Western Australia
Is currently experiencing an increase in tourism and business because they finally worked out how to market what they have.
What do they have? Precious metals and a fuckton of desert.
Rottnest Island
Website • Google Maps • Wikipedia
Affectionally known as Rotto, and to the Noongar people Wadjemup,
Rottnest is a big island approximately 40 minutes from Fremantle by ferry/diveboat. It’s basically one big tourist resort - there’s no private ownership of any land
It’s mostly famous for being the home to Quokkas, small rat-like marsupials that give the island it’s name.
There are some cool salt lakes on the island, depending on the conditions, sometimes they turn red and look weird!
The surf here is obscenely clear and the beaches are really pretty — there’s plenty of Scuba diving done in the surrounding waters as well!
There are a number of lighthouses on the island. Lighthouses are cool.
There’s a country club where you can play golf, lawn bowls, tennis, etc.
There are only a handful of cars though. Luckily, there are hundreds of bikes for you to be able to hire and ride around the island to your heart’s content!
Once upon a time, the island was used by the WA Government as a jail for undesirable aboriginals, so there’s a bit of that history about the island.
Garden Island/HMAS Stirling
Google Maps • Wikipedia
AKA Fleet Base West - the Royal Australian Navy’s primary base on (in?) the western half of the country.
Home to the only submarine escape training facility in the Southern Hemisphere and one of five in the world.
Approximately 70% of the island is a nature reserve. The bridge goes through the Naval Base though, so access is super limited.
A different friend of mine lives here!
Fremantle
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It’s nice.
Kinda small though. Unlike Geelong or the Gold Coast, Freemantle is a part of metropolitan Perth, which is a little weird for a nominal “second city”
It’s got plenty of sweet-looking buildings though!
It’s one of the fancier breweries in WA, and they make great beer there too.
Western Australian Maritime Museum
It has all kinds of sweet sea-y stuff: Australia II our America’s Cup winning yacht The Oberon-class submarine HMAS Ovens and some extensive exhibits on the Port of Fremantle & Immigration/Refugee stuff as well.