Hervey Bay Car Hire
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Perth · Western Australia

Perth: The southwest, and the long way north

Perth is an odd capital: ocean west, a long coast running north into desert country, and to the south the tall forests and wine valleys most visitors never reach. A vehicle collected here splits the trip into two very different halves.

The southwest is compact and green, easy to loop in either direction. North is the opposite — one highway along a white-sand coast of fishing towns, emptiness behind it — and it rewards early starts.

Where this depot puts you

  • Margaret River and the karri forests

    South of Perth the highway runs through jarrah and karri country around Nannup and Pemberton, where the trees are among the tallest anywhere and the roads carry almost nobody. Further south, Margaret River packs surf, caves and vineyards into one valley, with the coast a short run west.

  • Rottnest Island by ferry from Fremantle

    Rottnest is a short ferry ride from Fremantle and no private vehicles go across, so the campervan stays at the terminal and the island is done by bike or shuttle. Quokkas, reef and salt lakes: a day covers it. Fremantle is worth a morning as well.

  • The Pinnacles and the coast north

    North of the city the highway runs through sandplain and small coastal towns to the Pinnacles, limestone pillars standing in yellow sand near Cervantes. Past that the coast keeps going — Jurien Bay, Geraldton, Kalbarri, Shark Bay — each stop further from the last, with long empty stretches between them.

Worth knowing before you book

  • The depot is at Bentley, south-east of the centre, so leaving means crossing the city or taking the ring road.
  • The southwest works as a loop in either direction, and the inland return through the forests is quieter than the coast in summer.
  • Summer heat north of Perth is severe and the afternoon sea breeze arrives like a wall, so drive mornings and stop early.
  • Fuel and water thin out north of the last big town; fill up when the chance appears, not when the gauge says so.

What you can drive

Every depot is stocked from the same national fleet — campervans, 4WD campers and a five-seat car. What is actually available on your dates is confirmed by the search, not assumed from a list.

The full fleet, with specifications · All pickup locations

Perth is one of the network's pickups — the locations page lists the others, and with no depot in Hervey Bay, vehicles for the Fraser Coast come out of Brisbane.

The depot page for Perth