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Perth to Monkey Mia, Western Australia

Sara Foster takes the Indian Ocean Drive from Perth to Monkey Mia to see Australia’s most famous dolphins.

For all free-spirited goddesses, heading north from Perth will guarantee you a memorable variety of Aussie outback experiences. If travelling by vehicle, be prepared for miles of emptiness between your destinations – though keep an eye out for animals either on or by the side of the road, particularly emus, reptiles big and small (including the unique thorny devil), and wedge-tailed eagles; and kangaroos at night or dusk/dawn.

Luxurious accommodation is not all that easy to find from the time you leave the Perth metro area, until perhaps Monkey Mia/Exmouth, and even then that depends on how you term ‘luxury’ (try http://www.discoverwest.com.au to assess your options). I’ve stayed in a hotel, a motel and a caravan park in Kalbarri, and the only place I didn’t share my room with mice was in the caravan park. If you’re game, save your money with cheaper nights in Cervantes and Kalbarri and splash out later.

On your map you’ll see various small coastal towns between Perth and Geraldton. Any of them are a nice place to stop for an hour or two, but there’s not all that much to do and unless you want a few days’ quiet beach break then they’re probably best used to stretch your legs before you carry on with your journey. The exception is Cervantes, which is your gateway to the Pinnacles Desert (Nambung National Park) – a valley of naturally occurring limestone pinnacles. It’s a unique place, and a great spot for photographers, especially at sunrise/sunset. Watch out for kangaroos on the road in and out if you travel in the dark as they are often there in numbers.


Photo: cc. Flickr/robertpaulyoung

Geraldton is a good spot to stock up on supplies and petrol as it’s the only major town you’ll encounter. As it’s five hundred kilometres north of Perth, it’s also a useful place to rest overnight to break the drive. You can sample the local catch while you’re there if you love seafood, but in general be careful as the place is a bit rough and ready, and not all that appealing to me or other female travellers I know who’ve been there – except perhaps as a gateway to the Abrolhos Islands, a renowned scuba and snorkelling spot.

Kalbarri is worth the detour – the town is close to the impressive Kalbarri Gorge National Park where the Murchison river winds its way through the stunning red rock gorges providing great opportunities for hiking and photography – Nature’s Window and the Z-Bend are a must. Other things to do in Kalbarri include visiting the Rainbow Jungle (a parrot breeding centre), the Seahorse Sanctuary, or watching the daily pelican feeding by the beach. You can also go quad biking, sandboarding, canoeing, or take a scenic flight over the rugged coastline. There are some lovely places to eat – try the Black Rock Café – but depending on the time of year you visit, check opening times when you get there: everything seems to close down really early (we’re talking by 8 pm), with the possible exception of the Gilgai Tavern.

Back to the North West Coastal Highway, you’ll soon reach the World Heritage listed Shark Bay area. Shell Beach and Eagle Bluff are worth visiting – at the latter it’s common to spot sizeable lemon sharks swimming in the shallows. Denham is a quiet coastal fishing town, nice to hang out for a little while if you fancy a rest, but the real attraction up here is Monkey Mia’s dolphins. If you’re keen to see them it’s perhaps best to stay at the Monkey Mia resort, twenty kilometres from Denham.


Photo: cc. Flickr/rggoldie

The resort offers a range of accommodation and eateries to suit different budgets, and staying there means you’ll be close by when the dolphins come in, which is usually first thing in the morning. The regular pod of dolphins who visit have got their beach jaunts down to a fine art, and begin coming in soon after sunrise for their three allowed feeds. There’s often not much time in between feeding – in fact they often seem to swim round whichever boat is nearest then come straight back in – so mornings are the best times to see them, though you might just be lucky and find one of them swimming next to you later in the day.


Photo: cc. Flickr/themuddler

Other things to do here include snorkelling and scuba diving, funky little two-person glass-bottom boats that you can take for a spin, or larger catamarans that take you out to spot more marine wildlife, including the endangered dugongs that have found sanctuary in this area. For the more adventurous there’s also the opportunity to head to Cape Peron by four-wheel drive, the westernmost point of Australia, where you’ll find pristine deserted beaches of white sand that merge gloriously into the red sand of the outback. If you do find yourself trekking on red sand be careful what you wear: it stains, and doesn’t come easily out of light clothes.

If your trip ends here, Skywest can fly you back to Perth. However, it’s well worth continuing the drive and heading back to the North West Coastal Highway, and on to Coral Bay and Exmouth, where beautiful beaches and more outback adventure awaits you.

Photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/themuddler/55169366/ CC.

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