Western Australia Region Guide

Western Australia covers a third of the continent — bigger than Western Europe — and holds some of the oldest surface rock on earth, a wildflower bloom of around 12,000 species, and a coastline where you can swim with whale sharks.

The friction is scale, and visitors underestimate it more here than anywhere else in the country. Perth to Broome is 2,200 km. Perth to Esperance is seven hours. There is no version of this state that can be seen in a week by road.

Choose one of three trips and commit: the southwest from Perth, the Coral Coast north to Exmouth, or the Kimberley. Fly between them rather than driving. Come in September to November for the southwest, when the wildflowers are out, or May to September for the north, which is unbearable and largely closed the rest of the year.

If you travel slowly

The southwest corner — Margaret River, the karri forests and the south coast — is the one part of the state that rewards a slow week without long drives.

If you want to see the essentials

Perth, Rottnest, and either Margaret River or the Pinnacles. Add Ningaloo only if you have ten days and will fly to it.

If you seek local character

Fremantle on a Sunday, a Margaret River cellar door on a weekday, and a sunset at Cottesloe — Perth's west-facing coast means the sun sets over the sea, which the eastern cities never get.

If you want to go beyond the obvious

The Kimberley: Purnululu's beehive domes, the Gibb River Road in the dry, and a coastline of tides that rise and fall by eleven metres.

The Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga) holds over a million petroglyphs — likely the largest concentration of rock art anywhere on earth, some more than 40,000 years old, and sitting beside heavy industry. Visit with Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation guides.

Much of the Kimberley is Aboriginal land requiring a permit. Apply in advance, and do not photograph Wandjina or Gwion Gwion rock art where asked not to — these are living cultural property, not heritage scenery.

Ningaloo's whale sharks are wild animals under a strict interaction code: minimum distances, no touching, limited swimmers per animal. Licensed operators enforce it; choose one that does.

Quokkas on Rottnest are protected and habituated. Feeding or touching them is an offence and makes them sick — the selfie is fine, the contact is not.

September to November is the southwest's best window and the wildflower season — roughly 12,000 species, most found nowhere else, blooming north to south through those months.

March to May is warm and settled in the south, with the ocean still swimmable.

May to September is the dry in the north and the only sensible time for the Kimberley, Broome and the Pilbara. Whale sharks at Ningaloo run roughly March to August.

December to February is hot everywhere and genuinely dangerous in the north, where the wet brings cyclones and road closures. Perth itself is hot and dry, tempered by the afternoon sea breeze locals call the Fremantle Doctor.

What a day costs, by how you travel

Year-round relative cost index vs region average