Hi Santa. Thanks for your reply. There are many many places throughout Australia that we will visit over and over again. Our trip to WA we will do well .....BUT only once!!!! ......there I believe is the problem the WA Government needs to look at. Word of mouth is everything. If it is worthwhile visiting then people will come back again and again.

cjt55 wrote:

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We are on our Big Lap this year and we have just arrived in Perth a few days ago and we read in the Newspapers and see in the media that the WA government is concerned about the lack of tourism and in particular from the Eastern States. The government is now working hard to attract both interstate visitors and International visitors. They are so serious about this problem that they have convinced Qantas to introduce direct flights from Perth to the UK and visa versa for starters.

Well if any politican is reading this or anyone has any connection with a WA politician then please give them this advice ..... lower your prices!  Whilst I am extremely fortunate as a self funded military retiree to not have to watch my spending too closely the prices since we have moved into WA are astounding. Perth is particularly expensive for most things. Diesel fuel is currently $1.43 per litre. We were in Margaret River a week ago and Diesel was $1.47. Just down the road at Augusta it was $1.34. Perth CBD and immediate surrounds charge $2.80 per hour for parking...no refunds and you either pay it or there is nowhere else to park.  This is 7 days a week. We went to the Perth Markets this morning and they charged us $1 each to get through the gate. To visit Rottness Island on the ferry from Fremantle will cost us $67 each and get this....$18 of that is an entrance fee to Rottness Island. In comparison, to visit Magnetic Island from Townsville will cost you $26 each, no entrance fee to Magnetic Island. Overall the Caravan Park fees are higher here than the East of Australia. I shudder to think of the prices as we head up the West Coast.

My point here is if the government is wondering why the tourism industry is the lowest in the country it is because you are charging an arm and a leg for just about everything.

Having said all this....WA has some awesome tourist opportunities with their magnificent coastlines, wineries, beaches etc. Lower you costs and they will come lol.

I wonder what others think who have visited WA?

-- Edited by cjt55 on Sunday 25th of March 2018 09:34:42 PM

-- Edited by cjt55 on Sunday 25th of March 2018 09:37:58 PM

-- Edited by cjt55 on Sunday 25th of March 2018 10:56:57 PM

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 Agree cjt55

And I live in the south west of WA

The populated areas of WA have none, to very few, free camps, we are probably on par with the populated areas of the east coast

The free camps are mainly around the very small towns

Out on the highway there are plenty od free camps

OK Cjt see how much it concerns you heres the man , voice ur concerns. tell us if you get a response

Minister.Papalia@dpc.wa.gov.au

Minister for tourism 

-- Edited by mezza56 on Monday 26th of March 2018 08:27:44 AM

We have travelled to WA for the last 2 years for the winter. The first year we concentrated on the Kimberly and then unfortunately had to come home for family reasons. So last year, depite the expense we returned to finish off what we missed. We did find in parts it to be expensive but away from major towns there is planty of free camping and WA so the National Parks extremely well and very well priced. As we know it is a large state and fuel costs are high driven by mining. We still found plenty of low or nil cost things to do. We missed Perth and had a house sit in Busselton which allowed us to explore the southern end much more cheaply. We talked to lots of WA people and we get the impression they dont really care if we come over or not and many of them say it is too far and expensive to go east. We loved WA but may not ever return.....for the cost of doing so and the distances required to see it all.

YES . Free camping in WA is where we really started F camping . I didnât think station stays where any good . Once I finally did . $12 or so a day is fantastic., places like Monkey Mia have you entrapped . But I guess out in the sticks ? You get that anywhere .,?? Yes I would do that lap again in a heart beat !! Just convincing my navigator !! Lol

Hi everyone. Thanks for your comments. I too free camp as much as I can too. My post is not a complaint and I too have found the people of WA to be very nice.

My post was just in reaction to the newspapers and reporting on TV after we arrived in Perth thag the government is concerned about the decline in tourism in this state. They also mentioned all us travellers in their comments.

Happy and safe travels everyone.

I must say that apart from cost of caravan parks in the Kimberley area, I don't think WA is much different to most of remote Australia cost wise.

I think people forget that the state is the equivalent of 3 states on the East coast, and with the blame spread evenly between the 3 of them, they appear to be cheaper. That said WA is also much larger in and of itself, so is going to have some very specific and higher costs of getting things around, especially to remoter regions.

Fuels are to my way of thinking no dearer than they are in country SA, Qld, NSW or NT, and food is also similar, at least where we have shopped.

In fact, after spending 5 months, in 2 trips over August - October 2015, and June to September 2016 in WA, our "budget" cost per kilometre of travel was the same as we spent in NT, NSW and QLD. It still worked out around the $1/km, with the difference being the higher distances.

Don't let the cost put you off anyone, just go and enjoy some great places.
 

PS I agree that those coming from the West to the East probably see the same higher costs as they experience the distances in reverse!

-- Edited by TheHeaths on Monday 26th of March 2018 01:02:05 PM

 

 Funny that. I read an article last week, some 2018 survey that tabled the 10 most expensive cities in the world to live in, Sydney is the second and Melbourne was fifth. No other Australian city made the top 10.

 

 

Hi also to AK and Jules,

Loved WA for holidays as with any part of Australia. My first time to WA was in 1976 I think it was. That was on an organized safari type tent, coach tour from Qld to the bottom corner of WA. We only went as far north as Yanchep National Park. The thing I remember about Yanchep was the black swans. The road across the Nullabor was dirt. The cliffs were fantastic and they still are and you then could walk anywhere along the cliffs. Also remembered the Cat and the Fiddle arcade in Perth, King's park and going up in one of the tall buildings to an observation deck for sites and photos. Hubby went the same year but at a different time and we were still to meet. Next time was in early 1980's. Now married and I too was a South Australian. This time we had 2 months and a Kombie Camper. I had to give up work so I could go. We stayed in CPs this whole trip. Don't remember thinking anything was over priced. Lots of lookout signs to the cliffs along the highway across the Nullabor so we went to all of them. The cliffs amaze me no end. A lot of the touristy things on this trip were no longer there when we next went in 2015. El Cabello Blanca is now a resort, back then it was the home of the dancing horses and the show was superb. York held the then annual historic street sprints. Never had seen anything like that before and the motor museum was terrific. Beverley had the big machinery/tractor museum. WOW. Up north a lot of the roads were dirt and sign posting in some places were non existent. I remember driving into Chitchester NP and towing someone out of the sand. In the Kimberleys we stayed in the CP at Wittenoom and you drove right up the gorge to the mine. Wittenoom then consisted of the CP, a servo, a store and streets and streets of house frames (always regretted not taking a photo if anyone has one) as the asbestos cladding had been removed but the frames still remained. A fierce electrical storm occurred whilst we stayed there over night. The guys on the motorbikes camped close by spent a fair bit of the night sheltered in the loos. We stumbled into Tunnel Creek and Winjanna Gorge. We didn't know they existed. Like I said signs were few and far between and we'd get to a corner and basically toss a coin to see if we went right or left.
All the gorges were beautiful. Not much in barriers and designated walkways. We were a lot younger and fitter then. The Kombie got us to a lot of places and not one flat tyre that whole trip. In 2015 we had the motorhome in my avatar and it was great to free camp as much as possible. Hubby had retired. We now lived in Qld and had 3 1/2 months. The Nullabor road is so much better. Lookouts are designated and fenced and tourist information boards tell the story of an area and some places are more touristy and you have to pay to get to see these places. I don't begrudge this as with more people out and about places need to be cared for. Fuel prices as others have said fluctuate and we are willing to pay. No choice anyway when you need it. When we need to ot feel like it, we usually stay in the cheaper CPs/showgrounds, NPs as we don't need too much in amenities. I felt travelling in and around Fremantle and Perth was cheap. We stayed at a CP in Fremantle. Walked to the free bus stop closest to the park and that bus took you into Fremantle CBD/the docks and around the city. Cost nothing like I said. When going into Perth we again took the free bus to the Fremantle train station and it was only a couple dollars to catch a train to Perth then we again hopped onto the free buses. There was a red, blue and yellow route and we travelled the whole lot over a couple of days. A free city walking tour. A cheap bus to King's park. Went to Rottnest Island on cheap Tuesday.

This trip, we didn't see some of the places we saw in the past as the motorhome could not travel to some of the places we saw in the Kombie but we saw other places instead, did other things. Would we go again, you bet. Places are always evolving, nothing stays the same forever and neither do we. I can't get around like I used to do even back in 2015 so that also changes our spending habits. A trip/holiday can be very expensive or fairly cheap depending how you like to travel.  Cheers.

-- Edited by Gaylehere on Monday 26th of March 2018 06:15:13 PM

-- Edited by Gaylehere on Monday 26th of March 2018 06:25:11 PM

It's sad having spent all that time in the military and not get a military penison and have to be self funded

The two things that are expensive in WA is time and the quantity of diesel you need to see it. Its such a big place obviously.
And dont expect to see anything by just staying the whole way round on Route 1. I think those who say "nothing to see" or boring are those who never ventured off route1. I met one person who did exactly that.
I said goodday, how you going. Having met in an overnight rest area early one morning while taking the dog for his first walk of the day. This person was taking a photo of the sun rise. Turns out he had lots of photos of sun rises and sun sets, yes, Route 1 was a featured in all of them. I asked "where are you heading", "down to Perth he said". Me, "any stops on the way". Him, "no nothing on the map". Me, "well you could go have a look in at Shake Bay, that is a right turn about 50 kms down the road". Him, "how far is it from the turn off into shark bay". Me "about 150kms", Him, "thats too far for me"!
But how far had he travelled to get where we were? 2000 or 3000kms and more. He was from Victoria, I think headed up to Darwin then around WA to Perth the across back to Vic. I would find that boring too!

Our trip (half lap) was just shy of six mths, three and a half of those in WA. Loved it and will go back. We missed some parts with the intention to see on the next trip.

Yes it is a big place, you only have to look at a map of Oz to see that!!

We found a lot of places priced over "over the top", so we moved on. Disappointed that a lot of places were not accessible for us, due to road conditions or our van size.

But it was still very enjoyable.

Prices for things can be compared to any where, from KI to Darwin or to NZ. If you are that concerned, or scared, of the dollar factor while travelling, do research before you go anywhere, and plan your trip around what you can afford. Mmmmm, maybe just opened a can of worms!

Our fuel economy was checked for the first two weeks so we could plan ahead on how far between necessary fuel stops. everything else is "part of the travel experience"

From what we have heard from other travelers we met along the way, the east coast can be very expensive also. It is really a matter of what you wish to see and do, and if it costs too much to so something, walk away and find a nice park for a home made picnic, or a coast to wander a look for shells (not that you have to collect any).

For those lucky enough, life is about choices and what we do with them. I think those that are lucky enough to be able to travel and enjoy our great land need to enjoy it within their own capabilities, and share experiences with others, good and bad.

WA, 'til we meet again, ta ta !!

WA use to be quite affordable until the mining boom. Because of the big wages 'miners' were paid prices went up. Some things went up because these miners would pay without questioning (ie they were paid too much), some things went up because they all thought everyone was earning the same bucks.
Now it has become a place you go to with financial caution.
Larry

PS Margaret River has become the place to be seen having a latte or tasting wine.

-- Edited by deverall11 on Tuesday 27th of March 2018 10:38:51 AM

Perhaps the gummint could remove some tariffs on fuel specifically for travellers.
Messing with the natural supply and demand of typical tourism area's might have unknown concequences but a fuel rebate would be target specific surely?