Onslow: Water, Coast and Unique Discoveries

Onslow combines water-based activities with a coastal trail, a unique natural phenomenon and traces of a former settlement. This offers families and other travellers a varied range of options: the day can begin in the water play area, with a walk or by exploring the town’s history. When choosing a holiday rental, it’s also worth first considering which of these sides of Onslow you’d like to shape your stay.

Water activities for different interests

Onslow Water Spray Park has two play areas for children of all ages. Water cannons, ground jets and a tipping bucket make water the focus of the visit. These features give children who enjoy playing with water and switching between different activities plenty to explore.

Onslow Aquatic Centre offers something different: it has a 25 m-long, six-lane pool, a free-form beach entry area and water play features. So, in Onslow, you’ll find both a clearly laid-out pool and an area with beach-style access and water play. If you’d like to include different water experiences in your travel plans, you can consider these options separately and choose what best suits your day’s itinerary.

Coastal trail, beach and lunar phenomenon

The Ian Blair Memorial Boardwalk is a 1 km-long walking trail along Onslow’s northern coast. It connects ANZAC Memorial Park with Sunset Beach. Interpretive signage and a lookout over the Old Jetty add information and a specific viewpoint along the way. The stated distance helps you plan the boardwalk as a walk in its own right, without needing to estimate how long it will take.

At Sunrise Beach, you can fish, swim, snorkel and collect shells. There is also a boat ramp and a beach shelter. Which activities suit your stay depends on whether you’d rather be active on the beach or explore the area from the water.

At Onslow Foreshore, the optical phenomenon Staircase to the Moon occurs during a full moon: the moon rises over the exposed tidal flats at Sunrise Beach. The name describes a striking interplay between the moon and the tidal flats. This natural phenomenon is different from an ordinary day at the beach and may be a reason in its own right for travellers who want to plan their stay around a celestial event to check the date of the full moon.

Discover island nature and history

The Mackerel Islands off the coast of Onslow offer opportunities for fishing, diving, swimming, snorkelling, whale watching, boating and observing nature. Their variety makes for a different kind of experience from a coastal walk: the focus here is on activities on and in the water, as well as observing wildlife and nature.

The region’s history is also part of its character. Nearby Old Onslow Townsite is a rare example of a historic archaeological site of a former frontier settlement in the north-west of Western Australia. The ANZAC Memorial in Onslow offers another distinct connection to the town’s history: it is aligned so that the rising sun shines through the memorial every morning.

If you’d like to explore Onslow on a bus tour, the Onslow Hidden Treasures Tour is an approximately two-hour air-conditioned tour. The walking trail, natural attractions, water activities and historic sites each offer a different focus. So, when choosing a holiday rental in Onslow, it helps to start by deciding what you’d most like to do: focus on the beach and water, take a coastal walk or include historical discoveries in your trip?

For the broader travel overview: Shire of Ashburton.