Bunbury

Bunbury is Western Australia’s third largest city and lies on an isthmus of land approximately 175 kilometres south from Perth. It is a bustling port city and its coastal location has seen is become an important tourist and resort destination. It has developed a considerable tourist infrastructure and now boasts plenty of great accommodation, excellent restaurants and cafes, together with lots of water based activities. The port itself services the local timber, mining and agricultural industries. Bunbury is the commercial center for an extensive, fertile agricultural region. The city lies on the entrance to the Collie River on Geographe Bay and exploration of this region is comparatively recent by Australian standards. It wasn’t until 1829 that the area was first explored by Europeans. In the 1880s and 1890s, Bunbury was connected by rail to Perth and the city then continued to expand economically.

As with most of the cities situated on the south east coast of Western Australia the city has wonderful waterfront facilities. The beaches here are superb with excellent surfing breaks. Water sports like fishing and sailing are extremely popular and the city now has an extremely cosmopolitan atmosphere with a waterfront lined with busy cafes and restaurants. Inland from Bunbury are a number of interesting attractions. During the spring, the wildflower displays in the region attract large numbers of tourists. The karri and jarrah forests around Pemberton are truly magnificent and some of the surrounding towns like Busselton and Margaret River are famous tourist destination in their own right. This region is famous now as a wine growing region and many great holiday resorts are located in the hinterland to cater for the hoards of wine lovers who come here to spend some time among the vineyards and restaurants that are so popular here.

Bunbury has a number of beautiful buildings dating back to the last century. Most are now filled with interesting museums, galleries and restaurants that are all worth visiting. There is also plenty of quality accommodation available with waterfront apartments and resorts, hotels, backpacker hostels and caravan parks that all help cater for the tourist influx. Local tours include whale watching and dolphin watching trips, fishing charters and nature tours to places like the Big Swamp reserve and the Maidens Tuart Forest.

If you want to plan your next holiday is Western Australia, some time spent in Bunbury can be very rewarding.