Discover extraordinary water activities, swim with dolphins and explore secret beaches
Western Australia is home to many amazing attractions, some of the most stunning World Heritage sites, and extraordinary nature-based experiences for all types of travellers.
Complemented by a sunny climate, the state is graced with the perfect weather for outdoor adventures and water-based activities. Time to pack your beach wear, shades and sunscreen!
Magical Moments With Dolphins
If you’ve always dreamed of watching or swimming with dolphins, Western Australia is where you can have a memorable close encounter with the intelligent mammals. There are a few locations where you can get up close with these gentle sea creatures.
Koombana Bay in Bunbury is known for its wild yet friendly dolphins that interact with people. Here, you can drop by the Dolphin Discovery Centre, as these gentle creatures visit the shores in front of the centre in the warmer months. Between November and April, one can go on a dolphin swim tour or an eco-cruise to meet the dolphins.
40-minutes from Perth, the metropolis Rockingham and Shoalwater Islands Marine Park is where pods of wild and playful dolphins frequent its coastal waters, offering visitors an opportunity to swim and get close to the friendly creatures in their natural habitat.
At the turquoise Monkey Mia beach in the Coral Coast region, bottlenose dolphins visit the beautiful shores daily to interact with humans. You can enter the shallows and help hand-feed the dolphins under the supervision of park rangers.
The Wonders of Whale Watching
Western Australia’s South West is where some of the ocean’s largest mammals migrate along the coastline between June and August, and September to December. While humpback and southern right whales are most common, rare sightings of blue whales are on the increase. The giant creatures often come close to the shore, making it easy for visitors to spot them with binoculars or the naked eye from coastal vantage points.
You can get even closer to the tail-slapping action on a whale watching cruise from Albany, Augusta, Busselton and Dunsborough. Also, don’t miss the chance to witness the natural phenomenon of the largest known pod of killer whales congregating at Bremer Bay Canyon, along with a plethora of other wildlife like giant squid, sperm whales and masses of sea birds, from February to early April.
Experience An Underwater Paradise
Regarded as one of the last great ocean paradise, Ningaloo Reef is Australia’s largest fringing reef system and a World Heritage site stretching 300 kilometres from Red Bluff running along the coast to the Muiron Islands in the north and Bundegi Beach in the east. Dive or snorkel in clear turquoise waters and immerse yourself in marine life encounters. Some of the key activities here are to dive on the world’s top shore dive sites – Navy Pier – or snorkel thousand-year-old cabbage coral formations at Turquoise Bay.
The marine environment in the South West region is unique, as the mixing of both warm and cool water currents of the Indian and Southern oceans meet at Cape Leeuwin, creating a staggering array of marine species of fishes and coral species rarely found anywhere else in the world. Those with no diving experience can do an undersea walking tour in the summer, while thrill seekers can choose to explore sunken ships along the coast.
Relax On Sandy White Beaches
With 12,500 kilometres of stunning and unspoilt coastline, it’s no wonder that Western Australian beaches are regularly voted among the best in the world.
Go for a swim, surf and snorkel at any one of Perth’s 19 pristine beaches, and take in the beauty of the sun setting over the Indian Ocean. Cottesloe Beach is one of Perth’s most photographed beaches due to its sloping grassy banks and huge Norfolk pines, and is a great place to spend quality time with loved ones as there are many cafes, restaurants and bars. Further north is Scarborough, an excellent swimming and surfing beach.
Lucky Bay in the Golden Outback region boasts squeaky-clean sand, turquoise water, perfect swimming conditions and breathtaking views of the Recherche Archipelago. In this same region, there is also the Duke of Orleans Bay and Condingup, famed for their snowy white beach sands washed by crystal clear blue waters amidst a backdrop of rugged granite peaks.
If photography is your thing, visit Green Pool in Denmark, to the South West of the state. Its shallow cove with shades of blue water makes up a picturesque setting for photography, and snorkelling. Be sure to take a sunrise or sunset stroll at the spectacular Middleton Beach in Albany for enduring beach holiday memories.
