Western Australia's South West Edge itinerary: a 13 day Perth road trip for couples - Britz

Twelve nights and 1,961 kilometres in a loop from Perth in a campervan, on sealed road throughout, which is the unhurried version of the south west circuit.

Bunbury and Margaret River come first, where the vineyards, the caves and the surf breaks sit within a few minutes of each other, then Pemberton in the karri forest and Walpole with the tingle trees and a treetop walk forty metres up in the canopy.

Denmark and Albany follow on the Southern Ocean, then Hopetoun and Fitzgerald River National Park, and Esperance with Cape Le Grand and Lucky Bay. The return turns inland to Hyden for Wave Rock, a granite face fifteen metres high and a hundred long, undercut and streaked so that it looks exactly like a breaking wave, and then back to Perth across the Wheatbelt.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Thirteen days for 1,961 kilometres is the most generous pacing of this route that Britz offer, which is what makes it the version for a couple rather than a family on a schedule. Nothing on it needs a 4WD. Spring brings the wildflowers across the Wheatbelt and the south coast, and the Esperance bays are warmest in late summer. Twelve nights also means two-night stops become possible at Margaret River and Esperance, which is where the extra time is best spent.