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Post Info TOPIC: W.A. North Coast, advice on the "must do" destinations
vince56


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W.A. North Coast, advice on the "must do" destinations
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Hi All,

We are doing a "half lap" from Melbourne to Darwin to Perth around end April next year for three months, never been to North West W.A. and would be appreciative of advice on the really worthwhile areas to see between the NT and Perth.

We are happy to free camp, our van is semi off road so can't go too gnarly in the bush, your thoughts please.



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Whenarewethere


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Purnululu NP (don't miss Echidna Gorge about 10am), Karijini NP (including Hamersley Gorge), Francois Peron NP (let tyres down is a must).



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Mackayak


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Will be keeping a eye on this as in WA at the moment and going over the top next year. Phone reception in a lot of WA is patchy so if this is important my need to look at things to help. Also a WA NP person has told me up the top of WA optuse is the main service as they put in the towers for free but telstra wanted a lot of money for each tower. Safe travels

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Possum3


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The entire north-west of Australia is a fabulous place to visit - from Lake Argyle to Geraldton every little Bay, Village, Ghost Town and settlement. One could spend six months finding little gems and spectacular sights. One place to try and fit in is St John of God Church - The pearl church, once seen never forgotten.

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Meredith


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Thats a huge area with an awful lot to see. Some of the top spots I would suggest you don't miss include -
Lake Argyle
At least some of the Gibb River road, if you don't want to drive it all then any on road vehicle can get to El Questro including Emma Gorge from Kununurra and to Tunnel Creek/Windjana Gorge from the Derby end.
Purnululu National Park (the Bungles)
Eighty Mile Beach
Karijini National Park
Ningaloo Reef area especially Cape Range National Park out of Exmouth and Coral Bay
Kalbarri National Park

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Meredith


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RE: W.A. North Coast, advice on the "must do" destinations
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Mackayak wrote:

Will be keeping a eye on this as in WA at the moment and going over the top next year. Phone reception in a lot of WA is patchy so if this is important my need to look at things to help. Also a WA NP person has told me up the top of WA optuse is the main service as they put in the towers for free but telstra wanted a lot of money for each tower. Safe travels

 Our experience is that Telstra is better in this area except for a couple of small spots.   We have 1 phone with Telstra and 1 with Optus and we definitely used the Telstra more in this area as is the case in most of Australia.

 



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yobarr


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Mackayak wrote:

Will be keeping a eye on this as in WA at the moment and going over the top next year. Phone reception in a lot of WA is patchy so if this is important my need to look at things to help. Also a WA NP person has told me up the top of WA optuse is the main service as they put in the towers for free but telstra wanted a lot of money for each tower. Safe travels

 Coverage maps. Make your own decisions!

93DB1989-075E-402F-A83E-C39D0F3743D5.png3E1398FD-90EE-4031-A52B-DE485F5AE400.png



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hufnpuf


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As mentioned by Meredith, Ningaloo Reef. You can go on boats out of Coral Bay or Exmouth. I like Exmouth. They have boats to see whales or whale sharks (depending on the time of the year, I think April is too early for whales, but there could be whale sharks) and they have glass-bottom boats where you can look at the "critters" on the reef, corals and turtles (if you're lucky), fish. Also there's a boat that goes up Yardie Creek and that is a beautiful place. You can also walk along the cliff if you want to.
Coral Bay is also pretty, it's small and quite expensive because it's seasonal, but if you stay in the parks there, you can just walk about to the beach, whereas in Exmouth you need a car to get about.
Either place, you need to book in advance. It's limited in sites, and you can't just camp outside designated camping places.

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gold dandelion


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No one mentioned, Red Bluff, and Gnaraloo Bay, turn off at the blowholes just North of Carnarvon. as good a bay as you'll see, can camp at Quobba, the Blowholes or Red Bluff. Sneak a look at Cape Cuvier, drive down the private road, very pictorious.

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peter67


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And while in the Kimberley you should do the gap at Horizontal Falls, traditional owners are in the process of getting it closed to boaters.

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Whenarewethere


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Our neighbours did the cruise from Broome to Darwin & liked the Horizon Falls.

 

Our pockets are not as deep, plenty of other things to see in the area along Gibb River Road.

 

(Make sure you have TPMS & tyre repair kit)



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vince56


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Thanks All, some great info there!

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The Belmont Bear


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Vince we got home about 6 weeks  ago from doing a lap starting here in Lake Macquarie we headed in an anti clockwise direction and we were in that area at the same time of year that you are planning. There were some places on the north coast of WA that we just didnt bother with as they have become so expensive in peak times and hard to even get into  like the east coast everyone heads north between April and October.. We actually lived in the Pilbara in the 80s for 3 years so we had been to a lot a places before but back in those days they were much quieter. We were told not to do the Gibb River Road while were there as it was in poor condition due to flooding and you probably need to make that call when you get there. The main highway was closed at Fitzroy Crossing  just a day or 2 after we crossed over using a temporary low level bridge so we were lucky to even get through. Going in the anti clockwise direction there was a lot less traffic going the same way but from Broome all the way down to the Margaret River it was always windy and it always seemed to be in our face probaly used 25% more fuel than we would have have going the other way.. Heading to WA from Kathryne we stayed a night at the Timber Creek Roadhouse I would strongly recomend that you dont do that unless you like the deafening noise (all night), the smell and everything you have being covered in bat droppings - stay at the Victoria River Roadhouse or find a freecamp. If you intend to stay in popular tourist places like Broome, Exmouth, Coral Bay make sure that you book well ahead or be prepared to look for free camps and even the more popular of those will be crowded. I wont advise you on the best places to visit as your interests will be different from what ours were which wasnt going to the popular attractions but more to visit some of our old haunts..

We were actually surprised with just how much coverage we had with Tesltra obviously we did lose signal in remote areas when driving but only until we came within range of the next tower. We both have Telstra prepaid phones and use a Telstra 4Gx prepaid WIFI modem and didnt really have an issue with coverage. Probably if you start getting of the main road the story will be a whole lot different.

BB

 

 

 

 



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hufnpuf


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The Belmont Bear wrote:

We were told not to do the Gibb River Road while were there as it was in poor condition due to flooding and you probably need to make that call when you get there. The main highway was closed at Fitzroy Crossing  just a day or 2 after we crossed over using a temporary low level bridge so we were lucky to even get through.

 The government publishes traffic problems on this main roads "travel map" which I found useful

https://travelmap.mainroads.wa.gov.au/Home/Map



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woolman


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Karajini is my favourite spot in Australia. Need to spend a week or so there as every George is different.

 

Neil 



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Whenarewethere


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If I had to choose one place in WA it would be Karijini NP.

 

Bluff Knoll is worth it but about 600 vertical metres from memory, we were there when there was a hint of snow (look up Bluff Knoll cloud waterfall).

 

Another nice place is Python Pool if you drive the public road from or to Karijini. The public road is perfectly ok if you drive a bit slower & let your tyres down a bit.

 

Burrup Peninsula is worth a look.

 

Not to forget The Pinnacles & white sand dunes a bit further south.



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The Belmont Bear


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Whenarewethere wrote:

If I had to choose one place in WA it would be Karijini NP.

 

Bluff Knoll is worth it but about 600 vertical metres from memory, we were there when there was a hint of snow (look up Bluff Knoll cloud waterfall).

 

Another nice place is Python Pool if you drive the public road from or to Karijini. The public road is perfectly ok if you drive a bit slower & let your tyres down a bit.

 

Burrup Peninsula is worth a look.

 

Not to forget The Pinnacles & white sand dunes a bit further south.

In August we stayed in Karatha for 10 days and used it as a base to visit some old haunts like The Mermaid Hotel in Dampier, Mobys Seafood restaurant at Pt Samson, Cossack, Etc. We did a day trip out to the Millstream/Chichester NP using the sealed road from the coast at Karatha, it was a pleasant surprise from what it was when we lived there 40 years ago in those days it was all dirt and only used by the railway service crews. The historic Millstream Homestead inside the park is free to wander though its interesting especially the map above the fireplace which was drawn by a young kid in the 1920s when is was an active cattle and sheep station - love his added comments. The homestead is a lot different today from what it was in the early 80s back then it was a tavern and there was nothing better than siting on the verandah enjoying a pub meal and a cold beer. There was also a really good walk that you could do down to the creek through lush vegetation with lots of wildlife but when we tried to retrace it had all overgrown and the path was roped off. The Deep Reach swimming hole just down from the homestead is well maintained with good facilities, you can camp near the homestead theres no power and I'm not sure if there is drinkable water but there are fire places and toilets - you have to pay ($10/car concession) to enter the NP. Python Pool is on the old main road out to Wittenoom from near Roebourne its easier to get to it from the other end where that road joins the sealed road about 30kms before you get to the Millstream NP gate. The people at the info centre in Karathha warned us that the section of dirt road back to Python can get pretty rough depending on when it was last graded but it wasnt too bad. I thought you could come into the Millstream/Chichester NP using the sealed road from the Tom Price/Karijini end but as we never went past Millstream I cant be sure if its sealed all the way or not. 

BB



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