Kalbarri to Perth

After leaving Shark Bay we began the run into Perth. Our first stop was Kalbarri and was also where the bad weather started which would haunt us for the next 2 weeks.

The drive into Kalbarri through the Kalbarri National Park.

The river mouth.

The afternoon and night on the day we arrived the "Zest Festival" just so happened to be on. It is a festival in rememberance of the several Dutch ship wrecks that occurred along this coastline in the 1700's. The locals held a re-enactment on the beach/jetty just inside the river mouth. 

The bonfire was very welcome as the cold weather swept in.

The next day we continued south and luckily had some fine weather for the morning. We took the coast road through the national park and checked out several of the marked locations to view the "Kalbarri Cliffs".

Once out of the park and a bit further south we reached "Port Gregory" which is just a small fishing town. The highlight was the incredible pink lake that surrounded the town. The photo below has not been enhanced and althought it looks like a photoshop experiment it is a true representation of the colour. 

The lake is part of the salt farm and the colour is from high levels of beta-carotene (a harmless and cancer fighting algae) that naturally occurs and thrives in the conditions. You swear your eyes are playing tricks on you but they're not. Pretty cool!

From here we made our way through the Chapman Valley to Getaldton. The weather continued to get worse and further south along the entire WA coast the winds were even stronger so we decided to bunker down for a couple of nights and wait for it to pass (hopefully). After one night in the tent with no sleep due to the car swaying side to side and feeling like we were in a cyclone, we decided to get a cabin for the second night. 

The Lighthouse in Getaldton. 

After two nights and one day sitting inside several coffee shops and Internet cafes, we continued south into the horrible weather. We didn't get out of the car too often or take many photos but from what I could tell the section of coast from here all the way to Perth was pretty uninspiring anyway so we didn't miss much. 

Dynamite Bay, Green Head. 

Our next camping spot was Jurien Bay (above). After one night of rain we woke to blue skies finally. Not much happening in this town. As with pretty much all of the towns along this stretch of coast, they are sleepy fishing towns and the beaches seem ok but were all covered in stinking sea grass.

After leaving Jurien Bay we headed south to "Cerventes" ( another sleepy fishing town). Just out if town lies the "Nambung National Park". The major feature within the park are "The Pinnacles Desert". It consists of pillar like rock formations sticking out of the sand.

The Pinnacles Desert drive below. 

With view down to the ocean this was an amazing drive through the rock formations.

A bit further south but still in the nation park we came to one if many small shack villages that line the coastline. 

More sea grass. 

The shacks.

Lancelin.

After finally making our way to Perth we spent 4 nights/3 days enjoying an apartment and city luxuries. After months mostly camping we certainly needed a break. We didn't get that many photos of Perth as we wanted a break from the cameras too but here a couple we managed to get.

We hired a bike for a day and rode around South Perth and through Kings Park to the botanic gardens. Although neither of us like to be in large cities for too long, we both loved Perth. 

The botanic gardens. 

Whilst in Perth we went to the Casino twice and had mixed luck and also went out for dinner with my long lost second cousin Karren which was a great night.

Shark Bay - Monkey Mia - Francois Peron NP - Steep Point

Our next destination along the WA coast was the "Shark Bay World Heritage Area" which included Monkey Mia, Francois Peron National Park, and Steep Point (Australia's most westerly point).

The entire Shark Bay Area consists of two peninsula's, several large "prongs", and Dirk Hartog Island. 

Our first destination was Monkey Mia which is half way up the first peninsula, directly north east of Denham, which is just south of the entrance to Francois Peron National Park.

 

There isn't much at Monkey Mia other than a caravan park/resort situated inside a local reserve (more money). The major drawcard is the daily dolphin feeding which is pretty famous these days.

And cold beer at the bar!

The beach in front of the resort.

We only stayed one night so that morning we headed down to the water for the Dolphin feeding. Right on cue around 18 dolphins showed up and started herding bait fish into the shallows.

After about 20 mins the staff began the feeding which is tightly controlled. Only 6 fish for a specific 5 dolphins which they had to identify.

Out of the 100 odd people on the beach Kristy was lucky enough to be picked out of the crowd to feed one of the Dolphins. Unfortunately I didn't realise it would only be one fish and missed the photo but the photo below was taken moments after. 

Busy spot. 

The caravan park only had walk in camp spots available so we basically camped in the parking lot which wasn't too bad. 

Later that morning we continued north to Francois Peron National Park.  

The road into and out of Monkey Mia above. About 20km west you reach the turn off to the National Park. 

This was another stunning drive through red sand tracks and dry lakes.

A bunch of baby Emus following mum up the road. The wildlife around this area was amazingly abundant.

At the top of the 60km track is Skipjack Point.

Down a small path you reach a lookout with views to the east and west. This spot is one of the most colourful places of the trip so far. Red sand dunes dropping straight down to turquoise water and white sand beaches. It was like the Simpson desert crashing into the ocean. Amazing spot.

Another 1km to the west is Cape Peron.

More of the same but even more colourful. This place is truly amazing with red sand dunes right beside white sand dunes, with the two somehow not mixing together. 

That night we camped at a spot called 'South Gregories' which is about 15km south of the Cape.

One of my regular camp dinners. My deluxe burger wrap. Consisting of a chicken schnitzel, 2 bits of bacon, one egg, and all the other usual salad, all in a wrap and drowned in tomato sauce. Yum!!

The following day we continued south back down the same track we took to the north. We took a couple of small detours past some stunning lagoons which are joined to the ocean by small creeks. The one below is 'Big Lagoon' which reminded me of 'Lake Mackenzie' on Fraser Island although it was salt water and had red sand dunes in some sections. 

'Small Lagoon' above which is joined to the bay only by the small creek below. 

Once out oqf the national park we fuelled up and headed further south. 

Emus everywhere including in the water and along the side of the road. This area is full of them!

'Eagle Bluff' above and below. This spot reminded me of the Mediterranean.   

Further south and at the bottom end of the first peninsula we reached the road to 'Steep Point' which is Australia's most westerly point on the mainland. I was expecting some sort of sign saying Steep Point but it didn't exist. It almost seemed like they didn't want us to know where it was.

The road to Steep Point was just as stunning as the rest of Shark Bay and even better. 

And in case you get any ideas, make sure you learn the local laws. Haha

Pretty sure the sign once said "shooting" but who knows. Lol

About 110km along the road we reached the 4x4 only section which was the last 30km of the track to Steep Point. This section made its way up and down and through some of the biggest sand dunes I have ever seen. Loved it!

After crossing about 20km of dunes we popped up over a hill and were met by another amazing view. A perfect white sand bay with crystal clear water looking across to Dirk Hartog Island.

This bay is where we camped for 3 nights, right beside the rocky outcrop to the right of the photo.

A further 10km along more stunning coastline and we reached Steep Point. Photo below.

We made it! Most westerly point of Australia.... Tick!

The track between the point and our camp site at Shelter Bay was incredible. Some of the most prestine beaches we had ever seen. The one in the 4 photos below is on our short list of the best in the country so far. 

Our campsite above. WA just keeps delivering!

For 3 days we explored the area and chilled out on the beach. Steep point is said to have the best land based game fishing in the county and possibly the world. We watched these two guys try and land a snapper from about 15m above the water. They snapped the line. 

The guys below had a better spot (only about 7-8 metres above the water) and the day before we arrived landed a 6ft Sailfish straight off the rocks. We spend a half day fishing from these rocks and saw sharks, dolphins, turtles, whales, and two resident gropers swimming around right beside the rocks. 

We had no floats left so we had to use Kristy's thongs. 

It worked and Kristy caught her first decent fish. Dinner!!!!

Another short drive from our camp site (5km south west across the peninsular) are these huge cliffs.

Very rugged coastline!

The track heading east back to our camp.

Fishing from the rocks in front of our camp. 

The beach!

Fresh fish for dinner.

Part of the track heading back to the bitumen. After not knowing a whole lot about this area, it is by far (in my opinion) one of the best places of the trip so far. The whole area is a proposed national park so I hope it doesn't get ruined by bitumen roads one day. Some places need to be left untouched and for the more adventurous. It is a far more rewarding experience this way.