Western Australia is a massive and diverse State. Perth is Western Australia's main tourism gateway with Fremantle and Rottnest Island on its doorstep. Broome & the Kimberley are also well serviced with regular direct flights. The South West, including Margaret River, is a touring wonderland. While the North West to Monkey Mia, Pilbara & Ningaloo areas include Australia's best untouched natural beauty.

Western Australia is perfect all year round. Perth enjoys hot dry Mediterranean weather during December to March with warm sunny spring and Autumns. Travelling North from Perth the weather tends to get warmer and the landscape gets more ochre red. The South West tends to be a little cooler with greener vistas. Broome & the Kimberley are warm and dry during the May to September months.

Main Western Australian tourism areas: Perth, Broome & Kimberley, South Western Australia and North Western Australia.

Western Australia's capital Perth is also Western Australia's largest city. Perth city extends a long distance from Perth CBD, both north and south, hugging the Indian Ocean coast. Perth's Swan River is a majestic broad waterway connecting Fremantle to central Perth. Perth Beach areas are famous for their white sand and clear blue waters. Perth Beach areas extend along the Indian Ocean Coast as mostly one long stretch of beach. Popular Perth Beaches include Scarborough Beach, Sorrento Beach and Cottesloe Beach.

Fremantle has a bohemian vibe and is home to many cafes, pubs and art galleries. Fremantle is the working port for Perth and has the very colourful Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour.

Perth shopping is centred on Perth CBD and many surrounding leafy Perth suburbs, such as chic Subiaco, Claremont and Leederville. Perth attractions include the Perth Bell Tower, Perth Mint, Perth Zoo, historic Fremantle Prison and Kings Park overlooking the Swan River and Perth CBD. The Kings Park Perth Wildflower experience is not to be missed. Perth restaurants and cafes serve up a fusion of Asian and European food, with many fashionable Perth eateries in Perth city, Perth beaches, Fremantle, Mt Lawley, Subiaco and Leederville.

Rottnest Island is Western Australia's holiday island getaway and is only a short ferry ride from Perth CBD or Fremantle. Perth's Swan Valley and Perth Hills have world class wine makers and wineries that welcome tourists.

Perth tourism region is known as Experience Perth.

In far north Western Australia is the ancient and dramatic Kimberley. The Kimberley is the size of Victoria with a never ending expanse of breathtaking scenery.

Broome is the main gateway to the vast Kimberley. Broome is at one end of the Kimberley with Kununurra at the other end. Other Kimberley towns include: Derby, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing and Wyndam. Broome is famous for spectacular Cable Beach, Broome's Chinatown, Broome fishing and Broome Beaches. Broome is its self a main Western Australia tourist attraction.

Kununurra is the springboard into the East Kimberley, including the Bungle Bungles, Lake Argyle and Ord River.

Kimberley's Gibb River Road is a dirt track that connects Kimberley cattle stations and enables Kimberley tourists to experience first hand magnificent Kimberley gorges such as Geikie Gorge, Windjana Gorge along with the Kimberley's El Questro and Home Valley Station. Derby is the hub of Kimberley cattle country and includes Derby Boab Prison Tree. Kimberley accommodation is as unique and can be as opulent as the Kimberley landscape.

The Broome & Kimberley Tourism region is the northern part of Australia's North West Tourism.

Ningaloo Reef is a virtually untouched tropical coral reef with nearby Exmouth & Coral Bay hosting tourist accommodation. Pilbara and the dramatic red gorge Karijini National Park are like nowhere on earth. Pilbara towns include Tom Price, Karratha and Port Hedland.

Monkey Mia Dolphins are well known for visiting the humans at Monkey Mia beach. Monkey Mia is in Shark Bay, along with Denham and Sell Beach.

Pinnacles Desert's tall yellow pillars attract many tourists to Western Australia. Pinnacles Desert is a few hours north from Perth, near Cervantes. Geraldton is regarded as Western Australia's Mid West and is a bustling regional centre also housing the HMAS Sydney Memorial. Kalbarri is firmly on the map as a Western Australia fishing Mecca, combined with Kalbarri National Park's red gorges, the dramatic Kalbarri Coastline and the Wildflower Centre make Kalbarri is a tourist hot-spot.

Western Australian Wildflowers erupt in great fields of never ending colour during July - September in Australia's North West, followed by South Western Australia through to November.

The North West's Western Australia tourism regions cover: Australia's Coral Coast, the northern parts of Australia's Golden Outback and Australia's North West.

Western Australia

Western Australia has a 12,000km coastline, mostly Indian Ocean, including many of Australia's best beaches. Western Australian Wildflowers are a prolific display of natures immense beauty. The floral emblem of Western Australia is the well named Kangaroo Paw wildflower. WA is home to around 540 species of birds, including the west coast's famous Black Swans.

Popular Western Australia tourist destinations include: Perth, Fremantle, Rottnest Island, Broome, Kimberley, Margaret River, Busselton, Ningaloo Reef, Monkey Mia and Pilbara.

West Australia tourist activities include: beach holidays, city escapes, wine tourism, romantic getaways, honeymoons, eco tourism, diving, snorkelling, fishing, adventure, Aboriginal culture, wildflowers.

Western Australian tourism regions: Experience Perth, Australia's South West, Australia's North West, Australia's Coral Coast and Australia's Golden Outback.

WA tourism icons include: Ningaloo Reef, Shark Bay, Bungle Bungles, Pilbara, Pinnacles Desert, Tree Top Walk, Margaret River Wine Region, Wave Rock and Gibb River Road.

West Australian's are famous for their friendly and welcoming nature. Perth is the Western Australian capital where 75% of the WA population live. Around 35% of the population report British ancestry, 28% Australian and 7% Irish. Indigenous Australian aboriginal peoples account for around 3% of WA's population.

Aboriginal people first settled Western Australia around 60,000 years ago and have a rich and deep cultural history. Western Australia boasts many magnificent examples of ancient aboriginal rock art, particularly in the Pilbara and Kimberley. Western Australian Aboriginal tourism offers an authentic indigenous cultural experience.

Western Australia has more than 70 magnificent National Parks. WA has more than 12,000 species of wildflowers, many of which are only found here.

The local Western Australia beer is Swan Larger; fotty teams are the AFL's West Coast Eagle and Fremantle Dockers and Rugby Union's Western Force, all three Western Australia teams have Perth's Subiaco Oval as its home. The main daily newspaper is The West Australian. The "Sunday Session" is a strong tradition in Western Australia where pubs are packed from late afternoon, especially at Perth's beaches.

In 1616 the first European, Dutchman Dirk Hartog, visited Western Australia near Monkey Mia. Europeans first permanently settled WA in 1826.

Sir John Forrest was the first Premier of Western Australia and later became a minister in Australia's first federal parliament. Brilliant Western Australia engineer, C. Y. O'Connor, is best known for creating the the Western Australia Goldfields Pipeline in 1896 that still today carries drinking water 530km from Perth to the Kalgoorlie goldfields. The brave scheme is credited with changing the course of Western Australia's history. During that gold rush, imported French Champaign was cheaper in Kalgoorlie than the more useful drinking water.

Western Australia's animal emblem is the mammal numbat with WA's colours being gold and black. Western Australia is nearly 3 million square miles and the size of western Europe.

Western Australia accounts for around a third of the Australian land mass, 10% of the Australian population but generates more than 40% of Australia's export revenues.

Western Australia is undergoing a major minerals boom. WA accounts for the following percentages of world mineral production: gold 10%, iron ore 15%, alumina 20% and 90% of pink diamonds; amongst many other minerals. Whilst the riches of the WA minerals boom is evident in the people of Western Australia, actual mining operations occupy a very tiny amount of the vast landscape in very remote areas.

There have been several major attempts for Western Australia to break away from Australia (secession). A Western Australian referendum in 1933 returned a 68% vote in favour of secession and WA becoming its own country (with the simultaneous change in State government resulting in the vote not being enacted). More recent secession campaigns have had big backers such as in the 70s, with secession still a topic of local Western Australian conversation.

Western Australia time is Western Standard Time, 8 hours ahead of GMT and the same time zone as most of Asia including China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Major Western Australia events include: the Hopman Cup, the Perth Cup, Red Bull Air Race and the Gravity Games.

Famous West Australians include Rolf Harris (entertainer artists), Bob Hawke (ex Australian Prim Minister) and Alan Bond (infamous businessman).

Explore www.discoverWest.com.au for Western Australia tourist information and holiday guides to Western Australia.