The park covers 186,096 hectares and offers some of the most spectacular scenery in Western Australia. Few areas in the State boast more species of native flora and during July and October the park's landscape is ablaze with colour. The Murchison River Gorges, including The Loop, Z Bend, Hawkes Head Lookout and Ross Graham Lookout, slash ubruptly through Sand Plain for 150 kilometres from the Highway to Kalbarri town. It is estimated that these tumblagooda sandstone walls were created 400 million years ago on the tidal flats of an ancient sea. Fossil tracks and sea fossils can be found in many places along the river.
The Coastal Gorges including Red Bluff, Pot Alley Gorge, Rainbow Valley, Eagle Gorge, Shell House, Mushroom Rock, and the most spectacular of the lot, Island Rock and the Natural Arch, provide spectacular views of this rugged piece of coastline. The ocean here has carved out massive chunks of soft limestone coast and created towering cliff formations approximately 100 metres high, strange rocky shapes, secluded beaches and colourful layered sands and silts compacted and layered in stone.
Getting There
Access by Car: North West Coastal Highway, then left eighteen kilometres to Kalbarri National Park Boundary sixty-five kilometres to Kalbarri township. Roads to the Murchison River Gorges can be rough and care should be taken. Coach tours to the river gorges are available from Kalbarri. The road to the coastal gorges is sealed with short sections of unsealed road to the car parks. Short walks to the gorges from the car parks.
Please Note
Primary Groups
Site Description Gorge, National Park, Wildlife Park
Site Facilities BBQ Area, Picnic Area, Public Toilets, Rest Area, River, Walking Trails
Tour Types Self Guided Tours
Attractions Aboriginal Sacred Sites, Billabongs, Caves, Cliffs, Lookout, Rare & Endangered Species, Rivers & Lakes, Rock Pools, Wildlife
Activities Birdwatching, Bushwalking, Camping, Canoeing, Gorge walking, Photography, Picnicking, Swimming, Tours, Walking
Displays Native Wildlife
Admission Free Admission
The coastal gorges are easily accessed by a sealed road, short unsealed sections to the parking areas, and then short walks to the gorge lookouts. The park hosts an array of flora, including magnificent wildflowers from July to October, Banksia and Eucalypt thickets, River Gums and fauna, including Red and Grey Kangaroo, Euros, small Marsupials, Echidna, Feril Goats and Pigs, many Birds.
Hiking and back-pack camping in the Gorges only. Formal camping and caravan in township. Permission from Conservation and Land Management is required prior to back-packing in Gorges. There are walk trails to all gorges. For extended walks of the coastal trail and Murchison Gorges permission needs to be granted prior to arrival.
This stunning region offers pristine beaches, charming coastal towns as well as majestic hinterlands and national parks. Read more ...
