Outback Coast

The coast north from Perth has a lot to offer and can be accessed by car or air. The coastal city of Geraldton is the region’s hub and home to the rock-lobster industry. It’s a friendly, welcoming place with lovely beaches. My mate, Dave, moved there to manage Geraldton’s two radio stations for twelve months and he’s still there after four years, which for me is testament to the quality of the restaurants, hotels and locals.

For drivers travelling up the coast, The Pinnacles, the eerie, eroded limestone pillars in Nambung National Park, is a must. They are at their most spectacular early morning or late afternoon when the long shadows conjure up a moonscape. While it’s not exactly on the way, a worthwhile side trip between Perth and The Pinnacles is to New Norcia. It’s a Spanish settlement, built by Benedictine monks, and features a church, art gallery, school buildings, monastery and hotel.

Between The Pinnacles and Geraldton are the historic seaside towns of Dongara and Port Denison where there are safe waters for swimming and fishing, along with a pioneering history and heritage buildings.

Just south of Geraldton, the township of Greenough has been preserved by the National Trust and provides a unique look at life in the early days of European settlement.

East of Geraldton are historic gold mining towns, vast sheep and cattle stations and, from July to September, a sea of wildflowers.

Off the coast are the treacherous reefs and islands of the Houtman Albrohos Nature Reserve. These warm, clear waters have a bloody history of shipwrecks and bizarre mutiny. Today, they are an aquatic paradise for fishing, snorkelling and scuba diving.

To the north is the peaceful resort town of Kalbarri. The town sits on the winding banks of the Murchison River, which offers safe swimming, canoeing and fishing. The Kalbarri fish and chip shop is legendary. (They offer a free meal if you’re prepared to belt out a tune or recite a poem for the other guests!) The twisting 80-kilometre path of the Murchison River carves its way through the rugged gorges of Kalbarri National Park, great for bushwalks and coastal views.

The Shark Bay World Heritage area has dugongs, turtles, manta rays and sharks, and Monkey Mia, where you can swim and pat friendly dolphins as they come into the shallows to be fed.

Carnarvon, famous for its blowholes, is a tropical coastal town, which can be a base for exploring the surrounding area.

The untouched beauty of Shell Beach and the unique stromatolites of Hamelin Pool are well worth a visit. These are living ‘rocks’, descendents of the first organic structures ever to appear on earth.

On to Ningaloo Reef, Australia’s closest fringing reef, which is home to an abundance of marine life and famous for its supervised swims with giant 18-metre whale sharks – they may be huge, but they only eat plankton.

Just south of here, Coral Bay offers sheltered beaches and coral reefs just metres from the shore.

To the north, Exmouth (pronounced Exmuth) has dive charters, game fishing, charter fishing, tours and hire boats.

While much of the beauty of the Gascoyne region is found along the 600 kilometres of coast, inland also has its natural beauty with the world’s largest monocline, Mount Augustus and the incredible Kennedy Ranges.

Accommodation options here include staying on working sheep stations.

Apart from a unique experience, you’re almost guaranteed to be welcomed with genuine country hospitality and some of that western, dry humour.

More Information

For more information about Western Australia:

• Events And Festivals
• Accommodation
• To See And Do
• Perth
• South West
• Southern Region
• Goldfields
• The Pilbara and Kimberley

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