16 days from Perth to Karratha : Coral Coast and Pilbara

[Hallu]

For this late May/early June trip, I first wanted to do the Kimberley. Problem : renting a 4x4 is just too damn expensive. With a 2WD, a loop Perth to Broome to Perth would have needed 3/4 weeks. But I found out that the one way fee between Perth and Karratha isn't that expensive (200 $) so my friend and I decided to do this. The classic trip would have been Kalbarri, Shark Bay, Ningaloo & Karijini, but since I love going off the beaten path, we added the Kennedy Range and Millstream-Chichester to the mix.

The first day was just some driving to Kalbarri and the pinnacles on the way. As expected, it's a very touristy spot, a quick bang for the buck stop as you can see more commonly in NZ. Walking around is pretty useless, as you won't escape the flock of tourists anyway. Maybe we should have explored the beaches of Nambung NP instead. Still, quite photogenic rock formation, but it would be much more magical in a storm with no one there.

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Last edited by Hallu on Mon 17 Jun, 2013 12:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Hallu]

Second day it was time to explore Kalbarri. We did the loop, a beautiful walk that only a handful of people seem to do while it's fairly easy. It was also the first clue to WA's walk policy : very overestimated walking times, and exaggerated risks in the brochure. What they called "steep" is only a couple of very short climbs with no scrambling, and the rock scrambling was just walking on rock slabs alongside the river. After checking out Z-bend, we spent the late afternoon checking out the lookouts near the cliffs, South of the town of Kalbarri. Beautiful coastline here, rivalling easily with the great ocean road's coastline near Port Campbell... without the crowds ! One of the best spots of the trip. Kalbarri is also quite charming, so close to the river and the sea, a very rare sight in our trip, as most town were touristy and without soul, unlike the Tassie or VIC small coastal cities.

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[Hallu]

Next up was a long drive to Shark Bay and our accommodation at Denham. A grey day, but we checked out the stromatolites (quite interesting), shell beach (not that interesting), a couple of lookouts and a nearby lagoon. Denham isn't exactly a vibrant city, and I was missing the great cheap seafood restaurants you can find in Tassie. But since it's a town built for tourism, I shouldn't be surprised.

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[Hallu]

Time to hit Monkey Mia. We witness the dolphins feeding, and after a short walk nearby (nice beach but the inland part is near the new sewage system, not very charming) we did a couple of cruises. On the big one (about 3h) we saw turtles, dolphins, sharks and dugongs. I only got pics of the dugong and the dolphins though. The sunset cruise is pretty useless though, if you go there, it's not a must. It's just sailing West and going back, with the guides utterly silent. A great day though.

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[Hallu]

As François Péron NP is 4WD only, we went on a day tour to explore it. The inland part is pretty boring, with our guide trying to break the trip with insight on plants and animals. Afterwards we explored almost all the bays and cliffs. Beautiful red cliffs and dunes, some marine wildlife (turtle, dugong and dolphins), nice beaches. With some real roads and walking tracks, it would certainly be a tourist hotspot rather than a local fishing place. I'm not sure what the future of this place should be, since it's not threatened by mining, but it could provide welcome jobs and money, especially with the useless loop area near to becoming protected as well, and the new Ningaloo/Shark Bay national landscape status (whatever that means). Mining won't be here forever to provide for WA, but this will.

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[Hallu]

Time to hit the road and check out the Kennedy Range. We arrive around 4 pm at the campground, filled with grey nomads and some volunteers who take care of it during peak season, which just started. We weren't prepared for the shear size of the range, quite small in height and width, but impressive nonetheless as you camp right next to it. One of the most scenic campgrounds of Australia for sure. Of course the colours are magical in the evening as the sun sets over the range. We just had time to check out honeycomb gorge, aptly named, easily accessible and fairly stunning.

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[Occam]

Extremely good photography. Thanks for posting.

[Hallu]

I thought we wouldn't have time to do all the walks in the range, but with so overestimated walking times, we actually did everything by about 3 pm... Granted, we got up at dawn (when you don't have camping chairs or light you tend to go to sleep around 8 pm), but still, the area could benefit from further walking tracks. Especially considering how beautiful it is. Many areas on the plateau could be connected and a 3 day loop would certainly be appealing. With Mount Augustus nearby, the 2 parks could even make a big attractive area, especially considering the fact that the roads are about 10 times better than in Karijini... Anyway, if you go in Northern WA, don't be afraid to do a detour to the Kennedy Range. It's WORTH IT.

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[Hallu]

After a long drive to Exmouth, we just had time to explore a bit of the Western coast inside Cape Range NP and wait for sunset.

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[neilmny]

Nice report Hallu, we haven't seen that country sice we were there in 1978.
Natures windows looks a little bit more worn down than it was back then.
It is a beautiful area for sure.

Last edited by neilmny on Mon 17 Jun, 2013 10:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Hallu]

Since I'm not a swimming aficionado, I skipped the whale shark diving thing, and explored all the beaches coves and gorges instead. I quickly realised that even though I haven't seem much wildlife in this trip, Cape Range is a hotspot. Full of birds (especially falcons), roos, emus and the ubiquitous termite mounds. Again the walks were pretty short, and since my glass bottom boat tour was cancelled because of too much wind, I got home early. A pretty nice day still.

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[Hallu]

The second day at Cape Range we explored the canyons. The roads are awful. Full of pointy rocks, I would recommend to lower your tire pressure before going there. As the walk took about 2h30 instead of the advertised 5h, we went back to the West side for some wildlife photography.

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[tibboh]

Looks like a nice trip. Thanks for sharing.

[Hallu]

As the next day was basically just driving to Tom Price, this is now two days later, at Karijini. The first third of road to Weano Gorge is a trap : it's sealed and comfortable, you start thinking that maybe all this "Karijini has awful roads" myth is wrong, especially with the second third unsealed but still fine. And then the last third hits you : the last couple of days of rain made it muddy, but the corrugation are still brutal, with tight corners and sharp rocks on steep slopes. Recent rains as it turns out also made some walks only accessible by getting yourself wet (a lot wet, like chest deep water). We quickly realise that Karijini is a planner nightmare : vague indications on the brochure, no map for the walks available online (only at the start of the walks), highly overestimated walk times (1 hour for 800 m ? I think not). Sometimes you can connect the walks and make a nice circuit (such as in Dales Gorge), other times you can't. It's also very popular, both with grey nomads and backpackers. Every backpacker is saying Karijini is their favourite place in WA. And yes it is beautiful. Deep gorges, lush vegetation, waterfalls. But the roads are horrible, and there is no real long walk unless you're an experienced climber/swimmer/abseiler. After this trip, I can tell with confidence : Kalbarri and the Kennedy Range trump Karijini. So why aren't the backpackers talking about it ? Because they simply stick to the highway and miss it.

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[Hallu]

2nd day in Karijini. Dales Gorge's access is all sealed, which means it's more crowded. It's beautiful, but strangely enough maybe I'll remember more about that huge train passing by, or that exhausting rushed hike at sunset up Mt Nameless. We didn't have time to do Mt Bruce instead, because, well, we had to call Hertz since we had a flat tire in the morning, probably from the pointy rocks the day before. Still, a very beautiful day.

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[Hallu]

Having no spare wheel left, we had to switch cars at Karratha before going to Millstream-Chichester, our next stop. That meant a whole day of driving on a sealed detour, instead of the more direct 250 km of unsealed road. We switched cars then camped at Millstream. A sign said "rough road 4WD only" while the brochure said it's fine for 2WD. Another signed said flood damage. As it turned out, the road was perfectly fine, a lot better than Karijini drive, and the campground nice, with again some volunteers taking care of it. More people than I expected though. Early the next day we explored the Millstream part first. Some nice lookouts, and a walk interesting vegetation-wise. But the nearby giant water pipes and buildings ruin the magic although it is symptomatic of Aussie national parks really. Mining comes always first, in that case the water is used to sustain Karratha's fast growth. In the afternoon, we explored the Chichester part, and I was pleasantly surprised to see some Sturt desert peas on the sides of the sealed parts of the road. The recent rains at least gave us a reward. The area is beautiful and pretty unique : red small peaks covered with light green spinifex. But again, no real nice circuit walk. The camel trail is only one way, and the middle bit isn't very interesting.

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Last edited by Hallu on Sun 16 Jun, 2013 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Hallu]

Last day of the trip, time to face the dirty nasty side of WA with Karratha, Dampier, and mining madness next to some incredibly valuable aboriginal rock art, coves and beaches. We cheated a bit at first, escaping all this by exploring Samson peninsula instead, but then we came back. Karratha ? Awful. Not a single restaurant, the pub is very well hidden, incredibly expensive even by desert standards, and the architecture is non existent. Dampier ? Not much better, just the sea on top of that, and the statue of Red Dog, ruined by a big info board. Luckily a couple gems are hidden on that peninsula : the rock art first, and hearson cove. We spent the afternoon at the cove, clearly praised by locals at sunset, who both fish for crabs at low tide and enjoy the views. A superb place.

All in all it was a very good trip. It was an expensive one though, I made some calculation, and 2 weeks in WA is about twice as expensive as 2 weeks in Tassie, if you count food, fuel, car rental, and accommodation. It's also three times the driving distances, and it's more touristy. Why this comparison ? Because I wondered if it was worth it, after hearing all of this stuff about the West coast. My conclusion is that it would probably be much more interesting in a 4WD with a camper trailer, being able to explore both the outback (we missed Mount Augustus) and the coast (we would have liked to explore more of François Péron, do the useless loop, cross Yardie Creek at Cape Range etc...). This would also mean being able to explore the Kimberley, which I fear I won't do any time soon for budget and leave days shortage reasons. Of course I was also frustrated from the lack of walking tracks, or the mining hegemony in the state, but all in all some great memories, great wildlife, and great photos. I switched from a compact to a bridge (Panasonic Lumix FZ200, with the added bonus of a polarizing filter) right before this trip and I'm glad I did.

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[stepbystep]

Ahhh my old stomping ground, thanks for posting, brings back many memories.

I've lilo'd The Hamersley Gorge and Karijini many years ago(20+), both 5 day trips, both up with the best I've done. Didn't see a sole either trip. The Pinnacles were also virtually never visited, dad and I used to camp out there, no tent, just sleep on a canvas tarp under the stars, magic. I reckon I'd be a bit upset to see the hordes though their now.

Our family had 2 Pink and Grey's(a couple) that nested outside our front door, they lived there for over 20 years and then both disappeared simultaneously. An awesome bird with a sense of humour.

[Hallu]

What was weird is that the Pinnacles is the only place on our trip where we saw flocks of Asian tourists. North of there, nothing, it was only European backpackers (a LOT of French, word of mouth got to them about the West coast), Aussie families, and grey nomads. There must be a sort of a big advertisement in Asia for the region with something like a combo Perth/Pinnacles/Margaret River-Wine Country/Leuwinn-Naturaliste. This means that at the sandstone cliffs of Kalbarri, there was almost no one, compared to the saturated yet similar 12 apostles in Victoria. I would be sad if promoting got to Kalbarri, but I think it ultimately will, once people realize how great it is.

[stepbystep]

What was weird is that the Pinnacles is the only place on our trip where we saw flocks of Asian tourists. North of there, nothing, it was only European backpackers (a LOT of French, word of mouth got to them about the West coast), Aussie families, and grey nomads. There must be a sort of a big advertisement in Asia for the region with something like a combo Perth/Pinnacles/Margaret River-Wine Country/Leuwinn-Naturaliste. This means that at the sandstone cliffs of Kalbarri, there was almost no one, compared to the saturated yet similar 12 apostles in Victoria. I would be sad if promoting got to Kalbarri, but I think it ultimately will, once people realize how great it is.

Yeah Kalbarri is very under-rated, it's well known amongst surfers and locals.

You actually by-passed some amazing areas, my family has a shack at Guilderton a great little town and the bird-life on the river is 2nd to none, you can hire a canoe and get to some great areas up the river.
I did a trip report for a loop walk there ages ago viewtopic.php?f=49&t=3607&p=40554&hilit=guilderton#p40554
Big place West Oz huh?

[Hallu]

Unfortunately we couldn't explore the coast between Perth and Kalbarri as we had our accommodation at Kalbarri the first night. We landed at 9:30 am in Perth, and drove straight there except for a stop at the Pinnacles. But a trip to Perth and the surrounding + the South West is still in the back of my mind.

[Occam]

Possibly the reason is that the Pinnacles bus tour is highly advertised, they do hotel pick- ups and it is a day trip from Perth.

[Chris]

Great photos Hallu and a fascinating account of your journey. Brought back memories of travelling there in the mid-90s, and showed a few places I wish we had fitted in. Stinking hot in Karijini so very limited exploration but still wonderful. Hope you make the Kimberley some time - distances and fuel costs are daunting, but a very special place.

[Hallu]

I'm having trouble identifying the species though. Are these all Western Grey Kangaroo, or are there Euros and Red Kangaroos in the mix ? Roo 1 is from Kalbarri, roo 2 from the Kennedy Range, and roo 3 to 5 from Cape Range.

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Last edited by Hallu on Tue 18 Jun, 2013 6:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Hallu]

I also still haven't identified those birds. Bird 1 was at Monkey Mia, bird 2, off in the sea near Monkey Mia, and bird 3 at Skipjack Point.

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[Clusterpod]

Top is a Singing Honeyeater, Lichenostomus virescens

Middle looks to be an Australasian Bittern, Botaurus poiciloptilus

Bottom might be a juvenile White-Faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae, or maybe not.

[Hallu]

Great thanks a lot, I'm not sure about the Australasian Bittern though as it was at sea and far from any wetland. It's at dusk, hence the yellowish colors, I think it might be a cormorant after all.

[frenchy_84]

Its not a cormorant, I think its a juvenile gannet

[Hallu]

Indeed it is, thanks.

[earthgrace]

Thanks Hallu. Amazing photographs with great wildlife shots.

Yes, the Pinnacles are pretty on a cloudy day. More crowded than I remember they used to be, but got some alone time once right after sunset. Agree with WA's overestimated walk times and difficulty.

Planning: I noticed the note about bad roads. Has anyone been to Karijini recently who might comment on taking a 2WD? No long walks hrmm, seems like we have to hunt around?? The detour to Kennedy sounds pleasant, thanks for tip.