Yanchep National Park is staggeringly beautiful, a union of bush and wetlands that is as spectacular as it is sacred. The best way to understand its significance to First Nations communities is in the company of an Aboriginal guide. On this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, hear about how stories are told and used. Hear didgeridoo playing, and hands-on learning with traditional tools. Two national parks in one day – your next stop is Nambung National Park where you’re greeted by an ethereal moonscape. Your Pinnacles tour meanders around this collection of head-scratching limestone formations. This afternoon, Geraldton’s moving HMAS Sydney Memorial beckons.
Wave goodbye to Geraldton as you make your way to Monkey Mia, located in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shark Bay region. The colours there are so vivid, you’ll think they’re painted on, a patchwork of blues fading into powdery sand. Keep your sunnies handy at Shell Beach, a powder-white cove formed from billions of coquina bivalve shells up to 10 metres deep.
This morning, keep an eye on the shoreline for Monkey Mia’s most famous locals. Wild dolphins regularly swim into the bay, and if they decide to make an appearance, National Park Rangers will introduce you to these much-loved regulars and explain their habits and personalities. Nothing is guaranteed, of course. They are wild dolphins after all, which is part of the magic. The rest of the day is yours to spend exactly as you please. Go for a barefoot wander, find a shady spot with a view or settle in for a slow afternoon by the water. There are worse places to do absolutely nothing.
Kalbarri National Park does drama very well. Over millions of years, the Murchison River carved through the landscape, leaving behind deep gorges, red-and-white sandstone and coastal cliffs that don’t exactly do subtle. To take it all in, step out onto the Kalbarri Skywalk, which juts 25 m (82 ft) beyond the gorge rim and hangs 100 m (328 ft) above the river below. Not one for anyone scared of heights. You’ll also meet an Indigenous guide for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience and be welcomed to Country. Learn about bushfoods, medicine plants and the traditional uses of local flora, while hearing stories that reveal the region from an Aboriginal perspective.
Just when you think Western Australia has shown you every colour it has, Hutt Lagoon appears and changes the mood entirely. Depending on conditions, this famous pink lake can shift through shades from lilac to bubblegum and everything in between. From here, continue south to Perth, where your journey comes full circle. Tonight, join your Travel Director and fellow travellers for dinner and a final chance to relive the best bits from the past two weeks. There’ll be stories, laughs and probably a few “remember when” moments before the trip wraps up.
After breakfast, it’s time to say goodbye to Perth and your fellow travellers. Two weeks ago you arrived as strangers. Now, after outback landscapes, big skies, beach sunsets and more than a few memorable moments along the way, chances are you’ll be leaving with a camera full of photos and a few new friends too.
