South Coast Highway

South Coast Highway
Basic data
Operator:	Main Roads
Start of the street:	Coolgardie-Esperance Highway Esperance ( WA ) ( 33 ° 50 ′  S , 121 ° 54 ′  E )
End of street:	South Western Highway Walpole ( WA ) ( 34 ° 58 ′  S , 116 ° 44 ′  E )
Overall length:	603 km
States :	Western Australia

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

The South Coast Highway is a trunk road in the south of the Australian state of Western Australia . It is about 600 km long and runs in an east-west direction more or less parallel to the south coast of Australia . It connects the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway in Esperance with the South Western Highway in Walpole . The South Coast Highway is part of National Highway 1 .

course

The South Coast Highway begins in Esperance, a town on the Great Australian Bay in southern Western Australia. It can be seen as a continuation of the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway (R1), which leads into the city from the north. The South Coast Highway heads west, past Pink Lake , a lake that got its color and name from an alga.

On the way to Ravensthorpe , about 190 km west of Esperance, the highway passes several national parks , such as Cape Arid National Park and Cape Le Grand National Park , which lie along the coast. The mining group BHP Billiton has been operating a nickel and cobalt mine near Ravensthorpe since 2007.

Another 300 km to the southwest is the city of Albany on the South Coast Highway. It has the largest natural harbor in the world and was the site of the first penal colony in Western Australia. The city later became famous as a whaling center . Today there is a whale museum in the place and in the winter months whale watching is offered as a tourist attraction. There are also several national parks and impressive rock formations on the coast in the area around Albany. In Albany, the Albany Highway branches off towards Perth and offers a more direct connection to the state's capital than the drive along the coast.

The small town of Denmark is 50 km west of Albany . There is the barometer tower, which houses the largest barometer in the world at twelve meters .

The last 70 km of the South Coast Highway from Denmark to Walpole are characterized by impressive forests. Well known is the Valley of the Giants with the Tree Top Walk in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park . The South Coast Highway ends in Walpole. Its continuation is the South Western Highway , which leads from Walpole to Perth .

source

Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007. ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 . Pp. 82 + 83