Wow. Whilst researching a trip to WA, I couldn’t believe how much there is to see and do. Although you’ll be driving for months and months if you want to see it all. Western Australia (WA) is around 10.5 times the size of the UK, yes WA – not the whole country of Australia.
This area really wasn’t a priority when we first arrived in Australia so I didn’t put too much effort into the research until a few weeks ago. Since then, I’ve come up with a 2 week schedule and a (just over) 1 week schedule. This post is in regard to a 9-day itinerary and I’ll upload the 2 week schedule another day.
WA is pricey, hence the limited time here. Usually getting a campervan and not hotels is a cheaper option but due to some of the location of our activities, we’re planning to spend at least 3 nights in Perth for either trip.
Each spreadsheet has a schedule, activities list (and how to book them), and a costings page which is accurate at the time of writing. I haven’t done this trip yet, this is just ideas so I’m not sure how this would play out in real time.
Day one – Perth City:
Arriving in Perth we plan to explore the city and have a nice meal out before sleeping in a comfy air bnb hopefully with a pool.
Day two – Western Australia:
The next day, we’ll pick up our campervan first thing and drive straight to the Pinnacles Desert. We’ll spend a bit of time here and take some photos.
In the afternoon we’ll do the second longest drive of the trip – 4hrs 20mins to Kalbarri National Park. Here we’ll get our fill on hiking and scenic routes as well as some swimming holes and beach days.
Day three and four – National Parks in Western Australia:
Kalbarri National Park – Hiking in the morning, swimming and beach time in the afternoon.
Day five – The Famous Pink Lake:
In the morning we’ll leave Kalbarri behind and head to the really famous Pink Lake. Not for swimming in but the pink does make it look like another planet.
This is a quick pit stop before heading to Lancelin Sand Dunes. We’re planning to hire a buggy to drive around the sand dunes. The package includes the cost of the buggy and also board hire to sand board down the dunes for some fun. I’ve boarded down a volcano before so I’m hoping this is going to be just as fun but hopefully less painful than the gravelly texture on the volcano.
This is a really jam packed day and after boarding down, we’ll be driving for two hours down to Greenmount National Park which is just 30 minutes from Perth.
Day six – Greenmount National Park, Western Australia:
An abseiling morning at Greenmount National Park is on the agenda. If I don’t have too much adrenaline after this, we’ll spend lunchtime and the afternoon walking around the park and enjoying the greenery before driving into Perth and dropping off the campervan.
Day seven – Perth and Surrounding Areas:
Back in Perth and we’ll be heading to Rottnest Island to see the cutest animals in the world – the quokkas! We’ll also cycle around the island and have a pub lunch.
Day eight – Final Day in Western Australia:
This day is optional for us as we’re not sure on our timings as we’re heading back to the UK. Fremantle is supposed to be beautiful so if we have the time, we’ll visit here for a few hours. In the afternoon we’ll hit up Cottesloe beach which was recommended by a friend.
Day nine:
Fly from Perth to London.
The spreadsheet for this trip can be found here.
So as you can see from the schedule, this is a pretty jam packed trip with lots of activities. If you’re more into relaxing, you could always swap out some of the activities for beach days as WA has a strong supply of beautiful beaches to visit.
You may want to tag on another couple of activities such as a Star Gazing Tour in the Pinnacles Desert – these are pretty pricey but you get expert guidance on the amazing galaxy above you. Make sure to book these directly with the provider so that they get the bulk of the profit (bypass the middleman). We also did a stargazing tour in Alice Springs so I don’t think we would pay to do one again. This time, we’ll just take a blanket and enjoy some drinks.
We’re planning to complete the week-long schedule in March 2023 as a stop over from Sydney to the UK. If you complete this route before, let me know what you think in the comments.
For more Australian Adventures, read one of my other posts: