bkkite said..ActionSportsWA said..Hi Bkkite,
Is West vs East even a choice? I grew up in Sydney and have lived here in Perth for 15 years. There is no comparing the winds here in Perth to East Coast. I've done a lap of the country covering everywhere from Cooktown in the NE to Port Hedland in the NW and hands down, WA has the best and most reliable wind by a country mile. Many of the worlds Pro riders train in WA in the Northern Hemispheres off season.
Perth will give you the most 18-25 knot days and usually at around that time of year, expect up 30 knots (not uncommon). If you want more wind head further north to Geraldton. Expect 25-35 knots up there (its relentless). I wouldn't suggest going further North, too hot, too windy, too many flies. If we get a rare trough condition where Perth swelters in offshore winds, you simply drive down south and enjoy the strong SE winds of the South Coast.
South coast is cool water but plenty of wind in the 18-25 knot range. Best beaches in WA are on the South Coast of WA. Albany, Esperence, etc are insanely beautiful beaches with sand so white and clean it squeeks to walk on. Margaret RIver if you are into waves and wine and there are tonnes of beaches up the entire coast to Geraldton. Rottnest is a bit of a must do whilst in Perth. You can kite Salmon Bay which is pretty beautiful too.
Loads to see and do and the "Outback" is a very short drive, although, if you go inland too far, the heat will drive you nuts. Stick to the coast and you'll have a crackin' holiday for you and the missus.
And yes, fair dinkum, it's true, we really do have kangaroos as pets and take them to the cafe with us (Mullaloo Dome Cafe), and they hop wild on the beach (in Esperence at least).
DM
Thanks, if it where just me and the trip where 100% kite focused, then WA seems like the way to go.
Is there no wind at all on the east coast if my wife really wants to see some of the cities on that side of the country? At some point I'll have to think about how to sell a WA trip to her :)
The wind on the east coast, at least in Sydney, can be hit and miss. Our seabreeze is a noreaster, and some years there are 4 or 5 a week, some years there are none. This is in our summer when you expect them, but sometimes it just doesn't happen.
The west coast is far more reliable for wind. My friends and I go there each year straight after Christmas for 2 to 3 weeks. Some years we have had 3 weeks of non-stop wind. Other years we have had only a handful of sailing days... but still better than the east coast.
If you schedule the flights the right way, you can fly in via Sydney or Melbourne, spend a few days looking around, and then go onto Perth. At the end of the holiday you can return via Melbourne or Sydney or even Brisbane, spend another few days there before going home.
Any of our capital cities are nice, but a day or two at each of them will pretty much cover your tourism quota. List the sites you want to see and cross them off. If you want picturesque parts of Australia, the south west of WA is pretty nice, and not that different to other nice parts of Australia.
If you only have a couple of weeks, and you want some good sailing, make sure WA is part of it. You may get sailing at the other locations, but it is far more hit-and-miss. I would have to say that WA has far nicer sailing locations as well in that you can get close to the beach without fighting your way through city traffic.
