From Perth, head up the coast to the gorges of Kalbarri National Park, to Shark Bay with the dolphins of Monkey Mia, and to the Ningaloo Reef near Coral Bay and Exmouth. Finally, the route leads inland to Karijini National Park. The distances are long and petrol stations are rare.
20 Days / 19 Nights
April–October
6 stops
Why This Route?
For those with time to explore: long, empty roads, a beachside reef and red inland gorges.
Hidden Gems
Shell Beach in Shark Bay, a beach of tiny white shells
Turquoise Bay in Cape Range National Park near Exmouth for drift snorkeling
Hancock Gorge with the Spider Walk in Karijini
Itinerary
Stop 1 • 3 Nights
Perth
City
Perth, one of the world's most remote major cities: sunny, relaxed, long Indian Ocean beaches, vast Kings Park, and port city Fremantle nearby.
4 Sights
3 Restaurants
History and Culture
The land belongs to the Whadjuk Noongar, who call the Swan River Derbarl Yerrigan. In 1829, British settlers founded the Swan River Colony. Later, convicts built many buildings, including the Fremantle Prison, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city grew rapidly with the gold rush in the 1890s.Today, Perth thrives on mining. The WA Museum Boola Bardip in the cultural center and the Art Gallery of Western Australia showcase history and art, including many works by Indigenous artists.
Kalbarri National Park, about six hours north of Perth, combines two landscapes: red sandstone gorges along the Murchison River inland and high cliffs on the Indian Ocean. The town of Kalbarri at the river mouth is the starting point.
4 Sights
1 Restaurant
The History
The land belongs to the Nanda. In 1629, the crew of the sunken Batavia marooned two mutineers on the coast near the river mouth; they are considered the first European inhabitants of Australia. Their fate is unknown.The explorer George Grey named the river in 1839 after the British geologist Roderick Murchison. The town of Kalbarri only emerged in the 1950s as a fishing village; the national park was founded in 1963.
Shark Bay on the West Coast has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991: a vast, shallow bay with seagrass meadows, dugongs, the dolphins of Monkey Mia, stromatolites, and a shell beach. A good eight hours' drive north of Perth.
6 Sights
1 Restaurant
History
The bay is called Gathaagudu, "two waters", in the Malgana language. The Malgana have lived here for millennia and today offer cultural tours in Monkey Mia.In 1616, the Dutchman Dirk Hartog landed on the island later named after him and left behind a pewter plate, the oldest known European artifact from Australia. The Englishman William Dampier named the bay Shark Bay in 1699. Later, pearl fishing and sheep farming shaped the area; in Denham, the Old Pearler Restaurant, made of shell limestone, recalls this time.
Coral Bay is a tiny place on the southern Ningaloo Reef, around 1,100 km north of Perth. The reef starts directly at the beach, and from here, boats go to manta rays and whale sharks.
3 Sights
2 Restaurants
Chronicle
The coast is Baiyungu country. From the late 19th century, Europeans used nearby Maud's Landing as a jetty to ship wool from sheep farms in the hinterland. Tourism began in the 1960s. Since 1987, the reef has been protected as Ningaloo Marine Park, and in 2011 the Ningaloo Coast became World Heritage.
Exmouth, at the tip of the North West Cape, is the gateway to the Ningaloo Reef and the Cape Range National Park. Here, you can snorkel from the beach over corals and swim with whale sharks in autumn.
5 Sights
1 Restaurant
Heritage
The coast is the land of the Baiyungu, Thalanyji, and Yinigudura. 1618, a Dutch ship sighted the cape; during WWII, the Allies used Exmouth Gulf as a submarine base. 1967, the US Navy built the Harold E. Holt radio station, and the town was established for its personnel. The transmission masts still stand north of the town today. 2011, the Ningaloo Coast became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Karijini National Park in the Pilbara is one of Australia's most impressive parks: narrow red gorges, cutting up to 100 metres deep into the Hamersley Plateau, with waterfalls and swimming holes at their base.
4 Sights
1 Restaurant
History
The park is the land of the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga, who have lived here for tens of thousands of years. Karijini is the Banyjima name for the Hamersley Range. The park was established as Hamersley Range National Park in 1969 and renamed in 1991.The Karijini Visitor Centre is shaped like a goanna and tells the story of the Traditional Owners. Around the park are some of the world's largest iron ore mines, for example near Tom Price.
