With 10,000km of coastline, West Australia punches well above its weight when it comes to remote, natural wonders. The state’s 60 national parks are home to many of the state’s abundant natural treasures, many of them smack in the heart of Australia’s Coral Coast.

Kalbarri National Park

Almost 600km north of Perth, the Kalbarri region sits at the junction where the Murchison River meets the Indian Ocean. Soaring coastal cliffs, river and coastal gorges, protected swimming bays and superb walking/hiking trails are the main attractions of Kalbarri National Park.

Kalbarri Highlights

1. Explore Kalbarri National Park: covering over 186,000 hectares, the National Park offers hiking of varying difficulties, canoeing, kayaking and abseiling tours. One of the most iconic sites in the National Park is Nature’s Window, which marks the start of ‘The Loop’, an 8km Grade-4 trail. The National Park is home to many native animals, including the rare Rock Wallaby, as well as over 1,000 wildflowers during season (July – September).

2. Hike the National Park’s Coastal Cliffs along the Bigurda Trail: this trail takes walkers along an 8km (one-way) stretch of coastal cliffs, linking ‘Eagle Gorge’ to the ‘Natural Bridge’. It’s a relatively easy walk featuring stunning views along the cliffs and across the Indian Ocean, and we recommend the best time as late-winter to late-spring. Walkers have the option to do the 16km round-trip walk, arrange a car-shuttle, or plan ahead and lock a bike up at the Natural Bridge carpark to cycle (along bitumen road) back to their starting point.

3. Swim in the Blue Holes, a natural aquarium created by rock pools which form part of an inshore coastal limestone reef. It’s a popular swimming and snorkelling spot.

4. Join a quad bike tour along Kalbarri’s Wagoe Beach on a guided quad bike or beach buggy tour to see this spectacular coastline, with its magnificent sand dunes and wildlife.

Quad Biking along Wagoe Beach in Kalbarri. Credit Australia’s Coral Coast

Shark Bay World Heritage Area

One of two UNESCO World Heritage Areas on the Coral Coast, Shark Bay has an abundance of world-class natural attractions. Here, you can see the oldest living fossils on Earth, the Hamelin Pool Stromatolites and famous shell beach where beach is made of tiny shite shells that are many metres deep. Enjoy the antics of wild inquisitive dolphins that come into the shallows each dat at Monkey Mia. Explore Francois Peron National Park where red desert sands meet a turquoise ocean and discover the region through the eyes of the first people on an indigenous-operated 4WD or camping tour. Camp on Dirk Hartog Island and keep an eye out for one of the 10,000 dugongs which inhabit Shark Bay, feasting on seagrass habitats.

Shark Bay Highlights

1. Explore Francois Peron National Park where you can hire a 4WD to explore the Park yourself, or join one of the guided 4WD or kayaking tours. Darren ‘Capes’ Capewell runs Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures is an iconic and unforgettable experience in the National Park. The National Park is a place of immense ecological and cultural significance to the region’s first people, so joining a tour with Capes allows visitors to gain invaluable insight and perspective into this magical place. He offers full day Kayaking & Wildlife Tours and 4WD tours.

2. Discover Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia’s largest and most western Island and the site of the first recorded landing of Australian soil by the Dutch: it’s possible to visit on day trips or to join a tour to the Island, but there is also an Eco Lodge and camp sites for those who want to spend a little longer and really ‘disconnect’ and settle into Island life. There are an abundance of self-guided nature walks, blowholes, beaches to swim, snorkel or stand-up paddleboard, seasonal whale watching from the coast, and rugged rocky terrain, soft sand dunes and tracks perfect for 4WD-ing.

3. Go heli-snorkelling at the Hamelin Pool Stromatolites or heli-fishing with Coral Coast Helicopter Services

Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area

The Ningaloo World Heritage area is an adventure, nature and marine lovers paradise! The region is home to Cape Range National Park and world-heritage listed Ningaloo Reef. Ningaloo Reef is Australia’s largest fringing reef, and one of the largest in the world. The town of Carnarvon, known as Western Australia’s food bowl, is at the southern end of Ningaloo, with the coastline stretching north of Carnarvon home to Blowholes, natural aquariums to snorkel in, and sprawling coastal stations where people can camp and eco-camp. The other two towns in the Ningaloo region are Coral Bay, named due to the beautiful coral gardens lying just metres from shore and a must-visit location for nature and water lovers, and Exmouth, the northern gateway to Ningaloo where it’s all about the (Ningaloo) Reef and the Range (Cape Range National Park) for water and land-based adventures.

Ningaloo Coast Highlights

1. Swim with the marine ‘big 3’: whale sharks, humpback whales and manta rays

2. Snorkel on the Ningaloo Reef, encountering hundreds of tropical fish and other marine life such as turtles. Stretching 300km along the coastline, there is an abundance of snorkelling spots to choose for a range of snorkelling experiences, including drift snorkelling

3. Kayak on the Ningaloo Reef, with options to join half, full or multi-day tours

4. Dive the Ningaloo Reef and at nearby locations such as the Muiron Islands or Exmouth’s Navy Pier, which has been voted in Australia’s top 10 dive sites

5. Go hiking in Cape Range National Park, particularly Mandu Mandu Gorge and Yardi Creek, but other must-see locations in the Park include Shothole Canyon and Charles Knife Canyon

6. Take a microlite flight over Cape Range National Park and Ningaloo Reef to marvel at this pristine wilderness from the air

All of these West Australian attractions are connected by the Coral Coast Highway, which stretches 1,250km north from Perth to Exmouth. To experience the full length of the road trip we recommend at least 2 weeks, however many people will drive from Perth to Kalbarri for a long weekend, or fly between Perth and Shark Bay, or Perth and Exmouth.