When it comes to the top 10 things to do in Augusta it is always best to find out from a true blue Aussie who knows the area and has explored it before. There really is nothing worst than false information……right?
Well you have come to the right place!
Tucked away down the very bottom of Western Australia lies a little town called Augusta. This small coastal town has a population of just over 1000 town residence and welcomes a lot of international and local tourists per year than it can keep up with.
Although please don’t let that put you off, the accommodation in Augusta is great and there is plenty to do here during your stay. I have put together a top 10 list of places to see and visit while you holiday here in Augusta Western Australia.
Table of Contents
WHAT TO DO IN AUGUSTA
What to do in Augusta?
Augusta is the town where the two oceans meet; the Southern and the Indian ocean. This in itself is a great experience, it is something that you cannot see anywhere around the Australian coast. You can visually see the waters crashing into each other from opposite sides and it gives another great perspective of the world.
We explored here in the summer so we missed the whale migration- totally bummed about that. I guess that means we will be coming back here in the cooler months. We found Augusta had a bit of everything from history, to scenic drives, to great beaches, friendly people and lots of marine life just popping up everywhere.
I would highly recommend making a stop here. It doesn’t have to be as long as we stayed but you can definitely fit everything in, in 2-3 days.
CAPE LEEWIN LIGHTHOUSE
As soon as we hit Augusta we knew we were headed straight for the lighthouse. An interesting fact- The Cape Leewin Lighthouse is Australia’s most south westerly point of Australia and it where both the Indian and Southern Ocean meet.
There are two options to enter the lighthouse and both are paid. Even if you are just walking along the base you must pay a fee. From memory I think it’s $6 for adults and $3 for children. Well worth it. The next option up from there is a guided tour where you can go inside the lighthouse to the top.
Our children enjoyed reading the history, looking in the coast binoculars trying to find whales and walking around the base of the lighthouse. I had fun singing the theme ’round the twist’ from the old Australian TV show that I used to watch as a kid.
HAMELIN BAY
Hamelin Bay is located 16kms from Augusta and is famous for the friendly marine life. Which you ask? well all kinds of different mantarays.
These sea creatures come to the shore and swim among your legs so you can grab the best photo up close. You can feed these, although it is not recommended as this distracts them from finding food themselves.
When we were there we seen about ten of all different sizes and PLENTY of tourists trying to up close to have a photo. Unfortunately we seen tourists try to catch these and take them out of the water which was awful to see.
GEORGIANA PARK
We were exploring one day and stumbled across this cool playground at Georgiana Park on Davies road. The playground is a nature playground made from mostly wood and my kids loved it.
What makes this even better is that it is right on the foreshore. After the kids had played at the playground we headed over to the beach which has two jettys to jump off. I sat and enjoyed sitting on the big rock boulder and just watching the kids have a blast until Cayden came along and stole my seat. Thank you Augusta for putting this awesome playground in for the kids.
THE HARDY INLET
Just as we were leaving the tour guide gave us a hot tip on where to go next. The Hardy Then just as we hInlet on Albany Terrace. This turned out to be a great tip!
We drove along the foreshore looking for a place to park our butts for our picnic lunch and found a spot with grass, swings and BBQ’S. This spot is perfect for children, as they can paddle their feet in the water and play in the sand.
As we were there we had a mantaray that swam past us every 20-30 minutes. This one came right up close and was not scared by loud noises. Then just as we were sitting down for lunch we were greeted with dolphins that came past for a swim. We ended up walking into the water and was able to stand less than a metre away from them and just stand back in awe and watch them play around in the shallow beach.
We had such a great day here and I would highly recommend coming.
JEWEL CAVE
The South West are very well known for the caves and the Jewel Cave you can find here in Augusta. We chose not to do this one as we had already explored the one in Yallingup and Margaret River. The Jewel cave is the largest of all of them and has some stunning rock formations across 3 large chambers.
HILLVIEW LOOKOUT
When we go exploring it usually means we go driving along the coastal roads or through the National parks to see where the windy roads take us. It seems more of an adventure. Which led us to Hillview Lookout. A lovely view of the Augusta coast and the perfect opportunity to grab the iconic photo for your travel album or Facebook cover photo!
BLACKWOOD RIVER FORESHORE
This is a beautiful foreshore walk with lots of birds, ducks, pelicans and if you are there at the right time you will see the dolphins swim past.
If you are after some fish and chips or just a nice cafe brunch or dinner Colourpatch Corner is the place to go. With it’s fully licenced bar and outside sitting area, it is the perfect place to go for a nice sunset bevvie. If your children are old enough you can send them across the road to play on the foreshore.
BORANUP KARRI FOREST
Take a scenic drive through the tall trees of the Boranup Karri Forest. These trees soar high up in the sky and is just picturesque to look at. There are many different drive options from short loops to longer drives that take you many kilometres deep into the forest. Hit up the Augusta Info centre to find the right one for your family. You might even like to do a trail hike if your family is into hikes.
WATCHING WHALES
Golly gosh I wish we were here for the whale migration. Western Australia is so lucky that we have the humpback whales (and many other species) hug the coast as they travel south through the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Winter is the best time to see the whales. Flinders Bay is the most popular spot and you will often see them playing about in the water.
So what is there to do in Augusta with kids? Heaps we say! If you have anymore to tell us about please drop them in the comments box as we would love to hear them.
