Photos of Kalbarri National Park, Australia

Kalbarri National Park is a beautiful natural wonderland surrounding the lower reaches of the Murchison River, 485 km north of Perth in the Mid-West region of Western Australia. The river has cut a magnificent 80-kilometre gorge through the red and white banded sandstone, and along the coast, towering cliffs plunge up to 100 metres to the ocean below.

Wind and wave erosion have created impressive cliffs that can be admired from several viewpoints on the coast. There is a natural bridge carved out below Natural Bridge Kalbarri Lookout. The Mushroom Rock Nature Trail leads through Rainbow Valley, with its coloured sandstone ridges, “pipe rock” formations, and the oddly shaped Mushroom Rock. With its quiet beach, the town of Kalbarri is an excellent place to stay.

The Murchison River Gorge is spectacular from the Kalbarri Skywalk, jutting out over the gorge; two platforms are perched right on the cliff top. There are fossil remains of extinct arthropods that lived here over 467 million years ago. Another spectacular view is Nature’s Window, a layered rock formation. Other views of the Murchison River are from the Z-Bend- and Hawk’s Head Overlook. Between those two viewpoints are great views of plant species along the road, especially the Xanthorrhoea grass tree and Banksia with their woody fruiting “cones”.