My Love Affair With Western Australia

I wrote this entry for my blog almost three months ago as I was leaving WA but didn't get around to posting it until now for a number of reasons including how much time and effort it takes to organize and upload the photos and wrangle with the website my blog is hosted on...I also went through a period of several weeks where trying to get Vinnie's rego to go just took all of the wind out of my sails...I finally feel like writing again and pulled this entry up off my computer and re-read it a couple of weeks ago and was shocked by how much I'd done and seen just in this three month period! When you live in a van, you're living in the present moment - "does the van have enough fuel?" "where am I camping tonight?" "do I have enough water in the tank to cook and make meals?" etc.

So I rarely look out across the arc of everything I have done over a longer period of time and so when I re-read what I had written about my adventures in WA it actually shocked me...So many incredible experiences across such a large and diverse landscape. I'm definitely interested in returning to WA and continuing to explore and adventure through it...And now here's my original post written about 2.5 months ago...

I left WA (Western Australia for you non-Aussies) earlier this week (October 10, 2025) and was sad to leave my new favourite Australian state (although I have a sneaking suspicion that Tasmania will steal my heart too!). I entered WA in late June 2025 at the Top End (where I was swiftly stripped of all of my fresh fruit and vegetables) and crossed out of WA on the south end on the Nullarbor Plain so I was in WA for more than 3 months (except for the first week of September when I flew back to Queensland to go sea kayaking in the Whitsundays). And here’s why I feel like I’m leaving my heart in WA:

· Spent a week in Broome where I continued my pearl farming education by visiting the Broome Historical Museum; joined the Salty Plum Social evening walk and learned a lot about multicultural Broome; learned that Broome has 70+ roundabouts and no traffic lights; went on several long bike rides; said hello to the camels every time I ran into them which was a lot!; went out on two boat rides – one to see snubfin dolphins and the other to have a few beverages and enjoy the sunset; bought an amazing piece of aboriginal art at The Bungalow; watched several sunsets at Cable Beach.

· Spent 4 nights at Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm which marked the beginning of my pearl farming education; flew to the Horizontal Falls in a floatplane and then zoomed through the Falls in a powerboat several times over a few hours to see massive tides of 8+ metres flowing in different directions; visited local Aboriginal communities; went on an indigenous-led walk with Terry Hunter to learn more about First Nations culture and customs and this was easily one of the best indigenous experiences I’ve had!

· Did a lot of snorkeling in Cape Range National Park (Turquoise Bay, Drift Snorkel, Oyster Stacks, Lakeside) and swam with whale sharks!!! I also saw about 100 breaching humpback whales on the day out on the water to swim with whale sharks.

· Joined Intrepid Travel for two weeks exploring the Kimberley including adventuring down the entire Gibb River Road; hiked Tunnel Creek and survived the freshies (that’s freshwater crocodiles for you non-Aussies!)!; hiked and swam in several gorges – Bells, Adcock, & Galvans gorges although the very best was hiking and swimming at Manning Gorge; camped at El Questro and more hiking and swimming at Emma, Amalia, and El Questro gorges; soaking at Zebedee Springs; celebrating my birthday with a doughnut tower birthday cake in Kununnura; camping at Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles); flying in a helicopter for the first time at Purnululu; hiking Mini Palms, Echidna Chasm, and Osmand Lookout Trails; Aboriginal guided hike with Beck through Beehive Domes & Cathedral Gorge.

· Spent a couple of nights at Eighty Mile Beach and collected seashells and watched the sunset.

· Learned about the Red Dog in Dampier and explored rock art at Murujuga National Park.

· Swam with manta rays at Coral Bay and hitchhiked to Five Fingers Bay for good snorkeling.

· Epic hiking and swimming at Karijini National Park including Dales Gorge, swimming at Fern Pool; Oxer Lookout; Handrail Pool; Upper Weano Gorge; Hancock Gorge (my favorite); Knox Gorge (my second favourite!); Joffre Falls Lookout.

· Survived two ER visits totaling about $2,500 AUD (~$1,650 US) to discover that a sharp pain up under my right ribs was not my gallbladder going wonky but bruised ribs most likely from all the hauling back in on boats after swimming with whale sharks and manta rays – the good news is I’m better now though it did take about 6-8 weeks to really feel better. But hey, this was a lot cheaper than it would have been in the USA and isn’t it nice to know that all of my organs are doing just fine?? These ER visits in remote WA added almost 1,000 kms to my drive!

· Drove the Carnarvon Fruit Loop and discovered the best bananas in the universe!

· Camped at Gladstone and had a crazy drive through heavy mud on departure.

· Spent a week at Shark Bay which you must put on your travel list!; drove the Shark Bay World Heritage Drive and stopped at Hamelin Pool (boardwalk closed), Shell Beach (epic!), Eagle Bluff Lookout (unreal how clear the water is!), and had a pint at the Old Pub when I reached Denham; went on an indigenous led day trip to Francois Peron National Park in a 4WD with indigenous guide “Capes”; what a great way to experience and appreciate this magnificent landscape through his eyes - unreal red pindan soil contrasting with the 50 shades of turquoise, cerulean, azure, blue water. We saw all sorts of marine life including shovelnose sharks, dugongs, dolphins, and emus – wow! Swam at Bottle Bay; soaked in the hot tub at the Homestead; day trip to Monkey Mia to commune with dolphins and hike nearby; day trip to Dirk Hartog island with incredible scenery and curious humpback whales!; kayaking day trip to Big Lagoon; discovered “shark alley” and saw yellow crabs scurrying across the sand; visited Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery Centre which is excellent!

· Snapped a pic at the Pink Lake!

· Explored Kalbarri National Park which includes several coastal areas as well as inland gorges Z-Bend River hike, Nature’s Window, & Kalbarri Skywalk – the drive inland to the river gorges was lovely with wildflowers, banksia and grass trees; Mushroom Rock & Rainbow Valley Nature Trail; Red Bluff Lookout, Pot Alley, Eagle Gorge, Shellstone Grandstand, and coastal walk between Island Rock and Natural Bridge; daily pelican feeding featuring “naughty boy” pelican antics! Had a pint at Finlay's.

· Survived six weeks of cold and wet once I hit Geraldton!

· Camped at Sandy Cape and was lulled to sleep by the ocean both nights

· Checked out the Pinnacles at Nambung National Park

· Spent a week in Freo (Fremantle); stayed in a fabulous Airbnb and rode my bike to most places; bought aboriginal art at Japingka Art Gallery; took the ferry to Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) and rode my bike 22km around the island; snorkeled Little Salmon Bay (freezing cold but beautiful!), visited the museum which tells the story of the wrongful incarceration of aboriginal men and boys with nearly 400 deaths; sincere efforts at reconciliation are in progress starting with telling the story of what happened; met the quokkas and had one jump right into my lap!!; day trip to central Perth to visit the King’s Park Botanic Gardens (excellent!) and The Art Gallery of Western Australia; Fremantle Markets; WA Maritime Museum

· Margaret River Region; Busselton Jetty; Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse; Sugarloaf Rock; watching whales; Meelup Beach; lots of rain!; camping at Conto Campground in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park; Cape Naturaliste Winery (good); bought a piece of art at Yallingup Aboriginal Art Gallery; explored Jewel Cave; Leeuwin Lighthouse; Boranup Loop Trail; Cape Grace & Xanadu wineries; Hayshed Hill & Brown Hill wineries; bought John Miller kangaroo / outback pendant; Cherubino winery; Prevelly Beach to learn about surf culture

· Valley of the Giants; Walpole-Nornalup National Park; still wet!; Parry Beach Campground (fab!); Shelley Beach Campground (epic!) camped right on the beach; Elephant Rocks hike; Greens Pool; Granite Skywalk at Porongurup National Park (scary heights!); long drive to Hyden for indigenous led walk with Michael to explore Hippo’s Yawn and Wave Rock area; drove out to Mulga’s Cave and the Humps; Albany – Historic Whaling Station and animal park (white kangaroos!), the Gap, Natural Bridge, the Blowholes; Museum of the Great Southern; Ravensthorpe – silo art; Fitzgerald River National Park – UNESCO Biosphere reserve and epic royal hakea flowers!; hiked up East Mt. Barren (steep!!) and checked out the beaches / lookouts.

· Cape Le Grand National Park for 6 nights; bike rides; Lucky Bay Brewing; drove Great Ocean Drive – beaches galore!; hiked to the top of Frenchman’s Peak (crazy steep!); swam at Lucky Bay; still rainy; coastal hike from Lucky Bay to Thistle Cove; Flinders Monument; kangaroo sighting next to Vinnie at daybreak; Rossiter and Hellfire Bays.

· Nullarbor – Norseman Camel Roundabout; free camping at Woorlba rest area; spotted wild camels at Caiguna!; last night in WA at Eucla