| Western Australia |
Western Australia: (Area = 2,525,500 kmē) (Population = 1,260,000) Measuring
5 times the size of Texas, this is the largest state in Australia. Apparently
travelling from north to south of West Aussie, is the same distance as London to
Moscow. And even at that size still only holds just under 1.3 million people,
and just over 1 million of those people reside in Perth, the capital city. And
my home city. Perth is known as the worlds most isolated city and is located
as far as thousands of kilometres
from the closest city. Perth is my favourite city and is also Australia's sunniest city and enjoys a
Mediterranean climate.
Perth is a very relaxing and modern city, there are plenty of beaches
to surf at, plenty of parks to run around barking at people. This is all over an
extremely nice environment for a city life. Further south there are a few more
naturally wonderful locations such as Albany and Esperance . This region also
has a lot of great surfing beaches such as the famous break at Margaret River and
then there are the trees of Karri Forest which are the 2nd tallest trees in the world. When
you head north, you hit the country and outback. Very nice for a long drive. Take
a look at the wildflowers too.
Approximately one third of Western Australia lies in the Tropics but only the extreme northern end of the state has tropical rainforest, below that you will find vast areas of grasslands which are populated by huge ant hills. So many infact, you could count hundreds in any given location. Further south again lie the deserts that Australia is famous for.
Western Australia also has more coastline than any other state and much of this coastline is pure white sand with sparkling clear and warm inviting water. Because the population outside Perth is so small, it means that it is more than possible to find a beach all to yourself. The only problem is that much of the coastline in the northern area of this state is infested with sharks. But there are still many safe beaches where you can swim and bathe.
One of the most famous (and favourite) beaches in North Western Australia is Cable Beach.
Personally I loved this beach. Apart from the occasional stinger and the Kermit
crabs, The beach has beautiful white sand ( not to mention the women that were
lying on it .. hee hee..), I loved the sunsets and the fresh feeling that the
whole place had to it. Broome is where you will find the beach, up the
northern part of West Aussie. Broome is one of my most loved towns. Very nice
resorts and Hotels, the amount of things to do is uncountable and the fishing is
5 star. Great place to be.
North West Cape is the westerly most point of the Australian continent, and it is here that you will find the Ningaloo Reef which is just as spectacular as the Great Barrier Reef in eastern Australia. The Reef is much smaller however, but is easily accessible from the coast and some of the prettiest beaches in Australia can be found here. This area is heavily populated with wildlife. It is very easy to spot Kangaroos and Emus.
Another area of interest on the west coast is a place called Shark Bay. This World Heritage area is very scenic, but most come here to swim with the Dolphins.
The Cervantes National Park or the Pinnacles as they are more commonly known, is another strange work of nature. In prehistoric times this area was once covered in forest but as Australia moved north due to continental drift this forest moved into the arid zone and the forest died. The dead trees were replaced by sand as they wasted away and today you can see the hundreds of stone pinnacles that replaced the trees to become a petrified forest.
Everything about Western Australia is big. If you travel along the main highway for example it is common to see Road Trains transporting goods up and down the state. These Road Trains are trucks with 2 or 3 sometimes 4 full trailers on the back. They travel on the main highways and they don't move for anyone. It is quite normal to pull over to the side of the road and let them pass as they can't stop quickly and it takes alot of effort for them to reach open speed so you are made to feel real guilty if they have to slow down for you.
The temperatures though can get quite hot in the extremes of summer, up to
about the 40 mark (celcius) and that burns the feet when you walk bare footed yo
cross the road.
The main deserts here are the Simpson Desert, The Great Sandy Desert, The Great Victoria Desert and the
Nullabor Plain. Nullabor means "no trees". These deserts come to life each Spring with the most spectacular and colourful show of wild flowers you will see anywhere on earth.
Western
Australia has some of the wackiest looking landscape on earth. One such area
the Punululu National Park is home
to the Bungle Bungle mountains and these dome shaped mountains of stone are
visually unique as they are orange in colour and lined with black stripes. This
is caused by a lichen that grows on certain layers of rock. But what makes this
area even more unique is that this area has only been recently discovered, in
the 1980s in fact. This vast national park surpasses Ayers Rock or the Olgas
for their scenic beauty. Punululu National Park also has World Heritage listing,
which puts this area right up there with the Amazon, the Grand Canyon and The
Great Barrier Reef. Halls Creek is the closest town and you can organise 4WD
tours from here, alternatively you can take a scenic flight over this vast area.
Western
Australia is also a rich state and this can be attributed to the abundance of
minerals found here. There are many small mining towns that house the people
that excavate these minerals. Some of these people live in Perth and fly to
work each morning then fly home again in the evening.
If you visit one of the open cast mines in the north you will see the world biggest earth moving machines, trucks with houses in them and trains that are kilometers in length.
When you follow the main highway north eventually you will cross over the Northern Territory border. The southwest of this state is bordered by South Australia. Beyond the western shoreline is the Indian Ocean and to the South of the state lies the Southern Ocean. The nearest landmass to the south is the Antartica.
I have seen most of Western Australia. From Perth to Broome and across to the Northern Territory. The most memorable places were :
Righty oh then. I'll tell you a bit about Point Quobba you have bein hearing
alot about.
First of all, it is a secluded area just north of Canarvon. About 20 minutes
away. The good thing it isn't populated, there are some toilets and the rest is
up to you. But the whole "caravan" or "bus" thing is well
worth the fuss.
There is an honesty box for your deposit of about $1 a week, or a day. I
can't remember BUT ITS WORTH EVERY BIT. When I first got to this place, I wasn't
impressed. Sure it had White sand and Blue clear water. But in Western Australia
that is the norm. But after a week or two, you really see what the place is
about. Let me narrow it down a bit. Here are some points and facts about the
place.
As you can see, this place is the place to be if you are looking at
travelling or if you have a bus/caravan and supplies. Once you are there, you
never feel like leaving. Our convoy and I stayed there for over two months of
our travel period because it was just so great. And what do you know. My mum
just went back there.
