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Six of the best national parks on the Coral Coast, Western Australia
Ningaloo Reef is famous for its opportunities to swim with whale sharks.Credit: Tourism WA
NAMBUNG NATIONAL PARK
The 1200-kilometre chunk of coastline that runs north from Perth to Exmouth is sensational driving-holiday country, with turquoise ocean on the left and orange earth and red rocks on the right. Your first wonder is only two hours out of the city where the ragged rock spires of The Pinnacles stick up from the ribbed sand of Nambung National Park like something from the Star Wars backlot. You'll ideally want to be lingering in late afternoon as long light shifts across the landscape and kangaroos emerge for a slow shuffle. August-October brings an eruption of wildflowers. See exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au
HOUTMAN ABROLHOS ISLANDS
If you have time for a 60-kilometre detour out to sea, then this scattering of 122 uninhabited islands off Geraldton will delight you with its corals, sea lions (which often swim alongside you as you snorkel) and outrageously abundant seabirds. You can dive over the site where the Batavia was shipwrecked in 1629; the Shipwreck Gallery in Geraldton displays its artefacts. There's also great fishing for snapper, grouper and coral trout. Although the islands are low-lying, peacock-hued waters and a fringe of beaches white as washing powder create sumptuous scenery, especially on a scenic flight. See visitgeraldton.com.au
KALBARRI NATIONAL PARK
There are two worthy parts to this landscape. The first is the blood-red gorges of the Murchison River, with natural rock arch Nature's Window providing one of the most splendid outlooks, although Kalbarri Skywalk on the opposite side of the gorge (and projecting over its lip) and Z-Bend Lookout are magnificent too. The coast provides a second spectacle in rugged red cliffs that rear from sapphire-hued waves. Migrating whales are often spotted in the ocean, and wedge-tailed eagles in the sky. The snoozy, pelican-flapped town of Kalbarri is a sweet spot in which to overnight. See kalbarri.org.au
SHARK BAY
The friendly dolphins of Monkey Mia are Shark Bay's best-known attraction here and the landscape relatively low and unassuming – although, like a modernist painting, a startling clash of rust-red, green and blue. Skipjack Point on Cape Peron gives you a brash eyeful of colour. What makes this landscape particularly striking, however, is the detail, such as the rock-like (but spongy) 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites of Hamelin Pool, which are among the world's most ancient life forms. You could spend a half-day walking at aptly-named Shell Beach, which runs for 70 kilometres and is piled with marvellous seashells of every pink hue and variety. See sharkbay.org
NINGALOO REEF
This spot is famous for its opportunities to swim with whale sharks, those gentle giants of the ocean that can grow 13 metres in length. It's one of the world's top wildlife encounters, but the underwater landscape ought to be more celebrated. You can wade right in off glorious beaches and find yourself amid Australia's most extensive fringing reefs. Over 300 coral species provide marvellous baroque walls of fans, plates and branches. Divers can also inspect sponge gardens, coral ridges, knobbly karst outcrops and caves, and deep cracks from which big pelagic fish and eels emerge. See australiascoralcoast.com
CAPE RANGE NATIONAL PARK
Finish your road trip with a bang in a landscape so red and raw you can almost sense its rucks and humps still being created. Charles Knife Canyon matches the landscapes of that other Wild West. From the rim of Mandu Mandu Gorge you can gaze out over the peacock palette of Ningaloo Reef. Easily accessed Yardie Creek is wonderful for its rust-red reflections, hopping wallabies and sense of tranquillity. Then there are the kilometres of white beaches lapped by improbably blue water: enough to expand both your car legs and your soul. See exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au
The writer travelled at his own expense.
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