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7 Top Places to Visit North of Western Australia

Home > Geraldton > Lists | Free | Family | Beaches | Places of Interest
by finy (subscribe)
A retired business owner, my passions are cooking, photography and eating. I use all three of these when I write for recipeyum.com.au which is on HubGarden
Published March 9th 2018
Make sure you see some of these places up North
There is so much to see and do up North in Western Australia, and this is a list of the top seven things that you could choose to do while visiting these areas. Some of the places in this list are not well known and are often "off the beaten track", but well worth the trip.

Western Australia is such a big place, and even though distances in between towns can be huge, the North of WA has some extremely stunning places which are both interesting and diverse.

1. NINGALOO REEF
This is one place that is fantastic for very many reasons, and one which every tourist and local should visit at least once!

Ningaloo is a World Heritage-listed reef and is internationally recognised as one of the last great ocean paradises.

It is located in what is known as the "Gascoyne region" and is close to the towns of Exmouth and Coral Bay. It is approximately 300 kilometres long and is the largest fringing coral reef in the world.

The beauty of this reef is that you can access it just metres from the beach and this is something that is very rare for a coral reef. The waters are a beautiful clear turquoise and you can just snorkel and see the wonderful coral sites of Exmouth's Cape Range National Park or Coral Bay where you will also swim with hundreds of colourful tropical reef fish species.

By SYPulau - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28917426


From March to August, you are able to see whale sharks and swim with these sharks at both Exmouth and Coral Bay, and you can then see the huge diversity of marine wildlife in these pristine waters.

2. MONKEY MIA
This is a place that, although I have lived in Western Australia the majority of my life, I have not yet been to, but it sounds enchanting!

With resident bottlenose dolphins who come up to the water's edge to be fed, this must surely be a wonderful experience to partake in!

Monkey Mia is one of Western Australia's most famous dolphin watching destinations and is well known throughout the world for the calm bay and friendly dolphins.

It is located 25 kilometres from the town of Denham in the Shark Bay World Heritage area, and the rangers select a handful of visitors to actually feed the dolphins each morning.

You will see them leap in the air, frolic in the water and I believe it is the most amazing sight watching these playful animals.

In this area, you also have beautiful beaches and four-wheel drive trips, excellent fishing, as well as camel rides and more.

You can fly there from Perth in two hours, otherwise if you drive, it takes about a day, and you are then free to tour the areas.

3. LAKE THETIS STROMATOLITES
This is a not so well known attraction and features the picturesque Lake Thetis with its remarkable Stromatolites.

The lake is about 1.2 kilometres and the stromatolites, which are the earth's oldest living life form, are at the south-western edge of this lake.

By Fvanrenterghem - Own work, CC BY 3.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9065853


This is also in the area of the Pinnacles Desert, a unique series of rock formations which are fascinating to see.

Lake Thetis is near the town of Cervantes, and Cervantes is about a three-hour drive north of Perth.

4. STOCKYARD GULLY CAVES
These are situated at Cockleshell Gully Road, Leeman, which is three hours northeast of Perth, and a short drive from Coorow, Jurien Bay or Green Head.

Stockyard Gully National Park has a group of caves which are not well known like all the other West Australian caves, and these limestone caves lead to an underwater river system.

Stockyard Gully National Park


The largest of these caves is about 300 metres long and has a sandy floor. The smaller caves are not quite as easy to get around and great for those with a sense of adventure!

This area requires a four-wheel drive vehicle to reach the car parks, however you will need to find out more about this before you go.

5. SHELL BEACH
Shell Beach is reached via Shark Bay Road, Denham, and is about a 45-minute drive from Denham. You can fly from Perth to Denham or it takes about a day to drive there.

This beach has billions of tiny shells, hence its name of "Shell Beach" and is in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is for swimming, relaxing and Shell Beach is amongst just a handful of places where there are only shells instead of the usual sand.

By Brian W. Schaller - Own work, FAL,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30828388


The beach goes for about 100 kilometres with shells between seven and ten metres deep! It is unique as these shells are from just one type of animal and many years ago, these shells were collected and made into blocks for several of the Denham historic buildings.

6. BLOWHOLES AND POINT QUOBBA
This is a natural formation situated just 75 kilometres north of Carnarvon along a bitumen road, and this is a striking sight to see.

The powerful ocean swells make the water rush through natural sea caves and then up the narrow holes in the rocks. When this happens, strong streams of water wash up into the air, often as high as 20 metres, and this creates a spectacular sight.

By Travel & Shit from Brighton, UK - Blowholes, Quobba Point, Western Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39999899


In the same area and only one kilometre south of the blowholes is Point Quobba, which is a peaceful coral filled lagoon with heaps of fish and unusual shells.

The sands of this beach are a beautiful white and this area is perfect for snorkelling, swimming, and generally a great family picnic and camping spot.

This coast is quite serene, however, it can get dangerous as it has large swells that could turn into king waves.

7. ROSE LAKE (DIRK HARTOG)
Rose Lake is a striking sight and is actually a pink lake - it is on Dirk Hartog Island and is a UNESCO World Heritage Shark Bay Area. Here there is bush-walking, four-wheel-driving, fishing and camping.

You can take a four-wheel-drive to the Island aboard a barge that does this trip five times a day from Blackie's Beach on Steep Point, which is seven hour's drive from Denham.

You can also do full-day guided tours by plane from Denham, where you'll get to see Rose Lake on the four-wheel-drive tour to Dampier's Landing. You could also access these flights from Monkey Mia and Carnarvon.

The story goes that Rose Lake's unusual colour is brought about by the salt-loving bacteria that thrives in extremely high levels of salinity, and this is truly an awesome sight, most unusual, and well worth the time it takes to get there!

So, while you are in this gorgeous part of Western Australia, make sure you visit as many of these places as possible as all are truly magnificent and unusual.

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Why? For some unusual places to go north of WA
Where: North of Perth, WA
Cost: Mostly free
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