Australia's Southwest

The beach is a sensuous curve of white sand, a sheltering expanse of flat rock with hidden rock pools that stretches out to sea for hundreds of yards (you can walk out all the way) and water the colour of melted opals

The beach at Yallingup

The question was, when I arrived in Perth, whether I should head north, or south. To the north, in the West's tropical frontier, I could see cattle roam, bananas ripen, pearls glow, crocodiles lurk and strong men wrest iron ore and diamonds from the hot red earth. But it was summer. The south beckoned with a gentler climate- so south I travelled, to where the giant karri grows and on to Albany, the mellow old town that sits at the foot of a mountain, dreaming of its lusty colonial past. But first I discovered Perth. This city of close to a million people claims to have more sunshine than any other city in the country- and official records uphold the claim. The place has a languid Mediterranean air, perfumed by the blossoms of native trees that are unique to this part of the continent. The city is well situated; the Swan River, dotted with black swans and sailboats, meanders past a thrusting contemporary skyline, past King's Park (which gives you a grandstand view of Perth) and on to the sea. Perth nowadays is a city of steel and glass and wide green spaces, but there are plenty of reminders of its formative years-in the slightly cheeky ambience of Hay Street, for example, or in the more formal and decidedly English face of St George's Terrace nearby. After a day or two of looking around, I rented a car so that I could more easily explore the countryside and set off southwards, hugging the coast. My first stop was Mandurah, 78 km from Perth. Here is an ocean beach and a quiet, enclosed estuary, where pelicans parade and where the locals go crabbing at weekends. You can picnic here in a park that straddles the water's edge and later drive to where new developments are being carved out of scrubby sandhills, overlooking the ocean. It's easy to understand why house prices are sky-rocketing in this breezy resort so close to the city. Yallingup, further south on the coast, beyond Bunbury and Busselton, is another world, far removed from the almost suburban Mandurah. If you travel this way in December/January, your road will be lined with the West's spectacular Christmas tree, which is heavy with yellow blossom. You'll see, too, tall stands of the famed Kangaroo Paw, which comes in different varieties- red, green or yellow.

Yallingup (like so many places in the west, it ends in "up" which comes from the local Aboriginal dialect) is approached through rolling, sparsely timbered hills. Suddenly, the road dips- and there ahead is a shimmer of sea. The beach is a sensuous curve of white sand, a sheltering expanse of flat rock with hidden rock pools that stretches out to sea for hundreds of yards (you can walk out all the way) and water the colour of melted opals. The surf here is gentle and the trees on the slopes overlooking the beach have been twisted into a witch's fingers by the prevailing winds. I stopped for a bite to eat at the Old Mill, close to Yallingup. Here, in sloping parkland, shaded by trees and serenaded by bush birds, is an old wooden mill, with a creaking water wheel- cool hideaway on a hot summer's day. You can watch a blacksmith and wood turner practising their craft, visit the mill's art gallery or walk through the surrounding bushland. Cape Leeuwin is about an hour away on the coast road, via the town of Augusta.

Cape Leeuwin and its lighthouse

A scenic drive takes you out past beaches whipped by a stiff breeze, past fishermen casting off the rocks, to the lighthouse which stands alone at the tip of the cape, surveying the junction of the Indian and Southern Oceans. This grey limestone tower stands 128 ft high and was built at the turn of the century. It's open for inspection on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but you must get your ticket first, at the Augusta Museum. From Cape Leeuwin, you have a good half day's drive, through classic Australian countryside, to the town of Denmark, passing through Pemberton and Walpole on the way. When you're just past Walpole, look for the sign that directs you to the Valley of the Giants.

Red gum blossom; Karri forest; Albany Pitcher Plant

Here you'll see the massive karri and marri reaching for the sky, eucalypts that rival the sequoias of California. Take time to seek out the local wildflowers, too- the beguiling White Pincushion, Purple Sarsparilla, Red Helmet Orchid, Pineapple Bush and Albany Pitcher Plant. Albany is east of Denmark, about an hour away. The town, which sits in the shadow of a great hill, has an English look to it, all grey stone and slightly weathered. There's a lot of green here, thanks to the frequent rains which sweep in from the Southern Ocean. Stirling Terrace and York Street, with their classic Victorian facades, strongly evoke the days of sailers and whalers and in the former colonial governor's residence, the Old Farm at Strawberry Hill, is a sampler sewn by Nelson's love, Emma Hamilton. You'll visit the old gaol, down by the waterfront, with its thick whitewashed walls. King George V slept here, so the sign says - although he was a prince at the time.

Stirling Ranges; twin masted ship In Albany Harbour

Beyond the gaol and the twin-masted sailing ship close by is the harbour, one of the three finest in the world. An even better view of the harbour and the surrounding country can be had from atop Mount Clarence, which looms large over the town. A sandstone sculpture sits up here; an ANZAC memorial, it was originally in Egypt but was repatriated after the Suez crisis of 1956. The view from the mountaintop is breathtaking, a 360 degree panorama encompassing the town, Princess Royal Harbour, King George Sound, the Porongurup and Stirling Ranges and the white sand beaches for which Albany is famed.

The rocky coastline near Albany

After sightseeing in the town, go past Middleton Beach to the Old Farm for Devonshire Tea, served in a long, low cottage that's fringed with hollyhocks. Beyond the town, away from the quiet beaches, is the rugged coastline that looks southward to Antarctica. Here is scenery that overpowers with its hostile beauty; giant King waves lash these rocks in winter and signs everywhere warn of the danger. Drive out here to see the Gap, the Blow Hole, the Natural Bridge, Frenchman's Bay and the whaling station, no longer in use. On the way back, you'll look across the bay to see the lights of Albany twinkling reassuringly; this town, founded by a group of soldiers and convicts from Sydney Town back in 1826 and the first settlement in the West, makes a great finale to a tour of Australia's out-of-the-way South-West.