A first-timer's guide to South West WA

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Time your visit to Margaret River just right, and you can spend the ultimate weekend wining, dining and exploring the region with Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover.

Wine, world-class produce, surf, sun and beaches: it’s an alluring combination. And the reason so many pin the Margaret River region high on their travel hit-lists. There’s drawcard after drawcard to the southwestern corner of Western Australia, and the Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover food and wine festival showcases the best of it over the course of one weekend in November. It’s never been easier to sip, see and savour the Margaret River region.

In partnership with Pair’d Margaret River Region, Range Rover invites you on a seven-day itinerary of refined adventure, where luxury and exploration go hand in hand. It’s the perfect WA road trip, and there’s no better way to do it than in a Range Rover.

Day 1

the pool at Pullman Bunker Bay — Check into Pullman Bunker Bay.

There’s no more popular West Australian road trip route than that between Perth and the Margaret River Region. It’s an easily digestible, three-hour drive, with worthy pit stops along the way.

Make the first of them one hour and 15 minutes in, at Lake Clifton. Here, find a 2000-year-old living thrombolite reef. Drive for a further 40 minutes and chance meeting some of Bunbury’s dolphin population at Koombana Bay.

Pullman Bunker Bay is the final stop, just over three hours south of Perth. This beachfront, five-star resort is the ultimate base for exploring the Margaret River Wine region.

Day 2

After a leisurely morning breakfast with an ocean view, start your Range Rover and head towards the Dunsborough town centre. Browsing the decidedly coastal-themed goods of the town’s many independent boutiques is a great way to while away the hours, breaking up the sartorial with an artisan gelato snack stop, or some good old-fashioned Australian bakery fare.

Leave room; you’ll need it for the Good Natured Gathering dinner at Wayfinder. Indulge in a four-course feast by chef Felipe Montiel, which uses produce from the winery’s market garden to enhance a selection of sustainably sourced seafood and meat. But food is just the support act. It’s organic wine that’s the star of the show, generously poured and expertly paired to each dish.

Day 3

Settle in for cabernet at Cape Mentelle Winery.

With a grand total of 20 wines from vintage 2022 to try, it’s a good thing Cape Mentelle’s International Cabernet Tasting kicks off early. Make your way to the estate for a 10:00 AM start, where a global selection of wines will be poured blind, before a long lunch by Tiller Dining is served.

Given that the Margaret River is responsible for more than 20 per cent of Australia’s fine wine production, it’s only right to delve into it while in the area.

Continue exploring the region via taste and terroir aboard Alison Maree, a whale-watching catamaran, as you cruise Geographe Bay . Admire the rolling green hills and crisp white beaches of Quindalup in sunset’s golden light, all the while sipping through the Clairault Streicker catalogue and dining on canapes.

For a more substantial dinner, venture into Busselton for a seven-course British x Australian mash-up , courtesy of Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion) and Oliver Kent (Updown Farmhouse, UK). They’ll be putting their rustic yet refined spin on the likes of local marron, wagyu and abalone – championing the simple beauty of the world-class ingredients.

Day 4

Wrap your fingers around a wine glass and wiggle your toes into the sand at Pair’d Beach Club x Range Rover on Meelup Beach. Sit down to an intimate wine session with sommelier Cyndal Petty – or a four-course feast by Aaron Carr of Yarri – and revel in the open-air beach club, bar and restaurant’s laidback coastal vibe. It’s a whole new way to experience one of the region’s most renowned beaches.

Follow up a day in the sun with a casual Italian party at Mr Barvel Wines . Purchase wines –including the elusive, sold-out Nebbia – by the glass and enjoy canapes with the towering Karri forest as a backdrop.

If you’d prefer to keep it local, head to Skigh Wines for the New Wave Gathering , where the region’s independent wine makers and their boundary-pushing wines will be on show. Street-style eats, a DJ and complimentary wine masterclasses complete the experience.

Day 5

pair'd Grand Tasting — Taste your way through Howard Park Wines. (Image: C J Maddock)

Spend the morning at your leisure, driving the winding roads through the Boranup Karri forest in your Range Rover. Soak in the views at Contos Beach, and call into the small cheese, chocolate and preserve producers along the way.

Make your next stop Howard Park Wines for The Grand Tasting presented by Singapore Airlines . Numerous wine labels will be pouring their catalogues over four hours, accompanied by food from chefs Matt Moran and Silvia Colloca, with live opera providing the soundtrack.

Cap off a big weekend with one last hurrah at Busselton Pavilion. Six ‘local legends’ – chefs Brendan Pratt (Busselton Pavilion), Mal Chow (Chow’s Table), Aaron Carr (Yarri), Ben Jacob (Lagoon Yallingup), Corey Rozario (Dahl Daddies) and Laura Koentjoro (Banksia Tavern) – will be preparing a dish each. Dance the night away as vinyl spins and the sun sets on another day.

Day 6

Ngilgi Cave western australia — Head underground. (Image: Tourism WA)

After a busy few days of wining and dining, it’s wise to observe a rest day. There’s no easier task than unwinding in the Margaret River Region, also famous for its high concentration of world-class beaches.

Relax on the grassy knoll as you watch the region’s most experienced surfers braving the World Surf League break at Surfer’s Point, or don your own wetsuit and try out one of Gracetown’s more beginner-friendly waves. Swimmers will find their Eden at Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay, or Point Piquet, where the sand is brilliantly white and the water as still as a backyard swimming pool.

Not into sun, sand, and surf? Head underground at Mammoth Cave, just one of the region’s many stalactite-filled caves.

Day 7

Burnt Ends event at Pair'd — Farewell the Margaret River.

Pack up your Range Rover with new favourite wines and newfound memories, ready for the three-hour journey back to Perth.

Prebook your discovery journey through the south-west corner of Western Australia with Pair’d Margaret River Region x Range Rover.

A first-timer’s guide to South West WA