able to each take your 23kg suitcase on board.
Train services are limited outside of Perth and Mandurah. In addition to the Great Southern Railway's Indian Pacific, there are three regional train services, all operated by Transwa, that depart from Perth to various country towns in the south and south-east of the state:
These regional rail services are not "walk on" services like inner-city rail; tickets to board these services must be purchased in advance, either online at the Transwa website, or from various TransWA booking offices located around the state, usually in areas serviced by the TransWA regional rail and coach network.
Coach Services comprehensively cover the southern regions of the state, publicly operated by TransWA. These coach services connect Perth to various regional towns, as far north as Geraldton and Meekatharra, as far south as Albany, and as far east as Kalgoorlie and Esperance.
These regional coach services are not "walk on" services like inner-city bus services; tickets to board these services must be purchased in advance, either online at the TransWA website, or from various TransWA booking offices located around the state, usually in areas serviced by the TransWA regional rail and coach network. Greyhound runs a service from Darwin through to Broome, and via Kununurra.
Bicycling, camel riding, horse riding, and walking have been part of the state's history - early explorations were done this way.
Roadhouses,and facilities along the main routes in the state do support long distance travel when measured with adequate supplies.
Inland, there are no supports like the main highway route, and very thorough preparations are required.
Many solitary cyclists have been sighted over the years on the Nullarbor crossing, and fewer on the road in from Darwin in the north.
Besides driving, which can be an experience for some (being on the only sealed road for hundreds of kilometres, without crossing anyone, might be either disturbing or enjoyable to most of Western Europe drivers). The regions for surfing on its beaches include, the south west corner in the Margaret River region.
Perth and the larger towns have the usual range of restaurants. Australian influenced Thai, Chinese and cafes are common. Pubs can usually be relied upon for an evening meal in most towns and roadhouses have a range of sandwiches, burgers and sometimes more substantial cooked meals. Trips away from the major towns will probably require some amount of self-catering.
The legal drinking age is 18 years. It is illegal either to purchase alcohol for yourself if you are under 18 years of age or to purchase alcohol on behalf of someone who is under 18 years of age. The only legally acceptable proof-of-age documentation are an Australian drivers licence, state-issued proof-of-age card, Keypass card or a passport, and it would be wise to carry one if you want to purchase alcohol or tobacco and look under 25 - vendors will frequently ask for ID for anybody who looks to be 25 or younger. In Western Australia, foreign drivers licences and foreign ID cards are NOT legally acceptable as proof of age documentation, and people who are unable to produce a passport or valid Australian ID will be refused service. Only actual ID documents will be accepted - photographs or photocopies will NOT be accepted.
A debate about the quality of coffee in WA grumbles on endlessly, with many visitors claiming a decent cup near impossible to find in the west and locals countering that they are just not looking in the right place. Subjective bean preferences aside, it is agreed that coffee is generally more expensive than in Eastern capitals and a higher price (averaging $3.80, but up to $5) does not necessarily buy you a better cup.
Western Australian viticulture may not produce the large volumes of the wineries on the east of Australia, but the vineyards here are known for producing quality over quantity.
Western Australia has an abundance of places to pitch a tent or roll out a swag. Many campsites in National Parks have managed sites with facilities toilet and cooking facilities. Most charge a fee of $7-9 per person, per night. Campsites can fill up quickly during long weekends and school holiday periods, especially in the South-West.
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