Simone

You mean the Moore River at Guilderton?
Yep, it's a very nice spot!
There is a bit there, it's a little holiday town with a caravan park and a cafe/shop/snackbar.



Good list Teresa, you've covered most of the major things!

CadburysFingers

Yes typing in a hurry I missed an 'o' out.

leedslad

If anything in Australia is the most memorable for me, its the Scuba diving.
Maybe the Adults could do some scuba diving. I bet it'll be the most memorable part of the trip.

A wine tour in the swan valley is good, and a great reason to bet pi**ed! Also alot of Kangaroos around that area around sunset. If you drive into the Vines you can see them at night eating all the flowers in people gardens. You can drive right up to them with the headlights on near the golf course.

Fish and chips at hillary's boat harbour.

Just a few things we did when we were there.

lynnbrooks

[QUOTE=Simone]Hi!

When are you planning for?

In January, we went south, because it's cooler.
Also, if you don't have that much time, there's more to see/do south, closer together. North is great too, but longer driving distances in between things. It is worth it to go sometime though, but I wouldn't go in Dec/Jan/Feb! If going north I would go to Nambung National Park (pinnacles), Geraldton, Kalbarri, Shark Bay(shell beach, monkey mia, etc), and maybe further to Exmouth etc.

On our trip in January (10 days), we did:
Bunbury(friends there, but went to see the dolphins, and went to Forrest Beach near Capel), Busselton, Dunsborough/Yallingup/Grace Town, Margaret River (1 night), Augusta(one night), Bridgetown(1 night), Walpole(2 nights), Albany (2 nights), and drove back up via Albany hwy, about 4 hours.


Here's a whole thing I've done on a trip south for friends, who had already 'done' Margaret river way, so this is more for Bridgetown, Walpole, Albany.
First normal sized town after Bunbury is Donnybrook(this is if you go
south inland, not along the coast to Busselton). Just before you enter the
town, there's a turn off for the 'Big apple'. Can't rememeber if you can go in
it or not(don't think so), it's been years..., but might be funny for kids.

Then you've got Balingup, where you could have a 'magic mushroom pie'(or
any other sort of homemade pie ), there's also some other stuff down there.

Then Bridgetown(where I lived from 92 -96) :
http://www.bridgetown.wa.gov.au/tourism
In Bridgetown 'centre' you could go to Pip's Pottery. Then a little further into town there's The Cidery(you can eat there too).
If you've got a decent map, you might be able to find 'Sutton's Lookout' too. From that hill, you look into the beautiful valley where we had our
house(just out of town).
After Bridgetown you come to Manjimup. Not much there. Just south of Manjimup is the Diamond Tree.
http://www.southernforests.com.au/pr...ing.asp?id=305
Very similar to the Gloucester Tree in Pemberton, one of the 3 trees that were used to spot Bush fires.

On the way to Walpole there's also a few nice stops.
Both are dirt roads, about 8km each way to get to each.
I think you pass Fernhook Falls first, to the left. It's part of a
national park, can't think of the name... You can do a small walk there. It
should
look good now, with all the rain we've had!

Then later on(or earlier on), there's a turnoff to the right, to
Mandalay Beach. I think it's 10kms, which might be a bit far for 'just a beach',
but it is a nice beach etc. (no town or anything though)

Around Walpole there's heaps. http://www.walpole.org.au/
Just south is the Giant Tingle Tree.
http://walpole.southernforests.com.a...ting.asp?id=72
Then further down is the Valley of the Giants.
http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/tourism/va...he_giants.html
And a little bit further than that(you're halfway to Denmark(http://www.denmarkvisitorcentre.com.au/ ) by now...) is William
Bay.
There is Green Pool and Elephant Rocks. Very, very nice spots. http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/national_p...nth/william_ba
y.html

If you make it down further to Albany, there's heaps to do there too:
http://www.albanytourist.com.au/pages.asp?code=40
You've got the Gap, and Natural Bridge etc. And Whale World.
And two people Bay, with the gorgeous 'Little Beach'.

Some idea's if you'd like to stay in Bridgetown:
http://members.westnet.com.au/bridgetowncc/ (cottages next door to our
old house, a bit older, but nice area and lots of animals.)

http://www.sunnyhurstchalets.com.au/ (up the road from the country
cottages, nice view, a bit newer(built by my dad in 1995 or so). Also lots of animals, and next door is Sunnyhurst Winery(at the house our friends used to live in)

In Walpole we've always stayed at Rest Point Holiday Park, which is a
very nicely located caravan park, with on site vans and 'apartements'(not
very fancy ones, but good enough for us, luxury compared to on site vans). Don't have their own website though,...
http://www.walpole.org.au/restpoint.html
Don't really know anything else personally in Walpole, but there is heaps http://www.walpole.org.au/Stay.htm





Fab info,thanx, karma on it's way....do you any info on ningaloo reef?

Lynn

Simone

No worries!

Ha, no! That's one of the major tourist spots I've never been in my total of 10 years here! THe other is Rottnest Island!!
I think I've been everywhere else.... except the Gibb River rd(right up in the Kimbereleys) I think!

Un-Co

The Kimberleys are right up on my list of places I'd love to see. They sound sooo spectacular. I went from Darwin down the West Coast when I was a smelly backpacker but our car wasn't reliable enough to go into the wilder parts. My ex boyfriend was a 'ringer' (from what I gather a kind of Aussie cowboy) up there and it sounded amazing.
Oh I've got itchy feet! I need a break from the city I think!

webgum

oo, ooh, this looks gorgeous - I shall get myself up there (never mind the guests) as soon as this bleedin' rain stops!

Wave the Sails

Thanks so much to you all - again!!

Our rellies are coming November, January and February. Hope they can cope with the heat!

Simone

Yep, it's great!

On Pascal and my (?!) trip in 2000, we just went on the bus, so stopped at Broome, and Kununnurra only(where we only went into the 'hidden np', just outside town, like a mini bungle bungles)

But, I also lived just south of Broome(Bidgadanga) when I was 8 for 10 months. In that time the main trip I remember was up to Cape Levique, which is really nice, but very remote!!

And later we lived in Nullagine (the Pilbara), and we went on road trips to 'Woody Woody'(I think it's part of Rudall River NP), but got stopped by a flooded river. And of course we've been to Karajini NP(Hamersley Ranges).

It's great up there, wouldn't want to live there though!
We will have to go again sometime, but will need two weeks at least. And with not much annual leave, and Pascal's parents visiting in Dec again, we won't have much left for big trips! (can't go with his parents, it will be too hot, and they wouldn't like all the driving)

lynnbrooks

How many hours driving do you reckon from perth to ningaloo and what's the kimberly's?
Lynn

janeyray

We took our visitors to Mundaring Weir, which we love. It's on the map.

Rottnest was brilliant too.

renth

It's about 1,2600ks to Exmouth, bout 1,100 to Coral Bay - so I guess that's about 14 hours driving. We always do it over a couple of days.

The Kimberley, well - Broome is about 2,300 which is the start of the Kimberley and Kununurra is about 3,300 - this is when you begin to realise how big this place is.

I did Perth to Broome on a motorbike once and took me 4 days. I guess if you were sharing the driving and going around the clock (make sure you have a roo bar) then it could take a bit over 24 hours.

webgum

I loved it up at Mundaring Weir - the Mundaring Weir Hotel is great too. Felt like I was back in Shropshire, beautiful victorian tiled floors etc. Good pub food too. Great setting. I think they do out door concerts there in the summer.

Simone

EDIT: this reply was typed at about 9.30! I see Renth has given some good answers since then!
I agree, Mundaring Weir (hotel) is a nice spot. We stayed there for one night in November, was ok, food was great.



State is divided into area's or whatever they're called.
Kimberley's is right up the top: Broome, Kunnunurra, Derby, Gibb River rd etc
Pilbara is Port Hedland, Nullagine, Newman, and some more...
Then I think is the Gascoyne

Add you've got something like central west, midwest, Wheatbelt(narrogin etc), Goldfields(kalgoorlie etc), south west(walpole, Margeret River, Bunbury etc) and south coastal(Esperence, maybe Albany)


Don't know how many hours drive to Ningaloo, maybe 8??!
Renth and Owieb will know, they go up there 'regulary'. I wouldn't do it in one go though, plenty to see on the way anyway!!

DianneH68

this is a really useful thread.
I'm heading to perth on Monday for the start of several months travelling round Aus.
I'll be there for a week or so and just wondered if anyone can give me any additional tips on what to do/what not to do given that it's winter.
Eg, is Rottnest still worth going to or will it be too cold to enjoy?
I'll be staying in Cottesloe and am looking for things that are relatively central, given that we'll have a chance to do all the things north of Perth as we travel up the coast.
Thanks