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Here are the available villas for rental in Western Australia. |    
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View rental properties in: All Countries / Oceania - Australia / Australia / Western Australia
Destination guide to Western Australia
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The bumpy road to Oz From the Daily Mail Only in Australia could one of the world's most stunning natural phenomena be discovered by chance over a drink. The unique terrain of Purnululu - or the Bungle Bungles - was unknown to the outside world until 1983 when a camera crew working for Kerry Packer's Nine Network flew to a remote corner of northern Western Australia called the Kimberley. They were there to make a television documentary on a part of the country called Hidden Valley, which features 300 million year-old sandstone cliffs. Delighted with their work, the crew piloted their plane back to the Kimberley gateway town of Kununurra and slipped into a dusty hotel bar for a few beers. 'That Hidden Valley is a ripper place,' they told a local. 'Yeah,' came the surprisingly unenthusiastic reply. 'Not as good as the other place though.' 'What other place?' the crew asked. The next morning they were taken there by a loc al guide. And the extraordinary world of Bungle Bungles was discovered. When the film they made of it was first shown on Australian television the nation was amazed at the unspoilt beauty of the thousands of beehive mountains that make up the Purnululu national park. It is the combination of remoteness and lack of tourist exploitation that convinces more and more people each year that the long journey by four-wheel drive to Purnululu is worthwhile. Purnululu is close to nowhere. Darwin, at 700 miles away, is the nearest state capital - and that's not the capital of Western Australia but of the Northern Territories. Perth, Western Australia's capital, is 1,628 niles to the south. Remote it certainly is - but that is its attraction. Broome is the ideal starting point, a relaxing, modern holiday resort that has grown out of an old pearl diving town. There are regular Qantas flights into Broome from either Perth or Darwin and plenty of experienced four-wheel drive centres, the most impressive being run by Trevor Tough at Wheels Over The Kimberleys. The Great Northern Highway from Broome to Purnululu is the only sealed road in the area, but a four-wheel drive is still vital - as is instruction before you set off. ... more
The wild west of Oz From the Mail on Sunday A strange monument glistens in the winter sun in a lay-by on the road into the small town of Dampier, Western-Australia. It's a bronze statue of the region's most infamous resident, who captured the hearts of the locals despite being an ill-mannered, stinking vagrant, known primarily for his ability to steal food. Its inscription reads: 'The Pilbara Wanderer. Erected by the many friends he made during his travels.' Perhaps his saving grace is that our hero is of the canine persuasion - a ragged mongrel coated in the dust from the rust-coloured rocks. In 1998, one of the people passing by the memorial was Captain Corelli's Mandolin author, Louis de Bernieres, visiting the area for a literary festival. He was immediately taken with this four-legged vagabond and began to ask around for stories about his life. Though the hound went under a variety of names - to some Tally Ho , to others Bluey - to most, he was simply Red Dog. And it was this name that de Bernieres chose for his new collection of short stories*, which celebrate the adventures, and misadventures, of this curious character. Dampier is in the Pilbara, a vast area of the outback around 1,000 miles north of Perth, the state capital. With a population of just 1,500, it takes its name from one of England's more colourful explorers, William Dampier, a buccaneer and skilful mapmaker who navigated the coast in 1699. With a history of shipwrecks, whaling, pearling and farming, it now trades on its reputation as something of a fishing mecca - a beauty spot that becomes a haven during the winter months. This is unsurprising given that the sun at this time of year in north-western Australia is still enough to put British summers to shame. It was in the early Seventies when Red Dog arrived in Dampier with his owners. A restless pooch, he was quick to sever familial ties, initially finding his food on unguarded plates among the many barbecues held along the beach. ... more
You won't want to come home Perth and the surrounding area is the most wonderful holiday destination. The best of beach and city is within easy reach. Perth city, although not large, is blessed with much to entertain and impress the visitor - looking for sophistication and simple pleasures. Freemantle, the coast and Rottnest Island must not be missed. Go and you won't want to come home!
A really enjoyable holiday What a brilliant place to go. Cheaper than going to the Channel Islands. The food was out of this world. The many attractions were great, and everywhere was so clean. Got a decent pint in all of the pubs, although that was a bit pricey, but at least it had taste and was not like the flat muck that you get in UK pubs. The service everywhere was of the highest order, only one place let us down on that. The weather was better than anything that you could find in the Med. A hire car is a must otherwise you don't get to see a lot of the country. They are quite cheap even from the big multinational companies. Petrol is about half the cost of the UK. My advice to anyone is to forget the UK and Med and just go to Australia and have a really enjoyable holiday experience.
Full of western promise From the Daily Mail It's 6am. I'm in Perth, Western Australia, and I'm furious. I've been woken in my respectable family hotel by wild laughter outside. Not, in fact, a dawn reveller but a laughing kookaburra shrieking in King's Park above the hotel, a vast tract of bush in the city. Perth is an isolated city, fronted by the Indian Ocean, its backyard is thousands of miles of empty outback and desert. Closer to some Asian cities than it is to Sydney, you wouldn't just drop in without a very good reason. But we had reason enough. We're talking about a city rich in colonial architecture that in the Eighties sprouted a glittering skyline of steel and glass towers, founded on fortunes from mining gold, silver, diamonds and opals. Half an hour away you can bush walk around sacred Aboriginal sites, or go tasting in the vineyards of the Swan Valley. It's the sunniest city in Oz, the friendliest and most laid back. Northbridge, Leederville and Fremantle vibrate with clubs and funky restaurants. It was 100°F when we went in March, but you don't feel it because a cooling sea breeze called The Fremantle Doctor blows in around noon. Forget helmets, the police here wear wide brimmed sun hats. Sipping cappucino at a pavement cafe in the shopping mecca of Hay Street Mall with my friend Sam Julius, a Polish musician who has lived there for 30 years, the street was bursting with action. Clowns, buskers and mime artists surrounded us. It was only when a punk with five spikes of magenta hair glued to his shaven head sat at the next table to us that I batted an eyelid. His friend was covered in spider tattoos. Italian and Greek voices sang out through the warm air, reminding me that Perth's 1.2 million people come from a myriad of places. 'I call Perth the free and easy city,' said Sam. 'The buses are free and the living is easy. The only time people go indoors is to fetch a beer. "Formal dress" means putting on your shirt.' ... more
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