Western Australia’s Long But Never Boring Drive

Australia is blessed with numerous great drives for both the adventure seeker and the more conservative explorer. One of the most rewarding, yet occasionally challenging, drives is the coastal route between Perth and Broome.

Having completed the journey of around 2360 kilometre a number of years ago I doubted I would repeat the feat.

However, a visit from a friend from the UK who had yet to explore the delights of Australia’s West Coast, one of my favourite parts of the country, resulted in a second outing.

Fortunately, this year’s journey was far more rewarding than my last adventure for several reasons.

Firstly, we travelled in April/May outside the peak tourist season which meant less traffic, including some huge caravans, on the road.  Secondly, I was travelling with someone who had yet to experience this part of Australia and was in awe of much of the scenery. Her enthusiasm was contagious.  Thirdly, and most importantly, we took our time ensuring stops of between two to five nights at iconic destinations including Monkey Mia, Kalbarri and Exmouth.

Of course, there were still challenges especially in relation to the huge road trains which are a regular feature of the drive. Yet most of the drivers we passed were extremely courteous and helpful indicating when it was safe to pass.

The dead wildlife along the side of the road, including kangaroos and large cows, re-affirmed our decision not to drive in the early morning or late afternoon. And by stopping we could fully appreciate some fantastic sunsets.

Given the excellent state of the road (unlike Victoria no potholes in sight) and the many long flat stretches, ensuring we didn’t speed was one of the greatest challenges!

While as the driver I sometimes found such stretches quite tedious, my companion was continually fascinated by the landscape.

“Much to my surprise it was never boring,” she recalls.

“There was always something to see along the way even along the long stretches of straight road.  The scenery was always changing, from flat pastoral lands to all types of different mines. The termite mounds were amazing and even from the car I could see numerous species of birds. And glimpses of the ocean were never too far away.

“It was also fun planning the route, working out where to stop for petrol and meal breaks as some of the distances we travelled in a day were quite long.”

Initially much of the planning was done before the trip. Having a copy of the excellent Driving in Western Australia, a Guide to Rest Areas by Mainroads West Australia in the planning stage would have been useful (we only discovered the guide’s excellent maps halfway through our journey) but basically our timings worked fairly well.

Towards the end of the trip when distances between toilet and petrol stops increased these maps were particularly useful even though it’s probably wise to stop and stretch anywhere you come across a roadhouse.

Driving a hybrid Toyota as opposed to a four-wheel drive meant there were some areas we couldn’t or didn’t feel comfortable accessing. Having visited or seen many of these areas over the years my main disappointment was not visiting Karijini National Park or finding a way of breaking up our drive between Port Hedland and Broome.

We could have also included accommodation stays at some of the huge pastoral stations we passed.  However, given we only had around two weeks for the journey something had to give and we both agreed all our stops worked perfectly.

Our accommodation, which included a night at a caravan park, RAC resort, self-contained accommodation, a lodge and traditional hotels at best provided a comfortable night’s sleep and often became attractions in their own right.

On our first day we travelled the 412 kilometres between Perth and Geraldton which included a stop at the very the popular Nambung National Park.

Located around two hours’ drive from Perth and covering around 17,485 hectares, the park is best known for its Pinnacles Desert.  Given its proximity to Perth the park is particularly popular with day visitors fascinated by the natural limestone structures, formed approximately 25,000 to 30,000 years ago after the sea receded and left deposits of sea shells. Over time, coastal winds removed the surrounding sand, leaving the pillars exposed to the elements. The Pinnacles range in height and dimension with some standing as high as 3. 5 metres.

That night and the next morning was spent exploring Geraldton before heading off for one of our shorter drives, the 155 kilometre trip to Kalbarri, where we spent two nights exploring the picturesque town renowned for its coastal and river scenery.

A stop at Hutt Lagoon, more commonly know as the Pink Lake thanks to its colour, rated as one of the highlights of the trip for my companion while we both loved our accommodation – Gecko Lodge.

The 400 kilometre drive from Kalbarri to Monkey Mia was fairly easy, especially after we turned off the main Coastal Highway, thanks to fewer road trains.  The three nights we spent the RAC Monkey Mia Resort also rated highly on my companion’s trip highlights.

The 700 kilometres from Monkey Mia to Exmouth was one of the hardest drives thanks to distance and large trucks on the highway – although the 215 kilometre road from the turnoff from the Coastal Highway to Exmouth was relatively quiet.   However, the five nights spent in Exmouth ensured plenty of time to recover and to enjoy the beauty of the Cape Range National Park and the pristine waters of Ningaloo Marine Park.

Planning the next part of the drive from Exmouth to Port Hedland was challenging.  The total distance is around 770 kilometres, something I wasn’t keen to do in a day especially given the amount of back tracking between Exmouth and the Highway.   Thus we opted for  a shorter day, travelling around 550 kilometres to get to Karratha and spending the night there.

The following day it was a short 240 kilometre journey to Port Hedland.  As it turned out, my companion found these two days of driving fascinating thanks to the many mines along the way, several of which were clearly visible from the road.  We also had the chance to explore both towns which are very much dependent on the mining industries.  An evening walk around the Port Hedland harbour complete with plenty of birds was most enjoyable.

The hardest part of the drive was the around 600 kilometres from Port Hedland to Broome. It was long, hot and, as is always the case when you are coming to the end of a journey, you’re keen to get to your final destination.  If ever I do the trip again, and of course one should never say never, than I would probably break this trip up but again the type of car I am driving and accessibility would play a major role in this decision.

As this trip once again proved, Broome is a great place to relax and unwind especially if your accommodation happens to have its own private swimming pool! There’s also plenty to see and do no matter how many times you have visited. For the first time I experienced the joys of the wildlife cruise.

While in hindsight we could have reduced our time in Broome and maybe spent another couple of nights at Karijini National Park or given my companion’s interest in mining – a side trip to Tom Price. But given she rated our trip 10 out of 10 it seems our planning was spot on!

Useful to Know

If you are planning to hire a car for the drive make sure you either allow a couple of extra days for a return trip to Perth, possibly via the less scenic inland route.  Otherwise expect to pay a premium for one way car hire.

Entry fees apply to over 30 of Western Australia’s national parks and reserves including all the must-visit parks in the north west of the State.  A range of passes are available. We found the Holiday Pass offered the best deal.

Mainroads WA’s Driving in Western Australia, a Guide to Rest Areas is a great reference guide for stops and distances.

If you’re planning to stay in commercial accommodation book as early as possible.  Even booking six months out we struggled to find accommodation especially in the mining towns of Port Hedland and Karratha.