Kalbarri
Kalbarri, a 6-hour drive north of Perth or a 90-minute north of Geraldton, is a popular holiday spot on the beautiful Coral Coast. It is located where the Murchison River meets the Indian Ocean.
Kalbarri is a suburb in the Northampton region of Western Australia.
The Kalbarri town has a population of just above 1,550 people. During the holiday seasons, the population of the town can swell to 8,000. The Kalbarri town attracts 200,000 visitors every year to explore Kalbarri National Park that surrounds the Kalbarri town.
Kalbarri National Park
Kalbarri National Park has 2 distinctly different types of landscape and covers an area of 186,000 hectares.
Northeast of the Kalbarri town is inland river gorges by the Murchison River. The rock formations are 400 million years old. South of the Kalbarri town is spectacular ocean cliffs by the Indian Ocean coastline. Many of these cliffs are more than 100 metres above sea level.
Cyclone Seroja
In April 2021, Cyclone Seroja damaged a huge number of tourist accommodations and residential properties. These buildings were still in various stages of repair and rebuilding in August 2021.
A significant number of the property damages were loss or damage of the roof structure caused by roof tie-down failure after a window or door was broken by wind or flying debris. You could imagine the huge pressure created within the buildings by the ferocious wind brought about by Cyclone Seroja.
All of us hope the Kalbarri residents will get through the rebuild process smoother and sooner, and get their life back to normal.
The Kalbarri waterfront walk
The best point to start your Kalbarri waterfront walk is Zuytdorp Memorial which is a lookout point providing 360-degree top-down views of the best part of the Kalbarri town centre, Murchison River mouth, the beach area, and the Indian Ocean.
Zuytdorp Memorial commemorates the Dutch East India Company merchant ship Zuytdorp that was shipwrecked on the coast 60 kilometres north of Kalbarri in 1712.
From Zuytdorp Memorial you may walk on the beach by Murchison River or on sealed walk paths alongside Grey Street. You will walk past Chinaman’s Beach, Kalbarri foreshore playground, pelicans feeding point, before reaching Kalbarri Maritime Facility.
The one-way distance between Zuytdorp Memorial and Kalbarri Maritime Facility is approximately 1.5 Kilometres. If you are a visitor and would like to watch pelicans feeding, be at the pelicans feeding point at 08:45 am. The local volunteers feed the pelicans every day starting at 08:45 am. Kids enjoy watching pelicans being fed.
Want to discover more great walking locations around Perth? Check out the “By the Waters” blogs.
The best point to start your Kalbarri waterfront walk is Zuytdorp Memorial which is a lookout point providing 360-degree top-down views of the best part of the Kalbarri town centre, Murchison River mouth, the beach area, and the Indian Ocean.