Things to do in Central West Coast
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Gorges Café
Ask for the Morning Cure and you won't be disappointed at this airy cafe doing wonderful breakfasts and lunches opposite the jetty.
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Kalbarri Adventure Tours
Combine canoeing, bushwalking and swimming around the park's Z-Bend/Loop area.
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Lighthouse Keepers Cottage Museum
The Heritage Precinct is an intriguing place to learn about Carnarvon’s history. The area, once the city’s port, houses the Lighthouse Keepers Cottage Museum, Railway Station Museum and the One Mile Jetty, where locals fish for mulloway; you can either walk or take a vintage tram to the end of the jetty. Although the train from the footbridge to the Heritage Precinct is no longer running, a walking trail runs the 2.5km length of the old tracks.
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Cathedral of St Francis Xavier Church
This elaborate cathedral is the finest example of the architectural achievements of multi-skilled Monsignor John Hawes. Its most striking features include imposing twin towers with arched openings, a central dome, Romanesque columns and boldly striped walls.
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Monkey Mia
World-famous for the wild dolphins that turn up in the shallow water for feeding each day, the beach resort of Monkey Mia, 26km northeast of Denham, now tops many travellers’ list of things to do. The morning feeding session (around 7.45am) can get packed, but often the dolphins return for a second feeding later in the morning. Aside from dolphins, the resort offers plenty of other diversions, including Aboriginal heritage walks, sailing, camel trips, diving and stargazing.
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Western Australian Museum – Geraldton
This excellent museum has intelligent multimedia displays on the area's natural, cultural and Indigenous history. The atmospheric Shipwreck Gallery documents the tragic story of the Batavia, while video footage reveals the sunken HMAS Sydney. On Sunday at 2pm you can sail in the longboat moored behind the museum.
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Stromatolites
A lot of places talk about 'stepping back in time', but here, you really are! Stromatolites are, in essence, living fossils. In fact they're a perfect example of the earliest life on earth (one of only two in the world). The water is twice as saline as seawater, making these rock-like outcroppings (sole) kings of the pool. The best time to visit these mind-boggling microorganisms is between June and October.
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Shell Beach
Picture a snow-white beach bordered by azure water stretching to the horizon; just don't imagine walking on it barefoot. Billions of coquina bivalve shells have been washed up by the surf to stunning effect. Make sure you have enough memory in your camera because you're going to want to take umpteen pictures. You could even go for the snow effect - tossing up handfuls of shells into the air!
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Finlay's Fresh Fish BBQ
In a former fish factory, this big tin shed of a BYO eatery prides itself on offering 'no service, no corkage, no glasses, no frills' - just big servings of abuse (don't fear if the cook yells at you, it's part of the fun of the place) alongside huge portions of home-style barbecued seafood and steaks. You can also sing for your supper and they'll feed you in return. Seriously.
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Kalbarri National Park
With its magnificent river red gums and Tumblagooda sandstone, this rugged park contains almost 2000 sq km of wild bushland, stunning river gorges and savagely eroded coastal cliffs. There's abundant wildlife, including 200 species of bird, and spectacular wildflowers between July and November.
A string of lookouts dots the impressive coast south of town and the easy Bigurda Trail (8km one way) follows the cliff tops between Natural Bridge and Eagle Gorge; from July to November you may spot migrating whales. Closer to town are Pot Alley, Rainbow Valley, Mushroom Rock and Red Bluff, the last accessible via a walking trail from Kalbarri (5.5km one way).
The river gorges are e…
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Ocean Park
A superb advertisement for ecotourism, Ocean Park offers visitors the chance to experience shark-feeding up close and to hang out with red kangaroos at dawn and dusk. The park, situated in a World Heritage area, is run with the emphasis firmly on renewable energy. The soon-to-be-opened oceanarium promises to be a worthwhile addition.
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Yamatji Cultural Trails
Yamatji Cultural Trails will open your eyes to the customs, traditional practices, history and contemporary issues affecting the Mid West indigenous Yamatji people through tours to significant sites around Geraldton. You get to sleep under the stars and hear Dreamtime stories on the 2½-day tour.
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Wula Guda Nyinda Aboriginal Cultural Tours
Local Aboriginal guide Darren 'Capes' Capewell leads excellent bushwalks where he shows 'how to let the bush talk to you'. You'll learn some local Malgana language, and identify bush tucker and native medicine. The evening 'Didgeridoo Dreaming' walks are magical. There's also a 'Saltwater Dreaming' kayak tour (three hours; adult/child $90/50).
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Topolinis Caffe
This home-style licensed bistro is perfect for an afternoon coffee and cake, a pre-show bite, or just a relaxed family feed. The $34 dinner-and-movie deal (Sunday to Thursday) and Monday half-price pasta are popular.
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OTC Dish
On the outskirts of town the OTC Dish was established by NASA in 1966 as a tracking station for the Gemini and Apollo space missions, and tracked Halley’s Comet in 1986. It was closed in 1987 although you can still wander around the site.
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Old Pearler Restaurant
Avast, mateys! Built from shell bricks, and feeling downright nautical, this atmospheric haven does fantastic seafood. The exceptional platter features local red emperor, whiting, cray, prawns and squid with nary a chip in sight, as it's all grilled, not fried.
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Kalbarri Boat Hire
On the foreshore, this place hires out various aquatic transports. It also runs four-hour breakfast and lunch canoe trips down the Murchison (adult/child $65/45).
Kalbarri has a great network of cycle paths along the foreshore, and you can ride out to Blue Holes for snorkelling, Jakes Point with its excellent surf and fishing and Red Bluff Beach (5.5km). Any of the lookouts along the coast are perfect for watching the sunset.
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Francois Peron National Park
Renowned for its dramatic golden cliffs, pristine white-sand beaches, salt lakes and rare marsupial species, this national park, 4km from Denham on Monkey Mia Rd, will reward those with 4WD vehicles and an adventurous spirit.
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Outback Coast Safaris
Full-day tours to the Kennedy Range or three-day camping trips to Mt Augustus. Also available for coastal charters.
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Ocean Park
On the way into town, Ocean Park is a locally run aquaculture farm featuring an artificial lagoon where you can observe sharks, turtles, stingrays and fish on guided 45-minute tours. The cafe has panoramic views.
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Harbourside Café
Fresh seafood and imaginative recipes make for a rewarding dining experience at this casual, sunny restaurant near the water. The Eastern-accented menu includes Asian-spiced calamari, Thai shrimp salad and Carnarvon snapper.
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City Asia Restaurant
This BYO eatery serves a small but tasty lunch buffet of barbecue ribs, duck, roast pork with crackling and other meaty standouts. At night, the chef showcases mostly Vietnamese dishes, with seafood playing a prominent role.
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Marra Indigenous Art & Design
If you want to take a bit of Yamatji culture home with you, check out Marra Indigenous Art & Design, which sells vibrant paintings, woven bowls, wooden artefacts, didgeridoos, beaded necklaces and CDs.
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Batavia Coast Dive Academy
Offers open-water courses (full PADI $600) and a range of diving trips, including three-day chartered trips to the Abrolhos ($900 per person).
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Old Geraldton Gaol Craft Centre
The crafts here are secondary to the gloomy cells that housed prisoners from 1858 to 1986 and the historic documents detailing their grim circumstances.
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