Western Australia is a huge and varied state with 12,000km of wild stunning coastline, most of it completely undeveloped.

It’s mind boggling to think that here are some of the most amazing beaches on earth, with no-one on them! You can quite honestly have a beach completely to yourself. Western Australia is so unique in that fact, if this was anywhere else in the world it’d be crammed full of people with high-rise buildings and properties popping up all over the place.

That’s why I love WA, it’s a place of contrasting colours and textures, plants and animals, land and sea. You really won’t find anywhere else like it on Earth. Here’s a look at some of my favourite coastline spots, starting with Cape Leveque in the North, travelling down to the wilderness coastline of the South West.

Cape Leveque: Situated at the tip of the Dampier Peninsula in the North West of Western Australia, it was here that I learnt to catch and cook huge mud crabs on the banks of Hunter’s Creek. After waiting for the tide to go out, myself and indigenous guide Brian Lee took our crab catching poles and hessian sacks to go get some dinner. A truly remarkable experience.

Cable Beach: One of the iconic things to do in Western Australia is a camel ride along the famous Cable Beach as the sun is setting. Rated as one of the top five beaches in the world, it’s a 22km stretch of pure white sand with red ochre cliffs on one side and the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean on the other.

Cape Range National Park: Cape Range is a place of rugged limestone ranges, breathtaking deep canyons and 50km of pristine beach. I stayed at Sal Salis, a remote beachside safari camp nestled in the dunes of the park. It’s an incredibly isolated yet stunning location, just metres from the World Heritage Ningaloo Reef. Grab your mask and snorkel for an underwater adventure you’ll never forget, or if visiting between April and June swim with the world’s largest fish, the docile whale shark.

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I love Perth. I’ve been here just over four months now, and ever since we arrived we’ve been greeted with such warmth and made to feel at home.

And that’s just the thing folks, I really DO feel at home!

Perth is a big vibrant city with a great community feel. It’s Australias sunniest capital city with over 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, 19 beaches, loads of great bars and restaurants, is a really easy place to live and extremely family friendly. I’ll have been here for six months when my Taste Mastering contract expires in February, but if you’ve only got a couple of days, here’re some top tips.

The Early Bird: Get up with the sunrise and go for a run, bike ride or canoe along the Swan River. Perth is such a great place first thing in the morning, with people of all ages out and about exercising in the numerous parks and open spaces. They’ve got the weather so enjoy the outdoors lifestyle.

Breakfast: After all that exercise you’re gonna need a hearty brekkie. There are so many great spots for breakfast in the city and more and more are popping up every week. My favourite is Uncle Joe’s Mess Hall on King Street, a retro barbers and café rolled into one. Treat yourself to a cold drip coffee whilst waiting for a haircut.

Hit The Beach: The only decision is, which one?! Perth has 19 beaches to choose from. The perfect spot for a swim, surf and snorkel is Cottesloe, but then you’ve got the historic seaside town of Scarborough with its impressive surf breaks. Fancy a spot of beach fishing? Then head to the clean, quiet waters of Floreat and City Beach, or for a day out with the kids relax in the calm waters of Mettam’s Pool. The list goes on….

Great Spaces: Kings Park is one of the largest inner city parks in the world with fantastic views overlooking Perth City and the Swan River. Take a free guided tour through the Botanic Gardens, connect with nature with over 3,000 species of the State’s unique flora, walk amongst the tree-tops on the Lotterywest Federation Walkway, or do as I do and have a sausage sizzle on one of the free gas BBQs around the park.

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Today I’ve been making the most of the various different types of transportation that can be utilised in Perth and the surrounding area.

Just like that film with John Candy and Steve Martin.

My day started off on foot (1) as I made my way to catch up with the Amateur Gourmet (remember him from previous posts?) We then took a car (2) to Jandakot Airport for our helicopter ride (3) across to Rottnest Island….

…where we picked up our pushbikes (4) for a bit of an explore before boarding the Rottnest Express speed boat (5) to see some dolphins, seals and whales (could’ve been number 6, but weren’t allowed to ride them)…

…before eventually returning back to Perth with Captain Cook Cruises (6, there we go)

Oh yeah! Then I got the bus home. (7)

Rottnest Island is an extremely popular holiday destination and is Western Australias very own island getaway. It’s a leisurely 30 minute ferry ride from Fremantle (or 15 minutes by chopper if you’re lucky) and is a strict car free zone.

…So let’s go pick up our bikes from the 2013 WA Tourism Award Gold Medal winners in the Specialised Tourism Services category, Rottnest Island Bike and Hire and have a look about!

I’ve had some amazing food experiences on my Taste Master journey, but what awaited us at one of Rottnests 63 pristine beaches was quite possibly my favourite lunch so far. Chef Anthony Bearman from the Rottnest Lodge was in charge and he cooked up a fantastic feast of local seafood which was perfect.

For a start, just look at the setting.

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