Sara Foster takes the Indian Ocean Drive from Perth to Monkey Mia to see Australia’s most famous dolphins.

For all free-spirited goddesses, heading north from Perth will guarantee you a memorable variety of Aussie outback experiences. If travelling by vehicle, be prepared for miles of emptiness between your destinations – though keep an eye out for animals either on or by the side of the road, particularly emus, reptiles big and small (including the unique thorny devil), and wedge-tailed eagles; and kangaroos at night or dusk/dawn.

Luxurious accommodation is not all that easy to find from the time you leave the Perth metro area, until perhaps Monkey Mia/Exmouth, and even then that depends on how you term ‘luxury’ (try http://www.discoverwest.com.au to assess your options). I’ve stayed in a hotel, a motel and a caravan park in Kalbarri, and the only place I didn’t share my room with mice was in the caravan park. If you’re game, save your money with cheaper nights in Cervantes and Kalbarri and splash out later.

On your map you’ll see various small coastal towns between Perth and Geraldton. Any of them are a nice place to stop for an hour or two, but there’s not all that much to do and unless you want a few days’ quiet beach break then they’re probably best used to stretch your legs before you carry on with your journey. The exception is Cervantes, which is your gateway to the Pinnacles Desert (Nambung National Park) – a valley of naturally occurring limestone pinnacles. It’s a unique place, and a great spot for photographers, especially at sunrise/sunset. Watch out for kangaroos on the road in and out if you travel in the dark as they are often there in numbers.

Photo: cc. Flickr/robertpaulyoung

Geraldton is a good spot to stock up on supplies and petrol as it’s the only major town you’ll encounter. As it’s five hundred kilometres north of Perth, it’s also a useful place to rest overnight to break the drive. You can sample the local catch while you’re there if you love seafood, but in general be careful as the place is a bit rough and ready, and not all that appealing to me or other female travellers I know who’ve been there – except perhaps as a gateway to the Abrolhos Islands, a renowned scuba and snorkelling spot.

Kalbarri is worth the detour – the town is close to the impressive Kalbarri Gorge National Park where the Murchison river winds its way through the stunning red rock gorges providing great opportunities for hiking and photography – Nature’s Window and the Z-Bend are a must. Other things to do in Kalbarri include visiting the Rainbow Jungle (a parrot breeding centre), the Seahorse Sanctuary, or watching the daily pelican feeding by the beach. You can also go quad biking, sandboarding, canoeing, or take a scenic flight over the rugged coastline. There are some lovely places to eat – try the Black Rock Café – but depending on the time of year you visit, check opening times when you get there: everything seems to close down really early (we’re talking by 8 pm), with the possible exception of the Gilgai Tavern.

Back to the North West Coastal Highway, you’ll soon reach the World Heritage listed Shark Bay area. Shell Beach and Eagle Bluff are worth visiting – at the latter it’s common to spot sizeable lemon sharks swimming in the shallows. Denham is a quiet coastal fishing town, nice to hang out for a little while if you fancy a rest, but the real attraction up here is Monkey Mia’s dolphins. If you’re keen to see them it’s perhaps best to stay at the Monkey Mia resort, twenty kilometres from Denham.

Photo: cc. Flickr/rggoldie

The resort offers a range of accommodation and eateries to suit different budgets, and staying there means you’ll be close by when the dolphins come in, which is usually first thing in the morning. The regular pod of dolphins who visit have got their beach jaunts down to a fine art, and begin coming in soon after sunrise for their three allowed feeds. There’s often not much time in between feeding – in fact they often seem to swim round whichever boat is nearest then come straight back in – so mornings are the best times to see them, though you might just be lucky and find one of them swimming next to you later in the day.

Photo: cc. Flickr/themuddler

Other things to do here include snorkelling and scuba diving, funky little two-person glass-bottom boats that you can take for a spin, or larger catamarans that take you out to spot more marine wildlife, including the endangered dugongs that have found sanctuary in this area. For the more adventurous there’s also the opportunity to head to Cape Peron by four-wheel drive, the westernmost point of Australia, where you’ll find pristine deserted beaches of white sand that merge gloriously into the red sand of the outback. If you do find yourself trekking on red sand be careful what you wear: it stains, and doesn’t come easily out of light clothes.

If your trip ends here, Skywest can fly you back to Perth. However, it’s well worth continuing the drive and heading back to the North West Coastal Highway, and on to Coral Bay and Exmouth, where beautiful beaches and more outback adventure awaits you.

Photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/themuddler/55169366/ CC.

Local novelist Sara Foster continues her journey from Perth through Monkey Mia, and onto Coral Bay and Exmouth. Manta rays? Check. Sharks? Check!

Coral Bay is a tiny town with a huge appeal: a place of glorious sunsets and opportunities to experience the extensive marine life of the Ningaloo Reef. The town lies a few hours’ drive north of Monkey Mia on the North West Coastal Highway, and 140 km south of Exmouth, where the nearest airport and car/camper rentals are located (see www.discoverwest.com.au for more details).

Ningaloo Reef is still somewhat lesser known but no less spectacular than the Great Barrier Reef. Here you can swim with manta rays all year round, or go whale watching from June to October to see the magnificent humpback whales on their annual migration. There are diving trips available from town and a plethora of marine life to see, while the protected lagoon in town is a great spot for beginners to give snorkelling a go. The area is a haven for loggerhead and hawkesbeak turtles.

Further north, Exmouth has accommodation ranging from caravan parks to the new Novotel, which might be your chance to catch up on a bit of luxury if you’ve missed it so far. Again, look to eat early as it’s a quiet place where most places seem to close down soon after sunset, though there are a couple of taverns. The drive from the town into Cape Range National Park is the Australian landscape at its superb best, with the outback on one side of you and glorious beaches on the other. Take the opportunity to snorkel at one of the popular sites, such as Lakeside or Turquoise Bay, which are exceptional spots with rays aplenty in the shallows (wear something on your feet when paddling to avoid a painful encounter). You may well find yourself swimming alongside a turtle or two. Take rashie tops or wetsuits if you can, as despite the largely consistent summery weather, the water is always relatively cool.

At either Coral Bay, or, more popularly, Exmouth, you can go on a ‘whale shark tour’ between April and July, to swim with the biggest fish in the sea. The whale sharks come to the surface to feed after the annual coral spawning, and this gentle giant of the deep is a truly awesome sight to behold – a creature that may look highly intimidating but is quite harmless, guzzling only on plankton. If you go for this, as I highly recommend you do, your biggest challenge will be keeping up with them once you’ve entered the water, as they’re deceptively fast. The tour operators are very proficient at getting everyone in and out of the water quickly, and then will use horsepower to catch up with these marine mammoths so you can jump straight in again! There are a number of very professional operators out of Exmouth (go to www.exmouthwa.com.au for details of these as well as more general information about the town), and if you’re able to take a photo of any whale sharks you swim with, you can log on and upload your pictures to www.whalesharkproject.org, which uses the white spots on the sharks’ sides near their fins to identify each shark. From this they can add you to their invaluable database, allowing you to see any past and future sightings of ‘your’ whale shark. This site is also a great starting point to learn about these sharks and their sister species, as there are many problems endangering them right now which could prove disastrous for their survival and the overall health of the marine environment in the near future, so everyone’s help and support is vital.

Exmouth has a small airport from where you can get back to Perth if you choose to end your journey here. Otherwise, there’s plenty more adventures awaiting you further up the coast, to Broome and beyond!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/philliecasablanca/2052469742/ CC

Perth offers eclectic shopping, alfresco eating and endless sunshine. Free CAT buses encircle the city’s central shopping area, and will take you to Harbourtown at City West, which is packed with outlet shopping – find out more at (www.harbourtownperth.com.au).

To get to the heart of Perth’s character you need to head towards the suburbs. Go east to Subiaco – only 3 stops on the train (approximately $2 one way from town – always get tickets from machines before boarding, so keep your change handy).

Near Subiaco’s station concourse you’ll find markets on Station and Rokeby roads (open weekends and bank holidays), with plenty of one-off shoes, jewellery and furniture.

Head further down Rokeby and try the gourmet chocolates at Rokeby Road, or window-shop at designer jewellery shops and clothing stores. Then head up Hay Street to the Inspiration Factory, where you’ll find a great range of Mind Body Spirit books, cards and gifts.

Restaurants abound, but our picks on Rokeby Road are The Witch’s Cauldron (No. 89) – treat yourself to their scrumptious seafood (www.witchs.com.au) – or try the tasty curries at Chutney Mary’s (No. 67 – www.chutneymarys.com.au). The Llama Bar (www.llamabar.com), on the corner of Rokeby and Hay St, is an award-winning groovy venue to meet friends.

Claremont, further east, is also good for window shopping, and Prontos Italian restaurant (16 Bay View Terrace) is amazing.

Too tired to shop? Travel further along the railway line to Cottesloe, where you can chill out on the beach in front of the famous Indiana Tea House (or go inside for delicious coffee and cake). Try the Blue Duck Café as well (www.blueduck.com.au) for their renowned Blue Duck wood-fired pizza by the candlelit water’s edge.

Done the east? Then head west to Swan Valley (pick up a boat tour with Captain Cooks – www.captaincookcruises.com.au – and then you can fully indulge your wine palette). Jane Brook (229 Toodyay Road, www.janebrook.com.au) does a beautiful selection of wines including their supreme Atkinson Family Reserve Shiraz 2001 ($35).

If you are travelling independently find the tiny Cottage restaurant, next door to the Margaret River Chocolate Company, where you can grab a handful of chocolate drops made from 70% Ghanian cocoa.

If you want to hire a car and explore further north then visit www.m2000car.com.au. Check out the beautiful coastline on the Sunset Drive,