15-day tour of Western Australia's South-West

Day 1 Welcome to Perth

Perth may be the West Australian capital, but it’s home to a remarkable amount of green space. Follow your Tour Director to inner-city Kings Park to witness more than 3,000 floral species in the Botanic Garden, overlooking the Swan River, not to mention art installations and the Anzac Memorial. It’s a relaxed entrée to the next two weeks of action and adventure. Your Western Australia tour from Perth is primed to begin.

• Hotel: Holiday Inn West Perth
• Included Meals: Dinner with Wine

Day 2 Perth - Wave Rock

Wave Rock deserves its name – the cliff resembles an enormous surf wave about to crash into the bush. Stretching 110 metres, the rainbow-hued granite swell was formed more than three million years ago. It’s a short walk from another imaginatively named rock formation: Hippo’s Yawn. You can actually climb through the hippo’s ‘neck’ to grab a happy snap. Wave Rock locals are a friendly bunch, and they’re truly passionate about the place they call home. But don’t take our word for it. Meet Sheena, who will proudly show you around her farm and discuss life on the land. Which can be harsh, but also extremely healing, in a way unique to the wide open spaces of the Aussie outback. You even get to feed her cattle and glimpse her collection of vintage cars.

• Hotel: Wave Rock Motel, Hyden
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3 Wave Rock - Kalgoorlie

Get your bearings on a Kalgoorlie town tour, including vistas over the staggering ‘Super Pit’ open-cut gold mine. Today’s outings continue to gleam as you visit Hannans North Mine – the history here is overwhelming – Kalgoorlie’s ‘Golden Mile’. Nothing quite puts things into perspective like standing next to enormous U-Haul trucks and loaders.

• Hotel: Rydges Kalgoorlie
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4 Kalgoorlie - Esperance

More than 31,000 hectares of sweeping heathlands, rugged coastal peaks and white sandy beaches… it’s no wonder Cape Le Grand National Park is regularly voted among the most alluring of its kind in Australia. Just when you thought Western Australia couldn’t get any prettier, you arrive at Thistle Cove – sun, sand, sea and sculpted rock formations that ‘whistle’ with the sounds of the wind and waves – and Lucky Bay, a postcard-worthy cove where kangaroos sunbake on the sand.

• Hotel: Comfort Inn Bay of Isles
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5 Esperance - Albany

Today’s tour from Perth continues through some of the most bountiful wilderness areas in the state. First the Fitzgerald River National Park, a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, then the Stirling Range National Park, blanketed with a staggering range of wildflowers – more than 1,500 different species, some of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Get an overview from the Bluff Knoll Lookout, topping one of WA’s highest peaks.

• Hotel: The Dog Rock Motel, 2 Nights
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6 Albany Free Time

Nature, history, food and wine… there’s not much that Albany can’t do. The hardest thing you have to do today is decide which direction you want to travel. Perhaps opt for an Albany tour that relives the town’s heritage as the last port of call for ANZAC troopships departing Australia in WWI. Being here is a moving experience that tells the tale of thousands of servicemen. Maybe explore Torndirrup National Park, where steep cliffs give way to dramatic rock formations and whales are a common sight during migration. Or get a taste for the region on a culinary excursion that includes tastings of local cheeses, fudge, chocolate, ice-cream, cider, wines and gins. Better wear your elastic-waisted pants for this one. But don’t fill up too much – Margaret River tours await.

• Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 7 Albany - Margaret River

Suspended 40 metres above the forest floor, the Tree Top Walk gives you a bird’s-eye view of the soaring tingle trees that stand large through the Valley of the Giants. More lofty attractions await at the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, the tallest of its kind in Australia, set at the tip of a peninsula where the Indian and Southern oceans meet. Standing here, the wind in your hair, you’ll feel like you’re on the edge of the Earth. Being amid nature makes you thirsty. It’s a good thing the Margaret River wine region is on the horizon.

• Hotel: Stay Margaret River, 2 Nights
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8 Margaret River

The Margaret River’s 200 vineyards produce 25 per cent of Australia’s premium wines. And then there are the gourmet purveyors in between… you’re in for a tasty day. Vasse Virgin makes olive oil that’s sweet enough to drink. We recommend you savour it with bread, however, while learning how it’s made and browsing other products it’s used in – like delicately scented soaps. Lunch is leisurely, at a vineyard with plenty of time to sip and savour local drops, many of chich take home global awards. If you still have room for dinner, ask us for recommendations.

• Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 9 Margaret River - Fremantle

The Margaret River is one of the only wine regions in the world where grapes are grown just metres from the sand. The coastal backdrop follows you all the way toBusselton, home to the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. Tip your cap to those who built this 1.8-kilometre structure out into Geographe Bay. The afternoon is all yours in Freo. Hot tip: The city’s markets feature 150 stalls under one roof, and there are hip new lifestyle precincts to while away the evening in.

• Hotel: Esplanade Hotel Fremantle - by Rydges, 2 Nights
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 10 Fremantle Free Time

Sometimes, the most memorable travel days are those where you lose yourself wandering the foreshore, lingering over lunch or a cool ale. We highly recommend you spend this day of leisure doing just that (Freo’s Little Creatures Brewery is legendary). Of course, having a local show you around also has its benefits, with a Fremantle tour revealing those hidden haunts most visitors pass right on by. If you’re catching the ferry for a Rottnest Island tour, make sure you have your phone ready to capture selfies with the island’s smiley quokkas, not to mention the blindingly turquoise water.

• Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 11 Fremantle - Geraldton

Yanchep National Park is staggeringly beautiful. It’s also incredibly spiritual, as you’ll discover on an Aboriginal cultural experience revealing First Nations history through Dreamtime stories and didgeridoo sessions. It’s a hands-on experience – don’t worry if you can’t make the didg hum; there are traditional tools to play with and bush tucker to sample. We’ve left some of the best to last: entering Nambung National Park you’re greeted by an ethereal moonscape. Your Pinnacles tour meanders around this collection of head-scratching limestone formations. This afternoon, Geraldton’s moving HMAS Sydney Memorial beckons.

• Hotel: Mantra Geraldton
• Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 12 Geraldton - Monkey Mia

The colours of UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shark Bay are so vivid, you’ll think they’re painted on, a patchwork of blues fading into powdery sand so white you’ll need your sunglasses. This is what awaits in Monkey Mia, where the day is all yours. We wouldn’t blame you wandering barefoot along the beach, ordering sundowners as the day disappears in a blaze of glory. Other than a cruise to spot all sea creatures great and small, perhaps the best way to gain perspective of the vast coastline is on an optional scenic flight over Shark Bay Marine Park.

• Hotel: Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 13 Monkey Mia - Kalbarri

Bring your stamina – today’s adventures begin early. But if there’s anything worth getting out of bed for, it’s Monkey Mia’s wild dolphins, which swim close to shore to greet visitors every morning. Keep your sunnies handy at Shell Beach, a powder-white cove formed from billions of coquina bivalve shells up to 10 metres deep, and Hamelin Pool, the world’s best-known colony of stromatolites. Believe it or not, these rock-like formations are alive. Arriving at Kalbarri National Park you’ll take in the Murchison River Gorge from the Kalbarri Hawks Head Lookout. If you’re here during wildflower season, expect acacia, banksia and caladenia in full bloom.

• Hotel: Kalbarri Edge Resort
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 14 Kalbarri - Perth

Just when you thought WA couldn’t get any more colourful, Hutt Lagoon appears on the horizon – just one of the state’s bubblegum pink lakes. Arriving back in Perth you have a Farewell Dinner to swap contact details with your new friends and reminisce about the last two weeks.

• Hotel: Holiday Inn West Perth
• Included Meals: Breakfast, Farewell Dinner

Day 15 Farewell from Perth

Fourteen days of wild adventures on your tour from Perth – it’s hard to pick a WA highlight. That’s what your journey home is for.

• Included Meals: Breakfast

Please note prices are subject to availability at time of booking and may change without notice.

V​arious departures between September 2023 and October 2024

T​ravel 24 September 2023

• f​rom $5,892 per person twin share
• f​rom $8,317 per person single room

T​ravel October 2023

• f​rom $6,615 per person twin share
• f​rom $9,040 per person single room

T​ravel between May and June 2024

• f​rom $7,510 per person twin share
• f​rom $9,980 per person single room

T​ravel between August and October 2024

• f​rom $7,725 per person twin share
• f​rom $10,265 per person single room

Call us on 1300 414 198 to check up to date availability and to secure your preferred departure date.

Why not extend your time in Perth? We can assist with booking additional accommodation, day tours, the Indian Pacific, flights and car hire.

Your Guided Holiday includes a range of quality accommodation for your comfort.
The accommodation you will enjoy on this tour includes:

• Holiday Inn West Perth
• Wave Rock Motel, Hyden
• Rydges Kalgoorlie
• Comfort Inn Bay of Isles
• The Dog Rock Motel
• Stay Margaret River
• Esplanade Hotel Fremantle - by Rydges
• Mantra Geraldton
• Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort
• Kalbarri Edge Resort

Flight Information

• Day 1 - Flights to arrive prior to 12:00 noon into Perth Airport
• Day 15 - Flights to depart anytime from Perth Airport

Fitness Requirements

• Low level of fitness required

What to Bring:

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
• Water bottle
• Warm layers in cooler months
• Swimwear and towel (if swimming)