| MAY | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 24th | Sydney-Broome |
| Wednesday | 25th | Horizontal falls* |
| Thursday | 26th | Port Hedland |
| Friday | 27th | Karijini National Park |
| Saturday | 28th | Karijini National Park, Tom Price |
| Sunday | 29th | Coral Bay |
| Monday | 30th | Exmouth |
| Tuesday | 31st | Whale Shark Experience, Exmouth |
| Wednesday | 1st | Ningaloo Reef, Exmouth |
| Thursday | 2nd | Denham |
| Friday | 3rd | Monkey Mia, Kalbarri National Park, Geraldton |
| Saturday | 4th | Jurien Bay |
| Sunday | 5th | Seal experience, Perth |
| Monday | 6th | Rottnest Island, Perth |
| Tuesday | 7th | Perth-Sydney |
We took QF1042 from Sydney on 24th of May, landing in Broome at 1115.
We picked up our rental car a short time later. We went with Avis because it was the best deal. But it’s not cheap. We paid about $4500 (inc. nearly $1000 one way fee!). Apparently it’s cheaper depending on which direction and when you rent the car, but we weren’t really flexible. Could also be a good idea to check out relocations – you never know your luck. Best companies in my experience are TransferCars and iMoova.
We had a bit of a drive around Broome while we waited for our hotel room. We had a look at the beach and had lunch at Zanders overlooking the Indian Ocean.
We decided to stay at Kimberley Sands Resort. It was sort cool. Big and private with an interesting layout. It’s fairly close to Cable Beach too, though we didn’t end up walking down because we had the car and it was so hot and humid. Hotel has a nice little pool too. Breakfast not included though. And I think it was about $25 for continental breakfast.
In the afternoon we drove out to Gantheaume Point to take in the views.
We made it back to the beach in time for sunset – watching the camel caravans walk along Broome’s fabled cable beach.
After that we headed over to the very popular Matso’s Brewrey for dinner and a couple of beers.
*The next day we had set aside for our day trip to experience the Horizontal falls. We were supposed to take a sea plane up to near Derby to see the falls from the air and then we’d board a speed boat to drive through the narrow canyon along side the falls. The phenomenon is based on the neap tides – and so you have to choose your times carefully. Another obstacle – COVID-induced staff shortages – so there were fewer departures. In the end we couldn’t secure two places, and had to give it a miss. And it was probably lucky we did. The tour we were hoping to join ended up being involved in an accident, with dozens of people rushed to hospital. So we were bummed we missed the trip, but happy we weren’t caught up in the drama. Also didn’t hate not having to pay the $850 fee.
In the end we used the spare day to explore more of Broome and its surrounds. We had a decent breakfast in Green Mango Cafe, in the centre of town, before heading north in search of the Coconut Wells.
The drive is a pretty easy one and only takes about 40 minutes.
The Coconut Wells are a collection of little rockpools, that you can really only see/explore during low tide. It’s a bit of a mission to get there, but worth it for a look around. We spent a couple of hours playing in the pools before dropping in to The Mango Place for a smoothie on the way home. It’s a small mango farm that offers all sorts of mango juices, liquors, cakes and shakes all in a cool, shady setting.
Back in Broome we had a few hours chilling in the hotel pool before going back down to Gantheaume Point for sunset.
Later that night, we ended up at the Aarli for dinner. I think they were suffering from staff shortages too – but they did a good job at keeping the food coming, and there was lots of it!
Next day it was time to pack up our things and start our long road trip south. But not before breakfast. We stopped off at Town Beach Cafe – which had amazing views, right on the beach.
It was a good five hour drive to Port Hedland – so we stopped at a couple of roadhouses to break it up – the Sandfire Roadhouse and Pardoo Roadhouse.
We arrived at Port Hedland around 2:30.
We had a quick look at Pretty Park Pool and the beach on our way in to town, before continuing on to our accommodation.
We stayed at Hospitality Port Hedland. It’s nothing special – just a bit of a Motel that’s been updated a little. But it was in a good location, close to the seafront and pub, and breakfast is included in the price. There’s not many options in Port Hedland – so take your pick.
After chilling for a while we went to see the few sites Port Hedland has to offer – the mines, the town and the waterfront.
We had a couple of beers at the Hedland Hotel while watching the sun go down before heading in to town for dinner at the city’s other pub – the Esplanade. It’s pretty cool – in an old sandstone gaol or something. Food wasn’t too bad either.
We had an early night ready for an early morning and another long drive.
Today we’re headed for Karijini National Park. It’s about a 300km drive, but we wanted to hit the road early so we could explore some of the national park in the afternoon. We arrived at the Auski Tourist Village around 10am to fill up with petrol. Because of the vast distances in Western Australia, and scarcity of towns – whenever we had the opportunity to fill up we did, because you don’t want to break down in the middle of nowhere.
Once we got to the national park we made a b-line to the waterfalls – checking out Dales Gorge Lookout, and the Circular Pools Lookout, before heading down for a swim at Fortescue Falls.
Unfortunately Fern Pools were closed the day we were there.
We decided to have a quick look at Joffre Gorge from above before tackling Knox Gorge for a swim.
It’s one of the tougher hikes (Class 5) where you basically have to clamber down a vertical escarpment. It’s only 2.5km but I think they said it would take us a couple of hours.
We did it much quicker than that, but it was a challenge.
It was a nice walk and the pools at the end were a good reward.
Around 4pm we called it a day – making our way to the Karijini Eco Resort. The resort wasn’t cheap. And far from lux.
But it was in a great location and was good enough for a night. I couldn’t manage to get the hot water working, and our tent was pretty cold.
But the food was decent and the setting was amazing.
We got up early, and after a hearty breakfast, we decided to walk down to Joffre Gorge.
It was only about 15 minutes from our tent – and was nice to see before the crowds. We didn’t go swimming because someone told us there were heaps of snakes down there baking on the sand and so we took a couple of pix and legged it back up the hill.
We had planned to do Hancock Gorge and Weano Gorge after breakfast but they were closed in anticipation of a sprinkle of rain – which never came. That means we missed out on Kermit’s Pool and Handrail Pool, which is a shame – but hey, it’s a reason to go back.
Next up we wanted to check out Hamersley Gorge and its famed Spa pool but because of road closures we had to take a round-the-world route via Tom Price. Because the road was closed we had to take a private road owned and run by BHP Mines. To do that, we had to watch a safety video at the visitor’s centre at Tom Price. It was all pretty basic, but did eat about twenty minutes of our time. By 1030 we were on the road again, and arrived at Hamersley around 1130.
We spent a few hours hiking in the gorge and swimming in the pools before heading back to Tom Price for the night – this time staying at the Tom Price Tourist Park – just out of town.
Our “room” was super basic, and not super cheap – but it had a kettle (the receptionist boasted) so it was going to be OK. Was nice to have a long, hot shower too, after a pretty fresh night in the National park.
There aren’t a lot of accommodation options in Tom Price – from what I can tell it’s just a small, purpose-built town for the miners. When we arrived I saw there were a few more options, but few if any were online, making it hard to research and plan your trip. There also wasn’t a lot of availability.
After a few hours of chilling and catching up on our internet time (no service in Karijini) we thought it was time to pull on our Saturday best and head into town to brave the world.
We went to the Tom Price hotel which was pretty busy (and very expensive, for what it was). It was basic by decent and what we needed after a long day of hiking and swimming.
Sunday the 29th of May we had another early start faced with a long day of driving.
We head back into town for breakfast at the Pickled Bean which was great and picked up some supplies at the big, fancy Coles.
We had a six hour drive ahead of us – with a short stop at the Nanutarra Roadhouse – about half way through -for a refill and quick snack.
We arrived at Coral Bay around 1530 – which left us just enough time to check in to the hostel and get freshened up before heading out to watch the sunset.
We had a decent dinner at Reef Cafe before heading back to the hostel for some much needed sleep.
Tuesday 30th
After a busy start to our trip we were happy to have a bit of a chilled day today.
We had a hearty breakfast at Fins Cafe before it was time to check out the WA’s famous Ningaloo Reef.
The best part about Coral Bay if you can explore the reef right off the shore. You only have to swim about twenty metres out and you’re there.
We spent a few hours snorkeling and swimming before heading back to Fins Cafe for some fish and chips for lunch.
Around 2:30 we got back in the car for our 90 minute drive north to Exmouth.
We stayed at the Potshot hotel which was better than expected – with a cool pub and lots of different rooms for different budgets. A week in and we were happy to use the hotel’s laundry facilities.
We opted for the BBQ Father for dinner, just down the road, and weren’t disappointed.
We had another early night ahead of another early start.
Today it was time for one of the (many) highlights of our trip to Western Australia – swimming with the famous whale sharks.
We spent far too much time researching which company to go with – and I’m sure they’re all pretty similar. But in the end we decided to go with Ningaloo Discovery. The company had great reviews and an amazing Instagram account. And once the day rolled around, they didn’t disappoint.
We had a 7:30 pick up time at our hotel in Exmouth ahead of our 30 minute transfer to the other side of the peninsula to hop on the boat.
During the trip they give you a couple of opportunities to go snorkeling before taking you out beyond the reef to swim with Whale Sharks. We managed to find a few and had three different swims (and photoshoots).
The water is super warm and fairly calm – making for an easy swim with the huge beasts.
It was pretty amazing, but you need a game plan because it’s quick and everyone is scrumming and flailing for a look.
The group provided us with breakfast and lunch, and heaps of information – before taking us back to town around 5pm.
Tonight we decided just to have a low key burger at the pub at our hotel, before hitting the sack, exhausted after a long day.
Wednesday 1st of June
We spent today exploring more of Ningaloo Reef and the west coast of Exmouth.
We had a great breakfast at the Beach Shack before continuing as far as the road would take us – to Yardie Creek.
There was a little boat trip we were thinking of doing but it was an hour long and cost about $40 and so we just took a couple of pictures and decided to hit the beach.
We hit up Osprey Bay, Sandy Bay, before continuing to the Oyster Stacks for a snorkel.
It’s super warm and shallow and we saw all sorts of marine life, including a turtle!
Our last stop of the day was the paradise-like Turquoise Bay – where we did some swimming and sunning and had a nice, long walk along the beach.
Around 1530 we decided to call it a day and so started our drive south, back to Coral Bay.
We hit up Reef cafe for another delicious dinner, before hitting the sack.
Thursday 2nd June
We had another long day of driving today from Coral Bay to Denham. The trip’s about 550km and we did it in about seven hours, with plenty of stops.
We had a look the little Cactus Garden on the Cactus and Fruit Loop in Carnarvon and had a quick little snack and walk around in town.
Later in the afternoon we stopped off at Hamelin Pools – home to the 3.5 billion year old stromatolites – the oldest and largest living fossils on earth. To be bothered, the significance was sort of lost on us. The boardwalk to see them was destroyed by Cyclone Seroja, with a rebuild proposed to commence in 2023.
We also had a quick stop off at Shell Beach which was amazing, before continuing to Denham and our hotel – Bay Lodge.
The room was basic but all we needed and the location was fantastic.
We were just across the road from the beach and close enough to walk up to the sleepy little town.
Around 6pm we wandered up the road to find some dinner – eventually settling on the Shark Bay Hotel.
Friday 3rd June
We had an early start today – so we could be at Monkey Mia by opening time – at 7am. We didn’t want to miss the famous dolphin feeding and so made sure we were there nice and early.
In the end a few dolphins turned up around 8am. It’s a bit of a far cry from when I was there as a kid and there were hundreds of dolphins. But we saw what we came to see. We a decent breakfast at the Boughshed Restaurant at the hotel before hitting the road again – this time en route to Geraldton, via Kalbarri National Park.
We stopped off at the Ross Graham Lookout and the Hawkes Head Lookout before taking a look at the Z-Bend.
We did the the loop walk to Natures Window.
Finally we had a look at the Skywalk for fantastic views.
Once we were done with the National park we got back on the road to find Hutt Lagoon and the Insta-famous pink lake. It’s there where we said good bye forever to my drone, which is now sleeping in its salty grave at the bottom.
Around 6pm we arrived at the Geraldton Backpackers on the foreshore, giving us enough time to have a bit of a look at the beach before getting freshened up for dinner.
We went to Skeeta’s Restaurant for dinner. It was sort of fancy but had decent food and didn’t cost too much. I think it would have had fab views too – but by the time we’d walked up, it was already after dark.
We were in bed by 2100. Spent.
Saturday 4th
Today we had another long drive – this time to Jurien Bay to see the sealions. We had a nice breakfast at Cafe Fleur, just next to the hostel, before spending a couple of hours wandering Geraldton exploring.
We had a look at the relatively underwhelming Point Moore Lighthouse before hitting the road, around 11am.
We had a look at a couple of the beaches along the way, and took a small detour into Ellendale Pool and the rather random Leaning Trees of Greenough.
We got a snack at Dongara Bakery, and stopped in to check out Dynamite Bay and the beautiful Sandy Cape Lookout.
We arrived at Jurien Bay Tourist Park around 1530 and had some hours to chill before dinner.
The caravan park was cheap and clean and quite but our cabin was freezing and we regret not leaving the heat on overnight while we slept. We both said we’ve never been so cold.
We had a walk along the waterfront and watched the kids playing in the skate park before heading over to the Sandpiper Tavern for dinner around 6pm.
It’s probably lucky we went when we did. The place was packed. And they kept moving people through during the entire time we were there. There aren’t all that many options in Jurien Bay so I’d get in early if you need a feed.
We were back at the room by 9pm which was perfect considering we had another early start – on Sunday we were going to swim with the famous sea lions.
Sunday 5th
We were up early (after hardly sleeping due to the cold) and grabbed some snacks from the bakery for some snacks before our morning trip.
Again, we did a whole lot of research into which company to go with, and in the end we settled with Turquoise Safaris. I’m sure all the tours are the same, but we were happy enough with ours. They gave us warm drinks and snacks which we needed after plunging into the fresh early morning water.
We were done by 0930 – a quick game’s a good one – and were back on the road shortly after.
We were on the home stretch now – due in Perth later this evening.
But we still had a bit to see.
We stopped off at Lake Thetis to see more Stromatolites before continuing on to see the 30,000 year old Pinnacles.
The national park is set up pretty well – meaning you can drive right through all the structures and there are plenty of places to stop you can you can take pictures.
Around midday we returned to Cervantes for lunch in the sun at the famous Lobster Shack.
After lunch we decided to gun it to Perth, arriving at the airport around 3pm to return our rental car.
We took an Uber into town to our digs at the Alex Hotel and were pleased with the heating after our freezing night the night before.
We had a couple of hours to chill before heading all the way across the road for dinner with some local friends, at the Middle East inspired Bivouac Canteen and Bar.
Monday 6th
After a busy couple of weeks tearing around WA we could have spend our last day in Perth chilling – but we figured while we were on a roll, we might as well squeeze in one last day trip – this time to Rottnest Island.
We got on an “Express” Ferry at Elizabeth Quay around 9am, and arrived at at Rottnest at 1030. At $93 dollars it wasn’t exactly cheap, but nothing is in Western Australia. We were a bit annoyed at how long the boat took, but I guess it was a nice trip up the Swan River.
When we arrived we headed straight to Paddle and Flipper to rent a couple of bikes for the day. Bikes were about $30 for the and made getting around the island a breeze (hills aside).
We decided to explore the northern coast of the island – heading first to Little Parakeet Bay, Little Armstrong Bay, Catherine Bay, Ricey Beach, Shark Bay, Rocky Bay, Fish Hook Bay and finally ending at the Cathedral Rocks Viewing Platform.
We arrived there around 1:30 which didn’t give us a great deal of time to get back into town for a quick snack and some Quokka selfies before our 3:30 boat back to Perth.
We got back around 1730 and walked back to the hotel to get freshened up before our 7:30 reservation at Petition.
We were pretty hungry after a long day cycling and the restaurant didn’t disappoint.
Tuesday 7th
We had a fairly lazy morning, taking our time to pack up before heading to Freemantle for breakfast. We decided on Duck Duck Bruce after sort of struggling to find a good place to eat on a Tuesday morning.
After breakfast we had a long, and rather uninspiring walk to Port Beach through the industrialised port part of Freemantle.
We had a bit of a walk along the seashore before getting a cab up to Cottesloe Beach for a look.
We had a drink and a snack at Barchetta with a great view of the beach before it was time to head back to the hotel to get our bags and continue on to the airport.
Finally it was home time. We boarded QF652 at 1625 in Perth and arrived home in Sydney at 2230.
We spent a bomb and covered a good 4500km, but we saw just about everything we had wanted and had a great adventure. Now we’re home already planning Part 2.