Cycling Australia | Luke Yates Guide to Western Australia Part 1

Luke Yates is travelling Australia by bike. On the first part of his journey, he enjoys a final night of comfort in Perth, then hits Western Australia’s roads and discovers ‘road’ is a really loose term…

Perth
Perth is the most remote city in the world, so obviously the most sensible place to set off on a bicycle tour! I’ve been on the road for nearly four weeks and I’m still nearly 1000km from Adelaide. That said, Perth really is a great place. I feel it benefits from being a young city and all the easier opportunities for development this provides. The walk in to the CBD from my hotel (the incredible Crown Metropol, organised with the help of Janette from Global Grapevine) takes you along the glorious Swan River with foot and cycle paths, boardwalks and stunning views of the city. The centre itself is like many others with busy shopping areas, but also some beautiful sections with distinct character. For example there is a small street that is modelled to look like a traditional English town!

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to explore many of the suburbs, but Perth left a lasting impression on me. It feels like an up and coming city with plenty of space for sport and recreation, stunning views, beaches and a great way of life. Leaving was difficult. The comfort and certainty was all behind me and as expected, the next few days and hours would throw up some surprises and challenges. I will certainly return to Perth in the future, to further experience and discover the individual character of the different districts. I also haven’t seen any cricket at the WACA yet!

Rockingham
Rockingham is a small town just to the south of Perth. I arrived on a beautiful morning having earlier set off from the city, and I really enjoyed this town. You have to go through a few industrial districts to get there but the main street itself runs along the beach with cafes and a promenade. I had a great breakfast, took a few photos and was on my way!

Mandurah
Mandurah is another coastal town, but much larger and more distinct than Rockingham. My first impression wasn’t particularly positive to be honest. The outskirts felt a bit tired and run down but after a few directional mishaps I found myself on the bustling marina. The place was a revelation. There are boardwalks with cafes and markets. Individual wharfs lead to modern flats and there is a thriving theatre and arts centre on the seafront. The town centre itself is busy and alive. I was completely won over. Mandurah is a lovely town with excellent access to the big city to the north.

I headed south from Mandurah for my first night out in the open. One of the great things about travelling Western Australia is the number of national parks. Many of these have bush campgrounds for just $10. I was heading for one of these, Yalgorup. Yalgorup is a lovely, small park set between some lakes and the sea. There is a camp kitchen, clean long drop toilets and some great tent spots for people like me. Unfortunately, another thing you will quickly notice about WA is that they are yet to fully understand what a road is! Just because a patch of dirt is vaguely straight and doesn’t have any trees, doesn’t mean that it is a road. The last 6km into the park were down a sandy ‘road’ that was basically impassable by bike. But with a little help I made it in to the park and had two nights in a great spot.

My future plans had taken a slight hit as I realised many other national park campsites would probably be off limits, but my Western Australian experience was generally off to a great start.

You can follow my progress here, on my website and on twitter @lhyates89 and @GlobalGrapevine so please don’t hesitate to check out my adventures and get in touch. I would love to hear from you!

Read the second part of Luke’s Australian travels here