Nature’s Window, The Skywalk & A Pink Lake: How To Spend An Epic Weekend In Kalbarri
With the devastation of Cyclone Seroja earlier in the year (mostly) in the rear view mirror and the weather warming up, there’s no better time to head to Kalbarri than right now. This stunning section of WA’s Coral Coast has been welcoming visitors back for a few months now, and if you’re yet to make the trip please read on below for a little itinerary on how to enjoy it over a couple of days.
Pre-planning
Kalbarri is a very do-able 6-7 hour drive from Perth, so to make the most of your trip we suggest taking the Friday or Monday off work either side of a weekend to give you a couple of days to do some serious exploring. You’ll also need to make sure you sort your accommodation ahead of time, along with booking any tours you’ve got your eye on ahead of time. The Australia’s Coral Coast website is an excellent resource for both, offering plenty of info on – and the ability to book – accomm and tours, along with food and drink if you’re looking to dine out.
Departure
For the sake of this itinerary we’ll embark on Friday early morning, giving us plenty of time to get to Kalbarri before sundown and even a couple of sneaky stop overs along the beautiful Coral Coast. Pull into Jurien Bay or Lancelin for a sneaky lunch, otherwise go all the way through to Geraldton and stock up on supplies before heading onwards to Kalbarri.
Accommodation
There’s a variety of different accommodation types around Kalbarri, ranging from plenty of non-powered camping sites and humble beach cottages right up to resort-style living by the pool. There’s even a few station stays, and regardless of what you’re after your best starting point is the Stay & Sleep section of the Australia’s Coral Coast website, and booking ahead is essential!
Day 1 (Morning)
We don’t have a lot of time so lets maximise it with an early start and get the ball rolling inland while it’s still a bit cooler at Kalbarri’s unofficial big three: The Murchison River, Kalbarri Skywalk and of course, Nature’s Window. Make a beeline for the latter around sunrise if you’re game, you’ll beat the crowds and get some stunning photos of this natural rock window overlooking the Murchison River.
If you’ve got your walking boots on you can tackle The Loop Trail from Nature’s Window, but it will take a few hours, so we’d recommend getting a wriggle on to Kalbarri’s stunning Skywalk. There you’ll experience unparalleled views of the Murchison River gorge along the 17m and 25m platforms extending out over the cliff face.
If you’re game for a bit more exploring, the Murchison River snakes its way through Kalbarri National Park and features plenty of great lookouts and walking trails to explore. The Z-Bend Lookout and Trail (2.6km return) is a challenging and impressive hike to tackle, as is the 6km Four Ways Trail.
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Day 1 (Afternoon)
All of this exploring deserves a cool off, and Blue Holes is a beautiful, protected beach close to town that’s excellent for a spot of snorkelling and swimming. Jakes Point is a little further south of town and is a popular surfing spot for experienced board riders, although there is a fun little novice wave closer to shore to muck around on with the kids.
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Further south of Kalbarri and it’s time to find ourselves the perfect sunset spot, and you’re spoilt for choice with a number of great lookouts and trails offering breathtaking coastal cliff views. One of these lookouts is Natural Bridge, which is also the start of the Bigurda Trail. From Natural Bridge you can follow a boardwalk to Island Rock. If you have time, you can continue on the rest of the Bigurda Trail: about 8kms in total, it will take you all the way to Eagle Gorge along the cliff’s edge.
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Further along the coastline is the Mushroom Rock to Rainbow Valley Walking trail, Red Bluff Lookout and Pot Alley, where a walking trail winds its way down to a small secluded beach (swimming is not recommended here); and it’s also a great spot to watch the sun set over the ocean.
Alternatively the absolute best possible sunset views are those taken in form the air, and Kalbarri Scenic Flights runs a pretty darn spectacular helicopter flight at 4pm (although you can hit them up for special requests). Track the coastal cliffs and river gorges of Kalbarri National Park from above, or get the best view of Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake.
A big day like this means you’ll be pretty gassed and probably rather hungry. Outside of cooking your own meals, Kalbarri has a few nice options for dining out but as with accommodation, always check and book ahead where possible. Finlay’s sweet, sweet combo of outdoor seafood restaurant and brewery definitely hits the spot after a busy day’s trekking!
Day 2 (Morning)
After no doubt passing out very early, it shouldn’t be too hard to pack up nice and early hit the road so you’re not arriving back to Perth too late. Seeing as you’re up early, if you’ve got the gear (and some idea), Kalbarri boasts some of WA’s best shore and boat angling, with tailor, mulloway, gardie and Samson fish all common off the beach, with whiting, black bream and blue swimmer crabs in the estuary.
Further south you can stop in at Horrocks Beach, a great family beach with sheltered waters great for a quick swim, or if you want to stay a while some fishing, surfing, diving, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, kitesurfing and windsurfing. During the warmer months a pontoon is moored for swimmers to enjoy and the jetty is popular for fishing and squidding.
From there make sure to take a slight detour down Port Gregory Road or George Grey Drive and check out the Pink Lake (Hutt Lagoon) at Port Gregory. The pink is caused by a carotenoid-producing algae and the colour of the lake changes depending on both the time of day and season. It’s best viewed from Port Gregory Road around midday.
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So there you have it, start planning your Kalbarri adventure today at the Australia’s Coral Coast website.