Overview

  • Main Attractions: Kalbarri National Park, Murchison River
  • Best Time to Visit: September to November
  • Local Specialty: Seafood
  • Travelled By: Rental car
  • Cost: $$$
  • Duration of Stay: 4 days
  • Location: Western Australia

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What We Liked

Kalbarri National Park is a hiker’s paradise with easy yet adventurous trails such as ‘The Loop’ and ‘Z-Bend’.

What We Disliked

Kalbarri has the worst concentration of flies that buzz around your face incessantly.

Summary

Renowned for stunning rugged scenery, Kalbarri is a hiking and trekking hotspot. It’s nestled where the Murchison River meets the Indian Ocean, creating a striking contrast of soaring river gorges and protected swimming bays.

Kalbarri: Our Experience

 

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Kalbarri is the last pit stop on our Coral Coast road trip. Renowned for stunning rugged scenery, Kalbarri is a hiking and trekking hotspot.  It’s nestled where the Murchison River meets the Indian Ocean, creating a striking contrast of soaring river gorges and protected swimming bays.

We decide to spend our last four days hiking and trekking the beautiful Kalbarri National Park and enjoying a bit more of the Western Australian seafood delicacies.

There is so much to see and do in Kalbarri National Park. As we explore the depths and heights of the river gorges and sea cliffs, we really have to marvel at nature’s ability to carve this landscape over millions of years.

Our first day is spent driving along the coast, stopping to view and marvel at the Kalbarri gorges from several lookout points along the way. Island Rock and Natural Bridge are the best coastal cliffs among the numerous cliffs along the coast. The picture above is overlooking Island Rock.

The temperature is starting to soar around midday and it gets very uncomfortable to be walking around outdoors at this time of the day.  We have to return to our hostel to hide in the shade until the sun sets. Board games, cards and an afternoon siesta whiles our time away.

We are really getting into cooking our meals as it’s healthier and easier on the pocket. We are staying at the YHA, Kalbarri. The owners, Joe and Carol Goodwin are really friendly and help us decide what to see and do in Kalbarri. The hostel has a nice BBQ facility with wooden tables and benches outside so we take advantage of this and cook ourselves some nice Aussie snags for dinner.

 

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The Murchison River is the heart of Kalbarri and wherever you are, you can see it nearby or in the distance. It has carved its way through the town, creating a stunning landscape in its wake.

One way to view the Murchison River is to take a boat along the river and go swimming, fishing, crabbing or just enjoy the beautiful scenery. We decide to take the boat along the Murchison River and try our hand at fishing.

 

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The Murchison River gorges in the Kalbarri National Park are particularly spectacular. Its path through sandstone cliffs and out to the Indian Ocean also makes for a stunning scenic view, excellent bushwalking, hiking and trekking. The gorges have been carved over millions of years to form dramatic sandstone cliff faces which plummet into the Murchison River as it meanders towards the township of Kalbarri.

The rugged terrain and relative seclusion of the Murchison Gorge are quite amazing. Short walks or longer hiking trails provide access to lookouts along the river gorge, with the most popular ones being the Loop Walk and Z-Bend.

 

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To end the trip, we decide to try one of Joe’s recommendations for dinner – Restaurant Upstairs.

 

The following morning, we have a seven-hour drive back to Perth to catch our flight with Virgin Australia to Melbourne. It’s a long day of driving ahead of us but we have a lot of cherished memories to reflect on and reminisce about.