About Us, and Rainbowcoast.com.au
Albany - Denmark - Walpole Western Australia
www.rainbowcoast.com.au
My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky.
~ William Wordsworth
A family of four, who came for a tour, took a breath of the southern most air.
We looked all around from the sky to the ground, heard the sea on the breeze as it rustled the trees.
Well, we knew it was right on the very first night, for the rainbows had put us at ease.
Our move to the Rainbow Coast was delightful and somewhat unexpected. We bought our house the weekend of our very first visit and are now settled in watching rainbows daily from our front window. Having lived in several different countries since being married, it took but an instant to recognise that this coast is truly special.
During our brief yet lifechanging visit, we toured the coast with our two children and saw everything that could be seen (thanks to the Visitors Centres - so friendly!) We recorded our tours, laughing and playing along the way. The more we explored the more wonderful we knew this place to be.
Having shared our experiences of our world travels for over a decade on our personal website, we knew that our adventure on the Rainbow Coast had to be shared too. The photos and travel-clips were taken by all of us, a few by our four-year-old son!
The family. Click video above to play.
We hope you like this site and get to experience the Rainbow Coast, virtually.
When you come I'm sure you'll find the environment outstanding and the people open, friendly, helpful, and kind.
We do.
I've never seen so many smiles and bright eyes.
It must be all the fresh air from Antarctica, and all the rainbows, of course!
~ V.
Tila & the boys, Ancient Empires Walk
Valley of the Giants, Denmark, WA 2008
Some of the things our family would like to achieve from this website are:
To Celebrate and share the natural beauty and bio diversity of this region and to promote conscious tourism to the Rainbow Coast.
To increase virtual and terrestrial tourism to the region.
To expand the knowledge of visitors to the region making for a more holistic, eco-friendly tourist, one aware of the special care the region requires.
Support the local Visitors Centres and Shires in their strategic outcomes for expanding conscious tourism in the Great Southern Region.
To work in harmony with the Dept of Environment and Conservation to achieve their aim of keeping our National Parks safe for future generations.
Benefit the local businesses of the Rainbow Coast to by connecting them to a broader reach of clientele from Western Australia and beyond.
Supporting the interconnected online presence of the Albany, Denmark and Walpole Regions (letting everyone know how wonderful a place it is!)
To be in the community, and for the community.
We are grateful to:
The Department of Environment and Conservationfor keeping the Great Southern National Parks sacred. Read the important information on the National Parks before visiting - it is essential to preserve our precious environment. Their website: Naturebase.net
The Denmark Visitors Centre, The Albany Visitors Centre and the Walpole Visitors Centre for providing us with information on where to sat, eat and visit. The cheerful and giving natures of the staff in all of the locations filled us with confidence as we adventured. See links to them below. See the Resources for their contact information.
AndiMaps - Pick one these detailed and user-friendly area maps from the friendly staff at the visitors centres, they are comprehensive and easy to have in your car or pocket! See the Resources for contact information.
Google - for providing an open-source means of connecting to their world-wide maps and great satellite views. Great for driving directions on how to get here eh? You know the address: www.google.com.au
YouTube - providing the open-source solution to video travel-diarising. www.youtube.com
Some of our Favourite Pages:
Tower Hill - outstanding photos and sense of scope from the videos
Elephant Rocks - (Denmark) vibrant photos, great video of Elephant Cove entryway between stone boulders
Taylor Inlet (Albany) Nanarup - really spectacular photographs
Albany Wind Farm - eco-friendly electricity with a spectacular view
The Designers:
Special thanks to our children for suggesting so many creative and playfully creative ideas including many of the KEY icons and graphics. We are blessed to have such a tech-savvy four year old! We would also like to acknowledge his photographic skills, as some of the photos you'll see are his. We are grateful to of our friends who have lived in the region their whole lives - your suggestions make this site a better resource for everyone. The great map making needs a mention - excellent coding and creating the interactive maps Mum! - and thanks to Google for providing the solution.
We appreciate the the creativity and playfulness that created such a pretty (and useful) website.
And finally to the great mystery of the universe which created such spectacular diversity. We are so blessed to be here on this planet. It is important that we preserve it.
Don't be fooled by the name! The yearly average rainfall along the coast is the same as in Perth and Broome. (Australian Beureau of Meterology) The name comes from the angle of the sun as it hits the rain coming off the Great Southern Ocean (read more).
What people have said about the Rainbow Coast:
"A Canadian friend of ours visited down those parts a month ago and said its the closest thing to heaven aside from where he's from in the Kootenanys that he's seen anywhere in Australia." ~ S.T., Jarrahdale, WA
We appreciate the the creativity and playfulness that created such a pretty (and useful) website.
Don't be fooled by the name! The yearly average rainfall along the coast is the same as in Perth and Broome.