Steep Point (Edel Land) to Perth via Nature’s Window, a pink lake, lobster rolls, and some weird rocks

I’ve been mentioning Steep Point for a while now – it’s the westernmost point of mainland Australia and was the final compass point that Nick and I needed to hit in order to cover off all four – south, east, north, and west. And from Steep Point, it was pretty much a beeline down the coast to our hotel reservation (on points – yay free hotels!) in Perth. Here’s a map of what this post will cover in the paragraphs ahead:

Steep Point was definitely the most remote of the compass points we’ve visited. Getting there requires first getting to the westernmost part of WA, known as Edel Land, and then driving a network of tracks over dunes and along beaches.

We didn’t see a single other vehicle while driving out there – and it was a little scary (just a little) when we decided to explore some side tracks and got slightly lost (Nick would like me to clarify that he was quite confident the whole time).

Anyway, we made it!!

Because Edel Land is so remote, you pretty much have to camp there if you’re going to go to Steep Point, but luckily National Parks has provided some absolutely glorious campsites. We loved ours and can’t wait to go back one day – it was a huge site, right on the beach, in a sheltered bay and protected from the wind.

The next day, after checking out a few of the nearby tracks and lookouts, it was back on to highway 1 and continuing on to the next amazing place: Kalbarri.

Kalbarri is both a town and a National Park, and home to the famous “Nature’s Window”, along with countless other hiking tracks, lookouts, and natural wonders. We spent a night in town so that we could explore as much as possible nearby.

From Kalbarri, we drove down the coast to nearby Gregory, where there’s a pink lake. A real pink lake, not like the Pink Lake in Gatineau National Park in Canada. This one is called the Hutt Lagoon. Apparently the water is made pink by some sort of algae which produces beta carotene and colours the water.

From Hutt Lagoon, we were getting closer and closer to civilisation – we no longer needed to worry about how far it was between fuel stops, all sorts of fruit and veg were now available, fresh bread and meats, and lots and lots of tour buses, camper vans, caravans, and the like were sharing the roads with us. It sort of seems like the end of an era, and the beginning of a whole new experience on this trip. The south coast of Australia is much more populated than the areas we’ve travelled in the first half of our year…we’ll probably not be in a situation again where we need to carry 40 litres of water and an extra jerry can of fuel.

On our way to Perth, we stopped in Cervantes, a town famous for fresh lobster, and shared a $30 lobster roll. Our verdict – skip it – the whole town has become a tourist trap. You know us though – we still had fun!

Just outside of Perth, maybe one or two hours north, we were told to check out the Pinnacles Desert. It was sort of one last weird and wonderful Outback hurrah before we hit the big city of Perth. The desert is filled with these limestone formations, stretching as far as the eye can see.

The Pinnacles were worth a look, but the place was just slammed with tourists and tour buses, with a bitumen road winding through the part of the desert that was open to the public, so Nick and I kind of couldn’t wait to be out of there. Yes, I suppose we’re now remote tourism snobs – we like having places all to ourselves and we are going to have to get used to sharing again!

From the Pinnacles to Perth, the environment quickly changed and civilisation became more and more evident…

And we had arrived in Perth! Population 2 million…by far the most massive city we’d encountered in the six months since leaving Sydney. We were looking forward to giving the Bumblebeast some special treatment, starting with a car wash and dropping her off at a Jeep Specialist for some modifications and repairs (by someone who actually knows Jeeps…they seem to only know about Toyotas in the top half of the country).

We were looking forward to a little special treatment for ourselves, too — a few nights in a hotel, and overindulging in Perth’s vibrant restaurant and bar scene, as well as exploring the famous Botanic Gardens, the port of Fremantle, and the excellent museums. Hello Perth!