Only 2 hours north of Perth is an area so arresting and bizarre that it feels like another planet. The ground is an unnaturally bright yellow hue, reminiscent of The Simpsons. There are barely any plants and there are these strange protruding limestone structures. It’s so different to any of the surrounding landscape, so striking and totally surreal. The Pinnacles at Nambung National Park is a remarkable and unusual place. Nature and evolution is truly prodigious in it’s diversity!
Geraldton has a bit of a bad reputation but during a recent visit, we found that this city of about 38,000 people has an excellent museum, pretty waterfront areas and a busy port. It’s only 4.5 hours north of Perth and would make for an enjoyable few days. The port services the local mining, fishing, wheat and sheep industries.
No trip to Geraldton is complete without a visit to the Museum of Geraldton. This is an excellent museum housed in an architectural building by the water. It’s a perfect rainy day activity.
Don’t miss out on this cool sculpture on the waterfront in Geraldton. It’s like a giant marble filled with water. This sculpture would be interesting to photograph at various times of the day and with various weathers. It was a moody, drizzly, overcast day when we were here.
Kalbarri is a great little beach town with areas of magnificent geological beauty close by. As it is only 6 hours north of Perth, it’s a favourite for a getaway! We found that to be the case recently when there was absolutely no accommodation available in Kalbarri during the school holiday period. The accommodation during the school holidays was booked out months in advance as the pandemic has restricted interstate and overseas travel and a recent severe storm had damaged a large number of the hotel/motel type accommodation.
When visiting Kalbarri, exploring the Kalbarri National Park is essential. The Kalbarri Skywalk is an amazing piece of cantilevered infrastructure and the views are spectacular.
In my opinion, the highlight of Kalbarri is this rock formation called Nature’s Window. It’s a popular spot for a photo as it does make for a stunning shot with the layered sandstone and the backdrop of the rugged Murchison River. It’s quite busy and there could be a small wait as visitors take turns to get their photo in this iconic location.
Monkey Mia is a place that comes up often in conversation by Perth peeps as a fabulous place to visit. It’s all about the dolphin experience where dolphins come very close to the shore to be fed. We found it over-commercialised and overrated. The area around the beach is overly built up and commercialised. No timing is advertised for the feeding, partly to avoid the dolphins getting too accustomed to being fed. This is also a convenient excuse to get the enthusiastic public to pay entry fees to the area at 7:45am and keep them waiting till 10am before the first feeding. Plenty of time to get hungry and bored enough to spend money on breakfast, coffees and souvenirs!
The feeding of the dolphins was OK with a large crowd being told repeatedly by the ranger to get out off the water. Perhaps, the whole experience was tarnished by the learning of a new fact! Male dolphins mate with female dolphins by forming a group of male dolphins and separating an individual female dolphin. They then use violence and coercion to gang rape her. It’s not right to apply human values to animals when there are legitimate evolutionary explanations to these behaviors. Nevertheless, it does not match with the dolphin’s image of being a gentle, amazing and intelligent creature. (For those taking children to the Monkey Mia dolphin experience, fear not, the ranger is not this explicit in the explanation of mating! The ranger is much more diplomatic and careful in her explanation to cater for young ears and minds!)
The main town near Monkey Mia is Denham. This is a very pretty beach town and worth a stop.
About 45km south east of Denham is Shell Beach. This is a beach made up of shells. Amazingly, the shells comes from a single type of cockle, the Fragum cockle which has evolved to survive in these hypersaline conditions! Amazing!
Australians are extremely privileged to have arguably the best beaches in the world. Of these multitude of spectacular beaches on the vast island coastline, there are a couple that should be considered the best of the best!
Turquoise Bay, near to Exmouth takes the gold medal for best beach in Australia (in my opinion). It has beautiful fine white sand which is a pleasure underfoot. The water is a striking aqua hue, crystal clear and calm. It’s a perfect beach to be enjoyed by the whole family. The kids can play safely in the calm shallows and there are deeper areas further out for snorkeling.
Coming a close second behind Turquoise Bay is Bill’s Bay at Coral Bay. This is part of a marine sanctuary so no fishing is allowed. This is a rare and special spot where the reef is very close to the shore. You can just wade out into the clear water and start snorkeling. There is a lot of coral of various shapes and colours to be seen as well as giant clams, colourful fish and other marine life. This beach is also calm and welcoming for families. Many kids were skimming along the shallows with their skimboards whilst others were snorkeling the reef or paddling around with glass bottomed kayaks. Only in Australia is such a magnificent and special beach accessible to the public for free.
Whilst Coral Bay is predominantly about Bill’s Bay and other marine activities, there are other sites to visit around Exmouth. Check out Vlamingh Head Lighthouse and the Mildura shipwreck on the way out to Turquoise Bay.
The area around Exmouth was once a US communications base and it is impossible to miss the tall radio towers and very seriously worded signage to stay clear of the area.
Behold not just the stunning beaches but the vastness of the bright blue skies we have so much of in Australia!
Turquoise Bay and Bill’s Bay are my picks for the best of the best beaches in the world. Would you agree? Posing this question is potentially controversial as there is an absence of selection criteria and there are SO MANY beautiful beach in Australia (and overseas too!)
On Burkett Road, in central Western Australia, just before the turn off to Exmouth, to the north or Coral Bay to the south, is a working cattle station called Bullara. These industrious cattle station owners have diversified their business by turning part of their property to a charming, well run caravan park. They distinguish themselves by their eclectic metal art work that are scattered throughout the property. These include the famous Lava Trees (lavatories)!
There is a line that forms outside the cafe every morning by hungry people ready to scoff down Bullara’s famous scones with jam and cream! Bullara meat products can be purchased and there are well marked walking trails through parts of the property. Animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, emu and horses can be seen on the property. Bullara also runs paid nightly groups dinners and complimentary damper tasting, 3 nights a week.
This gem of a place is charming, well run and a worthwhile stop if you are in the region.
For a true insight to the ancient geological landscapes (and red dirt) of the PIlbara region, a visit to Karijini National Park is a “must do”. Whilst it is extremely remote, Karijini is quite a well run national park and has some really striking landscape to see. It is well worth a visit as these photos below will attest.
It is also quite a special experience having a refreshing swim in some of the waterholes after completing a dusty hike. Look around at the geology whilst floating in the water and ponder how minute and tiny our lifespans are when compared with geological time.
The Pilbara, a large region in the north of Western Australia is the resource heart of the state. It contains vast natural resources such as iron ore and natural gas. It is also distinguished by it’s ancient landscapes and red earth.
It is refreshing to be able to see evidence of the resource industry when passing through both Port Hedland and Karratha. You can see the iron ore ships and the piles of salt when driving through Port Hedland.
When in Karratha, it is an absolute must to drive out to the Woodside Karratha Gas Plant. This is 5 train Liquified Natural Gas Plant. On the drive out there, you will pass by the Pluto Gas Plant. There is a good view of the Karratha Gas Plant from the lookout at the visitor’s center. Despite the pitiful opening hours of the visitor’s center, it is still worth the drive out as there are plenty of informative signage and a great view of the gas plant. It is important to understand and celebrate the various industries and resources that make Australia a prosperous country.
Interestingly, due to Covid, both Karratha and Port Hedland were very busy. The caravan parks were fully booked out in both locations. This was unexpected as these towns are not usually a tourist hotspot. The influx of people was due to the restriction on international and interstate travel. More Western Australians than usual had migrated to these northern towns to escape the winter temperatures in the south. In Port Hedland, we had to utilize the overflow camping area provided by the council at the local golf course.
In the last decade, Karratha has changed a lot. A local beach, Hearson’s Cove is now part of Murujuga National Park and the gravel road to the beach has been sealed. The “city” skyline has also changed with the additional of several apartment buildings and a number of more “fancy” restaurants and cafes.
Although not part of the Pilbara region, Eighty Mile Beach is worthy of a mention. This is a 220km stretch of stunning beach about halfway between Broome and Port Hedland, in the north of Western Australia. There is a very well managed caravan park there. During low tide, the beach is expansive and perfect for a walk and/or shell collecting. Swimming is not recommended as sharks can often be seen swimming around the murky water close to shore. We saw a number of fins only about 2 meters from shore near where the waves were breaking.
In contrast, at high tide, this beach becomes a paradise for avid recreational fishing hobbyist. They line the shore, evenly spaced out and cast out with their extremely long fishing rods in the hopes of pulling in some threadfin salmon or other species.
