Western Australia is by far the largest of Australia's states — a third of the entire continent — and one of the most sparsely populated. It stretches from the tropical northwest, where the Kimberley region holds some of the country's most dramatic gorge country, to the temperate southwest corner around Perth and Margaret River, through vast stretches of red desert in between.
Perth is the capital and by far the largest city, sitting on the Indian Ocean coast where the Swan River meets the sea. It is one of the world's most isolated major cities, closer to Singapore than to Sydney. The beaches — Cottesloe, Scarborough, City Beach — run along a long foreshore north of the CBD, with good surf and clean water. The nearby port city of Fremantle has a compact, well-preserved Victorian centre and a lively weekend market.
The southwest is wine country: the Margaret River region produces serious Cabernets and Chardonnays, and the drive south through karri forests to Albany is one of Australia's better road trips. The Stirling and Porongurup ranges near Albany offer excellent bush walking.
North of Perth, the landscape opens into increasingly arid country. The Pinnacles at Nambung National Park are a strange forest of limestone pillars rising from yellow sand. Kalbarri has dramatic river gorge walking. Shark Bay — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — is where you can swim with dolphins at Monkey Mia and see the stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, living structures that look like rocks and are built by the world's oldest type of organism. Further north, the Ningaloo Reef runs close to shore at Coral Bay and Exmouth; it is one of the few places in the world where you can reliably snorkel with whale sharks.
The Kimberley region, around Broome and Kununurra, is remote and requires either a 4WD or a flight, but the gorges of the Bungle Bungles, the tidal waterfalls at Talbot Bay, and the empty red savannah make it worth the effort. Broome has Cable Beach, pindan cliffs, and the memory of a once-thriving pearling industry.
Getting around Western Australia without a car is difficult outside of Perth. Distances are enormous — it is 2,700 kilometres from Perth to Broome.
