A COASTAL ODYSSEY
THE AMAZING SOUTH COAST
The South Coast of Western Australia, from Eucla in the arid east, to Albany in the verdant west, fronts the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean for a distance of 1100km.
Much of it is wild, remote and sparsely populated. All of it is stunningly beautiful, with long white-sand beaches, secluded bays sheltered by rocky headlands, and sheer limestone ramparts that form the longest uninterrupted sea cliffs in the world. Behind this wave-washed strand lie vast sandhills and plains of sweeping heathland edged by ancient scarps and dotted with domed, granite peaks.
Offshore, the seabed is a complex array of continental shelf, mid-slope terraces, canyons and deep abyssal plains. Swept by major oceanic currents, these varied habitats support a wide range of marine life, more than 80 per cent of which is found nowhere else on the planet. Just as the terrestrial environment is conserved by a corridor of national parks and nature reserves, so too are large areas of these southern waters and islands protected by a network of State and Commonwealth marine parks.
The South Coast’s natural splendor attracts thousands of tourists all year round for a host of recreational activities. Balmy spring and summer months attract them for some of the best fishing in the State, classic blue-water sailing and exotic wildflowers; in winter they come for 4WD adventures to remote historic sites and the opportunity of witnessing the great whale migration.
EUCLA
The tiny township of Eucla is the easternmost locality in Western Australia,
