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Bunbury
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Described as the capital of the Southwest,
BUNBURY
, the state's second-largest population centre, is a pleasant town, clearly prosperous and content, but not the sort of place you've crossed oceans to see. A day's dallying here on the way south certainly won't give you nightmares, and a chance to commune with the visiting
dolphins
(found around The Cut on Leschenault Inlet) is a lot less regimented, if less predictable, than traipsing all the way up to Monkey Mia. Two
boat tours
can take you to the right spot: one from the Dolphin Discovery Centre on the beach off Koombana Drive (daily 9am-2pm; tel 08/9791 3088; $4 admission; tours $15-25), the other with Bunbury Dolphin Tours (tel 08/9721 7922; $15) at the
Parade Hotel
on Stirling Street alongside Leschenault Inlet.
Daily bus services from Perth (3hr) drop you at the well-stocked tourist office (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 9.30am-4.30pm; tel 08/9721 7922) in the old train station on Carmody Place. Shuttle buses operate from the new train station , 3km from the centre, during the daytime; otherwise taxis (tel 08/9721 2300) generally meet evening arrivals. The train from Perth takes two hours and costs $20.
Accommodation
includes the
Wander Inn
at 16 Clifton St (tel 08/9721 3242,
wanderinnbp@yahoo.com
; under $35), a dowdy but well-run backpackers' place with bikes and cheap twin rooms, ten minutes' walk from Koombana Beach. The
YHA
(tel 08/9791 2621, fax 9791 4742,
yhabunbury@hotmail.com
; under $50) on Stirling Street is comparatively serene despite some huge dorms. The elegant
Rose Hotel
(tel 08/9721 4533; $70-90) on Victoria Street boasts a reasonable restaurant and a large range of boutique beers, or there's the lovely Federation-style
The Clifton
(tel 08/9721 4300, fax 9791 2726,
theclifton@tpgi.com.au
; $90-115) at 2 Molloy St. There are many sidewalk
cafes
and
restaurants
ranged along the colonial frontage of Victoria Street all the way up to
Fast Eddy's
. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia,
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