The Top 8 Stops To Make On A West Coast Road Trip
It’s no secret we Aussies love a good road trip. We’ll jump at just about any excuse to load up the car with a bunch of mates and head out to explore some of the amazing coastline, cities, and towns this country has to offer.
Along Australia’s Wild West Coast, the opportunities for an incredible road trip are endless. Think cruising along winding roads with the music up and the windows down for an afternoon of food and wine tasting, boarding down huge sand dunes, or exploring a sunken oil rig surrounded by a rainbow of marine life. And that’s barely scratching the surface!
Planning the perfect on-the-road vacay in WA? Here are eight essential stops.
#1 Perth
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Your first port of call has to be Perth – home of the Eagles, the Freo Dockers, and a passionate local commitment to turning every business into a drive thru. Over the last few years, the city has flourished into a cultural powerhouse with bold architecture (see the revamped WA Museum Boola Bardip), delicious restaurants, and rooftop bars galore. Pick up an Apex rental car from Perth airport and you’re good to go.
Heading South
#2 Bunbury
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Just under two hours drive south from Perth, Bunbury is all about the ocean and marine life, with a splash of great eats and trendy boutiques to boot. Koombana Bay is frequented by over 20 bottlenose dolphins year-round (at times up to 100!), with the cheeky mammals regularly playing in the shallows.
Dolphin Discovery Centre is a fun place to learn more about the local population. For a special thrill, you can even join their guides for a snorkel with wild dolphins between November and April.
#3 Margaret River
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Food, wine, great surf… what’s not to love? You could easily spend a few days in Margaret River. Treat your designated driver to as many lemonades as they like as you take in some of region’s 200+ vineyards.
For the foodies, Margaret River also produces fantastic cheese, chocolates, marron, salami, and so much in between.
#4 Augusta
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Next stop is Augusta, the jewel of the southwest. It has beautiful beaches (see: Granny’s Pool and Foul Bay), great fishing, and even a subterranean wonderland 10 minutes up the road – Jewel Cave. It’s prime whale-spotting territory from June to August, too.
If you want to stretch your legs, try walking a section of the Cape to Cape Track, which stretches 123km along the scenic Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge.
Heading North
#5 Lancelin
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If you’re heading north instead, Lancelin brings together beaches, buggies, and dunes. Just an hour and a half drive from Perth, this tiny town is big on adventure. Park the car and step onto the Lancelin Sand Dunes, where boarders and quad bikers eagerly scale the three-storey dunes for the thrill of the downhill run.
There’s also incredible diving. There are 14 shipwrecks nearby, including the sponge-clad skeleton of Key Biscayne, an oil rig which lies between 26 and 42-metres deep.
#6 Cervantes
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Gateway to The Pinnacles in Nambung National Park, a windsurfing mecca, and start of the remarkable Coral Coast. That’s Cervantes in a nutshell. But it’s also a wonderful spot for swimming, fishing, and stargazing. Strolling amid The Pinnacles – jagged limestone pillars formed 25,000 years ago – you could easily think you’d somehow taken a wrong turn and ended up on an alien planet.
#7 Kalbarri
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Further up the Coral Coast is Kalbarri. The town itself is pretty low-key, but the surrounding area is spectacular – a hiker’s dream come true. The fiery sands and rugged rocks of Kalbarri National Park, which now also has the brilliant Skywalk, definitely needs to be on your hitlist. On the way you’ll also pass by the fairy floss-pink waters of Hutt Lagoon.
#8 Shark Bay World Heritage Area
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Another for the wildlife lovers, Shark Bay World Heritage Area covers a massive 5.4 million acres. Within it lies iconic Monkey Mia, where dolphin feeding is not to be missed, as well as Shell Beach (yes, it’s made entirely of shells) and Hamelin Pool, home of the stromatolites – living fossils believed to be the world’s oldest living organisms.
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Start your next road trip with Apex Car Rentals. Find out more and book a car here.
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(Lead image: Eden Nguyen / Shutterstock)
