by My friend and I have made several attempts to describe the magic of the Margaret River region (“Margs”) when they rave about it when we returned from Western Australia. Is it the white sandy beaches of Maledives that make them so side side? Is it the fact that, unlike the east coast, the sun actually goes over the sea? Is it the award-winning wine and food scene, just a few hours from Australia’s sunny capital?
Here is the best summary in which we have landed: You could visit a new world class beach and a new world-class winery every morning for two weeks every morning, and you would no longer be out. Here is the even wilder part: you probably have most of the beaches and wineries.
So where is this mythical country of sun, sea and wine and why hardly heard British heard of it? Just a few hours away from Perth – the same city that organizes some of the biggest ash and lion games this year. This is exactly why you should add it to the top of your Australia Bucket list if you want to get on the latest sports tripping hype and keep an adventure from it, as you are expected for the last Lions tour and 30,000 for the Ashes for the last Lions tour in the course of this year.
In fact, they book tickets for the first Aussie game of the Lions in Perth in June or the first test game in Perth in November, and the next day they could swim with the friendly spines in the world-famous Hamelin Bay the next day. Just don’t say it to everyone else.
“Perth is actually the closest, sunniest and one of the most beautiful areas in Australia, but it has traditionally been overlooked by British tourists who think of the east coast of Australia when they plan big trips down,” says Elen Thomas, Great Britain and France Country Manager for Tourism Western Australia.
Thomas says that this year she saw a strong increase in travel bookings in July and November in front of the ashes and lions. According to reports, sports tourism was responsible for 10 percent of global tourism in 2024 and, according to Skyscanner, will only be raised in the next decade. Almost a third of 25 to 35-year-olds plan to do sports events next year and Australia in the second half of 2025.
June – the month in which the Ashes Cricket series begins down – is technically the Australia’s winter, but the temperatures on the west coast are still up to 22 degrees, which is known for its 300 days of sunshine per year and lack of humidity compared to East Coast Cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. In fact, the temperatures of the off-season rose from Perth to Margaret River as high as at the end of the twenties of the annual perfection for a sporty vacation of hikes, runs, swimmers and water sports-while in contrast to the east coast, the night to sleep was actually cool enough.
Locals say that winter is indeed the best time for a visit. There are not only fewer crowds and more comfortable temperatures, but it is also more likely that you will discover humpback whales when you hike along the coast.
There are 19 flawless beaches that easily reach the Perth (our favorite was Cottesloe, mainly thanks to its old school pavilion, which was served a large coffee and covered with Kookaburras), while Rottnest Island, the car-free paradise of the population of friendly Wallaby-like creatures, which is known as a quocka 30-minute farm center from the configuration of the configuration of the configuration known from the configuration.
For us, the real draw from Perth was a two to three-hour trip south from the city center (call to Campervan Gurus Thl, which equipped us with a spacious white Maui residential mobile and an app that referred to us on all road trips). Friends in Sydney had greeted the Margaret River for a long time to be their favorite place in Australia, and it only took a few hours to understand why.
Campervan parked on our slope campsite in Prevelly. Even on a (rare) cloudy day it was magical and felt as if we were looking across the edge of the world. We went back a precise repetition the next day.
The days are best spent in Margaret River. Every day, thanks to the Maui-van, we put on coffee and picnic with our own hotel hit cabin cabin. “It feels like a real Australia.
The beauty is that it felt like we had the streets and beaches for ourselves, but there were enough hum than we wanted. Friday evening was spent trying local ales on the lawn in Eagle Bay Brewery, and we had the feeling that we could be at a wedding in Tuscany. The locals are happy here and it is easy to understand why.
A few highlights when you set up your Margaret River bucket list: a bath in the natural spa at Injidup, snorkeling on the beach of Meelup and the aquarium near Yallingup (yes, the place names are part of the fun), and breakfast in the White Elephant Cafe in Prevely and Margaret Rivery (order the Bakery bakery).
It is also worthwhile to stand back to Perth in Mandurah on her trip when you have time. The coastal city famous for its almost guaranteed dolphin perspective and mouth twice as large as Sydney Harbor-is only an hour from Perth and may not have been known far outside of Australia, but was recently crowned the Australia Top Tourism Town for 2023. We caught our own lobsters and were served them directly from the grill just an hour later.
My friend and I quickly came to the conclusion that we had hardly scratched the Western Australia on the surface of our southwestern bucket of bucket when we were the four-hour flight back to Sydney-but the truth is that it was difficult to write one. It is not very liked to visit Sydney and tick the opera house and the Harbor Bridge. It’s not like swinging in Melbourne for the tennis or cricket or a trip along the Great Ocean Road. There is only a while. Wake up next to a new vineyard. Swimming from a new beach, dolphin spotting. Again with fish and fries for sunset (over the sea!) Hunning. You can immerse your toe and tick a few beaches and wineries. But the magic only really comes when they stay and stand up for a while.
Name it what you like sports tourism, event cationing-but if it is about planning a vacation to make an event, it is about discovering a place that you would not otherwise have visited, and somewhere in a place that definitely does not feel at home, not many places from Drizzly London can be removed as Margaret River and his almost guaranteed ceremony and crystall. Now direct flights from London to Perth). Remember to whisper it when you book your tickets – you can leave the opera house and the great Ocean Road for everyone else.
