Western Australia: A journey of epic proportions
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“It’s easy to ‘see’ country, but to truly take something away with you, you need to feel the spirit of country,” explains Darren “Capes” Capewell, owner of Wula Guda Nyinda Aboriginal Tours and a descendant of the Nhanda and Malagana people, as he tends an open fire on the beach, underneath a star-studded sky. His sage words, the culmination of generations of experience, became somewhat of a theme for my nine-day Western Australia road trip. With it, I was determined to carry away lessons from the staggeringly beautiful land and its people.
Getting there from the U.S. was an adventure all on its own, since there are no direct flights to Perth, Western Australia’s capital. Perth is ultra-modern, having experienced intense growth since the early 2000s, thanks to a boom from the oil and mining industries. Just shy of 2 million residents, it’s by far the largest city in Western Australia. After arriving in Perth, I immediately hit the road, driving north to begin the adventure (everything is spread out, so it’s essential to maximize the time). After three hours driving along the scenic Indian Ocean Drive, my first stop was Nambung National Park to see the Pinnacles. It’s estimated that the Pinnacles – which range from about 1 inch to 16 feet tall – were formed 25,000 years ago when coastal winds eroded the eons-old surrounding sand, leaving the vertical limestone pillars exposed to the elements. Strolling through the otherworldly landscape of exposed stones jutting toward the sky felt a bit like walking on another planet entirely.
It was back to the road, where a proliferation of wildflowers—kippistiana, golden wattles, wreath flowers, honey myrtle and much more—bloom from August to October, making the already gorgeous Indian Ocean Drive even more of a spectacle. On the drive, I discovered Hutt Lagoon, a brilliant pink salt lake adjacent to the coast, which was easily accessible with a little light off-roading. A high concentration of beta carotene-producing algae gives the 70-square kilometer lake its rosy hue, making it worth a stop to stretch road-weary legs and snap some photos.
After settling into a rustic Kalbarri motel, I watched the sun set at Red Bluff Beach. Surfers in wetsuits braved the gnarly crashing (and chilly) waves and locals played with their dogs in the sand. It was early to bed in order to beat the sun the next morning at Nature’s Window, a natural stone arch formed by wind erosion, at the top of a gorge in Kalbarri National Park. As the sun rose over the adjacent ridge, casting golden rays through the Window and down on the winding Murchison River below, it was clear that this was an experience worth getting up before dawn to experience. The variegated reds of the sandstone changed colors before my eyes as the sun’s position changed, and the valley came alive with wallabees and black swans searching for their morning meals.
Properly fueled with an Aussie “brekkie” of avocado toast and a flat white, I hit the road again, bound for Shark Bay, a 2.2 million-hectare World Heritage area. After three hours in the car, the brilliant aqua-blue of the Indian Ocean was a welcome sight, made even more dramatic by the Stromatolites. The 2,000- to 3,000-year-old “living fossils” are made by single-celled cyanobacteria, a microbe commonly called “blue-green algae” that thrives in the ultra-salty (hypersaline) water at Hamelin Pool. Some of these modern stromatolites are up to a meter tall and are carefully protected, though visitors are able to see them from above, thanks to a specially constructed viewing platform jutting out into the ocean.
Next up: a two-hour drive to Monkey Mia Reserve and the aptly named “Dolphin Resort.” The quaint oceanfront property’s marquee attraction are the bottlenose dolphin pods that frequent the crystalline waters. I made a split-second decision to kayak at dusk and was rewarded with an up-close look at the playful marine mammals, chattering and leaping. That evening, I met our guide, “Capes,” by the beach for his Aboriginal Dreaming Tour. He played the trance-inducing didgeridoo around an acacia wood-stoked fire, and shared his own experiences with living in this exquisite and rugged part of Australia.
The next day, it was off to the coastal farming and fishing town of Carnarvon, four hours north. We hopped on a massive fishing charter boat, with the hope of spotting a humpback whale or two. The Indian Ocean created a dramatic stage for a stellar performance: We followed the scene of a mother with her newborn calf as they outran two virile males vying for her attention, and then watched as a group of five adults breached and rolled in the cool waves. It was surreal to be within 30 feet of such a majestic display.
On a roll from the dolphins and humpbacks, the next day we went farther north to Coral Bay, a relatively short 2 ½-hour drive. There, we met up with marine ecologist and boat skipper Frazer McGregor of Coastal Adventure Tours. After suiting up in a (needed) wetsuit, I was ready. Though the day’s objective was swimming with massive manta rays, Ningaloo Reef is teeming with all sorts of spectacular marine life. First, our group snorkeled with reef sharks, sea turtles and fish. Thanks to a spotter aircraft above, Captain Frazer knew just where a 10-foot wide ray was swimming. On his cue, we hopped into the water, and watched the massive manta glide effortlessly beneath us. The outing had even more surprises, thanks to a dugong spotting and the chance to swim above a 12-foot-long tiger shark. The beauty of the turquoise water, the up-close experiences with some of nature’s elusive sea life and the team’s clear passion for conservation made the day a highlight.
For the final big drive (eight hours), it was inland and north to iron ore country and Karijini National Park in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The often-desolate highways made it clear why outback road trippers must be prepared with water, supplies and ample fuel: from the Nanutarra Roadhouse, it was four hours to the park, without passing any other outposts. The paved straightaways gave way to labyrinthine gravel roads and the flat landscape became mountainous, as we arrived at the Karijini Eco Retreat for “glamping” in eco tents. While the retreat has modern conveniences like hot water, en suite bathrooms, cozy fleece-topped mattresses, Aussie-produced wine and chef-driven fare, the main attractions are the magnificent gorges and their waterfalls. I hiked Joffre, Hammersley and Hancock, each special in its own right, before discovering Weano Gorge and its crown jewel, Handrail Pool. The careful hike down the Class 5 trail, complete with inching across boulders and squeezing through narrow passageways, was worth the reward of seeing the peaceful, cathedral-like circular pool surrounded by towering red-purple stone. That night, the sky exploded like Australian-mined opals, taking on peach, pink, gold and even red as the sun dipped below the ridges, giving way to a blanket of stars with the Milky Way as the centerpiece.
Instead of backtracking down the coast by car, a two-hour flight from Paraburdoo brought me back to Perth for the last bucket list checkpoint: a visit to Rottnest Island, 20 kilometers off the coast of Fremantle. Though a ferry runs back and forth, an extra adrenaline shot can be found on a six-seater Piper plane, flown by the pilots at Rottnest Air Taxi. One of the main attractions on the 7.3-square mile island (aside from shopping, restaurants and watersports) are the abundant quokkas (a small marsupial), which have a slightly rat-like appearance. Rat resemblance notwithstanding, they are adorable and used to their human visitors, inspiring guests to indulge in a “quokka selfie” quest.
This Western Australia road trip was many things – adventure, of course, but it was also a study in delightful juxtapositions. The hard and untamed landscape is home to warm, jovial people, who are only too happy to share their homeland with visitors. There was world-class cuisine in remote places, a well-made cup of coffee in tiny towns, delicate butterflies fluttering over jagged rocks, and a proliferation of painterly wildflowers among outback dust. For me on this epic road trip, taking the road less traveled was well worth the effort.
Story from The 2017 Toyota Camry.
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