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By: Julia D'Orazio
Western Australia is home to many big things – the world's biggest monolith, huge humpback whales and a vast coastline stretching over 13,000 kilometres. Now it's time to celebrate the small things; the little-known delights that also make Australia's biggest state great.
Forget about Exmouth's Big Prawn or Wagin's Giant Ram: here we share WA's teeny, tiny attractions worth a closer look.
1. Discover the big buzz underground in Carnarvon
Did you know some bees prefer to dig in the earth rather than fly over it? Coastal town Carnarvon is home to one of the world’s largest native bees: Dawson’s burrowing bees.
To discover where these ground-nesting species are hiding, embark on a Burrowing Bee Dreaming cultural tour with Thudgarri and Wadjarri woman, Antoniette “Toni” Roe. On the 90-minute walking tour, Western Australia’s very own Queen Bee divulges the frenzied habitats of the burrowing bees, better known as Mungurragurra, and their relevance to local Aboriginal culture. You’ll also learn about traditional bush medicines and local wildlife.
The burrowing bees are only found in the Greater Gascoyne area from July to September.
Location: Meeting spot is at 2A Robinson Street, Carnarvon
Cost: $80 per adult, $65 per concession, $55 per child
2. Find hidden homes of fairy folk in Denmark
The Mokare Heritage Trail, better known as the Denmark Fairy Doors Trail, is dotted with roughly 20 small wooden doors, each with a resident fairy behind it, along the tranquil Denmark River. Look carefully for the tiny homes found at the bases of karri and paperbark trees and in the bushes, with many doors bearing the ancient fairy language ‘Ogham’.
The enchanting 3.8-kilometre trail started in 2021 when a local resident realised just how magical the region was, luring fairies by building forest dwellings.
Location: Berridge Park, Denmark
Cost: Free
3. Stand tall among toy soldiers in Hyden
Tap into your childhood at the Hyden Miniature Toy Soldier Museum. Moments from Wave Rock, the colourful exhibit – and playroom of dreams – appeals to the young and old, with the toy collection featuring 10,000 soldiers depicting battles fought over centuries around the world. The finger-sized antiques were accumulated over six decades by toy soldier enthusiast, Alec Smith.
Location: Wave Rock Road, Hyden
Cost: $5
4. All aboard the Toodyay Miniature Railway
Relive your childhood train obsession on board the Toodyay Miniature Railway. Owned by a local hobby club, the joyride of yesteryear features colourful trains travelling on a 1.1-kilometre track in Duidgee Park near the Avon River. The collection of small locomotives includes a petrol engine ‘diesel’, a coal-fired steam locomotive, and an electric (24V battery). Trains depart the station throughout the day once passenger numbers are met, with journeys roughly 9 minutes long.
Toodyay Miniature Railway is open on the first and third Sunday of each month and on Wednesdays during the school holidays from Easter to November, typically running from 10am to 2pm.
Location: Duidgee Park, Toodyay
Cost: $3 per adult, $2 per child, cash only
5. Be amazed by tiny things at this park in Mandurah
Feel like a giant roaming the Amazing Miniature Park. Located in Mandurah, the pleasant four-acre park features over 70 tiny versions of historical buildings to cast your Godzilla-like shadows upon. Besides the small structures, explore Lego displays and scale model trains. Get active by solving the hedge maze, tee off playing mini golf and let the young ones have fun on the shaded playground.
It’s a budget-friendly day out with picnics welcomed or treat yourself with coffee and cake from the 1940s tea house onsite.
Location: 24 Husband Road, Mandurah
Cost: $17 per adult, $15 per concession, $13 per child, $54 family pass, under 3 free
6. See a snippet of a royal wedding dress in Hyden
Hiding in Hyden, a place honouring historical flair is The Lace Place. Next door to the toy museum, the small gallery displays Australia’s most extensive lace collection with fragments dating back to the 1600s. It highlights the history of lacemaking and varieties; some delightfully modelled on mannequins.
In an unexpected outback find, the exhibit’s most prized possessions come from royalty. Offcuts from Princess Diana’s wedding veil and a Chantilly lace from Queen Victoria’s gown are also on show.
Location: Wave Rock Road, Hyden
Cost: $5
7. Wander around a world of Gnomes in the Ferguson Valley
Miniature mortals appear to rule the forests in the southwest, with Gnomesville the most famous of all. A sliver of the Ferguson Valley is home to over 7,000 gnomes and counting, with gnomes migrating from around the world. The colourful, pointy-hatted residents can be found in trees, on logs, and on the ground, participating in all kinds of activities in the forest, making it one of the state’s most quirky tourist attractions.
Feel free to add to the growing population of forest gatekeepers by purchasing a gnome from the Ferguson Valley Visitor Centre on Ferguson Road or bring your own to leave your mark.
Location: Eastern Junction Roundabout of Wellington Mill Road and Ferguson Road, Wellington Mill
Cost: Free
8. Discover a frog utopia near Donnybrook
Call it Gnomesville’s green cousin: Just a 10-minute drive from the Ferguson Valley drawcard is another place that attracts small critters: frogs. Located in Mosedale Park opposite the Preston Valley Store, Frog’s Hollow is a small patch of bushland home to frogs in all shapes and sizes. Just like Gnomesville, feel free to add a ceramic frog to the growing evergreen population. Hop to it!
Location: Intersection of Donnybrook- Boyup Brook Road and Ferguson Road
Cost: Free
9. Find small treasures in Dwellingup
The old Dwellingup post office is now a portal to the past. The Red Shed is a treasure trove full of trinkets from a bygone era, sourced from around the world and available for purchase. Think dollhouses, replica scenes, and knick-knacks full of nostalgia. A must-visit pitstop for vintage lovers and antique collectors.
Location: 54 McLarty Street, Dwellingup
Cost: Free
10. Appreciate small ocean critters at Hillarys
Perth’s AQWA is home to big marine life such as sharks and manta rays. Yet, also lurking in the premier underwater world are other captivating – albeit much smaller – creatures.
Keep an eye out in the coral lagoon and coral reef exhibits for the decorator crab. Not only are the crabs tiny – less than 13cm in size – the crustaceans also camouflage among the brightly-hued corals.
Location: 91 Southside Drive, Hillarys
Cost: $37 per adult, $29 per concession, $20 per child
11. Hop on a great little train in Perth
Taking off from Kent Street, Weir Park is the Castledare Miniature Railway. Operating on the first and third Sunday of each month, the diesel and steam engine mini locomotives take passengers around an extensive track. Run by volunteers, the suburban rail network is a wholesome day out for the family in quaint surroundings, with proceeds donated to charity.
Location: Kent Street Weir, LOT 27 Queens Park Rd, Wilson
Cost: Single ride tickets $8 per adult, $5 per child with unlimited ride tickets available.
12. Find the missing piece in Bridgetown's Puzzletown
There’s no better place to become a puzzler than on a pitstop visit to Bridgetown’s Puzzletown 6255. Better known as the Brierley Jigsaw Gallery, the exhibit is believed to be the most extensive puzzle collection in the Southern Hemisphere, featuring hundreds of jigsaws ranging from classics to modern-day 3D brainteasers. Its prized collection from local Bridgetown resident Jesse Bierley dates to the 1940s.
A gallery highlight includes a 40,320-piece Ravensburger Disney Memorable Moments puzzle – once the largest commercially available puzzle in the world – and spans 7 metres! If that sounds too big to solve, there is also a puzzle the size of a playing card, with only 99 pieces. Time to get solving!
Location: 154 Hampton Street, Bridgetown
Cost: $5 per adult, $3 per child, $12 per family (2A + 2C)
13. Snorkel with the small leafy sea dragon
The southwest attracts many ocean greats, including humpback whales, to its coast during spring and summer. But did you know it’s waters also teem with other rare and delightful creatures? Three’s a crowd with the tiny leafy, weedy, and ruby sea dragons lingering metres below the Southern and Indian Ocean and found nowhere else in the world.
Put on a snorkel and try to spot these camouflaging fish, closely related to sea horses, in the wild, swimming around rocky reefs and seagrass meadows in Ngari Capes Marine Park or Albany (Middleton Beach) and Bremer Bay.
Heritage-listed icon, Busselton Jetty, is also a perfect spot to find these remarkable creatures among 300 marine species swimming around its timber pylons.
These small fish are protected species, so look but don’t touch.
Location: Ngari Capes Marine Park, Albany, Bremer Bay
Cost: $4 Jetty Day Pass at Busselton Jetty (please note: swimmers are required to sign a waiver to access the designated snorkel/dive platform near the Underwater Observatory). Ticket price does not include a Jetty Pass to access the jetty ($5 per person).
14. See what comes out at night in Whiteman Park
Experience the best of Western Australia’s wildlife after dark on a nocturnal tour. Whiteman Park hosts expert-led tours, torch in tow, along Woodland Reserve to see our rare and endangered native animals, including woylies and quendas, in their bush habitats under a starry sky.
You may even spot a tammar wallaby or a short-beaked echidna on your journey through the bushland. Tours are available Friday nights from September to April, with bookings essential.
In the school holidays, the park hosts a special “Kids Woylie Walks” educational evening. The Wednesday night tour offers a shorter walk plus a chance for the young ones to interact with native fauna and take home a memento.
Location: Whiteman Park, Woodland Reserve
Cost: $24 per adult, $17 per child
15. See WA's nocturnal animals in the Dryandra Woodlands
Be awed wandering an animal sanctuary with a difference at Dryanda Woodland National Park, 180km southeast of Perth. Barna Mia – located in the heart of the park – is a place to observe threatened native species in their natural habitats.
Join the Barna Mia Nocturnal Wildlife Experience with an expert guide to see some of Western Australia’s nocturnal animals, including the boodie, quenda, woylie and bilby, thrive in over 28,000 hectares of bushland under a special red torchlight.
Please note: Entry to Dryanda Woodland National Park is free, and tours operate several times per week; actual start times vary seasonally.
Location: Dryandra Woodland National Park, Narrogin
Cost: $25 per adult, $19 per concession, $14 per child
