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" />The weather had taken a turn for the worse, so once we departed Margaret River, we made the decision to head north and get around the city of Perth. We drove for a large part of the day, only stopping occasionally to eat, drink and go to the toilet. Although our initial plan was to spend a few days in Fremantle, where we had spent a week in 2007, we decided against it and continued on our travel around Australia in 185 days.
We covered a distance of around 360kms that particular day, but were determined to get as far north of Perth as possible. I guess the allure of the territory on the central to north coast of Western Australia was foremost in our minds.
Distance: From Margaret River 361kms
Where We Stayed: Moore River Bridge, 2 km SE of Guilderton
Cost: FREE
Rest Area Facilities:
Local Attractions:
HOT TIP: You need to arrive at these rest areas reasonably early (late afternoon at least) to claim a spot. The better rest areas like this one are very popular with travellers.
Our focus this day was to visit the Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park. We found out that we could leave our dog at the National Parks Office in Cervantes for a half day and then backtrack to the Pinnacles, a distance of 22kms.
Distance: From Guilderton 141kms
Where We Stayed: Jurien Bay Caravan Park
Cost: $34 per night powered site
Caravan Park Facilities:
Local Attractions:
HOT TIP: If you’re not in a hurry stay at the camping area at Sandy Cape about 13kms north of Jurien Bay. We were pleasantly surprised by how great this campground was, located by a calm little bay with turquoise water, snow white sand and amidst massive sand dunes.
We headed off towards the twin towns of Dongara and Port Denison and spent half the day here, prior to finding a spot to free camp for the night. We experienced our first epic fail as free campers because our intended free camp at Greenough Beach was not at all suitable and we had to keep driving into the darkness and pouring rain towards Geraldton. Here we spent the night in the carpark adjacent to a 24 hour McDonalds Restaurant. It was the best we could do under the circumstances.
Distance: From Jurien Bay 132kms/196kms
Local Attractions:
HOT TIP: Not all free camp spots are suitable for camping when bad weather conditions prevail. The beachside camp spot we chose at Greenough had no shelter from the blustering winds or driving rain. Sometimes you need a plan B.
Distance: From Geraldton 35kms
Where We Stayed: Coronation Beach Campground
Cost: $8 per person per night
Campground Facilities:
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HOT TIP: The city of Geraldton has many great attractions, including a great Maritime Museum and the HMAS Sydney Memorial. It is also the gateway for the incredible Abrolhos Islands that lie about 60kms west of Geraldton.
Distance: From Geraldton 155kms
Where We Stayed: Murchison River Caravan Park, Kalbarri
Cost: $40 per night powered site
Caravan Park Facilities:
Local Attractions:
HOT TIP: Spend at least a day at the spectacular Kalbarri National Park hiking along the top of the river gorges. Plus hire a bike and ride along the Kalbarri Coastal Cliffs.
Distance: From Kalbarri 385kms
Where We Stayed: Night 1. Fowlers Camp Area Free Camp (109km west of the turnoff at Overlander Roadhouse). No facilities, but a good size camp spot overlooking Whalebone Bay.
The next day we set off to explore Shark Bay and the town of Denham, the Marine Park and Monkey Mia.
Night 2. Hamelin Pool Caravan Park, Hamelin Pool
Cost: $22 per night unpowered site
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HOT TOP: We found our experience at Monkey Mia to be extremely disappointing. The dolphin feedings are between 7.30am and 12 noon, are very crowded and only one or two people are selected to feed them.
We stopped in Carnarvon for a quick look around and stocked up with water and provisions as we were heading to Quobba for a few days, where there are no facilities at all.
Distance: From Overlander Roadhouse 280kms
Where We Stayed: Point Quobba Camping Area (83kms north of Carnarvon)
Cost: $11 per night
Camping Area Facilities:
Local Attractions:
HOT TIP: Quobba is a little piece of paradise with plenty of camp sites available and is definitely worth staying here for at least 3 or 4 days. We saw lots of marine life snorkelling right off the beach, including sea turtles and plenty of colourful fish.
Distance: From Quobba 272kms
Where We Stayed: Bayview Coral Bay
Cost: $43 per night powered site (additional $2 per night for dog)
Caravan Park Facilities:
Local Attractions:
HOT TIP: Go 4WD’ing to nearby Skeleton Beach and the Reef Shark Nursery where there is direct beach access.
Distance: From Coral Bay 150kms
Where We Stayed: Ningaloo Caravan & Holiday Resort
Cost: $35 per night powered site
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HOT TIP: Don’t stay in Exmouth as there is little to do in the town. Stay out at Vlamingh Head Caravan Park near the nice beaches, Yardie Homestead Caravan Park or at one of the camping areas within Cape Range National Park.
We didn’t like the caravan park in town nor the barren area that we were forced into with our dog, so we moved camp to a fantastic caravan park around 26kms out of town towards Cape Range National Park.
Where We Stayed: Yardie Homestead Caravan Park
Cost: $38 per night powered site
Caravan Park Facilities:
Local Attractions:
HOT TIP: This station was an amazing place to stay with fantastic facilities, friendly staff and plenty to do and see in the area. I would highly recommend staying here.
Since driving north of Perth we had covered a lot of territory (1,247kms) and we were starting to experience warmer temperatures and lovely sunny days. We were certainly in awe of what we had seen along the way; from the Pinnacles Desert, deep river gorges and steep coastal cliffs of Kalbarri, stromatolites to coral reefs and snorkelling with amazing marine life. West Australia was wowing us on every level.
Next up in the series of our travel around Australia is part 3 of West Australia, that covers the Pilbara, Eighty Mile Beach and Broome.
Kathy was a 50 something year old when she started up this blog 6 years ago, but has since turned over another decade and is now in her early 60s. She is married with two adult children and lives on the Tweed Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Kathy enjoys living life to the fullest and loves to keep fit and active by maintaining a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Some of her interests include reading, photography, travelling, cooking and blogging! Kathy works part-time as a freelance writer but her real passion is travelling and photographing brilliant destinations both within Australia and overseas and writing about it.
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Jo
November 9, 2017What some places you’ve visited. I’d love to go swimming with whale sharks. We really hope to get up to Exmouth and Ningaloo next year somehow someway. Kalbarri is lovely isn’t it? Such a varied town and area with its cliffs, the rivermouth and the gorges.
Kathy
November 10, 2017The Ningaloo Reef was incredible Jo and the whale shark swim experience a must do. We could go back here for sure. We also loved Kalbarri too. There were so many amazing places on the WA coast and I imagine it would take years to do it justice as we only saw a snippet of the state.