theotherside

I'm putting together an itinerary, and thinking of traveling late May 2017. The main focus is on the National parks/Countryside and ocean activities including snorkeling with the whalesharks. I believe the whaleshark season is april to august, and wildflowers from July onwards. If I go in June what are my chances of seeing the floral blooms at this time of year? After some preliminary investigation, I am also considering flying in and out of Exmouth,and travelling as far south as Kalbarri before returning, as opposed to driving from Perth to Exmouth, and back again. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance

Melnq8

Whale shark season begins around March 15 - when we went, we were told it ran through June, but I've just read references to it running through Sept 15.

The sharks migrate north, so the later in the season you go, the further north you want to be, meaning Exmouth vs Coral Bay.

Wildflower season begins in September down around Perth. Up north it does begin earlier, but we didn't see any flowers when we drove up to Ningaloo in June several years ago. Plenty of red dirt though.

This site might help:

http://www.australia.com/en-us/place...ldflowers.html

Do be aware that the airport near Exmouth (Learmonth) is actually 36 km south of Exmouth.

I have a trip report posted here from our trip several years back, it might give you some ideas about routing, etc as it includes drive distances, which are vast.

There's an airport in Geraldton too, which is about 155 km from Kalbarri - I'm not sure how well it's serviced, but you might look into flying into Exmouth, driving to Kalbarri, then on to Geraldton to fly out. It'd prevent backtracking.

The problem will be car rental - WA usually has very high drop off fees for one way rentals, so this may not be a feasible option.

Just be sure that if you drive both ways from Perth-Exmouth that you have sufficient time - it's a long haul, and remote, so when roads flood as they can very well do in the winter months, there may be no other road to take.

theotherside

ThanksMelnq8,

If your trip report is the one below I found this on the weekend and finding it very informative, thankyou!

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...y-long-way.cfm

I have also checked out one way car rental fees with Hertz, and yes as you say, the fees almost forbid me from that option.

Most likely I will stick with the car pick and drop off in Exmounth.From what I have cheked out thus far, it will give me a bit more time in particular areas, as opposed to looping up and back to Perth. I will call the Exmouth tour company in relation to the whalesharks, maybe they are more plentiful at particular times?

Thanks again and bit more investigation in progress.

Melnq8

That's the one.

eliztravels2

On our first trip to Australia we took a caravan trip from Mandurah, south of Perth, to Coral Bay. As I recall it was 16 days. Although I have travelled extensively in Canada which is equally vast and uninhabited, I still had trouble getting my head around how much distance was involved. It was a terrific trip, but a lot of empty space between quite small communities.

Melnq8

Many visitors underestimate the distances in WA - most of the proposed itineraries over on TA by Singaporean visitors will make your head spin.

The state of Western Australia is a 1/3 of the Australian continent. That's a mighty big state.