Australia’s Coral Coast: from Perth to Shark Bay

I would like to take a quick moment to appreciate Instagram. Yes, Instagram. Thank freaking God for the app that gives me the ability to find beautiful spots all over the world and save them in little categorized archives. I have found so many incredible and remote spots that I probably would have never found alone. Maybe this sounds silly, but I am not lying when I say I have discovered the most insane hikes, waterfalls, and swimming holes through social media. And before coming to the land down under, I was saving hundreds of insane nature spots in a folder titled “Australia.” It didn’t even come to my attention that a lot of which were going to be across the country from me in Western Australia, until right before I embarked on my journey. So I came into my abroad program with a goal to see the wonders of WA.

As the months flew by and the end of my abroad was nearing, I realized I had to go. It was now or never. Alas, Julia’s parents were going to be in town that week, all of our Swedish friends had too much school or were traveling, Kayla was unsure about tests and papers, and Zoe had just been to Perth. But the only person that didn’t take any convincing was Andrew (Little Drew as I like to call him). We had been talking about going to WA for months but never made any plans. He basically had to convince me. Little Drew and I already spent so much time together since we had almost all the same classes and he was one of the only people (besides sweet Davo) that would surf with me, so we decided to embark on this five-day adventure together.

Day 0:

Before we even started the trip, something had already gone wrong. Andrew booked his round-trip flight from Perth to Sydney instead of from Sydney to Perth. Silly Little Drew. After a few phone calls and an extra $100 later, we were all set to fly. At the airport, we faced yet another challenge: how to pass our very overweight bags as free carry-ons. Finding a solution meant wearing all of my clothes on my body, and carrying my pillow and blanket (necessities for sleeping in a car), on the plane. And to my surprise, I made it.

Day 1:

Perth was more of a home base for us, rather than a destination. So our first real stop was Rottnest Island, aka quokka heaven. A ferry ride later, we were on one of the most unique islands I have ever seen. The houses and hotels on the island reminded me of a family camp, with little kids riding their bikes next to the hundreds of cookie-cutter cabins all lined up in a row. All the while there were fluffily little quokkas running around everywhere I looked. We strolled around most of the island on the coast, finding beautiful beach after beautiful beach. Waves of exquisite shades of turquoise crashed over the crisp white sand, with deep purple water gradients exposed in the background. Literally some of the most astounding beaches I have ever seen in my life. After swimming in the freezing waters and trying to take a billion selfies with the quokkas, the magical day came to an end.

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Day 2:

Waking up bright and early the next day, we got our Mitsubishi and began the real portion of our trip: the road trip to Shark Bay. If you have never driven a Mitsubishi, you’re missing out (on this trip I discovered it is officially my favorite car to drive). As soon as we got out of Perth and onto the two-road highway, the sand suddenly became red and the bush dense. Prior to this trip, I had thought of the outback as just the classic Northern Territory, however being without service for most of three days and driving for miles without seeing another car, city, or gas station, but instead seeing kangaroos on the side of the road, gave me the impression otherwise. So after looking up the definition, I can now gladly say I have been to the Aussie Outback without running over a kangaroo. Although I cannot say the same for Little Drew who totaled his rental car on a previous trip up north at the sake of a wild roo.

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We made lots of stops during our long drive from Perth to Kalbarri National Park. That is because Little Drew wanted to stop at every single lookout spot on the road, even though it was pouring rain most of the day. About 80% of these I didn’t acknowledge and kept on driving because we were on a tight schedule if we wanted to make it to Hutt Lagoon before sunset. But one unexpected stop was actually extremely fun: sand duning in Lancelin. However, our fun didn’t last too long, as the weather suddenly turned into a hurricane and sand went flying at what felt like 50 miles an hour, physically hurting our exposed skin. So we ran back to the safety of our Mitsushibu and pushed on to Hutt Lagoon.

Seeing the gorgeous pink lake of Hutt Lagoon in pictures has always fascinated me late, but it was even more surreal in person. As the sun went down, the pink hues of the lake intensified and melted into the sky. It was as pink as the eye could see, the sky and the earth connecting in a way I have never known possible. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life. I never wanted it to end. As we walked around the lake, our bare feet sank into the pink salt as if the lake was telling us to stop and take it all in. I tried to saver the moment for as long as I could, but as with all good things, it had to come to an end.

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Our first night sleeping in the car at Wagoe Campsite did not go as anticipated. We did not realize just how cold it would be. And we were vastly unprepared. I ended up layering up in at least two shirts, a sweater, flannel, a rain jacket, and I was still shivering. Not to mention the folded down backseat was a pretty uncomfortable bed. Needless to say, I slept for maybe two hours.

Day 3:

On the positive side, at least this forced us to get an early start to our day in Kalbarri National Park. We stopped at all the bluffs, such as Pot Alley, Mushroom Gorge, Red Bluff, and Rainbow Bluff. The latter of which ended up being my absolute favorite! There, we scaled the cliffs’ edge for a while, marveling at how the swiveling red rock formations contrasted so beautifully against the blue water it overlooked.

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About a fifteen minute drive away, we entered the main portion of the park where hiked down to Natures Window and Z Bend. Although both strongly reminded me of the red-orange rocks that frame Utah and Arizona, the vast amount of flies made it quite different. There were flies in places flies should never be. Ears. Mouths. Noses. We have never wanted to escape anything more, so we quickly ran back in the car, had lunch on the lake, and drove to our next campsite: Hamelin Outback Station Stay.

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This campsite was a beauty on its own. Located in the World Heritage Area of Shark Bay, which is in part famous for its incredible Shell Beach, the entire square footage of the camp was covered in small white shells, beautiful to the eyes and pleasant for the feet. Equipped with a full, shared kitchen and cowboy décor, it was the perfect home for our next few days in the outback.

Day 4:

Sleeping in was not a possibility when we were living out of a car, so for yet another early start to our day, we woke up at 5:45 am and headed up to Monkey Mia to feed the dolphins. In this little town, the fishermen used to feed wild dolphins that would come to their beach, so the dolphins kept coming back as they got used to the constant food. However, when the dolphins could no longer fend for themselves in the wild, the mortality rate grew. Now, Monkey Mia focuses on the sustainability of the population by implementing a controlled and healthy feeding program, which has restored their survival rate and improved their health. And the dolphins still come back every morning for fish and friends! If you get there early enough you could even get the chance to feed one personally, which lucky Little Drew did.

Although we did not have a four-wheel drive car and couldn’t go into Francois Peron National Park, we made the best of the day by seeing everything else the WHA had to offer, starting with Little Lagoon. This natural wonder of Shark Bay is a beautiful, calm, and crystal clear swimming hole that leads out to the Indian Ocean. We nearly walked around the whole thing before we decided to head down to the estuary. Not only did the translucent waters capture the eye, but also the deep orange-red soil that blended into the stream. This contrast is a wonder in itself, definitely no other place in the world like it. So much so that even I got a little lost in the view and slipped and fell butt first into the freezing stream. Who knew the red soil was slippery? Not me! I later found out that this estuary has tons of deadly rockfish, so I was overjoyed that I didn’t fall in too deep.

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Driving around Shark Bay, we found lots of lookout points and stopped at each one to marvel at the nature around us, which was not hard to do when every beach was covered with tiny white shells and turquoise water as far as the eye could see. On the road, we saw a sign for “Shark Feeding” and we decided to check it out. This brought us to the Ocean Park Aquarium, and $20 later we eagerly joined a tour. I was pleasantly surprised that all of the guides were marine biologists or experts in similar fields, and super passionate about teaching the visitors about the native species in the area, their marine life rehabilitation practices, sustainability, and the effects of anthropogenic climate change and ocean pollution on the species. So, of course, I had plenty of things to discuss with the guide. Plus watching the sharks get fed was a one of a kind experience. Naturally, I absolutely loved every minute we spent in this 100% renewable energy powered aquarium! I even came out of it with an epiphany…nothing excites me more than learning, talking, and being around the ocean. I was not wrong when I dreamed of becoming a marine biologist during my senior year of high school. So what if I decided that chemistry and physics classes weren’t for me and I switched my major to environmental studies? I don’t have to graduate with a degree in marine biology to work with marine conservation! My major does not define me! I can do whatever and be whoever the fuck I want! It’s all about putting yourself out there and getting the experience and doing what you freaking love!!

I had lots of time to reflect on this little epiphany of mine at Eagle Bluff, where we searched the marine park ocean waters for sea life from the cliff. I am pretty sure we saw a few stingrays or turtles. Couldn’t quite tell from above, but you know, the magic is in the mystery.

Driving towards Shell Beach, we stumbled upon yet another perfect find, a beautiful white sandbar connected to the beach in the shape of a wave. Although it wasn’t a sandbar, it was more of a shellbar, considering it was only covered in shells. Walking all the way to the end of the shellbar, I felt like this day had lasted forever and I was mildly in a daze of amazement by how many incredible pieces of mother earth we had seen in the last few days. But I was quickly slapped back into reality by my own hand swatting away the copious amount of flies that were invading my body. For me, this little inlet was even better than the famous Shell Beach, because, although it was beautiful and grandiose, Shell Beach was just a large beach full of tiny shells. Nonetheless, we sat there for a bit, while Andrew meditated and I played with shells.

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Our last stop on our tour of Shark Bay was the iconic Hamelin Pools. This Nature Reserve is so unique because it offers you a glimpse into the beginnings of life on earth, as microscopic organisms create visible stromatolites that you can see in and out of water. In all my ocean exploring, I have never seen anything like it. And as the sun went down, the water glistened and the stromatolites looked absolutely magical.

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Day 5:

After another cold night in the Mitsubishi, we were ready for the eight-hour trek back down to Perth. This time, we only had one stop to look forward to, the Pinnacles Dessert. With its jagged limestone formations jarring up towards the sky, the Dessert was an extraordinary place. It felt like we were exploring a different planet. If we had more time, I would have loved to do a big hiking loop around the whole park, but we could only drive and walk around for an hour before hitting the road.

We finally made it back to the Perth Airport in one piece (thankfully I did not hit any kangaroos), and after stuffing myself into 2 pairs of pants, and multiple shirts and sweaters, we made the weight limit and were on our way back home.