BigBlue

We're currently planning to drive from Perth to Monkey Mia in November of next year. We're in our early 70s and my wife is quite mobile while I need to use the car to get around as opposed to long walks.

We have been persuaded by friends who are more fit than I that the scenery and attractions in that stretch between MM and Perth as well as those in the MM area are not to be missed. We are not camper folks so we'll be using a regular passenger car and staying in commercial digs.

Our thought is that we can drive from Perth to Geraldton the first day and from there to MM the next.

We would then spend three nights at MM and repeat the process on the return. So, a couple of questions present themselves:

1. Is Geraldton the logical place to stay? It certainly appears to be the largest place en route and is exactly halfway according to the mileage chart I'm using.

2. Is the MM Dolphin Resort the logical and best place to stay to be in the center of things or is there some place better that will allow full access to the activities in that area?

Many thanks,
BigBlue

BigBlue

ttt

travel4flowers

I just returned from 2 weeks in WA. We drove part of the route you are interested in. We drove as far as Kalbarri. We did it in two segments. We drove from Kalbarri to Jurien Bay. This took us about 3 hours. It allowed us to check the wildflowers along the way. We also had enough time for a late afternoon/sunset drive at Pinnacles National Park. The next day we drove on to Kalbarri. We stopped in Geraldton for leasurely lunch (Free Mason Hotel) after we spent the morning looking for wildflowers outside of Jurien. We made it easily to Kalbarri by 4pm.

I think you should be able to do the drive in the time you suggest. Geraldton is probaby the logical stop. The major sites along the way are the Pinnacles and Kalbarri. Both are about 45-1 hour side trip off the highway. You might have time to go out to Pinnacles on the drive to Geraldton. It is about an hour from the Brand hwy to the park. You might be able to also see the town of Kalbarri as a side trip, but it will take a bit longer to drive to the lookouts. You do have to walk to the lookouts. The distances are anyway from a short distance to 1km to Z-Loop lookout.

The Brand Hwy is two lanes. The speed limit is 110km/hr so you can make time as long as you are not behind either a camper or a road train. A road train is a triple trailer truck and can be challenging to pass. Fortunately, there are passing areas.

It was already hot when we were in Kalbarri in early October so expect some hot weather in November.

Also - for trip planning, I recommend the WA tourism website at www.westernaustralia.com. For driving times, try whereis.com

BigBlue

Thanks to all for your very helpful comments. We are taking it all in and have, for the moment, arrived at a plan which takes from from Busselton to someplace just north of Perth in one day.

We would then use the next day to get to Geraldton via a stop at The Pinnacles. The following day we would drive to MM and spend two nights.

We would return to Perth taking two days to do so stopping in Geraldton again to break the trip.

My question is where is the best place to stop on the north side of Perth that would offer multiple motel/hotel options but be out of the city itself? That way we could spend the night there, stop at the Pinnacles, and continue on to Geraldton. Based on my research Cervantes is just too far to go from Busselton in one day and, once there, it appears that only one motel is available, the Best Western.

Thanks also for the tips on websites. I'm having tremendous success using:
http://www.travelmate.com.au/MapMaker/MapMaker.asp

Cheers,
BigBlue

travel4flowers

Most of the towns north of Perth are pretty small and only have one or two hotel/motel options except for Geraldton and Kalbarri. The Best Western is the best option in Cervantes. We choose to stay in Jurien Bay which is about 30 minutes north of the Pinnacles. We found a nice B&B - The Heights in Jurien Bay. I would recommend it. The Sandpiper Tavern had great food for dinner.

The highway north out of Perth does go through the Swan Valley so it might be a good option for staying just outside/north of Perth for a night. Another option but I think it is a bit out of the way is York. We drove through the town going from Jurien Bay to Narrogin and it looked very interesting. I think the Avon Valley where York is located is a weekend getaway for Perth. New Norcia was recommended also but we never made it there.

BTW, it took us about 3 hours to drive from Busselton to Fremantle along the coast. We drove it in the evening before our flight to Sydney which left at midnight. We didn't see much but did notice that there seemed to be a lot of factories or refineries in the harbor before Fremantle.

travel4flowers

A couple of other driving notes. I recommend the touring maps by Streetsmart.
http://www.dli.wa.gov.au/corporate.n...t+Touring+Maps
We got ours at Angus & Robertson in Perth and I think the VICs sell them.

Also, the current gas prices are about $1.22/liter in Perth and MR. It gets more expensive as you go father north. We paid $1.40/liter in Kalbarri.