Perth

Galway2726

Hi,
Just wondering does anybody have any ideas on places near Perth to spend weekends?Within 3-4hrs drive?I know Margaret River is pretty close anywhere else?

BossArky

Albany is 4 hrs south from Perth. It's nice and I preferred it to Margaret River. This is probably because I arrived in Margaret River just as the recent bushfires were kicking off and had to be evacuated immediately.

If you go to Albany be sure to visit Rustlers one night for a steak. Best food I've had in Australia. The drive back to Perth (if going inland) is pretty long and straight. I enjoyed it but you should bring snacks as the couple of roadhouses I stopped at are manky.

Lancelin is about 1 hr north of Perth. I stopped off there for a couple of hours on the way to the pinnacles desert. I wouldn't mind going back and stay there for a night e.g. go up on a Saturday, stay the night, come back on Sunday. It is tiny ... but lovely beaches, clear water for surfing/boating/bathing, etc.... and you can go sand boarding nearby. It's a quiet tiny place so don't go there looking for nightlife. It's where you'd go to write a book.

Busselton is about 2 hours south of Perth and surpised me. It's got some lovely beaches too. The wooden jetty there is almost 2km long and as with all things in Oz has a claim to fame of "longest wooden jetty in Southern Hemisphere". The underwater observatory at the end of the jetty is overhyped and overpriced.

Hayden is about 4 hours east of Perth. Great roads (suprisingly) and largely lush farmland (again suprisingly to me). The main reason you'd drive to this place is probably to see "Wave Rock". It's a massive rock shaped like.... a wave. You can climb on top and wander about. It's impressive. The flies here are a nightmare. If you go bring a wide brimmed hat with a net to cover your face. Don't stay the night. It's roasting and there is nothing else here.

FYI: My recent roadtrip around south western WA went as follows:

Day 1: Drive Perth to Margaret River via Busselton, then back to Busselton for the night due to the fires in Margaret River. Check out the wineries, cheese factories etc on the way out of Marget River (or at least the ones that aren't closed).

Day 2: Busselton to Margaret River, after first checking out the wooden jetty.

Day 3: Margaret River to Albany. Check out Port Augusta (where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ccean). It's a beautiful rugged spot. You can climb the lighthouse if you wish (or if you don't have a baby - they're not allowed). Afterwards drive to the Tree Top Walk near to Denmark, in the Valley of the Giants. It's pretty cool. Stop for coffee in other little towns on the way. Go for steak in Rustlers as mentioned above.

Day 4: In Albany check out the Fort to get great views of the inlet/sound, go to Pelican Point for breakfast/coffee, and spend at least a couple of hours at the Whaling Station, which is now a museum... and the only fully intact museum of a whaling station in the world. This is a really interesting place.

Galway2726

Thanks a mill for your reply.You went to into great detail and it will definitely come in handy some weekend we wish to head away.All the areas you mentioned sound great. Thanks again

Xavi6

To add a few more -

Jurien Bay - Straight up west coast highway, it's a nice little seaside town which is about half an hour drive from Cervantes which is where The Pinnacles are located there and they are a must see tourist attraction imo. It's quite nice to camp in Jurien for a couple of nights.

Geraldton - It's basically a mini city and a shipping port 3 and a half hours north of Perth but is really nice. Some great nightlife to be had and if you're there for a few days you can easily head up to Kalbarri.

Kalbarri - If you go as far as Gero you might as well go the extra hour and a half to Kalbarri. Take in Nature's Window, the canyons and all the other great scenery. Some fantastic like food places there if you like freshly caught fish. Fantastic spot, one of the nicest I've been to and I've done most of the west coast hotspots north and south.

STIG83

Monkey Mia too, a long way away but worth a visit, was there last week, loved it there

ellaq

Guilderton -Moore River. It is about 1.5 hours north of Perth. One beach with the ocean on one side and fresh river water on the other.

greenprincess

ellaq wrote: »

Guilderton -Moore River. It is about 1.5 hours north of Perth. One beach with the ocean on one side and fresh river water on the other.

Thats the place I was trying to thing of. If you bring boogie boards you can sand surf into the river some craic! If you have a little canoe/ blow up boat thing bring that to