Great Southern Drive

Set your soul free on the Great Southern Drive, an epic four-day adventure along 936 kilometres of rugged south coast. Against a stage-set of vineyards, late-summer food and wine festivals (February to March), towering forests and hillsides blanketed with wildflowers, every day starts and ends with the ocean. A constant companion, you’ll be counting time to the rhythm of waves on empty beaches, where the only footprints are yours. Set off south from Perth towards the biodiverse brilliance of the Great Southern region and Mount Barker, famous for its cool-climate wines. Kick back with a stellar cellar-door lunch and a single-vineyard shiraz, as your eyes roam across this masterpiece-like country landscape. Next, the sprawling wildflower mosaic of craggy Porongurup National Park infuses the senses. Truly breathtaking panoramic views make the Granite Skywalk at Castle Rock unmissable. Albany is a charmingly raffish, former whaling port. It’s here that the first European settlers landed in Western Australia, and the first Anzacs departed for WWI. Revisit yesteryear at the Amity Trail, Discovery Bay’s Historic Whaling Station and National Anzac Centre, all painting a poignant picture of Albany’s past. Flanked by a rugged shoreline and soaring karri forests, gorgeous seaside Denmark evokes effortless luxury. Equal parts adventure and indulgence, the half-day Scotsdale Tourist Drive through lush green hills serves up award-winning wineries, orchards, chocolatiers, boutique cheeses, galleries and studios. Heading back to Perth, stroll among the canopies of the colossal tingle trees on the astonishing Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk near Walpole. Or, circle back to Mount Barker to catch the wineries you wanted to visit first time round but couldn’t quite get to.