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Western Australia's strange townsCook, Denmark, Wittenoom and the Boab Prison Tree, DerbyHippies, the Indian Pacific, the Nullarbor Plain, golf courses, the Karijini National Park, asbestos, refuelling and tours... Travel to WA's bizarre destinations for them
WA is a massive area, but with very few people living in it. This, of course, means that some of the smaller places are a little bizarre. These include Cook, Denmark, Wittenoom and the Boab Prison Tree, near Derby. If you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary, then these are the place to head to. CookWith an official population of four, Cook is hardly party central, but they’re sure as hell trying to make it a tourist attraction. Whilst the tiny settlement on the Nullarbor Plain is largely just a refuelling stop for the Indian Pacific train which chugs through twice a week, it has a very optimistic gift shop, with lots of pictures of dirt, and a nine hole golf course. That, of course, is about as green as an oil spill, and is unlikely to be hosting the Australian Open at any point in the near future. DenmarkIf your lifetime’s ambition has been to meet a bloke with long hair who talks very slowly, then this is probably the place to come. Whilst Margaret River used to be the hippy capital of the Southwest, the mashed-up job avoiders moved on when half of Perth snapped up the prime real estate for holiday homes. They moved to Denmark, which unlike its name sake, has a distinct lack of Lego, bacon and pastries. Instead, you have shacks in the woods, people spending weeks on end fishing, and an alpaca farm. But hey, man, it’s chilled. WittenoomStrangely enough, this spot, at the north end of the Karijini National Park, doesn’t feature too heavily on too many tourist itineraries. Back in 1966 the local blue asbestos mine was closed down, mainly due to huge swathes of the population dropping dead, and it’s now an official ghost town. However, some of the residents didn’t take heed of the warnings to move away when the mine closed, and are insistent that man and airborne asbestos fibres can live in perfect harmony. To illustrate their point they offer tours of the abandoned town, which presumably involve a lot of shouts of: “Look! Monkeys!” The Boab Prison TreeAbout 7km south of Derby in the Kimberley, there is a 1,000 year old tree so big, that coppers used to lock prisoners up inside it when they couldn’t be arsed to make their way into town. It’s got a girth of 14m, which officially makes it one heck of a big tree.
The copyright of the article Western Australia's strange towns in Australia Travel is owned by David Whitley. Permission to republish Western Australia's strange towns in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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