The northern western Australia is a huge inland area that has turned into a desert. Almost all tourist points of interest are on the coastal road, Highway 1. It leads - south to north - from Perth above Shark Bay (Monkey Mia) to Broome, then continue direction Northern Territory.
background
The wider area around Perth is the Wheatbelt. According to the 2015 census data, the total population of the huge remaining area of 2,298,050 km² is 233,000 (including the south coast) on which 175,400 vehicles are registered.[1]The following list of settlements (with more than 500 inhabitants) along the coast or Highway 1 is final.
preparation
Self-drivers should make their vehicle suitable for the outback in any case: at least 20 liters of drinking water per person and 50 liters of fuel, GPS, if necessary sand plates, tools and a satellite telephone are advisable. If possible, the estimated time of arrival at the destination should also be advised.
For numerous Aboriginal reserves, mostly off the main roads, entry permits must be applied for (Overview map 2016). About 70% of the applied for online Transit permits for drivers can be obtained immediately and free of charge. Permits for longer stays or for bike or camel trips will be checked more closely.
getting there
From Perth to the north, coast road 1 and inland road 95 lead via Mt. Magnet and Newman to Pt. Hedland, where both meet. direction Katherine in the Northern Territory there is only one tarred road over the villages of Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek and Kununurra. From the latter to the capital Perth, the shorter domestic route is 3212 kilometers.
- flight
Skippers is a subsidized Regional airline serving smaller airfields in Western Australia. In the north one connects (2017) Broome with Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek (approx. A $ 500). From Perth including Carnavon / Monkey Mia, Mt. Magnet / Wiluna and Laverton.
The company has its own at Perth Airport Skippers Aviation Terminal on Valentine Rd., which is served by buses South West Coach Lines can be reached.
Quantas and Virgin Australia are also represented. There are no budget airlines on these routes, which are often served with small planes, in 2017.
Route: Coast of Northern Western Australia
Perth to Geraldton
Closer to the coast than Highway 1 (here Brand Highway called) is the road 58. Total distance 414 km, to Lancelin as a “freeway” (Indian Ocean Drive) expanded like a motorway. Places by the sea:
- 1 Yanchep (56 km north. Perth. With the Joondalup-S-Bahn line, which ends in Butler, you have a connection to the Transperth-Bus lines 490 and 491). Is still considered a suburb of the capital. South of the town center is the Yanchep National Park (Entrance fee A $ 11) with over 400 caves and nine marked trails. On there Henry White oval Campsite (A $ 11) there is only well water that is not drinkable without treatment. The one also located in the park Yanchep Inn (☎ 61 8 9561 1001) doubles its prices on weekends.
- 2 Lancelin (110 km north. Perth). 600 inhabitants. Former fishing village that lives primarily from tourism, especially day-trippers from Perth. The number of residents quadrupled in summer (December / January). Then there is also the windsurfing competition Lancelin Ocean Classic instead of. The very windy beaches in the north are formed by sand dunes made of dazzling white sand (Wanagarren Nature Reserve All-wheel drive required). Lancelin Island off the site is a bird sanctuary. The quality of the Lancelin South caravan site should be greatly improved in 2017-22.
Further north you get to the Nambung National Park with the Pinnacle Desert. Its northern end is the village, which was only founded in 1962 3 Cervantes. 460 pop.
- 4 Jurien Bay (Depending on the route 220/263 km from Perth (2½-3 hours). Buses take just under 4 hours).
North of the place is the protected area Jurien Bay Marine Park expelled.
To the east lies the 1 Lesueur National Park1500 inhabitants. Accommodation is mainly geared towards families in the form of holiday apartments (commercial accommodation service).
- 5 Dongara, Together with Port Denison it has about 2700 inhabitants. The dominant industry is the lobster and crayfish fishery (marketed in Australia as “rock lobster” or “crayfish.”) Local customers offer that Irwin District Museum (5 Waldeck St .; A $ 2.50, Mon-Fri 10.00-12.00) in the old police station. It has also been expanded into a museum Ross Cottage.Accommodation overview.
- 6 Greenough (15 miles south of Geraldton). Around 1900 it had almost 1000 inhabitants, but then practically became a ghost town. The National Trust has acquired old houses and restored eleven for museum purposes.
Geraldton
- 7 Geraldton
. Tel.: 61 (8) 9956 6670. Including the surrounding area 39,000 inhabitants. Six bus routes operate in the local area. The tourist information is housed in the old station building. (Accommodation overview). There are several hotspots in public buildings in the city center.
- 3 Museum of Geraldton. The focus of the newly built house are pieces salvaged from Dutch ships that sank off the coast.Open: daily 9.30am-3pm (closed on public holidays).Price: free, donation requested.
- trips
- To the uninhabited 4 Abrolhos Islands (Houtman Abrolhos Archipelago) are available from tour operators Mini cruises (1 or 5 days, from A $ 2500) or overflights with fan guns (from A $ 100).
- Is obese with surfers 1 Coronation Beach, 32 km ndl. Geraldton, camping and toilet.
Detour towards Mt. Magnet
The Geraldton-Mount Magnet Road branches to 1 Geraldton Airport
(IATA: GET) 10 km to the city inland. Via Wicherina, Pindar and the former gold mining settlement Yalgoo it goes to 338 km away 8 Mt. Magnet, the name of the gold rush settlement founded in 1854 comes from the fact that the Declination here is zero. The highest recorded temperature in January so far was 47.3 ° C. The Race Club hosts two horse racing days a year (which are heavily betted in Australia). This takes place in August Astro Rocks Fest instead of. Hobby astronomers meet here because the Light pollution in the wilderness is very little.
Geraldton to Pt. Hedland
Highway 1 operates as North Geraldton North West Coastal Highway to the Pilbara region in Pt. Hedland. The distance is 1340 km. If you drive inland on Highway 95 via Newman, there are 1,410 kilometers of road.
From October to March it is often unbearably hot in the Pilbara.
Northampton
- 9 Northampton (52 km north. Geraldton). A good 800 inhabitants. Mainly a transit station for the surrounding tourist destinations. Originated as a mining town for copper and later lead. The environmental damage of a 30-year-old battery factory was not finally eliminated until 2014. In Northampton, too, Monsignor Hawes built one of his stylistically rather curious churches, the Our Lady in Ara Coeli. One curiosity is the “independent Hutt River”A local farmer, who abdicated as a prince in 2017, had declared his 75 km² of land to be self-employed and is now selling his own postage stamps.
To 10 Kalbarri see the main article
Shark Bay
Dynamic cardsTo Shark Bay and Monkey Mia see the main article.
Carnarvon
11 Carnarvon (Accommodation overview). The city is known in Australia for the cultivation of bananas. The pier has been preserved One mile jetty. A 2½ kilometer long city tour has been signposted on the former tram route. The Gwoonwardu Mia Aboriginal Cultural Center was closed in 2017 for renovation. The Space and technology museum (10.00-14.00) is dedicated to manned space travel. One of the parabolic antennas needed for the moon landings was built on site. The caravan park is at 21 Robinson St.
- North of the city is 2 Point Quobba. White sandy beaches with camping pitches, but without supplies. A municipal employee comes by daily and collects A $ 11 booth fee.
Exmouth
- 12 Exmouth, 2500 pop. Founded as a military base in World War II, one was built nearby in the 1960s Long wave transmission system for communication with submarines. The port also serves to supply the oil rigs off the coast.
- trips
A few kilometers further south and popular with divers is the sheltered one 3 Ningaloo Reef, from April to June whale sharks can be found here. The Ningaloo Reef Resort (3 *) offers accommodation in a higher price range.
Onslow
- 13 Onslow. 700 inhabitants. Apart from an attractively designed ANZAC war memorial, there is little on offer. There are two caravan parks and a motel.
Karratha
- 14 Karratha. 19,000 inhabitants including the surrounding area. Founded in 1968, the city is primarily used by the iron mines Rio Tinto Group..
Roebourne
- 15 Roebourne, 202 km from Pt. Hedland, 23 miles from Karratha; At the height of the gold rush in the 19th century. the largest settlement between Perth and Darwin. Some of the buildings from that time have been preserved. Since Aborigines were allowed to move into the area in the 1960s, they have made up the majority of the approximately 860 inhabitants today. A noticeable number of natives died in police custody during the 1980s. It's one of the hottest places in Australia. Closer to the coast are Wickham, a village almost entirely owned by Rio Tinto and 16 Cossack Historic Town.
Has a beach, pub and some accommodations 17 Point Samson, Can be reached with bus lines 880, 881 from Karratha.
Pt. Hedland
18 Pt. Hedland, 16,000 pop .; the bus route 870 takes care of the city traffic. The city is economically not dependent on tourism, but is primarily a port for the mining products of the region. There are hardly any sights. You can visit the steel mill on Tuesdays and Thursdays BHP Billiton visit (A $ 45 for one ¾ hour). The old town tour also starts at the Visitor Center (13 Wedge St) Mon., Wed., Fri. 13.30, 2017: A $ 30. Harbor tours (groups of 4 people or more after registration) for A $ 55.
Turtle breeding season on the beaches is from October to March. Especially barrier reef turtles (Natator depressus) hatch here.
13 km outside, there is a shuttle bus (2015: A $ 22). The airport is “international” insofar as that Virgin Australia seasonal flights to Bali offers.- 1 Walkabout Hotel. Airport hotel.
- Museums
- Courthouse Gallery, 16 Edgar Street. Open: 9.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m., closed on Sun.
- 7 Dalgety House Museum, 462 Anderson St.. Bedim beach Pretty pool. Here you have to be careful not to step into the spines of a poisonous "stonefish".Open: Mon.-Fri. 9.00-13.00.
- National parks
- 8 Millstream Chichester National Park. A visitor's center is at Millstream Homestead. Camping (Miliyanha and Stargazers) and entrance fees apply. Grilling is only allowed with gas, not solids. The Aborigines at Deep reach don't like swimming there, as they believe swimmers from the sea monster Warlu can be eaten, but canoes and paddle boats can be used. Swimming is generally prohibited at the Jirndawurrunha Pool.
Detour to Newman
- 19 Newman, a mining town that is almost exactly on the Tropic of Capricorn. The one on the way there
- 9 Karijini National Park.Apart from the landscape, the termite heaps and the hills of the “Western pebble-mound mouse” (Pseudomys chapmani).
Farther east in the middle of nowhere is that
- 10 Karlamilyi National Park (Permits are given to drive through the Aboriginal reservations around the park Aboriginal Lands Trust to apply). Extremely remote semi-desert. Camping in the wilderness is permitted in designated areas, there is only water at two park entrances. There is an airfield and the Vistor's Center is also located there (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4pm). The southern half of the park is practically inaccessible. The closest reasonable accommodation options are in Newman (260 km) or Marble Bar (420 km).
From Pt. Headland to Broome
The drive along the coast of the Pilbara region is 613 km by the only road. There are no significant towns on this part of the route. One drives along the 4 80 mile beach. From Perth to Broome it is 2240 km on the shorter domestic route.
Broome
- 20 Broome. 17,200 inh. A center for pearl divers in the early 20th century, the Japanese cemetery and the Chinatown. This is done in September Shinju Matsuri, to celebrate the cultural diversity of the place.
- accommodation
- trips
Route: east-west from Broome to Kununurra
In the north, which extends into the tropics, there are three seasons: “Dry” April to September (daytime temperatures around 30 ° C, May-June cool down to 15 ° C at night), “Buildup” October-November (humid and humid days up to 40 ° C) and “Wet” December to April. Tropical cyclones can then cause rain for days, which leads to cooling. The areas that dried up again later in the year, however, bloom during the “green season” January-February.
It is 1,044 kilometers by road from Broome to the last town in Western Australia. You can also fly the route directly. Including the cities, around 40,000 people live in an area around twice the size of Great Britain.
Go to the Northern Territory (time zone change) on the Victoria Highway The first real city is Katherine, 515 km away.
Eco Abrolhos offers 14-day cruises between Broome and Darwin (A $ 9000-12750 depending on cabin), with the small ships spending most of their time in the Kimberleys.
Fitzroy Crossing
- 21 Fitzroy Crossing, only for stopovers from Broome to Halls Creek is served commercially by Skippers Aviation the 5 Airport(IATA: FIZ). Passengers are offered a shelter, drinking water and a toilet as a service.
The Department of Conservation and Land Management usually offers twice daily tours to Geikie Gorge National Park, home of numerous freshwater crocodiles.
Upscale accommodations are on the river
- 2 Crossing Inn, 35 Skuthorp Rd. Tel.: 61 8 9191 5080. (There is also a caravan space A $ 16-39, single A $ 160, double A $ 179-265, w / w).
- 3 Fitzroy River Lodge, 277 Great Northern Hwy. With tennis court, pool, chargeable WiFi. caravan site with 110 parking spaces.
- trips
- 11 Mimbi Caves (90 km southeast of Fitzroy X on the subscription reserve.). Cave complex with rock carvings. Tours is offered by a native-owned event.Price: Travel and guided tour A $ 80.
Hall's Creek
- 22 Hall's Creek (291 km to Fitzroy Crossing; 360 km to Kununurra. Aviair flies to Kunurra three times a week for A $ 325 Skippers one arrives at Broome.). 1500 pop. JWD.
Kununurra
Please refer Main Products.
Detour to the “untouched” Kimberleys
The best travel time is the "Dry." In hot and humid November, tour operators often offer their tours for half the price. Many regular tours are completely discontinued during the “Wet”. In this region, the maximum daily temperatures are around 32-37 ° C all year round. The Gibb River Rd, starting behind 23 Wyndham, Greyhound dumps its passengers 35 miles away at the crossroads for Victoria Hwy; 900 pop. Picturesque on the Cambridge Gulf. Feeding in the Crocodile Farm is at 11.00 a.m., it is closed at this time due to flooding (danger of flooding). It is largely unsurfaced and ends after 650 km in 24 Derby. The Derby-Broome bus runs 2 weekly, A $ 50, return A $ 80 - Tours are also offered in the:
- 12 Windjana National Park (Windjana Gorge National Park).Often combined with the Napier Range. The 2500 acre Birdwood Downs Station is open to ecotourists (A $ 30 tent, cabins from A $ 110, double).
A permit from the tribe is needed, whoever of the Gibb River Rd. Continue north to the Aboriginal mission 25 Kalumburu.520 miles to Wyndham.
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Difficult to reach and only accessible with all-wheel drive and a high wheelbase, the landscapes are impressive Bungle bungles in the
- Tour packages are also offered from Halls Creek and Kununurra, they are not necessarily cheap. E.g. requested East Kimberly Tours for two days 2017 A $ 1855 (with full board). She flies from 6 Bellburn Airstrip. The company is licensed for helicopter sightseeing flights Helispirit. Offer sightseeing flights from Kunumurra Kimberley Air Tours,Aviair and Kingfisher Tours.
Access by car (caravans not allowed) leads via the Spring Creek Track at 26 Ord River, 57 km, 2 hours to the park entrance. The entrance fee is due at the Visitor Center there (8 a.m. to 12 p.m., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.). The possibility of approaching from the NT is more theoretical: Here it would be several hundred kilometers through the outback on Hwy 96 (Buntine Highway) from 27 Top Springs. From the end point in Nicholson, turn sharply north onto the Duncan Rdto get to the national park after 170 km. Along this road, the other end of which is in Halls Creek, there is no roadhouse or similar for 550 km!
The journey is too far for a day trip. There are two campsites in the park:
- You have to bring both water and food with you. As well on Bungle Bungles caravan site Tours can be booked at the turnoff from the main road. A sensible offer for self-drivers without a jeep.
In the park, which is part of the world heritage, you can not only visit the bungles, but also signposted (difficult) hiking trails.
mobility
The one based at Darwin Airport Air North also flies to Broome, Kununarra, Perth and m.E. to 7 Mungalalu Truscott Airbase(IATA: TTX).
- Long-distance buses
Integrity Coach Lines operate from Perth (Tourist Bus Stand) the routes along both highways to Broome, sometimes only twice a week Price examples (2017): to Carnavon A $ 167 (12 hours), Pt. Headland A $ 293 (25 hours), Broome A $ 355 (35 hours). One also offers route cards valid for twelve months in one direction, which cover A $ 265 or A $ 265 for 1500 or 3000 km. Cost A $ 395.
Greyhound Australia has the monopoly on the Broome – Katherine – Darwin route.
- automobile
The Bovine the large “stations” live completely free, especially in the north, and also like to roam the streets.
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Current petrol prices can be called up by entering the place name Fuel watch.
The few remote roadhouses, almost always consisting of a gas station with a shop and post office, pub and possibly also a motel, make full use of their monopoly on pricing. The prices, allegedly so high because of the freight, often greatly exceed a fair surcharge.
- Hitchhiking
There are common concerns about this type of transportation across Australia. It is advisable to only be dropped off at “road houses” in the outback, even if the driver would drive another 200 km (but the nearest petrol station is 300 km away). In any case, you should take a sleeping bag, enough drinking water (daytime heat!) And supplies with you - waiting times of two days are not only impossible in the far north. You should also take enough money with you for the long-distance bus, which may only come through once a week.
security
Outside of the few towns there is no cell phone reception (to cover) You may have to rely on satellite telephones to be able to make emergency calls.
health
Doctors, pharmacists and hospitals can be found by entering the place name Department of Health: Service finderIn summer there is always a risk of heat stroke, temperatures above 40 ° C are not unusual.
In very few cases, water from boreholes is drinking water. It has to be treated further. The Ministry of Health explains: "Bore water should never be used for drinking, bathing, watering edible plants, filling swimming and paddling pools, food preparation or cooking unless it has been tested and treated to the extent necessary for the intended use."
The migratory movement of the "cane toads”Has already reached the northernmost tip of Western Australia, north of Kununarra, in recent years. Although their glandular secretions are not fatal to humans, they do cause palpitations. Pets, especially dogs, that lick or eat the toads often die from it.
literature
- Akerman, Kim; Wanjina: notes on some iconic ancestral beings of the Northern Kimberley; Carlisle WA 2016 (Hesperian Press); ISBN 9780859056281 [Aboriginal rock art.]
- Bergeijk, Jeroen van; Gold Fever: How I Wanted to Get Rich in Australia's Outback; Munich 2012 (Malik); ISBN 9783492404600
- Ryan, Judith; Tjukurrtjanu: origins of Western Desert art; Melbourne 2011 (National Gallery of Victoria); ISBN 9780724103461 [Exhibition catalog]
- Veit, Barbara; Dream Seeker: Walkabout in Western Australia; Munich 1997 (Frederking and Thaler)
Web links
- Official tourism website for the whole state
- Coral Coast-Friend traffic page (engl.)
- English Wikipedia Category: Coastal towns in Western Australia
- German Wikipedia Category: National Park in Western Australia
- Barrier-free travel in WA (engl.)
- Kimberley Region (engl.)
