A first-timer’s guide to South West WA

By Carla Grossetti
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Sacred lands, beautiful beaches, and rugged rock formations: everything is in WA’s South West.

The Noongar Boodjar People have called the South West home for thousands of years and their ancient pathways still twist and turn around these sacred lands, which remain ribboned with their songlines. Take the time to care for Boodja (Country) while watching the landscape unfold in the five vastly different sub regions: go birdwatching in a national park, sample wines at any one of the world-class cellar doors, surf waves that curl onto beaches gouged by time, and visit rugged rock formations that have long reigned over these lands. The South West includes the Margaret River Wine Region, Great Southern, Bunbury Geographe and the Southern Forests and Valleys. Here, get a taste of what the region has to offer.

Unique stays

Hidden Valley Forest Retreat

Each self-contained chalet at this secluded luxury retreat features a log fire and a private outdoor spa bath where you can look up at the rich, dark-velvet night sky scattered with stars. Wake to the light filtering through the ghostly grey bush.

Burnside Organic Farm

This cosy farm stay is all about immersing yourself in your surroundings and getting a feel for life on a working farm. Guests staying in the luxury bungalows, which have stone baths and a fireplace, will have access to the kitchen garden, walking tracks and wine tastings.

Burnside Organic Farm, South West, Western Australia

Escape to the country at Burnside Organic Farm. (Image: Frances Andrijich)

Latitude 35°5, Goode Beach

Luxury meets location at this private sanctuary which has commanding views across Frenchman Bay and Goode Beach.Take over the luxurious holiday home for your exclusive use and enjoy the amenity of a chef ’s kitchen, freestanding bathtub, 160-bottle cellar and soaring fireplace.

Room interior, Latitude 35 5, South West, Western Australia

Luxury meets location at this private sanctuary. (Image: Marco Kraus)

Five top spots

Boranup Forest

Listen to the ghostly trees groan and sigh, and the twitters and wails of birdsong in a karri forest where some of the trees tower so high (more than 60 metres) that their canopies can be blanketed in cloud.

Elephant Rocks

Visit Elephant Rocks in the late afternoon when the sun is setting on these giant granite boulders that resemble a herd of elephants lumbering out to sea. This spectacular rock formation is in the Great Southern region near Denmark.

Elephant Rock, South West, Western Australia

These giant granite boulders that resemble a herd of elephants lumbering out to sea. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

Point Picquet

This striking beach only has a thin margin of sand that comes and goes with the ebb and flow of the tide. Head to this secluded spot during the migratory months of June through to November and you will have a front-row seat for whale watching.

Point Picquet, South West, Western Australia

Head to this secluded spot. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

Koombana Bay

Koombana Bay is a protected strip of sand in Bunbury where basalt rock is a defining aspect of the landscape, said to be part of a lava flow that dates back some 150 million years. The sheltered bay is a draw for swimmers and paddle boarders who are likely to have the Bunbury Geographe region on their bucket list as a place to see wild bottlenose dolphins.

Sugarloaf Rock

Sugarloaf Rock is a gigantic granite rock that juts out from the Indian Ocean along the Cape to Cape Track. Time your visit to coincide with the sun dissolving over the horizon and you will see the rock change from ochre to pink, then indigo.

South West, Western Australia

See the iconic Sugarloaf Rock. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

Where to eat

Liberte Albany

Located in Albany’s historic London Hotel, this buzzing, convivial Parisian-inspired bar serves up interesting fusion cocktails and a menu of Vietnamese dishes made with local produce, such as crispy chicken bao, and marron and pork banh xeo, which are perfect for sharing.

Yarri

Take a seat at the bar overlooking the kitchen at Yarri and you will get dinner and a show at this warm and inviting restaurant, where locals seem to sail in like it’s an extension of their living room. Located in Dunsborough, Yarri is all about ‘people, produce and place’ and supports sustainable farmers and growers.

Yarri, South West, Western Australia

Get dinner and a show at this warm and inviting restaurant. (Image: Frances Andrijich)

Top things to do

Smiths Beach

Go for a surf or swim at Smiths Beach, an under-the-radar stretch of sand that is a top spot to catch a few curlers when there’s swell and a dreamy place to swim in crystalline seas when there’s not.

Smiths Beach, South West, Western Australia

Smiths Beach is a lesser-known curve of sand in Yallingup. (Image: Bobby Bense)

The Meelup Brook Trail

Pull on your hiking boots and head off along Meelup Beach on a 1.2-kilometre trail that is largely uphill until you reach a timber deck overlooking Meelup Brook, which bubbles along in autumn and winter. Stop at Meelup Farmhouse to enjoy a farm-to-table lunch.

Meelup Farmhouse, South West, Western Australia

Meet at Meelup Farmhouse for a farm-to-table feast.(Image: Tourism Western Australia)

Go free camping

You can free camp along the Blackwood River, in the Southern Forests and Valleys, at the Alexandra Bridge Camping Ground, 26 kilometres north-east of Augusta. The river wends its way from Wagin in the Wheatbelt all the way to Augusta and is known for its native water birds.

Carla Grossetti avoided accruing a HECS debt by accepting a cadetship with News Corp. at the age of 18. After completing her cadetship at The Cairns Post Carla moved south to accept a position at The Canberra Times before heading off on a jaunt around Canada, the US, Mexico and Central America. During her career as a journalist, Carla has successfully combined her two loves – of writing and travel – and has more than two decades experience switch-footing between digital and print media. Carla’s CV also includes stints at delicious., The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian, where she specialises in food and travel. Carla also based herself in the UK where she worked at Conde Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times’ Travel section before accepting a fulltime role as part of the pioneering digital team at The Guardian UK. Carla and has been freelancing for Australian Traveller for more than a decade, where she works as both a writer and a sub editor.
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Australia’s first and only underwater winery is hiding in Margaret River

    By Taylah Darnell
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    This is wine redefined, from the sea floor to your glass.

    Australia is known for its diverse wine regions that produce top drops in droves. We’re home to the best shiraz in the world and some of the coolest oenophile-approved experiences you can find. But this WA venture is taking it to new depths – literally. Welcome to Australia’s first underwater winery.

    Underwater wine: how it works

    It may be situated among Western Australia’s famed Margaret River wineries, but Subsea Estate doesn’t resemble your typical vineyard. Instead of unfolding across verdant hills, its cellar door can be found off the coast near the town of Augusta, where the Southern and Indian oceans meet.

    Augusta in Western Australia

    The winery is hidden underwater off WA’s coast. (Image: Ryan Murphy)

    A 20-metre dive below the ocean’s surface, the 413-hectare estate comprises specially crafted wine barrels anchored to the sea floor. It’s an intricately designed production process that is painstakingly adhered to by the team at Subsea, made up of leading wine pioneers from both Australia and abroad. But why? And what is the result?

    The technique was first introduced by French company Winereef, which has spent over 17 years perfecting its world-first subsea winemaking operation. The concept posits that the ocean’s current and natural sway stirs the wine and keeps the yeast in suspension, which creates a secondary fermentation process.

    Subsea Estate in Augusta, Western Australia

    The wine barrels are secured to the sea floor by specialist divers.

    Hydrostatic pressure, the weight produced by the water column pressing down on an object due to gravity, allows the yeast to produce flavour notes not available on land.

    But it doesn’t stop there, because the ocean’s energy is constantly changing, and each batch produced is completely unique. The wines all have their own character, touched by Mother Nature in a different way and offering the truest expression of each season.

    How to experience it for yourself

    If you’re intrigued, you’re not the only one. Subsea Estate’s innovative winemaking process has attracted attention from across the country – which is why its cellar door is open to the public seven days a week. And no, you won’t be pairing your wine with a scuba suit.

    Subsea Estate in Augusta, Western Australia

    The Subsea cellar door sits on Augusta Boat Harbour. (Image: Lauren Trickett)

    Sitting pretty back on land in Augusta Boat Harbour, Subsea Estate invites guests to sip its one-of-a-kind creations with views of the ocean that nurtured them. While walk-ins are welcome, the best way to explore Subsea’s range is with a guided experience. Join a member of the team for a 90-minute Subsea Estate & Rare Foods Abalone and Wine Tour.

    That’s right – not only is Subsea home to some of the world’s most innovative wines, it’s also in one of Australia’s top seaside towns for seafood. Your tour starts in the on-site abalone facility, where you’ll witness firsthand how these premium seafood delicacies are prepared for export. Guests can get up close to the tanks and even hold a live abalone if they wish.

    Ocean-stirred wines are paired with fresh abalone. (Image: Lauren Trickett)

    From there, you’ll be led to Subsea’s cellar door, where you can watch local fishermen return with their catch across Flinders Bay from the sunny deck. Not only will your host walk you through the entire winemaking process, but you’ll enjoy the results firsthand – paired perfectly with the fresh abalone from earlier.

    The details

    Subsea Estate is located in the town of Augusta, around a 3.5-hour drive south of Perth. The cellar door is open from Monday to Sunday, 9am–4pm. Bookings for the Subsea Estate & Rare Foods Abalone and Wine Tour are essential. The experience is priced at $89 per person and can accommodate groups of up to 15 people. While the tour allows for up to 1.5 hours, guests are encouraged to linger for as long as they please.