Australia’s Coral Coast - The Ultimate Instagram Itinerary
The drive from Perth to Exmouth takes around 13 hours (1,247km) by car and is the best road trip I have ever been on! It’s called Australia’s Coral Coast for a reason as it runs alongside the Ningaloo Reef which fringes the Western Australian coastline. At many places, you can quite literally get out of your car and walk straight onto the reef, finding yourself surrounded by billions of corals and the most incredible sea life.
Want to know the most insta-worthy spots along the way? I’ve got you covered! You’ve come to the right place. I’ve put them in order from Perth-Exmouth as this is the direction I travelled over two weeks. To break up the trip, I stayed in Jurien Bay, Kalbarri, Shark Bay, Quobba Station, Coral Bay and then finally Exmouth.
All places on the list (except Rottnest Island) are easily accessible by car.
1. Rottnest Island Quokkas (30-minute ferry ride from Perth)
Our first stop isn’t technically on the Coral Coast yet but you CANNOT miss your chance to get a #quokkaselfie at Rottnest Island. Only accessible by boat, this is the only place on earth you can find these happy little fur balls.
2. Lancelin Sand Dunes (127km from Perth)
I love those locations that transport you to faraway places and upon arriving at the Lancelin Sand Dunes, I felt as though I had been teleported to the deserts of Abu Dhabi. The rolling dunes continued for as far as the eye could see and were the perfect spot for a photo shoot! I also highly recommend hiring a sand board for $10 an hour and having a go ‘surfing’ down the dunes. Also, if you’ve got a 4WD or motorbike get ready to have the adrenaline rush of your dreams!
3. The Pinnacles Desert (113km from Lancelin)
You can’t drive along the coral coast without a stop in at Western Australia’s most visited attraction. I highly recommend visiting at sunrise or sunset to get the perfect insta shot as the shadows created by the limestone pinnacles are next level amazing.
4. Jurien Bay Seals (61km from The Pinnacles)
This was by far one of my favourite experiences from the trip as well as being the perfect spot to take millions of cute animal photos to absolutely flood your Instagram with! The day I went was quite rough, the visibility wasn’t great and the sea lions were in mating season so only one came out to play. But boy, was she playful! You only need one to get some amazing shots, have some serious fun and get out extremely exhausted after swallowing about half the ocean. Tip: the more you duck dive under the water, spin and play, the more playful the sea lions will be!
5. Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake (298km from Jurien Bay)
I had never seen a pink lake so this was one spot I couldn’t resist! The pinks definitely show up more clearly from above so if you have a drone, don’t miss your chance to capture these colours! Hayley Andersen @haylsa took the most beautiful photos actually IN the pink lake. I’ve been dying to get back up there to try and capture some similar ones of my own. TIP: Take a blow-up floatation device. They look so good in the pink water!
6. Nature’s Window (53km from Hutt Lagoon)
Is this WA’s most insta-famous destination? With over 20,000 posts under the hashtag #natureswindow I would say it comes pretty close! And you can see why! Such an amazing work of nature overlooking the gorge in Kalbarri. Don’t forget to capture the classic ‘cliff hanger’ photo while you’re here too! Tip: To avoid the crowds and for the best shots, arrive for sunrise. We had the whole place to ourselves for over an hour. The new Kalbarri Skywalk and the Z-Bend River Trail are two other must-see attractions close to the window.
7. Hamelin Pool Stromatolites (279km from Nature’s Window)
This one is a must for any history buffs out there! The stromatolites have been around for 3.5 billion years and we have them to thank for the air we breathe as they were some of the earliest oxygen producers in the world. They come up pretty cool under the camera and the jetty allows you to get some great top-down shots of them even without a drone!
8. Shell Beach (61km from Hamelin Pool)
I went a little insta-crazy here. How could you not?! A beach with shells as sand? Heaven! Don’t forget to take a photo throwing the white cockle shells in the air, holding them in a love heart shape in your hands and making a pattern with them on your body (I forgot this one and I’m devastated). Tip: If you’re a solo traveller like me and don’t feel like asking someone to take photos for you, try recording a video on your phone and then you can take screenshots of your favourite moments.
9. Wooramel River Retreat (198km from Shell Beach)
This one was a huge surprise but it’s now made it up the top of my favourite campsites ever. With its artesian hot springs, red dirt and clear views of the milky way at night, Wooramel is any photographers dream. If you know how to take photos of the night sky, please fill me in! I’m dying to find out.
10. Carnarvon Cactus Farm (147km from Wooramel)
I’m not going to lie, there’s not an awful lot to take photos of in Carnarvon but there are a few hidden gems. This cactus farm on South River Road is one of them! It’s literally just someone’s front garden but they don’t mind it becoming insta-famous. Just remember to check out their fruit stand while you’re here. Tip: With all the banana and fruit plantations around Carnarvon, there are so many more amazing photo opportunities I just didn’t get to!
11. Quobba Station King Waves Kill Sign (72km from Carnarvon)
If you didn’t get a photo with the ‘King Waves Kill’ sign at Quobba Station did you even drive along Australia’s Coral Coast? This is possibly the most iconic photo along this road trip and one you NEED to get. Don’t be afraid to park your car in front of the sign and run onto the road to get the perfect shot. Just watch out for cars! Tip: The Quobba Blowholes are right next to this sign. Don’t miss out on seeing them as they’re pretty spectacular! If you’ve got a buddy, get them to take a photo of you standing in front of them!
12. Coral Bay Snorkelling (271km from Quobba Station)
Where else can you walk along pristine white sandy beaches straight into world-class snorkelling. Coral Bay is MUST for your itinerary. While you’re here, why not book in a manta-ray tour. It was seriously the best day of my entire trip and I didn’t even need to worry about capturing the photos. Most tours have an on-board photographer so you can fully enjoy being in the moment. I booked in with Ningaloo Coral Bay Boats and @ashkaras took these incredible photos. Swimming with turtles, sharks and manta rays is an experience I will never forget! All for only $175 with photos.
13. Charles Knife Canyon (132km from Coral Bay)
I couldn’t believe how quiet the gorges around Exmouth were! The whole of Exmouth was pretty much fully booked when I visited but I was still able to enjoy most of the local attractions in peace which makes it very easy for a solo travel to take embarrassing photos of herself. I came up here for both sunrise and sunset as the views were that spectacular. Tip: Some other picture-perfect canyons/gorges around Exmouth are Shothole Canyon, Yardie Creek Gorge and Mandu Mandu Gorge. I recommend doing some of the walks if you want to catch a glimpse of the rock wallabies.
14. Snorkelling around Exmouth (91km from Charles Knife Canyon)
Turquoise Bay is every tourists’ dream! White sandy beaches, crystal clear water and snorkelling in ‘the drift’ (a current pulls you along the reef without having to paddle) is every instagrammers dream but if you want to get shots off the beaten track, then I’ve got the places for you. Recommended by locals, Oyster Stacks has some incredible snorkelling at high tide. At Lakeside, you can swim around huge coral ‘bommies’ which provide great hiding spots for sea creatures. My personal favourite though was Osprey Bay. I don’t want to give too much away, but try and take a kayak if you can! To note: Most of these snorkelling locations are in Cape Range National Park. It costs $15 a day to enter Western Australia’s National Parks. I bought a 5-day pass for $25 from here or you can buy them at the entrance to the park.
Photo taken by @ahskaras onboard @ningaloocoralbayboats
