DISTANCE: 950km (590 miles) one way / 1,768km (1,100 miles) return
TIME: Five days
START: Perth
END: Denham, Shark Bay
POINTS TO NOTE: If possible, do this trip between September and October when blooming wildflowers set the national parks ablaze. Midsummer is scorching. This route requires a vehicle (click here for advice on driving in the outback), but Transwa operate coaches from Perth to Geraldton and Kalbarri, and Rex fly to Monkey Mia several times a week. This route can be combined with Route 15 (Ningaloo Reef and Karijini National Park).
When English ex-pirate-turned-explorer William Dampier sailed into Shark Bay in August 1699, he bequeathed it with a name that could have caused future tourism authorities major migraines. Instead, some super-friendly sea mammals showed up, the area was awarded World Heritage-listing and became one of WA’s most-visited destinations, drawing Dampier’s compatriots (and travellers from the world over) here in droves.
But there are many more reasons to visit Shark Bay, beyond feeding wild dolphins on a beautiful beach at Monkey Mia, starting with the action-packed attraction-rich cross-country voyage to get there.
Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park
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Lancelin
Leave Perth on the Wanneroo Road and hug the Indian Ocean coast through the satellite settlements of Yanchep and Two Rocks, and desolate Moore River National Park, to reach Lancelin 1 [map]. The town sits sandwiched between a mighty sandpit and the sea, sheltered by Lancelin and Edwards Islands Nature Reserve. Larger Lancelin Island is home to myriad species of flowers, its own unique lizard and thousands of noisy nesting sea birds.
The crisp white dunes that surround the town are ace for sandboarding (board hire $12.50 for 2.5 hours). The best time to hit the dunes is mid-morning, when the breeze is lightest. You can also tour the dunes in 4WD vehicles, hire SUP and surfboards, and go dolphin-spotting or fishing. For bookings and more information, see www.lancelin.com.au.
Beachcombing along the apparently endless sand is free and fascinating. The castaway feel of the wild Turquoise Coast was done no harm by the discovery, on a beach near Wedge Island in 2018, of the world’s oldest message in a bottle, tossed overboard from a ship in 1886.
Nambung National Park
Follow the Indian Ocean Drive to eerie Pinnacles Desert 2 [map], in the heart of the Nambung National Park (tel: 08-9652 7913; https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/nambung).
From the car park and Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre (daily 9.30am–4.30pm), it’s a short walk to where stone monuments stand to attention across a sprawling desert, some reaching 3-metres (10ft) high. A circular track leads around the park, with a lookout at the northern end (some tracks aren’t suitable for all vehicles, including large campervans.)
Apart from the peculiar Pinnacles, Nambung is also known for beautiful beaches at Kangaroo Point and Hangover Bay, coastal dune systems and low heathland rich in flowering plants. At the park’s northern end, near Cervantes, there’s a loop trail and boardwalk at Lake Thetis where you can see some fascinating thrombolites (rock-like structures similar to stromatolites, built by micro-organisms).
Greenough
Continue along the Indian Ocean Drive, through the rock-lobster-fishing community of Cervantes and past Jurien Bay. Off to the right is Lesueur National Park (tel: 08-9688 6000; https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/lesueur), which explodes into a contagion of blooming wildflowers in late winter and spring each year. The park also hosts 122 species of native bird and 52 reptile species, including legless lizards.
Now in WA’s Mid-West region, drive through Beekeeper’s Nature Reserve (home to 32 registered apiary sites) and Dongara to Greenough, and the Central Greenough Historical Settlement 3 [map] (tel: 08-9926 1084; www.nationaltrust.org.au/places/central-greenough; daily 9am–4pm), where you can explore a collection of 19th-century colonial buildings. The 57-km (35-mile) Heritage Trail and Drive (maps available from local tourist offices) is a great way to experience the hamlet and surrounding historical sites.
Geraldton
Gateway to the north, Geraldton 4 [map] is a bustling coastal city with excellent eateries (try Origin India – see 1 [map]), ideal as a base for fishing, diving, wildflower-viewing and cultural excursions.
Geraldton Visitors Centre (246 Marine Terrace; tel: 08-9956 6670; www.visitgeraldton.com.au; Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat–Sun 9am–1pm) provides details about guided and DIY adventures, including the 195km (121-mile) Yamaji Drive Trail, which visits 14 sites of significance to local Aboriginal people, including the Warglu Trail, Bootenal Spring, Ellendale Pool, Butterabby Graves, Woolya Reserve and Mass Rock.
Nature’s Window, Kalbarri National Park
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Explore Geraldton’s branch of the Western Australian Museum (2 Museum Place, Batavia Coast Marina; tel: 08-9431 8393; www.museum.wa.gov.au; daily 9.30am–3pm; guided highlights tour 11.30am) with displays on the area’s history and geology, an aquarium showcasing local marine life, and a Shipwrecks Gallery containing relics from four Dutch vessels that sank off the Batavia Coast, including the Batavia herself, plus the Gilt Dragon, Zuytdorp and Zeewijk.
For a spectacular wildlife experience, visit the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, an archipelago of 112 islands 60km (37 miles) west of Geraldton, which seem idyllic now but were lethal to shipping and saw a bloody, awful sequence of events in 1628 (see box). Home to large colonies of marine birds and mammals, the islands offer superb snorkelling, birdwatching and fishing. For multiday adventures contact Eco Abrolhos Tours (tel: 08-9964 5101; www.ecoabrolhos.com.au).
Wildflowers in Geraldton
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Houtman Abrolhos horror story
In 1628, the flagship of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, weighed anchor and departed on her maiden voyage to the Dutch East Indies. Deliberately sailed off course by the disgruntled skipper, Ariaen Jacobsz, who was planning a mutiny against the company’s senior merchant, Francisco Pelsaert, the ship hit the reef near the Abrolhos Islands off the coast of Western Australia.
Pelsaert led a party (including Jacobsz) in a fraught small-boat journey to the mainland in search of water, and then on to Java to seek salvation. Meanwhile, all hell broke loose among the survivors of the wreck, stranded on the island, with a group led by a psychopath called Jeronimus Cornelisz committing mutiny and a massacre, killing at least 110 men, women, and children in what remains Australia’s worst mass murder.
Kalbarri National Park
From Geraldton, take the North West Coastal Highway to Northampton, before bearing left on the coast road (Port Gregory Road, then George Grey Drive), past the Pink Lake to reach Kalbarri 5 [map].
Perthites regularly make the six-hour drive to this perennially popular holiday destination and outdoor adventure hub, equipped with snorkel, fishing, surfing and windsurfing gear. The Visitor Centre (70 Grey Street; tel: 08-9937 1104; www.kalbarri.org.au; Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 9am–1pm) has information about activities including charters to view spectacular coastal cliffs and dolphins. Whale-watching cruises are popular June–December when humpbacks gather in the sheltered waters to calve.
Houtman Abrolhos
Getty Images
Kalbarri is surrounded by rugged Kalbarri National Park (tel: 08-9964 0901; https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/kalbarri), sliced by 80km (50-mile) Murchison Gorge. Numerous adventure activities are possible, including canoeing along the Murchison River, abseiling, bushwalking and 4WD tours.
This is a stunning spot to witness displays of wildflowers (in bloom from late July through spring and into early summer), with 21 plant species including banksia, grevillia, kangaroo paw, featherflower, smoke bush, starflower and several orchids that are unique to the area. Sadly the Kalbarri Wild Flower Centre has wilted, but you can stroll an interpretive nature trail or join a guided walk through Kalbarri’s Native Botanic Garden.
Hamelin Pool
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Rejoin the North West Coastal Highway and head north towards Denham 6 [map], at the heart of WA’s first World Heritage-listed area. The Discovery and Visitor Centre (53 Knight Terrace; tel: 1300 367 072; www.sharkbayvisit.com.au; Nov–Mar Mon–Fri 9am–4.30pm, Sat–Sun 9am–1pm, Apr–Oct from 10am) has information on activities and attractions, including highlights of Francois Peron National Park (tel: 08-9948 2226; https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/francois-peron), where red-dirt desert meets azure ocean at Bottle Bay.
Half-an-hour south of Denham, Shell Beach is one of two beaches on the planet where sand is replaced entirely with shells. Trillions of them, stretching over 100km (62 miles). It’s a stunning sight, and the super saline water that laps the shore is genuinely gin clear but so salty it’s devoid of all life except for the fragum cockle, source of all the shells which have been used to construct local buildings, including Denham’s St Andrews Anglican Church and the Old Pearler Restaurant.
Hamelin Pool, close to the turn-off from the highway, is home to stromatolites. Boardwalks take visitors close to these single-celled photosynthesizing microbes, which are the oldest form of life on Earth – ‘living fossils’ of our very, very far-distant relatives.
Bottlenose Dolphin, Monkey Mia
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Dirk Hartog Island (www.dirkhartogisland.com), offers scuba diving, sightings of dugongs, whales and turtles, and opportunities to learn about the art and culture of the traditional inhabitants of the Coral Coast, during walking, kayaking and 4WD routes led by Wula Gura Eco Cultural Adventures (tel: 0429 708 847/0432 029 436; www.wulagura.com.au).
Most people, however, will rush to magical Monkey Mia, where a group of bottlenose dolphins has been visiting the beach to interact with humans for over 40 years, across several generations (interestingly, only female adults and calves come in). The animals are wild, and the timing of their visits varies, but they usually come close to the shore up to three times a day, most frequently in the morning. It’s possible to stand shin-deep in the water and feed them (under the supervision of park rangers), but you can’t swim with the dolphins. Boughshed Restaurant (see 2 [map]) is a good place to stop for a light bite.
You are now 850km (528 miles) north of Perth. Either head back along the North West Coastal Highway, or continue north towards Coral Bay and Exmouth to link up with Route 15: Ningaloo Reef and Outback WA.
Food and drink
1 Origin India
60 Chapman Road, Geraldton; tel: 08-9904 7244; www.originindia.com.au; daily 11.30am–2pm and 4.30–9.30pm; $$
One of the most raved about Indian restaurants in WA, with friendly service and fragrant, spicy and aromatic offerings – give the goat curry a go.
2 Boughshed Restaurant
1 Monkey Mia Road; tel: 08-9948 1171; https://parksandresorts.rac.com.au/monkey-mia; daily 7am to late; $$$
Part of the RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort, which monopolises the destination, this fancy restaurant twins stunning views of Shark Bay with a menu full of regional ingredients given an international twist, such as crocodile-and-prawn Tom Kha Kai, and linguini made with Shark Bay blue swimmer crab.