14 Days Coral Coast And Outback 4wd

Today, pick up your 4WD rental, included is 14 days Hertz Group R 4WD car rental to ensure you can access this remote coastline. Depart Perth today on your spectacular West Coast adventure. On arrival in Geraldton take some time to visit the Byzantine style St Xavier Cathedral and the Geraldton Museum, which houses relics from the numerous ships wrecked along this coastline. Geraldton has beautiful beaches, excellent fishing and enticing restaurants.

Today you will continue onto Kalbarri, located on the midwest coast. With its pristine beaches and towering coastal cliffs, Kalbarri is a treat for visitors. Once you arrive in Kalbarri let the experiences unwind. You can do everything from abseiling, horse riding, windsurfing or you can simply take time to absorb the wonderful surrounds.

Suggested Activity: Visit the HMAS Sydney memorial. The Memorial was dedicated on the 18th November 2001 and the Eternal Flamewas lit on the 19th November 2001, 60 years to the day after the tragic loss.

Depart Kalbarri and continue north towards Denham and Monkey Mia. Monkey Mia is famous for its Dolphins, beautiful scenery and sparkling blue waters providing spectacular photographic opportunities. These are wild animals that after years of care and understanding come in to be fed of their own accord by the rangers.

Suggested Activity: Stop via Hamelin Pool. Hamelin Pool is home to the most diverse and abundant examples of stromatolites in the world. Also referred to as ‘living fossils’, stromatolites are living representatives of life over 3500 million years ago when there was no other complex life on Earth. A 200m boardwalk at Hamelin Pool provides excellent views of the stromatolites, microbialites and microbial mats. Please help protect these structures by staying on the boardwalk.

Spend today at leasure to relax in the beautiful Monkey Mia / Shark Bay region. At 1pm, enjoy a fascinating 3 hour cruise in one of the world's most important animal behavioural research sites. Year round there are friendly dolphins, shy green turtles and huge loggerhead turtles. The warmer months bring in herds of dugong, tiger & hammerhead sharks, sea-snakes, stingrays, schools of bait fish, tuna & mackerel, flying & skipping fish and internationally migrating birds.

Famous for its banana plantations, Carnarvon on Australia's Coral Coast is the southern gatewayto the world-famous Ningaloo Reef and provides the ideal base for exploring Mount Augustus and the Kennedy Ranges to the east and coastal stations to the north.

Head North across the remote Western coastal edge of the continent towards Exmouth. Gateway to the Ningaloo Marine Park, with its coral reefs, colourful fish and migratory whale sharks, Exmouth sits on the edge of Cape Range National Park, home to an abundance of wildlife and spectacular gorges.

Suggested Activity: Roughly half way between Carnarvon and Exmouth is the Coral Bay region. Nature lovers should note that this is one of the best places in the world to see whale sharks and manta rays. If you are travelling between June and October you may even witness the humpback whale migration.

Today is a leasure for you to discover the natural beauties that this remote part of the world has to offer, be they on land, or in the crystal clear blue waters of the Indian Ocean.

Suggested Activity: The long stretch of beach on the Indian Ocean side of the North West Cape, sitting just behind Exmouth, is Jurabi Coastal Reserve, with its pristine sandy beaches prodiving a nesting ground for marine turtles.

Be sure to start early today before your longest day on the road, with an 8 hour drive inland to Karijini National Park, Western Australia’s second largest park.

Suggested Activity: Be sure to plan your stops in advance, with townships like Bullara Station Stay, Nanutarra Roadhouse, House Creek Rest Area, Cheela Plains and Tom Price scatered equidistantly along your journey through the Western Australian outback.

Today is at leisure for you to explore the Karijini National Park.

Suggested Activity: Karjini National Park is known for it's crystal clear - and croc free - swimming holes. Within Dale's Gorge on the eastern side of the park, the swimming hole at Fortescue Falls one of the best on offer in the park. From the carpark, it will take about an hour to walk down a staircase and along clear paths to the falls. You can also swim nearby in the refreshing, spring-fed Fern Pool, or tackle the two-hour return hike to picturesque Circular Pool, at the gorge's other end.

Another long day on the open road awaits you today, as you head South towards Mt Augustus, or as the local Wadjari people call it, Burringurrah.

Suggested Itinerary: Just as you did on Day 8, planning your stops in advance is essential. There are fewer opportunities today, so call in at Tom Price as well as the mining town of Paraburdoo, and make sure you carry additional supplies for the second half of your drive through the Pilbara.

Spend today discovering the ancient beauty of the Mt Augustus National Park.

Suggested Activity: Mt Augustus, or as the local Wadjari people call it, Burringurrah, is a 700 metre high rock formation emerging from the desert. Not dissimilar to the internationally renowned Uluru in the Northern Territory, Burringurrah is in fact the tallest rock in the world.

With the majestic Burringurrah fresh in your memory, today you are back on the open for a seven hour drive South, with your Murchison station stay awaiting you.

Suggested Activity: With another long drive ahead of you, make sure you call in at Dairy Creek Station and Murchison Oasis Roadhouse, as well as packing extra supplies.

Having stepped back in time for your overnight stay at a remote outback station, more driving awaits you today as you venture South along the "Wildflower Trail" to the wheatbelt town of Dalwallinu.

Suggested Itinerary: Break up your scenic drive with stops at Mullewa, Wilroy, Canna or a host of others on the second half of your journey.

Your unforgetable discovery of South-Western Australia comes to an end today after the three hour drive to Perth. Often referred to as the most remote city in the world, Perth is the capital of Western Australia, and is home to a sport and food loving population of roughly 2 million people. Drop off your 4WD hire car on return.