Margaret River

The tallest lighthouse on the Western Australian mainland, standing on the cape at the continent's south-western tip. It is billed as the meeting point of the Indian and Southern oceans, and on a guided climb the wind shoves you about on the top balcony.

Steps lead down into a huge collapsed hollow in the forest floor to reach the entrance. Inside lies a still underground lake, and a formation called the Suspended Table hangs mirrored in it. Entry is guided only, so arrive for a tour time.

Big waves break over the reef next to the river mouth, and a world professional surfing contest is held here every year. It is no place for beginners, and more people watch from the car park on the rise than paddle out.

A dense stand of tall, pale-trunked karri that grew back after logging about a century ago. A gravel road lets you drive slowly through, and on misty mornings when light slants between the trunks, photographers' cars pull over along the verge.

Rows of granite push seaward, split by slim watery gaps. A footbridge crosses the rocks so you can look down as swell surges along the channels. On days of big swell, keep back from the outer rocks.

Waves spill over the rim of a rock pool and churn it into foam, hence the name. From the parking area a steep path takes about fifteen minutes down. People have been swept out in big swell, so go in only when the sea is calm.

A timber jetty reaching nearly 2km out to sea, said to be the longest in the southern hemisphere. A little train runs to the end, where stairs descend 8m into an underwater observatory among coral and fish. It is forty-five minutes from Margaret River by car.

Big stingrays glide over the sand in the shallows beside the boat ramp. Years of anglers cleaning fish there made them used to people, but they carry tail barbs, and signs ask you not to touch or feed them.

A trail along sea cliffs, beaches and forest from Cape Naturaliste in the north to Cape Leeuwin in the south. The whole route usually takes about six days, and many people walk just a single day's stretch. Long sandy stretches slow the pace.

Every Saturday morning local farmers and producers sell their own goods on the town's education campus. You can buy breakfast among the cheese, bread and seasonal fruit, and it wraps up before noon.

Western Australia's largest show cave, near Augusta at the far southern end. Among the hollow straw stalactites on the roof is one of exceptional length, which the guide picks out by torch. The chambers keep a chill through summer; carry a thin jumper.

A white lighthouse of 1904 where the Cape to Cape Track begins in the north. Climb to the lamp room on a guided tour and the Indian Ocean and Geographe Bay spread out on both sides. From September to November humpbacks pass below the cliff paths.

A granite islet just offshore; at sunset tripods line the clifftop facing it. Red-tailed tropicbirds nest on it, unusually far south for the species. The swell in front is violent and has swept anglers away, so keep off the wave-washed rocks.

A beach tucked inside Geographe Bay north of Dunsborough, nearly waveless unlike the Indian Ocean side. Clear, shallow water suits children, and barbecue plates stand under trees on the lawn. On summer weekends parking runs out by noon.