Western Australia is the largest state of Australia, and its most remote one. Its capital, Perth ("P"), is closer to Jakarta, Indonesia than to Sydney. Maybe because of this, WA has shown an interest in secession in the past - in 1933, two thirds of its citizens voted for independence.

Most of WA consists of an ancient arid plateau about 400m about sea level. Only the south-western part of WA has forests, but these still are huge, and because of its isolation many endemic species and plants can be found, like the Karri, one of the largest trees in the world. WA is famous for its wild flowers, blooming after rare rains, like in the Kings Park in Perth, shown above.

WA is sparsely settled; most people live in the metropolitan area of Perth or on the coastal strip between Perth and Dunsborough ("D"). The latter is a good starting point to the coastal national park of Leeuwin-Naturaliste, and to the remote coastal areas between Augusta und Albany ("A"). In the inland, the best known town is Kalgoorlie ("K"), founded by gold diggers. The coast north of Perth is only sparsely settled, with natural wonders like the Pinnacles in Nambung N.P. or Shark Bay. It is possible, but quite a long drive, to continue via Highway 1 to Darwin in the Northern Territory.