Before living in Australia I had no idea what a yabby was. I think Home and Away characters refer to a place called ‘Yabby Creek’ periodically, but beyond that reference I had never had occasion to give the creatures a second thought. So, when I learned there was a local event devoted to the crustaceans, I was keen to check it out. Towns in regional Australia regularly hold ‘fun days’ to bring the community together, often to raise money for local community groups or charities. That is exactly what Grass Patch’s ‘Yabby Classic’ is all about. What is a yabby? Yabbies are freshwater crustaceans found in waterways around Australia. They…

Never was I more grateful for being taught how to ride a bicycle than when I arrived on Rottnest Island and realised there were no private vehicles (and few public transport options). My friend said we’d take bicycles and explore the tiny island on two wheels. It sounded good. I am easily lured to places that offer an encounter with an interesting animal, especially one that is new to me and furry. Rottnest is famous as one of the few remaining places quokkas thrive, due to a lack of predators. These little marsupials look like a big-bottomed rat and I was keen to see them. As we wheeled our bikes…

Western Australia, covering almost a third of Australia’s landmass, is the largest state in Australia. Here are some of the lesser known highlights. There are some obvious reasons to visit this impressively varied state. The whalesharks that visit Exmouth each year are a huge draw as are the whale-watching opportunities in Albany, read more about both places here, but this post is about secret WA. Having lived here for two years now I hate to admit it but before coming to WA I had never heard of these places. Now I know them fondly as unique attractions in the local area (which, I should probably point out, is a rather…

Broome is a quirky little outback town on the Dampier Peninsular along the dramatic Kimberley coast of north-west Australia. It is a beautiful pearling centre with a complicated and unique history. Before visiting Broome I knew very little about the town and what to expect of the place, other than it being somewhere Western Australians visit during their winters and rave about. It didn’t take long before I fell for Broome too. Willie Creek Pearl Farm The Willie Creek Pearl Farm lies at the northern end of Cable Beach, 35km north of Broome and offers a fascinating insight into modern pearl farming, as well as explaining how pearls are cultivated.…

Someone mentioned to me today that they had heard Western Australia referred to as ‘Perth and desert,’ which made me want to highlight all the amazing parts of WA that perhaps the world is less aware of. Western Australia is the largest of the Australian states and covers over a third of the Australian continent’s footprint. WA boasts a north, west and a south coast and is bordered by the Indian Ocean and the Great Southern Ocean. Yes, there is also a lot of desert, but also some of the most spectacular natural scenery you will ever see. Here are what I consider to be the top five places to…

Hyden is one of the many towns littered across Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region and makes a great stop on the drive between Perth and Esperance. The rock and its surroundings are yet another fantastic example of all Australia can offer of the great outdoors. The drive from Esperance to Perth is long. It takes nine hours driving and longer if you stop for lunch. We like a roadtrip and the few different routes between Perth and Esperance seem to offer little difference by way of the time the drive takes, so we vary it and last time drove via Hyden. Hyden is a small town of about 300 people 350…

Esperance, on the south east coast of Western Australia, boasts that it has Australia’s best beaches. Town beach is pretty, but the beaches that really stick in your mind are those in the Cape Le Grand National Park. Le Grand Le Grand is the first beach you come across in the park. Le Grand lives up to its name. The beach is a wide flat expanse of, often very windy, sand. The beach looks across the Recherche Archipelago, or Bay of Isles and on a clear day you can make out Esperance behind the islands. This is one of the two areas in the park offering camping facilities. Hellfire Bay…