Feature by Carolyn Beasley
Hugging the granite-strewn coastline, skirting aquamarine bays, and diverting inland through tall timbers, bucolic vineyards and charming villages, the South West Edge is a road trip everyone should, and can, experience.
In great news for those with limited mobility, many wheelchair accessible experiences line the 9 to 14-day route. Jaimen Hudson; photographer, tour operator and wheelchair user shares some of the best of the south west corner he has experienced, between in Perth (Boorloo) and Esperance (Kepa Kurl).
Dolphin Discovery Centre
Heading south from Perth, the route takes in Bunbury, where on the edge of Koombana Bay, the Dolphin Discovery Centre has been designed for wheelchair accessibility. Here, Jaimen rolls through the interpretive centre checking out aquaria featuring local species and the 360-degree Digital Dolphinarium. From here, borrow a beach wheelchair and join the wild dolphins that pop by the interaction zone, right outside.
Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre, Bunbury
Cape to Cape Explorer Tours
Linger as you ramble through the first three and a half kilometres of the spectacular Cape to Cape Track between Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and Sugarloaf Rock. This accessible path has a bitumen and boardwalk surface. For Jaimen, who visited in spring, this was one of his highlights.
“You’re going along this awesome footpath right on the edge of the west coast of Australia and there are loads of humpback whales just springing off in the distance with this very beautiful, rugged coastline.”
Take Jaimen’s tip and book a private three-hour excursion with Cape to Cape Explorer Tours. You’ll learn about the unique geology, spectacular plants and animals of the cape, plus Wardandi Noongar and European history.
Mammoth Cave
There are over 100 caves in the limestone karst beneath the Margaret River Region. Several are open to the public, and part of Mammoth Cave is wheelchair accessible. Follow the boardwalk through the native bushland, and with your self-guided audio tour, proceed some 50 metres into the first soaring chamber. Admire the largest stalactites in the region, hanging four to five metres from the ceiling. Learn about the thousands of fossils found here, including extinct giant megafauna, like a giant wombat and a marsupial lion.
Mammoth Cave, Margaret River
Amaze’n
Just south of Margaret River, Amaze’n is a fun day out for the whole family, regardless of ability. Jaimen’s family got delightfully lost in the giant hedge maze, tested out the 18-hole mini-golf course and pottered around the five-hectare garden. Bring a picnic or barbeque, or dine in the wheelchair-friendly café, specialising in local produce. Don’t miss the scones with homemade jam on the shady verandah.
Donnelly River Cruises
Just 25 minutes’ drive from Pemberton, the lower Donnelly River inside D’Entrecasteaux National Park is only accessible by boat, and it’s a very welcome surprise for Jaimen.
“Donnelly River Cruises was something I never would have done, because I wouldn't have known it was going to be accessible,” Jaimen says. The small boat lowers a bow ramp, and Jaimen’s wheelchair simply rolls straight on. The four-hour cruise navigates a hidden world of jarrah, karri and marri forest, through paperbarks and wetlands, finishing at limestone cliffs and the sea.
Donnelly River Cruise, Pemberton
Valley of the Giants and The Treetop Walk
Jaimen has not been able to climb a tree since his accident when he was 17 years old, so to be immersed in the forest canopy at the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk was deeply moving. Set in the unique giant tingle trees, the Treetop Walk is a 600-metre accessible mesh walkway. As the valley drops away, visitors find themselves 40-metres high. Down on ground level, The Ancient Empire provides a 500-metre accessible boardwalk for a different perspective.
The Gap and Natural Bridge
Head south to Albany (Kinjarling), to another of Jaimen’s favourite stops; the The Gap and Natural Bridge in Torndirrup National Park. The pounding of the Southern Ocean has carved a deep channel in the granite cliffs, and an accessible mesh viewing platform overhangs this gap, providing a front-row seat to nature’s power. The pathway continues to The Natural Bridge, where the elements have eroded the rocks in a different way, leaving a granite overpass across a hollowed-out bay.
The Gap, Torndirrup National Park
The National Anzac Centre
The National Anzac Centre in Albany is as informative as it is poignant. Cantilevering off Mount Clarence, it overlooks King George Harbour, where 40,000 Australian and New Zealand troops left Australia for World War I.
“You just feel almost a spiritual presence in the building,” Jaimen says. “You're not only hearing the story, but you look out the window and you can see where they were.”
It’s yet another unforgettable view from the South West Edge.
National Anzac Centre, Albany
Published May 2024.