Of our entire lap of Australia, our visit to to Cape Range National Park was the absolute highlight.
What a magical place to spend time. The Cape Range has so much to offer and this article will outline everything you need to know for your visit there.
So sit back, enjoy….and then get planning your trip to the out-of-this-world National Park!
Ningaloo Reef
The Ningaloo Reef Exmouth is one of the most spectacular marine areas in the world, based in the incredible Cape Range National Park.
It is not as famous as its Eastern cousin -The Great Barrier Reef, but it is just as stunning with its colorful underwater paradise!
Go snorkeling and witness a manta ray or shovel nose ray cruise past you while surrounded by coral reef gardens. Or swim next to the many turtles that inhabit this piece of paradise.
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Want to up your snorkeling game a bit? Then take a cruise and swim with some whale sharks.
These friendly giants can grow up to 18 meters and live past 80 years of age. Most importantly, they are not interested in eating you, only plankton!
Not into snorkeling or swimming with giant beasts? In that case, just relax on the paradise beaches overlooking some of the most vast and turquoise waters you will ever witness.
Find out what road trips to do in Queensland, Sydney, and a visit to Uluru.
Where to Stay in Cape Range National Park
As mentioned previously, I would suggest staying within the National Park instead of driving in and out, which will be nearly 100 kilometers every time.
There are 9 campgrounds over a 40-kilometer stretch within the park. All are the same price with the same amenities.
Our favourite one was Kurrajong Campground, nestled between sand dunes and with almost immediate access to stunning waters with plenty of coral gardens to explore.
The nearby attractions which are no more than 15 minutes away by car are another advantage of staying there.
Be smart and if you know the dates you are planning to visit then book those dates! Ningaloo is a highly regarded area to holiday and is booked out months in advance.
Cape Range National Park – Things to Do
There are lots of different activities to do in Cape Range National Park. If you don’t like the beach and sea however, I’m afraid then there is not that much to do!
*There are no dogs (or other pets) allowed in this National Park
Best Snorkelling Spots
There are three main areas to go snorkeling and all three offer something different.
Lakeside Snorkeling (it’s still the sea and not a lake!!) is near the Visitor Centre. Walk about 400 meters down and enter the water where it is marked.
From there you float back along with the current observing tropical fish and maybe even a harmless reef shark.
Continuing in a southern direction, next up is most people’s favourite – Oyster Stacks.
This area is best explored at high tide. When the tide gets to low point it is nearly impossible to swim or snorkel here as it will be too shallow and destructive to the coral.
This area is like swimming in a fish tank with all sorts and sizes of fish hiding in the many stunning coral gardens.
We were very fortunate to have witnessed a shovelnose ray cruise past us without a care in the world!
Finally, the last recommended spot to go snorkeling is Osprey Bay.
This place is abundant with turtles, and you would be very unlucky not to see one! You would be even more unlucky to get bitten by a venomous sea snake!!
Thankfully Kate just swam over the snake without disturbing it!
Vlamingh Lighthouse
Apart from turtles and tropical fish, you can also see tons of whales migrating up and down the coast. The higher the ground the better view you will have.
Vlamingh Lighthouse is the highest ground nearby and on a good day, you can sight dozens of whales splashing and playing in the sea.
Best Paradise Beaches
If lounging on a beach is more your kind of style, then let me tell you about some of the most beautiful paradise beaches in the world.
The first one is Turquoise Bay, do I need to say more?! Our personal favourite was Sandy Bay. This beach is very popular with windsurfers.
No problem though, if you walk for a couple of hundred meters you will have a paradise beach completely to yourself!
Best Hikes
At the end of your stay in Ningaloo when your eyes are sore, and you have no more interest in going into the water you can still do one more activity!
There are two hikes within the park. The first one is called Mandu Mandu and it will take about one hour to complete this lap that has a few steep inclines and declines.
For the first part, you follow the riverbed until you start your ascent up. At all times you will have stunning views around you of either the ocean and/or the gorge landscape.
The second hike is at the very southern part near Yardies Creek.
This is an interesting walk as you traverse along a freshwater creek on top of the red cliffs and watch the river flow into the sea. If there are no other hikers nearby the only company you will have around will be rock wallabies, emu’s, and birdlife.
- Spaceship Vans – Are you a backpacker or a budget traveler? No problem, then this is the one for you! There are great deals available on Spaceship Vans. We used it for four weeks in New Zealand and had no issues, highly recommended by us! Another bonus is that they have depots in Airlie Beach and Brisbane to drop the vehicle off once your trip is completed.
- WorldNomads – Travel insurance is our go-to insurance company. They have the best fine print of all travel insurance companies and are number one for a reason.
Perth to Ningaloo Reef
There are two main ways to reach Cape Range National Park and Ningaloo Reef from Perth. You can either fly or drive.
What you choose really depends on where you are coming from and how much time you want to spend traveling to Ningaloo and Cape Range.
Perth to Ningaloo Reef Drive
First to know, the drive from Perth to Exmouth – the nearest town to Ningaloo – is going to be a long one.
Even with very few stop-offs, it will take about two full days of driving. Now that you are aware of this, why not consider turning the 1170km into an epic Perth to Exmouth roadtrip?!
To persuade you a bit more, we have broken down the main stops along the way and their drive time here:
- Perth to Geraldton (414 km – 4.5 hours)
- Geraldton to Kalbarri (154 km – 1.45 hours)
- Kalbarri to Monkey Mia (400 km – 4.5 hours)
- Shark Bay to Carnarvon (325 km – 3.15hrs)
- Carnarvon to Exmouth (363 km – 3.40hrs)
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Perth to Exmouth – Flying to Ningaloo Reef
Alternatively, if you are short for time, or road trips are not to your fancy, then you can also fly. Flight time from Perth to Exmouth is about 1.5 hours.
There are many different Perth to Exmouth flights each day. The closest airport to Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range is Learmonth Airport located 36 kms south of Exmouth.
Enjoy!
We truly love this part of Western Australia and hope you love it as much as we do, however, you travel there!
We would love to hear your thoughts on Cape Range National Park. Please feel free to leave us a message below or contact us through our socials.
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