Rottnest
Island lies 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) offshore. This
sanctuary for water sports enthusiasts is connected to Fremantle
by ferry services.
The marsupial quokka is unique to the car free
island. Well to the east of Perth is the thriving gold mining
town of Kalgoorlie with its Museum of the Goldfields,
and some towns which were once the centre of Western Australia’s
gold rush, such as Coolgardie.
Another interesting place is Wave Rock, a 2,700
million year old formation resembling a tidal wave, close to Hyden.
The Darling Ranges, which are behind Perth, are
popular with visitors and contain many national parks.
The Avon Valley is a 90 minute drive from Perth
and is an agricultural area. In this region can be found the town
of York where the York Motor Museum and the Residency
Museum are worth seeing. Nanbung National Park,
240 kilometres (150 miles) north of Perth, is well known for its
amazing limestone pillars, The Pinnacles.
At Monkey Mia, on the mid western coast, there
are wild bottlenose dolphins that come into the shallow waters
to greet visitors. Also in the north of the State, The Kimberley,
a wild semi desert region rich in Aboriginal legends, has in recent
years become a flourishing diamond mining centre.
The city of Broome, on the north coast, is the
pearl capital of the world. At the opposite end of the State is
Albany, which was founded in 1827 and the 1st European settlement
in Western Australia, it is noted for its blowholes and winter
whale watching. Augusta, to the west, is also
visited by many species of whale. |
