Travel Guides and Stories

Western Australia, located on Australia's west coast, occupies one-third of the country's total area - larger than China's Xinjiang province, making it the world's largest administrative region. However, its population is less than 10% of Australia's total (2 million), with most concentrated in the capital city Perth (1.5 million). For Australians, it feels remarkably distant - Perth is about 4,000 kilometers from Sydney, a 5-hour flight, with a 2-hour time difference from Australia's eastern cities like Sydney and Melbourne. For Chinese people, Western Australia is truly an undiscovered paradise - there are currently no established tourist routes from China to Western Australia. The state lacks internationally famous landmark buildings or landscapes, making it difficult for most people to imagine what kind of land it is. But those who visit discover that Western Australia's scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, its countryside intoxicatingly lovely. The Indian Ocean breeze sweeps across pristine landscapes, awakening wildflowers across the hills; the Swan River's ripples reflect the soft glow of sunset, adorning this pure land. As the poem goes, "After searching everywhere, I turn around to find what I seek in the dimly lit corner." -- In Western Australia, self-driving is definitely the most suitable way to travel. For basic self-driving preparation, see "Australian Self-Drive Experience Guide." Perth is a peaceful metropolis with crystal-clear air. We arrived in Perth at sunset, when the sky was painted in magnificent layers of color. Perth locals are warm and friendly - I encountered an airport shuttle service operating like a taxi for the first time, where the driver recorded each passenger's destination and dropped them off one by one. He even told us that regardless of how early our departure might be, he could take us to the airport. This driver worked incredibly hard, serving as driver, baggage handler, and tour guide all in one, with excellent service attitude - quite different from Melbourne and Sydney. Perhaps because there are so few people here, businesses need to attract tourists through superior service. Even Perth's police are much friendlier than those in the east - the city was named the world's friendliest city in 2003, clearly a well-deserved title.

Western Australia's price levels are generally on par with the eastern states, reflecting the relatively small wealth gap in developed Western countries. Overall, driving in Western Australia is easier than in the east, though drivers need to be especially mindful of speed control. The roads here are new and wide, with few people and more civilized, courteous driving. Also important is increasing sun protection - Western Australia's clear skies mean extremely strong UV rays, so it's best to wear gloves while driving to prevent sunburn. The Western Australian journey is divided into northern and southern segments. The first journey heads south from Perth, ending at the famous meeting point of two oceans (Pacific and Indian), with a total round trip of about 700 kilometers, very easy to navigate with GPS. The route map is as follows:

Day 1 Perth-Balingup    Melbourne's air is much better than mainland China, but Western Australia's sky is even more beautiful than Melbourne's. After seeing the pure skies of Tibet and Northern Europe, I thought I would never be as impressed by blue skies again, but when I faced Western Australia's sky, I was still amazed. It was just too beautiful - the air seemed completely pure, the sky was such a deep blue, so crystal clear, with clouds floating gently at low altitude. Along the way, what we saw would all qualify as 5A national scenic areas in China - you could see colorful houses peeking through green trees, distributed tastefully along the undulating mountains; white sails dotted the sea where sky meets water, leisurely carrying families enjoying their weekends. Unfortunately, this section was all highway so I couldn't stop to take photos, but this leaves room for everyone's imagination :) The first stop south of Perth was Rockingham, a fairly large town where the ocean view immediately brightens one's spirits. Many people were relaxing on the beach, enjoying the blue sky, azure sea, and white sand.

There are three beautiful small towns on the southern route: Balingup, Bridge Town, and Nannup. We arrived in Balingup just before five o'clock. With experience from eastern travel, we knew the western schedule was even earlier, especially on weekends when many shops don't open, so we decided to stay in Balingup. The town was very quiet with few people. Without a reservation, I had to knock on someone's door to ask about accommodation. Fortunately, the lady was very helpful and drove us to find a beautiful B&B (Bed & Breakfast, typically private residences providing lodging and breakfast, common in Australia) on the hilltop. The house occupied about 1000 square meters, with pastures and orchards in front and back. The hostess seemed quite fond of Eastern culture, with Chinese elements in the living room and bathroom decor; there were also Mediterranean elements and numerous glass vessels, all harmoniously arranged. The room was spacious (about 40 square meters including bathroom), with very elegant decorations. What particularly impressed me was the incredibly soft wool blanket, warm-colored lighting creating a cozy atmosphere, and the hostess even set up coffee sofas and sun loungers on the balcony. Of course, a night's stay here wasn't cheap - 170 dollars including dinner, breakfast, and accommodation. But I thought it was worth it - you can't experience such tranquil ambiance in China.

Day 2 Balingup-Nannup    Without the pressure of a 10am checkout, we slept especially well that day. Early in the morning when we opened the door, we were greeted by the aroma of breakfast prepared by our hostess. It turned out to be a traditional English breakfast with several courses: first was freshly squeezed juice, fruit with oatmeal and yogurt, with fruit picked from the host's own orchard; second was hot drinks, with a choice of coffee or tea; third was the main course, where you could choose any combination of sausage, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and mushrooms; the final course was bread with butter or jam. The hostess offered apple jam and lemon jam, which she said she made herself - impressive! After breakfast, we bid farewell to our hosts and continued our journey. Today's destinations were Bridge Town and Nannup, both incredibly beautiful, as exquisite as fairy tale parks.

It was drizzling today without sunshine, so the photos don't look as good. We had originally planned to continue to Cape Leeuwin, but from experience, we knew the ocean wouldn't look good without sunny weather. So we changed our original plan and decided to stay another night in Nannup instead of going to Cape Leeuwin - a decision that proved quite wise. Since Nannup was quite close, today was very relaxed, and we arrived at the small town by 2:30 PM. Most shops in town were closed (no people, no business), but we finally found a restaurant and ordered coffee and fish & chips (this should be Britain's national dish, found everywhere in Australia).

Fortunately, the Information Centre was open until 4 PM. I immediately spotted a B&B called Moss Brook and asked the service desk to call and inquire about prices and availability. The owner said they had rooms available at two prices: 140 and 150 dollars, with the 150-dollar room featuring a luxury bathroom. The estate was 8 kilometers from the town center. When we drove through the estate's gate, we immediately felt its garden-like atmosphere - it was indeed even more beautiful than where we stayed yesterday. The hostess warmly showed us three suites, and in the end, I couldn't resist choosing the room with the luxury bathroom.

Bedrooms with different styles

Living room with distinct British flavor

Outside the house was an exquisite English garden. In Australia's dry climate, such a refined garden was entirely developed by the hostess bit by bit - truly remarkable.

We spotted a large wild kangaroo on their estate - finally captured a photo of a kangaroo after so many days!

Western Australia's official tourism website lists all accommodations, or you can visit the town's Information Centre to look at advertisements, choose a place you like and have the staff contact them to confirm availability for the day before heading there. Here, I must recommend this B&B again - Moss Brook. The hostess proudly told us that she had been recommended by an independent writer for the New York Times, who described this place as "a slice of heaven." Indeed, a corner of paradise, though of course, not inexpensive. 150$/night, with some discount if you stay for more than 3 days. Western Australia official website: *** Day 3 Nannup-Cape Leeuwin-Busselton-Rockingham-Perth After another refined English breakfast, the weather was beautiful today, making yesterday's wait worthwhile. We continued our journey to Cape Leeuwin. I recommend that visitors to Western Australia allow plenty of time and try to get good weather for seeing the ocean. Leaving Nannup, the roadside scenery changed from rolling hills and rivers to grasslands and forests. Low-floating white clouds against the blue sky created beauty beyond words.

A close-up of the sky, blue in its purest form

The roadsides looked like savanna with scattered trees

Augusta is Australia's southwesternmost town. It appears quite affluent, with expensive gas prices and large, beautiful houses. Continuing along the coastline, the vast ocean soon appeared - its grandeur and magnificence could make you forget all the narrowness, crowds, and noise of city life. The beaches here are all white sand with light blue water, absolutely beautiful, yet with very few tourists.

Two elderly people sitting by the sea

Seagull spreading its wings

The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse at the meeting point of the Pacific and Indian Oceans is also Australia's tallest mainland lighthouse, extremely majestic and spectacular. We could see the magnificent Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse from far away.

It looks close but is actually still far away

As we approached the lighthouse, its grandeur and height became even more impressive

Cape Leeuwin is where the Indian Ocean meets the Pacific Ocean. Before going, I wondered if there was actually a boundary line between oceans? There is! Because each ocean has its own currents, standing here with binoculars, you can simultaneously see the currents of both the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. Once again, I marvel: it's just too beautiful

After leaving the lighthouse, we headed back toward Perth, with savanna-like scenery along the way, the sky hanging like a painting above

Around five o'clock, we arrived at Busselton, where the white beaches, boardwalk, and waterfront houses were very nice. Unfortunately, we were disappointed to find that the boardwalk train, diving, and many other activities were closed these days. Well, it seems we need to do better research next time, but even just casually enjoying the scenery by the sea was enough to lift our spirits.

Since we couldn't participate in Busselton's activities, we decided to stay in Rockingham, which has nice scenery and is much larger than Busselton. By the time we reached Rockingham, the sun had already set. Under the sunset, by the beach, I wished such beautiful scenery could linger a while longer.

When we started looking for accommodation after watching the sunset, we discovered that all nearby lodgings were full... It was really frustrating, searching in the dark in an unfamiliar city. After finding everything full, we decided to drive back to Perth, thinking that being a larger city, we'd surely find accommodation there. After finally reaching Perth, we found the situation wasn't much better - hotels were mostly full or only had presidential suites available. After searching for a long time, we finally found a youth hostel. Though the room wasn't great, we had no choice but to make do. After getting everything settled, we still had to prepare for the second segment of our Western Australia journey. It seems that when traveling in Australia, you really need to arrange accommodation in advance - otherwise, you risk not finding any place to stay when night falls.