Western Australia: Experience the Extraordinary
For an extraordinary holiday, you need to go to an extraordinary destination. And nowhere encapsulates that more than Western Australia. Home to emerald lagoons teeming with brilliant coral and vibrant tropical fish, it’s one of the few places on earth you can swim alongside whale sharks, the biggest fish in the ocean. For the more adventurous the surf in Margaret River is a firm favourite with the world's elite pro-surfers, and is home to first-class waves not to mention gourmet boltholes and boutique wineries to relax in after a morning in the ocean. Or if exploring the waterfalls and blood-red gorges of the outback is more up your street, the Kimberley is a must.
In our live WebTV show Simon Reeve will be on hand to talk all about his exploits with camping in Western Australia under the vast star filled sky; getting up-close-and-personal with nature in an adventure not-to-be-missed- camping in Western Australia's national parks.
Joining Simon is Susan D’Arcy who will be able to offer tips for those of you who like to enjoy some luxury with your Australian adventure. From unwinding in beachside spas, to hunting out truffles and sampling a glass or two of Margaret River’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay overlooking the lush vines.
Adventurer Simon Reeve and Susan D’Arcy join us live online at www.studiotalk.tv on Friday 8th April at 1pm to share the endless travel adventures of Western Australia.
For more information visit www.westernaustralia.com
H: Layla Anna-Lee
A: Simon Reeve - Adventurer
B: Susan D’arcy – Travel Expert
H: If your thoughts are turning to summer and getting away, and you fancy an extraordinary experience, then stick with us because we’ve got the perfect destination for you
Credits
H: Good day and welcome to Travel Talk. I’m Layla Anna-Lee and today we’re focusing on Australia, or to be more precise, Western Australia, which has a feast of extraordinary experiences on offer. Whether it’s pristine, white sandy beaches, often considered to be the most beautiful beaches on the planet, or exploring off the beaten track, Western Australia is the destination that you just can’t miss. Joining me today to guide through all that is on offer, is author and adventurer Simon Reeve, and luxury travel expert Susan D’arcy. Coming up on the show today, we go a little off the beaten track, to satisfy the explorers amongst you, we look at some of the luxuries on offer and all of your questions live. Yes, we are live today so do send in your questions via the little box on your screen. You can also get involved and follow us at our twitter, so make sure you follow us and tweet at #westernaustralia. Before we get chatting, let’s take a little look at this.
VT
H: Some stunning scenes there, that makes me so desperate to go on holiday! You travelled through Western Australia filming Tropic of Capricorn – what a fabulous name for a programme! – did you recognise any of those scenes?
A: Well, I certainly recognised the general beauty that you saw in the pictures, yes, I was certainly seeing that in Western Australia
H: Tell me about your adventures because obviously you know Western Australia well. What was your favourite part of it?
A: I would say my favourite bit, if I had to pick one specific place, is a national park called Karijini, which is absolutely stunning. It’s the second largest national park in Western Australia. It’s a little bit of a trek to get there, but I think that adds to the whole adventure, adds to the excitement of being in the place. You’ve got to put some effort into it and then you get a real reward, it’s a very beautiful park, with mountains and these deep, red, gorges that you can climb down into, almost like a lost world
H: Absolutely stunning. Now we’re talking to the all people out there who want to get involved with the adventure and go on holiday out there and obviously, not necessarily totally camping out and eating raw plants and things, but on a softer level of adventure, what can tourists do, adventure wise, in Western Australia?
A: Well I think you have options there. Parts of Western Australia are still undiscovered wilderness. It’s one of the last great wilderness areas of the planet. And, I travel a lot, I travel for a living and I know how rare and special that is, to actually go somewhere where you hardly see anybody else is an incredible opportunity, but if you want to do it with a little bit of luxury, you can. There are lodges you can stay, eco-resorts you can stay, and if you want to camp out and eat plants, well, there’s somewhere for you there as well. But you’ve got options and I think that’s the main thing to remember. It’s a vast, vast place, so it’s not a little country, this isn’t just a small part of a small country, this is a massive area of a vast country and you’ve got everything you can imagine there
H: I love the sound of these eco-resorts as well, and obviously later on we’re going to be talking about off the beaten track as well, a little bit more about luxury holidays with you, Susan. Give us a sample of that. How luxurious are we talking?
B: Well, you can get really beautiful, pristine, luxury. Tents where you’ve got your hammock, you’ve got your own solar panels so you’ve got your own hot water. You’ve got brass hand pumps so that you can pump in your own water to your freestanding bath, and then you’re looking out at the most amazing scenery, just looking out at pure white sands, really turquoise blue waters and there’s nobody else because…I think that especially these days, we think that privacy is a huge luxury, and in Western Australia, it’s so easy to get the completely private experience. And then down in the South you have beautiful old Colonial lodges that just really, really beautiful, and for Australia they’re ancient, because they’re about 100 years old
H: Simon mentioned, so much space that people can really have privacy and have fun in your own space
A: I think also because there is so much room, they don’t have to have one lodge banged up right next to another one. They can pick the best place to put it and the most beautiful location for it, and then somebody else comes along and they want to build a lodge, well they can get on the other side of the mountain range because you’ve got that scale
B: Western Australia is 11 times the size of the UK and it’s only 2 million people, and most of them are in Perth, so you only have to go about half an hour outside of Perth and it’s like you’re the first people that have ever been there. That beach is yours
H: Well, going back to off the beaten track and adventurers, feeling like you’re the only person there and really experiencing something new, camping for instance. How easy is it to go on a camping holiday in Western Australia?
A: It could not be easier, you’ve got the entire set up you need. First of all you’ve got the location. You’ve got a continent size country, you’ve got this vast area of Western Australia, but it’s still got a degree of infrastructure, you can still get around. You haven’t got to walk for 400 miles to the campsite, you can hire a car, you can drive out to the campsite, you can pick your location. You’ve got a vast national park, everything is set up to make it easy for you to camp if you want to do so. Or as we were saying, you can stay in rather more luxurious surroundings
B: I don’t want to shock you Simon, but I have actually camped in Australia. Proper campsite
A: Did you have to put the tent up?
B: I did have to put the tent up, well I watched someone put the tent up. But it was brilliant, because they’ve got the barbeque stuff and everything, so actually it is really nice even if it’s quite basic
A: You can pick how adventurous you want to be. You could walk out of Perth with nothing on your back, and I’m sure you could hitchhike, you could buy things along the way, or you could go to a camp that’s already been set up for you with hot and cold running water. You’ve got so many different options
H: It all sounds very lovely, but then there is a worry about the wildlife. What are the chances of all these bugs and snakes and spider…how dangerous is it and should we be worried?
A: I think it’s a bit of hype actually. If you actually look at the figures, very few people are bitten by snakes, for example in Australia, although we all think of the place as being crawling with them, and of that a very small number actually die and of course that’s a tragedy, but you have to keep that in perspective, because we’re in a country where tens of thousands of people are injured every year putting on their trousers, for goodness sake! So you have to just think about it carefully and obviously not take risks, but snakes for example do not want to go around biting people, they do not come out hunting you. They will only really rear up and potentially strike at you if you tread on them. And there are very simple things you can do, like stamping your feet when walking through bush and reverberations should make them move out of your way
H: So just educate yourself a little and don’t worry about it
A: If you feel you want to educate yourself because you’re going somewhere spectacular and special and you want to get the most out of your holiday or your adventure or your luxury travel trip, whatever you’re going to do you should read up about it, I think
B: But it’s brilliant that you can get really…kangaroos will literally be bouncing around in front of you. If you go to somewhere like Exmouth, emus are walking down the street, it’s just brilliant! It’s a little bit scary, but they don’t come near you, and they’re so tame because they’re so used to the local people being there anyway and I think that’s all part of going to Australia, that you are going to think “oh my goodness!” There’s a kangaroo here like you might see a cat sitting on a wall, and that’s how ordinary it is for them and makes an amazing holiday for everybody
A: It’s ordinary for everybody there, but it’s really exotic for us
B: Extraordinary for us
A: And it’s so memorable, you’re really arriving somewhere completely different, and everything about it tells you that, and that’s what makes it such a special experience
H: So for those who are worried about wild life, we’re quite literally just saying don’t provoke animals and you’ll probably be OK
A: I would turn it completely around and say, it’s not about being worried, it’s about relishing the chance to see them, because the wild life there is really exotic and magnificent
B: Nothing is going to be scarier than mini bar prices! They are the really terrifying things you’ve got to watch out for when you’re anywhere!
H: Now, for those of you who are more likely to be found hanging around a mini bar and some more luxury locations, rather than camping out in Western Australia, we’ve got a lovely little clip for you, because now we’re going to be talking about some luxury holidays
VT
H: A little spot of luxury there for you. We are now going to talk to Susan D’arcy a little bit more about the luxurious part of holidaying in Western Australia. Shopping, glitz, glamour and the beaches, what’s your favourite part?
B: Well if you want to do really upmarket shopping, you can do pearls and pink diamonds, which are some of the rarest diamonds in the world, but they go for £40,000, so I’m not quite sure….Simon’s going to get one for his wife! But they’re great and you get to go and tour the pearl farms and things in the North. If you’re in Perth, they’ve got brilliant…sort of a bit like Notting Hill or somewhere, so they’ve got lots of little boutiques and cafes and bars, so that’s a really nice browsing day. Or you can go to Freemantle at the weekend, where they have brilliant food and markets and quite cool jazz scene and lots of music and culture. So you can do shopping and mingle with all the local people, because that’s where everybody likes to go and chill at the weekend
H: Talking about food, what is a traditional dish in Australia? What should we definitely not miss trying when you’re out there?
B: Seafood is brilliant when you’re out there. They’ve got their own marron, which is like lobster but much more affordable, so that’s good. They’ve got brilliant restaurants. They’ve got their equivalent of Heston Blumenthal, Jackson, so you can do all that turnip coated duck and things like that if you want to. But if you go down to the South they’ve got truffles, which are the most exotic food in the world and I love truffles. If you’re in Europe and you do truffle hunting, you go through these misty forests with this pig and the farmer who looks like Gerard Depardieu, it’s gorgeous. In Australia, it’s a little bit more practical than that. They’ve planted the trees in straight lines, the dog is an ex-sniffer dog from customs. The good thing about that is you always find a truffle, and digging up your own truffle is an amazing experience
A: A guaranteed find
B: A guaranteed find in Australia, which you won’t get in Europe and in fact they send a lot of their truffles to Europe anyway, but I think they’re going to be producing about 50% of the world’s truffles in the next 10 years. It’s a huge market for them
H: Truffle hunting in Western Australia, how lovely!
B: You have to do it, it’s amazing, it’s…truffles are, if you haven’t eaten them they’re the most amazing food
H: And of course to go with some truffles how about a glass of wine. We know the wine in Australia is fabulous. Do you have a favourite?
A: I wouldn’t say I have a favourite, but certainly I know that the wineries down in the South West are becoming very popular and they’re producing some fantastic wines. Australia also produces some great beer of course, so you’ve got all options covered
H: All options covered. And wine holidays, are there holidays where you can get involved with wine companies?
B: Yes. It’s a really young industry, it’s only been going about 40 years in Australia, but that means that they’ve got really modern methods. So they’ve gone for premium wines in the Margaret River which is a really beautiful area of the South. All the wineries have their own little personalities, so one is run by a former doctor and it’s all bio-dynamic and one is run according to the phases of the moon. They’ve got another one that’s got a huge art gallery and one that’s actually run by someone who’s teetotal. He has done these huge, amazing rose gardens so that anyone that doesn’t want to drink can still go there and have a really nice day out
A: That’s where the space comes in again, doesn’t it?
B: Yes
A: They’re not all butted up next to each other occupying the same piece of land
H: Because there’s plenty of space. All of this and we haven’t even mentioned yet, we haven’t even gotten onto the beaches. We will do shortly, and we’ll also be going to be taking all your live questions as well, so if you want to get involved make sure you use that little box, or tweet us, it’s #westernaustralia. We’ll be back very, very soon
Break
H: Welcome back. If you’ve just joined us, I’m Layla, I’m here today with Susan and Simon, adventurer and luxury holiday expert – what a great job title! We’re talking about Western Australia and we’re back with your live questions. You’ve all been getting involved via our Twitter and via the little box below on our little website, so we’re going to be throwing some questions at you if that’s OK with both of you. Our first question here is from Catherine, and she says; “I’m going to be getting married in summer and wanted to know where in Western Australia is an ideal place for a honeymoon?”
B: Well, you would want to combine wouldn’t you, because there are things North and South
A: Yes, you’re talking about a huge area, so I think they need to think about it carefully. What do they want? Do they want the beaches because Western Australia’s got 12,000 kilometres of coast line, you can have the most perfect beaches on the plane there
B: All to yourself
A: All to yourself, yes
H: I’m thinking honeymoon, and I’m thinking about a bit of luxury so I’m turning to you, Susan. For a honeymoon, is Western Australia a good option?
B: It’s a good option, because you do have the fantastic beaches and you can…because you have the privacy and when you’re on honeymoon I think it’s essential to have a bit of privacy, so if you go somewhere like Cape Lodge, you’ve got a beautiful hotel, fabulous service and then you can just go off for the day, claim the beach for yourself and I think that sounds pretty romantic really
H: Very romantic. I think I’d be quite satisfied with a honeymoon in Western Australia
A: That was very romantic, but I think you might want a bit of adventure as well
B: You might! I don’t think your bride would
H: What would you throw into a honeymoon?
A: You want a bit of adventure that bonds you together through a little bit of a process of adversity
B: So through a process of staying at the A&E department?
A: But I want to mention the Gibb River Road, which I haven’t driven, but I’d love to. It’s a drive in the North of the state, the North of Western Australia. Susan’s raising an eyebrow, but…
B: I just know that you’re not going to get anything luxurious along that route, and for a honeymoon…
A: You’re not going to get super luxury, but there are some great lodges and places to stay along there. But the luxury you’re going to get is going to come out of the landscape and it’s going to come out of the environment you’re driving through and what you’re going to see and the people that you’re going to meet along the way. Mountain ranges you’re going to see, you’re going to be able to travel down into the most extraordinary gorges, and that area… this is the real wilderness area, one of the great wilderness areas of the country, as I’ve mentioned. I think it would be quite bonding for newlyweds
H: I’m sure it would. I can imagine couples doing exactly this. Well the best thing is that clearly there’s something for all sorts of tastes
B: Well, you wouldn’t just want to go to Margaret River, which is beautiful. It would be crazy to go to Western Australia and not see some of the bits that Simon’s talking about, because even if you don’t want to do adventure, it’s still amazing just to look at that scenery because it’s so different from anything we’ve got here
H: Exactly. We’ve got another question for you, from Sally. Hopefully this one won’t cause an argument! “My dream has always been to travel around Western Australia. Would it be better to arrange it myself or get advice from a travel agent?” Now this is a great question, because a lot of the time now there’s so many different options online, there’s so many different ways of doing it. What would you recommend?
A: I personally don’t use travel agents. You might think differently. Certainly if they bring specialist knowledge to the situation then it might be worth paying a little bit more. Certainly for a once in a lifetime trip you want to get the absolute most that you can out of your journey, you’re going to the other side of the world, it’s a bit adventure and you want to get the most memorable experiences you can
B: But I think like you were saying before, it’s such a big place and people might not quite realise that. So if you went to an Australian specialist they would understand, because sometimes people think oh we’ll just go from there to there and it looks really small
A: Oh we’ll just drive it, yeah!
B: I can imagine you saying that! Three days later and one divorce! So you need to know where you’re going, and I think for that you need somebody who can give you a little bit of advice really
H: So we’re recommending really a travel agent or an Australian specialist website, or something like that
A: I would personally never just rely on somebody else, to tell you what you’re going to do with your hard earned money
B: Yes, because they don’t know you
A: Get the guide books, there’s no shortage of information and sources out there. The tourism board has got a great website you can look on and just see what types of things you want to do. Think about what you want to get out of holiday
H: Exactly, we’ve got loads of guide books you can look at, lots of different options and of course our website, which westernaustralia.com, so obviously through that one in there! We’ve got another question here from Barry, he says; “The flight is very, very long. Are there any flights that go directly to Western Australia? Should there be stops on the way? How would you recommend coping with a long journey like that?”
A: I think you have to stop
B: You have to touch down and get off for an hour, say, but that’s quite good and you get to stretch your legs and all that sort of thing
H: So there are no direct flights currently?
A: Well, when you say it’s a very long flight, maybe we…again, I’m trying to turn this into a positive. It’s the other side of the planet. It used to take people weeks and months to travel around. It’s a day, it’s one day and then if you’re going for a decent period of time, I think that’s a reasonable price to pay if you’re going to have the trip of lifetime, that’s what you’re talking about. You’re talking about an adventure in a place which is going to offer you some of the most memorable experiences of your life
B: I think it’s a brilliant. A whole 18 hours without anyone contacting you by email, by phone and you’ve got loads of films you can watch. I quite like it really
A: It’s not that bad is it?
H: It’s not that bad and obviously you’ve got a stop off as an opportunity to stretch your legs as well. We’ve got a question here from Shakodra from Facebook and it’s for you, Simon; “I watched your tour over Tropic of Cancer. What episode does the Australia tour come under?”
A: What episode? The main series when we travelled it was Tropic of Capricorn and that was the 3rd programme in the series of the Tropic of Capricorn
H: 3rd episode
B: I’m impressed you remembered that actually?
A: Well, I felt oooh! But I remembered that!
H: And where was it?
A: We basically travelled over the Tropic of Capricorn, it marks one of the boarders of the tropics region and it travels across, almost across the whole of Australia, so we spent a month travelling across the entire country. It was an extraordinary place to visit. I think as well because, I don’t know if you would agree with this about Australia, but I felt I knew Australia already. Ever since I was a kid we’ve seen the soaps, we’ve seen the films and we know Australians, but you don’t really know it until you get there. It’s such a vast country, it’s got so much more to offer than the stuff filmed in Sydney, the soap operas and stuff, it’s a lot more out there
H: A little bit more than the soaps isn’t it? Now we’ve got another question here, I think it’s going to be our last question because we’ve had so many already, and lots of you sending in your questions, so thank you very much for getting involved. This is from Heidi and she says; “ Of course, let’s get realistic, not many of us have the chance to travel for a month, or two months at a time. But a two week holiday in Australia, what can we fit in?” Two weeks?
A: Well, you can have the most memorable experience of your life potentially. If you organise it in the right way
B: You could go North and South in two weeks, easily, with a break in Perth and then back to Perth at the end
A: A week of luxury?
B: At least a week! I think maybe 13 days of luxury, one half hour of…
H: It would have to be up to you, but you’d have to have a little look at the balance in your relationship, maybe. Maybe one week of luxury, one week of adventure! So thank you very, very much for watching today. There’s a little bit of a tease about Western Australia for you, but definitely not everything you could get about the country, it’s amazing. Do have a little look at our website, it’s www.westernaustralia.com for any more information. We’ll see you soon, thank you for watching. Bye bye.
