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Published: January 24th 2010
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I can spend my last remaining breath watching the sun’s dying blaze change colour every minute on Cable beach, frolic with the wild dolphins in Monkey Mia, swim amongst the fishes and turtles of Coral Bay in its crystal clear turquoise waters and get lost in an alien like environ of Numbumg National Park amongst the pinnacles. From the wildflower country of Pilbara, to the bays and city of Perth, one can have a sensory overload with such diverse natural wonders.
The vibrant colours, stunning scenery, coloured dirt roads, beautiful sunset, white sandy beaches, turquoise water, breathtaking coastal cliffs, red river gorges, marine and native wildlife attract people from all walks of life to western Australia.
There are loads of fun activities to do. I got hooked on quad-biking. It is a must-do when in Coral Bay. Driving up the coastal cliffs on ATVs (quad-bikes) gives you the best vantage point to view the bay’s natural surroundings. I also found driving up and down steep sand dunes a very exhilarating experience.
The camel ride during sunset is also one of the must-do in Broome. Call it cheesy, but it really is a fantastic ride of a lifetime that
will keep you grinning the whole time. There are 3 camel tour operators in Broome who are in fierce competition and suing each other : 1) The Red Sun Camel Safaris, 2) Broome Camel Safaris and 3)
Ship of the Desert. We picked the latter. We also later found out that the camels we rode,
Ned and
Olly, are the celebrity racing camels in the movie “Australia”. I picked Ned simply because he doesn’t grunt nor drool. He looks clean and healthy and just happy chewing away his regurgitated food.
What will bring us back to WA ? We missed swimming with the whalesharks and manta rays in Ningaloo Reef. So we really have to plan our next trip when they are around. It will be also nice to see the wildflowers of Kalbarri in full bloom. Again timing is the key! We’d also like to stay over for few nights in Rottnest Island instead of just a day trip. We want to explore the whole island by bike (main mode of transport in the island). We’d also like to see more of the southern part of Perth - more pristine beaches, national parks and caves.
What are the things I’d like to avoid in WA the next time ? The heat ! Summer is not the best time to visit Western Australia. The temperature can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius. Your skin will bake ‘til crisp. We came home looking orange (ok, others say
tantastic). In summer, the westerly wind in Shark Bay is also intense. It can literally blow you away. It’s also the cyclone season. We’re just fortunate that it didn’t catch up with us. And one more thing, the flies ! … they are everywhere ! They’ll land on your eyeballs and invade your nostrils (digging for gold or something). The only good thing going to WA in summer is, it is off season - there aren't much tourists around (except in Monkey Mia). So you don't feel crowded and there's no queue !
I’ll give the Murchison river cruise in Kalbarri a miss. But cruising Shark Bay on a catamaran (Aristocat2 to be specific) is a must. The boys had a blast riding the catamaran’s boom net. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any sharks, but plenty of dolphins, turtles and dugongs. Also, I bid farewell to my favourite bucket hat when it got blown away
whilst onboard the cruise. I yelled out “Wilssssssoooon” as it disappeared into the distance and shed a tear or two … Liam laughed (he knew it’s my lame attempt of a parody of “The Castaway”). 😊
Also, one thing that struck me about the dogs in WA is they like to sneak up on you and jump you by surprise. One wants to hump my leg and the other wants to lick me to death ! So I thought I must add this to my list of highlights! I’m not sure if they do it to every tourist or is it just me?
On a last positive note, we had a blast ! Apart from the heat and flies, it’s definitely one of our best family vacation ever !
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Andrew pempherani
non-member comment
so nice
it is beautifúll