Western Australia Roadtrip

For my last trip to Australia, I wanted to go out with a bang and do a Western Australia road trip in a campervan. I have never done a road trip longer than eight hours that was not in a regular car, so I was super excited about this new experience. I went with Annabel, Arielle, Lola, and Ava. We started in Perth, drove up to Exmouth, and then went back down to Perth, stopping along the way. This was our route:

Day 1: Perth to Geraldton (3 hours)

• Stopped at Lancelin Sand Dunes

• Stopped at Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park

• Stayed at Belair Gardens Caravan Park

Day 2: Geraldton to Exmouth (9 hours)

• Stayed at Ningaloo Caravan Park

Day 3: Exmouth Day - went to Turquoise Bay and Vlamingh Head Lighthouse

• Stayed at Ningaloo Caravan Park

Day 4: Exmouth to Kalbarri

• Snorkeled in Coral Bay (2 hours from Exmouth)

• Drove 6 hours to Kalbarri

• Stayed at Kalbarri at Tasman Holiday Park

Day 5: Kalbarri to Perth (6 hours)

• Hiked the Z Bend River Trail in Kalbarri National Park

• Stopped at Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake on the way to Perth

• Stayed at my family friend's house

Day 6: Rottnest Island

• Dropped campervan off

• Took noon ferry to Rottnest (30-minute ferry), spent the day there, and took the 4:30 pm ferry back (latest ferry possible)

• Flew home at 11:55 pm

We had to switch our itinerary because of snorkeling at the Ningaloo Reef. We wanted to snorkel with whale sharks, but every single company was fully booked. We had some complications with booking a tour, but we got to swim with manta rays which was awesome. If you want to swim with whale sharks or other whales depending on the season, book AS SOON AS POSSIBLE because it was filled up until August.

If you booked a tour, call the day before to confirm. We were signed up to go snorkeling on day three, so we drove two hours to Coral Bay just for them to tell us something got messed up with the booking/ TripAdvisor and that they were not doing tours that day. It was fine because they had space for us the next day, but we wasted time driving back and forth to Coral Bay. We got our money back and everything was straightened out, but it can’t hurt to call before. The company we snorkeled with was Ningaloo Coral Bay - https://www.ningaloocoralbay.com/thing-to-do/manta-ray-tour-half-day/.

We rented our campervan from Apollo Campervan. Between the five of us, it was pretty cheap, but it ran through gas so quickly which is something to be aware of. We were driving a lot and we had to stop for gas at least twice a day which was surprising to me. At night, we stayed at campervan/ RV sites which enabled us to plug in our campervan, which gave us power for the stove, microwave, etc. Again, split between the five of us the price wasn’t too bad, but I went into it with the assumption that we would only pay for the van and food and nothing else. I did not realize the prices of gas, random supplies, and campsites. I was surprised by how much money I thought I was spending, but it was 100% worth it. Sleeping in a campervan was such a unique and fun experience, and there was no better place to do it than in Western Australia. These are just factors that sneak up on you that I would consider before planning the trip.

DAY 1 - APRIL 24th

I met everyone at the airport at 5:30 a.m. for our 6:15 a.m. flight. We landed in Perth at 9 a.m., picked up our campervan, and then got breakfast at F5 Coffee and Kitchen before hitting the road. Most of us got avocado toast with a fried egg, and it was delicious. We bought snacks for the van at a nearby grocery store and then started driving to Geraldton. Annabel was the first to drive, but we all switched off throughout the trip. Driving the campervan was easy and it felt like a regular car (besides parking), so don’t be discouraged, I think anyone could do it. On the way to Geraldton, we stopped at the Lancelin Sand Dunes. We wanted to rent sandboards so we could try to snowboard down the dunes, but there were none available. It cost ten dollars to rent one for an hour, but we just asked people on the dunes to borrow theirs. This worked much better because we all got to try it and didn’t have to pay, and I don’t think we would have wanted to sandboard down for an hour. If you go, I would ask someone to borrow theirs first, and then if you want to keep doing it try to rent one. It was cool and beautiful, especially with the bright blue sky in the backdrop.

After the dunes, we drove an hour to the Pinnacles Desert. The campervan was too big so we could not drive through the dunes, but we walked around and it was super cool. It was interesting that it was only an hour from the dunes, but it looked so different from them. We stopped for gas and made sandwiches, and then we drove four hours to Belair Gardens Caravan Park. We got groceries, made pasta, and were all asleep by 10:30 p.m. It was an awesome first day.

DAY 2 - APRIL 25th

Today was our big driving day. We woke up at 6 a.m. and packed up quickly to start our 8-hour drive. We stopped for snacks and gas but were mostly in the car all day. We each drove, played wavelength, and I doodled in my journal. We listened to music and I gave Ava some riddles. We ate so many Tim Tams and Teddy Grahams with Nutella and PB, and it was fun. The drive was pretty and bare and reminded me of Mars. We finally got to Exmouth around 5 p.m., and Arielle had the genius idea to run a mile to the beach for sunset. Ava and I joined her, followed by Annabel, and it was so nice to move our legs after a full day of sitting down. The run was nice, but the sunset was absolutely beautiful. The water was like glass, and the sunset above it was light blue, pink, and yellow. We swam and the water was lovely, but we quickly headed home to make dinner. We made pasta and a hummus and veggie platter and then had more Nutella for dessert. We each had some homework to finish, and we called it in early once again.

DAY 3 - APRIL 26th

Today we were supposed to go snorkeling. We left at 7 a.m. for Coral Bay, a two-hour drive from Exmouth. We got there at 8:45, where we were told that the tour did not exist for that day. We got our money back and rescheduled for the next day, so now we had a free day! We drove to Bullara Station and went to a cute cafe that had great pies and biscuits, and saw some cows and goats. We drove to Turquoise Bay (the park fee is 17 AUD) and swam there for an hour. The water was perfect. It was warm, light blue, and clear. The sand was soft and we all splished-splashed around. Afterward, we went to the store and got ingredients for a charcuterie board, and then drove to Vlamingh Head Lighthouse for sunset. It was up on top of a hill, and the view was spectacular. We ate an embarrassing amount of cheese and told stories while watching the sky change colors, and it was easily one of my favorite moments on the trip. Staying there until the sun fully went down and the stars came out, we arrived at Ningaloo Caravan Park later in the evening and went to sleep.

DAY 4 – APRIL 27th

We got up early and drove back to Coral Reef to snorkel. We met the group at 9 a.m., and after a short bus and boat ride, we were at the reef. There were about 20 people on the boat and four crew members. After getting geared up, we jumped in the water and followed one of the crewmembers while he showed us different things in the water. The reef was beautiful and busy, we saw multiple sea turtles, a whitetip reef shark, a snake eel, and an octopus. It was awesome. After the snorkel, we traveled 30 minutes by boat to swim with manta rays. We were split up into two groups, and each group would jump out of the boat while it was moving when it was near a manta ray so we could swim with it before it disappeared. We jumped off the boat first and quickly found the manta ray, and wow, it was incredible. Pure awe. We were informed that they are the most intelligent animals in the sea, and it was amazing to be in their presence. It was massive, its gills looked like human lungs, and its mouth was open wide, as they are filter feeders that collect nutrients in the water. The manta ray was barrel-rolling in the water to collect the most nutrients possible, and we just sat there and watched for 10 minutes. We were lucky because the manta rays usually swim really fast and groups only see them for a few minutes, which happened to us the third time we swam with one, but two out of the three were barrel rolling. We were also informed that we were seeing the rare melanistic manta rays, which are black. There are only 5% of them in the water, and we saw two! Even though we did not get to swim with the whale sharks, the manta rays were incredible and we all left feeling fulfilled. After the manta hunt was over, we were given fruit, cheese, crackers, and cookies while the boat drove back to shore. We were done by 1 p.m., and it was the perfect amount of time.

After snorkeling, we got gas and water and headed to Kalbarri National Park. It was a six-hour drive away, and we filled the time by sharing our life stories, starting with me and followed by Annabel. We listened to more music, played more riddles, and arrived at Tasman Holiday Park at 9:30 p.m.

DAY 5 – APRIL 28th

Today was our last full day with the campervan, as we were headed to our final destination of Perth! We had a slow morning and left around 8 a.m. for Kalbarri National Park (17 dollar AUD park fee). We stopped for coffee in town at Red Bluff, and they had little pastries too which were delicious. Once we got to the park, we hiked the Z Bend River Trail, which was a 1.3-mile hike that took us 25 minutes. It was rated as a class 5 hike on the park pamphlet, but it was super mellow and manageable, there were just a a few rock scrambles. Lola decided to bring her coffee which made things difficult, so I would recommend having your hands free for the rock scrambles and latters. The trail took us down to the river, and then we walked down the left side of the river. We were in a mini canyon and the rocks were pretty, but the coolest thing was how quiet it was. We could hear the birds chirping and flapping their wings, and we all sat and admired the silence for a few minutes. We hiked back up and went to the lookout, which was cool to see it from a different perspective and where we had just come from. The hike was the perfect length, and it was nice to get our legs moving after being in the campervan for so long, but I’d recommend a bug net because the flies were pretty annoying.

After the hike, we drove 45 minutes to the Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake. Again, it was so different from the national park, and was awesome to see so many different landscapes and environments in such little time. We ate sandwiches and hummus in the van, and then drove 6 hours to Perth and arrived just in time for dinner.

I have family friends in Perth, so we parked the campervan in their driveway and spent the night with them. It was Babs, Duncan, and their three sons- James, Max, and Zach. My mom lived with Babs after college, but she moved to Australia after marrying Duncan (who is from Perth). They made us spaghetti Bolognese, and it was so fun to catch up with them and stay there.

DAY 6 – APRIL 29th

We had a quick snack and then headed over to the Apollo Campervan store to drop off the car. Annabel had to answer some questions about the van but overall it was super fast and easy. After a sad goodbye to the campervan, who had treated us so well over the trip, we went to iL Lido for brunch in Cottesloe with Babs. I had avocado toast and it was amazing. We were headed to Rottnest Island that afternoon, so Babs kindly dropped us off at the ferry station so we could catch the noon ferry. It took us thirty minutes to get to the island, and once we arrived we rented bikes. The island was so cute and I highly recommend going. We biked around the island and stopped at Little Salmon Bay to swim, I saw a stingray in the water and we also saw quokkas, which were so cute. We biked back to the wharf and got ice cream before catching the 4:00 ferry back to Perth. The last ferry from Rottnest to Perth is at 4:30 p.m., so I recommend going as early as possible to optimize your time. We meant to take the 10:15 a.m. ferry but were tight on time. Even though we didn’t have a very long time there, it was so worth it and I definitely would go if you could!

We went back to Babs’ and got ready to leave Perth. We were taking the red eye at 11:55 p.m. back to Sydney. Duncan made us amazing green curry, and we talked at the table with her family for two hours before she took us to the airport. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Sydney. Lola accidentally bought her plane ticket for the 30th, so she stayed an extra day in Perth. The rest of us landed in Sydney at 6:15 a.m., which was brutal but necessary because I had the whole day to get ready to go back to the States, as I am leaving on May 2nd!!!

The trip was awesome. I felt like I mentioned most of the tips above and throughout the entry, but I definitely recommend this trip. Western Australia is a unique place that is worth the trek, and the campervan made it so much fun and such a funky experience that I will probably never have again. Just make sure to have gas places and grocery stores mapped out before you go, and buy plenty of water because it gets pretty hot. This was a perfect way to end my time abroad, and now I feel like I accomplished everything I wanted to while in Australia.

- Ellie 5/3/25