Kalbarri is located 589kms north of Perth and is one of the most popular tourist towns in Western Australia. (In fact in 2003, Kalbarri took out equal top tourism town with Mandurah, which is quite a feat considering the quality of the competition).Kalbarri is located on the mouth of the Murchison River and surrounded by the Kalbarri National Park, which covers an area of 183,000 hectares. There are coastal gorges and river gorges and both will captivate the visitors to Kalbarri, so bring your camera.( Please allow yourself time to explore Kalbarri as I personally have seen many tourists that have had to miss many of Kalbarri’s attractions due to insufficent time allowances ).
Kalbarri is an unspoilt town with attractions both landbased and on the water. For wildflower lovers you wont find anywhere better in Australia than Kalbarri National Park. From July until late November the park is transformed into a mosaic of colour with over 800 species of West Australian native wildflowers.
The Murchison River provides the family with a great area to swim, go sailing or fish for whiting, tailor, bream and even a few crabs !The river gorges offer spectacular views of the Murchison River from such vantage points as The Loop and Z Bend lookouts.
From Red Bluff the coastal cliffs extend 13kms south to the parks southern boundary. Well located access roads into the coastal gorges will provide visitors to Kalbarri ample opportunity to view the rugged cliffs and whale watching in season ( approx July through to October ~ the whales dont have a calender !) Dolphins are also local to the area and can be spotted from the cliffs playing and feeding in the waters below.
Offshore fishing is another major attraction at Kalbarri with a locally owned charter boat operator who has fantastic knowledge of where the fish are hiding. They can also show you the dolphins, whales and the coastal cliffs at sunset. If you prefer to bring your own boat thats fine ( as long as its bigger than a dinghy !) or you can hire a boat whilst you are here.
Accommodation in Kalbarri ranges from unpowered sites at a number of caravan parks to 4.5 AAA star rated self contained apartments. The majority of the accommodation houses are within walking distance to shops and restaurants.
NO camping is allowed within the National Park.
