The best of Australia's Southwest

Back in 2018, I have embarked on an amazing journey in the Southwest of Australia with my boyfriend Ed. As of today, this trip was one of my favourite and with the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.

With only 7 days, we decided to do a massive road trip from Perth to Esperance and back. We decided to stay in Perth area for the first two days and hit the road from the third day, and totalling over 2,000km over 4 days.

Day 0: Arrive in Perth; usually a night flight. We took Tiger Air flight #761 from Sydney leaving at 21:15 and arriving at 23:15.

Day 1: brunch near Fremantle, ferry to Rottnest Island, exploring the island

On our first day we took a breakfast in Fremantle (or Freo), a very pretty beach town about 30mn away from Perth by train. We went to Ohana Açai to get our little dose of Açai bowl before the trip. The ferry ride lasts about 45mn and I have to say it is bumpy! If you have sea sickness, I suggest you buy the tablets on-board or bring them yourself before travelling. The ferry ride is quite costly as the return ticket was A$61 (37Eur) for concession (student price). As we arrived in the morning, we had plenty of time to rent a bicycle and explore the gorgeous island. The hire rate is A$30 (18Eur) per day but I highly recommend it as you can literally explore the whole island conveniently with it. On the first day, we basically cycled around the right side of the island: Salmon Bay, Little Salmon Bay, Parker Point, Thomson Bay, around the visitor centre and Kingstown. We arrived quite late (around 3-4pm) at Salmon Bay and we literally had the whole bay to ourselves. I recommend going into those places later in the afternoon. The reason being that most of the tourists will be coming for a day trip only and will hop on the ferry around 4-5pm.

We also had a nice dinner by the bay at a place called Thomsons, which specialises in seafood. Our accommodation was quite basic as we got one of the cheapest bungalows. It cost A$130 (79Eur) for the two of us.

Day 2: Quokkas, The Basin, Lighthouse

We started off our second morning on the island at The Basin, located on the North side of the island. There are several natural pools with stunning transparent and calm waters. The place is ideal for snorkelling!

Of course no Rottnest Island trip would be complete without quokkas! Quokkas are so friendly and they will come to you naturally. Just remember not to feed them and respect their natural habitat. In order to enjoy the day fully, we took one of the last ferry around 7:25pm. The return journey was the absolute worst in terms of seasickness! The ferry was moving so much, half the boat went sick; I can't recommend enough having some tablets. I barely get seasick but I still remember that day. To save some cost, we spent the night at a hostel in Fremantle and the night was around A$76 (46Eur) for a private room.

Day 3: pick up the car, drive to Margaret River, Dunsborough, Busselton

On the third we began our massive road trip for the following 4 days. We first picked up the car in Fremantle and from what I recall, the car was the most expensive cost for our trip. We paid over A$500 (306Eur) for 5 days for a Hyundai i30 and the reason for this was because we were under 25 at the time, hence the cost almost doubled. Make sure you check the extras before booking your car rental. A good website to compare prices in Australia is VroomVroomVroom.

After 2.5 hours of driving, we first stopped at Busselton, a little town famous for its jetty, which is the longest in the Southern Hemisphere at 1,841m. Following, we drove to Dunsborough to have an afternoon dip and sunbaking session. The area there is just stunning and there are other places worth checking, such as Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay and Cape Naturaliste. We then drove to Margaret River, as we had booked two nights of glamping with Wild Goose Camping in Yallingup area. This was a first for us but it was just magical! The price is A$175 (107Eur) per night for the tent, with a minimum of two nights booking but it's just so so worth it. Our tent was in beautiful garden which was part of a house and we had view on the lake. The tents were also so comfy and cosy. We just set up our table and had cheese and wine; simply perfect!

Day 4: Voyager Estate, Hamelin Bay

The fourth day was probably the more relaxed and calm of all days! No long drive and no waking up early, we went and visited one of the most beautiful Wine Estate in Margaret River; famous for its wineries. We went to Voyager Estate and had a full 7-course lunch with wine pairing for A$180 per person. The price as of today (January 2020) is A$220 (135Eur) per person. At this price you had at least one glass per course, if not more. To date, this was one of the best fine dining lunches I had in Australia, not to mention the perfect wine to pair with. The estate also has a beautiful garden, worth the visit even if you're not eating. About 35km South of Voyager Estate is located Hamelin Bay, where reside friendly sting rays! They are really friendly and you do not risk anything as long as you do not threaten them or scare them. Some locals were even feeding them with raw fish and small prawns. Meeting sting rays from up close was such a fantastic experience! Definitely worth the little detour.

Day 5:  the longest drive - Diamond Tree, Elephant Rocks, Greens Pool, William Bay

On the fifth day, we hit the road leaving our glamping in Yallingup to go to Esperance. As a mere 736km separate the two towns, we left early in the morning and fuelled ourselves by having a delicious breakfast at Riversmith in Margaret River town. I insist on the 'delicious', as you can see on the photo how rich my avo on toast was, with extra chorizo!

As we like to take our time and explore places on road trips, our way to Esperance took over 12 hours instead of the scheduled 8 hours. We left around 6:30am and reached our Airbnb in Esperance around 11:30pm, if not later. We absolutely do not regret this, however, please keep in mind that Western Australia is pretty much empty and deserted. The conditions of the road can be really dangerous at night as the wildlife suddenly come out of the bushes. Lastly, bear in mind to always refuel your car as sometimes, more than 200km separate each town and you will not find gas for the next 2-3 hours.

The Diamond Tree is a 50m tall tree, located on the side of the road in a park where you can rest. The road is basically the main road you need to take when heading Southwest. You can find its exact Google location here, if you wish to add it to your map! We tried climbing it, but were definitely too scared and did not make it to the top. From the Diamond Tree to Denmark, the area where the Elephant Rocks and the Greens Pool located in the Williams Bay National Park, there is about 2 hours drive in the buses and the landscape is just gorgeous! As it was mid-summer, temperatures almost reached 40C and we were dying to find a beach to swim! Before heading to the pools and the rocks, I suggest stopping by a place called Bartholomews Meadery. You can try and buy some local honey, including some honey ice cream! Once you get out of the shop, the first road on your right should be the right way to the Elephant Rocks, which have the name due to their shape: if you look closely on the picture above this text, the shape of the rocks form the back of elephants. Both locations are right next to each other. The Green Pools are calm shallow and transparent waters, ideal for kids. Then you take a short walk and reach the Elephant Rocks. We spent about 2 hours there at both location as it was just so nice, the weather was ideal and there were very little people. We were also able to cliff dive!

We normally had planned to go to Albany but the sun was already setting when we left Denmark, and as the road is dangerous at night, we skipped it.

Here are some top recommended spots we wish we had the time to explore:

• Albany 
• Frenchman's Bay
• Emu Point 
• Gull Rock National Park
• Little Beach, Two People's Bay Nature Reserve 

Day 6: Esperance, Cape Le Grand National Park, driving to Hyden

We woke up in beautiful Esperance on day sixth, heading straight to the beach near our Airbnb, called Blu Haven. Our Airbnb cost us around A$115 (70Eur) for one night and was surrounded by stunning beaches. We then went and looked for the Pink Lake, which happened to be all dried at that season, so we did not experience any pinkness... Also, if anyone has food recommendations for Esperance, I would happily take them because we had the worst breakfast of our entire trip!! Heading 50km East, we entered the Cape Le Grand National Park. Entry fee per vehicle is A$12 (7Eur).

We spent the whole day exploring the park and the different bays and areas, but my favourite remain Lucky Bay and Hellfire Bay. Lucky Bay is famous for the kangaroos roaming on the beach (and they really are!), but what I loved the most was the beauty of the whitest sand I had ever seen (whiter than Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays on the East Coast of Australia) and just how it spread for miles and miles. I also loved how locals were casually fishing in the crystal blue waters.

Other places I wish we had the time to see, and which I recommend you to check are:

• Wharton Beach
• Duke of Orleans Bay

And if budget allows, you should stay at Esperance Chalet Village! They look super cosy and were recommended by many influencers. I plan to stay there the next time I visit the area. 

Around sunset time, we left and took the road to our last stopping point before returning to Perth: Hyden, another 425km into the desert at night. One of the last 'bigger' town we saw that night was Ravensthorpe, you cannot miss it as it has a statue with miners on it. Somehow, that town name got stuck into my head. We stopped at the only available Motel in Hyden, called The Wave Rock Hotel, located near a very old and non-functioning looking petrol station. This town honestly reminded me of 1950s American movies in the West! The night cost us A$150 (92Eur). In my opinion, this was a rip-off as it was horrid and old but being the only Motel in the area, they certainly leveraged that..

Day 7: Hyden, Wave Rock, Perth, Mullaloo Beach

As we were just a few minutes from the Wave Rock, we went there early in the morning as the park opened at 9:00am. I recommend going as early as possible to limit the crowds. As I remember, there were no entry fee but a parking to pay around A$10 (6Eur).  Allow yourself at least 2 hours to visit the park- it is not just the wave! There are other things to see around. This was our last day in WA and our flight was scheduled the same night just before midnight. We originally planned to go to The Pinnacles Desert, which I recommend you to check if you have enough time. However, we were so tired from the kms we did the previous couple of days that we decided not to drive extra. The Pinnacles Desert is located 510km from Hyden, that is 6 hours away and 190km away from Perth, or just over 2 hours. Instead, we drove 360km back to Perth from Hyden and it took us about 4 hours. We first had brunch at a place called The Little Banksia. This was our Valentine's lunch and the pancakes were just stunning! From there, we headed to the closest beach and it was not a beach! We lied down and swam through the sunset at Mullaloo Beach - one of my favourite beaches in Australia. Once the sun was gone, we had a couple of beers to the pub nearby and headed to the airport.

Rough Budget and Pro Tips

Travelling to rural Western Australia definitely is not cheap. We tried to balance pleasure, comfort and budget at the same time. Below is a small guide of our spending to help you plan your trip if you are interested. Please note that there will always be cheaper and more expensive options available to you. If you are looking for a budget trip, you can look at hostels instead of glamping, eliminate the lunch at the estate and also rent a van instead of a car so you can sleep in it. These figures are for indication only.

Accommodation: A$445 (273Eur) per person, around A$900 (552Eur) for two people
Car: A$500+ for under 25s and the smallest car option + third party insurance
Flights: around A$300 (184Eur) return per person. We were lucky to book them in advance, as flights from Sydney to Perth tend to be a lot more expensive.
Tips: Definitely download an offline map before you hit the road: I use maps.me. There are heaps of places with no signal whatsoever and neither your phone nor your GPS will work. To save costs, I recommend not getting the GPS from your rented car, as it would be useless in many places anyway. Always get a pack of water bottles and emergency snacks in the trunk as you do not know when the next village may be in case of an accident. Also avoid driving at sunset/night time where possible, as it is the prime time for the wildlife to go near the roads. Lastly, add an extra couple of days to this itinerary to spend more time near Denmark/Albany and in Esperance areas.

Thank you WA, you have been unreal! We will be back soon.