As a surfing family of four, this trip has been on our bucket list for a long time. Kyal grew up around Perth and spent his childhood frequenting the surf breaks around Margaret River. As a family, we were keen to explore the coastline north of Perth, all the way up to Exmouth. We set off for four months at the start of May for a huge trip primarily exploring the coast between the Margaret River region, all the way up to Exmouth.
Margaret River
As a surfing family we were so keen to head to Margaret River for the WSL event. Our kids absolutely loved seeing all their favourite pro surfers in real life, including two from our local boardriders – Molly Picklum and Joel Vaughn. Here we based ourselves at Prevelly Caravan park, which is in a great location walking distance to the surf and a great park for kids. We spent a lot of time at main break enjoying the surf, but some other highlights for us included Jewel Caves, Beer Farm for a great meal and plenty of space for the kids to run around, and Yallingup Mini Golf.
Rottnest Island
No WA Coast trip is complete without a visit to Rottnest Island. We parked the van at Woodman Point Discovery Park and caught the ferry over to Rottnest Island. Here we rode bikes around the island, fished, snorkelled, went surfing at Strickland Bay and enjoyed the most amazing sunsets at Pinky’s.
Kalbarri
We loved the small coastal town vibe of Kalbarri. We explored the popular Kalbarri National Park including Nature’s Window, surfed and enjoyed some runs along the Coast. We stayed on the Red Bluff just outside of town, and even saw our first emu in the wild!
Monkey Mia
Knowing how busy Monkey Mia is as a tourist destination, we were unsure how we’d enjoy RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort. Monkey Mia, however, exceeded our expectations in terms of a beautiful ocean-front site, the most stunning sunsets and the fact that the kids could fish from sun-up till sun-down just outside the caravan.
Quobba Station – Red Bluf
The real fun began for us at Red Bluff as we finally took the Lotus Caravan off-grid. We loved Red Bluff! Amazing waves, rugged landscape and the feeling of being so disconnected from civilisation. We enjoyed snorkelling at ‘The Aquarium’ point at Quobba, surfing, fishing and star gazing. I even had a massage at Totoka Day Spa – which might possibly be the best view for a massage in Australia – and a treat given just how remote you are!
Gnarloo Station – Three Mile Camp
Three Mile Camp was a highlight for us as it has it all in terms of surf break options for the family, amazing fishing, a picturesque site for the caravan and just an overall family friendly vibe. Kyal caught his first cobia, we cooked up some epic curries and enjoyed the sunset over the ocean every day. We had our first snorkel with turtles and the kids built bike jumps and ran wild all week.
14 Mile Beach
Here we parked the Lotus Caravan on the Ridge Campsite. A great spot right on the sand dune. We left our inflatable boat on the beach all week which made for some great, easy access fishing and snorkelling. The kids and Kyal caught PB squids, and we enjoyed a fire at the campsite each night. We also did a day trip into Coral Bay on a bad weather day to enjoy a barista coffee and a pub meal.
Coral Bay
Our Coral Bay highlights included swimming with manta rays and sharks on the Ningaloo Marine Interactions boat, exploring Five Fingers Reef in our boat and a fishing charter where we caught dinner for the week. We stayed at The People’s Park at Coral Bay which was a great place to have a reset after time off-grid. The pub in town has a great feel with good food and live music, and the kids and Kyal loved the Manta Ray ice-cream at the ice cream shop.
Cape Range National Park
Overall, we spent 4 weeks in the Exmouth region, depending on where we could get bookings. The highlight for us was the 10 days at Kurrajong camp ground where we had the Lotus tucked just behind a sand dune. Again, we left our inflatable boat on the beach all week which made snorkelling and fishing adventures super easy. We fished, surfed, snorkelled and swam with whale sharks! So many bucket list moments! We caught some amazing fish and enjoyed some special cook ups with new friends.
Bullara Station
Bullara Station wasn’t initially on our list, however, after a few personal recommendations we decided to book this in and we are so glad we did! We stayed for three nights and booked in their long table dinners by Chefs Tony and Maree Fisher. The Table dinners are designed to take you on a journey through the history of the station. Not only were they absolutely delicious, but it was so nice to meet travellers from all over the world and chat over a three-course meal. The kids rode bikes around the station and we explored the Exmouth Gulf on our boat (with access via Bullara Station). I can’t forget that the coffee and famous Bullara scones were a highlight!
Karinjini National Park
Karinjini lived up to the hype – what an amazing place to take the kids! The visitor centre at Karinjimi was a great place to start as they had lots of tips on where to head first and how to organise out your days. The kids also picked up the ranger booklets which is a great activity for them to complete over the trip. We stayed at Dales Campground – although if we were to go again, we would most likely free camp as there are some amazing free campsites around. Day 1 we walked Hancock Gorge (and swam at Kermit’s pool), Weana Gorge and Kalamine Gorge for sunset. Day 2 we spent a big part of the day at Hamersley Gorge. In the afternoon we did the Knox Gorge walk. On Day 3 we did Fern Pool and Dales Gorge.
Barnhill Station
Not originally on our list, however we decided to make our way home over the top (as opposed to tracking back the way we had already travelled) and Barnhill Station was another stop that came highly recommended. Vada loved the morning Kelpie show and the freshly baked bread from the kiosk was – in the kid’s opinion – the best bread they’ve ever tasted! We had some great adventures in the inflatable boat and the kids both caught huge golden trevally. We met some great families, enjoyed live music and enjoyed the last of the WA sunsets over the ocean before making the big trek home over the top. So many amazing memories – a trip we will never forget!
