I’ve not written a tops & flops post in a few years (well, I haven’t written any post in a while).
But since we’re back from our eight months on the road, mostly in Western Australia with a couple of months in the Northern Territory thrown in, it’s time to share our favourite spots and activities, and what didn’t quite meet our expectations.
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TOP 5 ON OUR GREAT AUSSIE ROAD TRIP
We spent more than half of 2025 on the road, and on the whole we loved our trip.
Australia is incredibly diverse and has so much to offer but places are also lot busier than they used to be (and WA is certainly not as ’empty’ as it once was!).
The below list has been preceded by numerous conversations between the husband and I, and we’re still not entirely settled on it but this is it for now.
1. MARINE WILDLIFE AT SHARK BAY (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)
We almost missed out on Shark Bay full stop.
We had some serious car trouble that meant having to bypass Shark Bay initially.
But thanks to a really cool spring south of Geraldton (where the car got fixed), which felt utterly freezing to us after having just spent months in 30+C heat, we turned back north again and ended up camping around Shark Bay for almost two weeks.
We had no real expectations, barely knew anything beyond Monkey Mia and the dolphins, and definitely did not expect such abundant marine wildlife as what we encountered.
From snorkelling near Dirk Hartog Island National Park, kayaking in shallow waters with rays and more rays, reef sharks and turtles, spotting yet more rays, sharks and turtles from Skipjack Point (Francois Peron National Park) and Eagle Bluff Lookout, to seeing dugongs (albeit far away) and frolicking dolphins in Shark Bay, it was one highlight after another.
It felt like the waters were literally teeming with creatures here just waiting to be admired.
2. NINGALOO REEF (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)
We spent almost three weeks around Ningaloo Reef: Two and a half weeks in and around Exmouth and Cape Range National Park, and then another few days in busy Coral Bay.
We would have loved to travel south along the dunes and 4WD tracks but our car was in some trouble so that was never going to happen. It’s a bit of a shame because I have no doubt we would have loved it.
That aside, Ningaloo was not a high priority for me when we initially set out on our trip (never done snorkelling, don’t love water all that much, etc. etc.) but gee, did it blow me out of the water (well, not literally)!
We hired snorkelling gear for two weeks, and spent hours and hours being mesmerised by the underwater aquatic delights in various snorkel spots around Ningaloo Reef.
We kayaked to a lagoon to snorkel, joined glass bottom boat tours, swam with whale sharks at the very last minute, stumbled upon hundreds of green sea turtles frolicking in the shallows and on the beach, swam with chasing manta rays (oh my gosh!!), and watched juvenile reef sharks practising their circle swims in a ‘shark nursery bay’ in Coral Bay.
We hiked in Cape Range National Park and camped in one of the best national park campgrounds at Osprey Bay.
And even though the reef experienced catastrophic coral bleaching in early 2025 (and devastatingly looks more like concrete than beautiful organisms in many spots now), Ningaloo easily catapulted itself into our top 5 experiences on our extended road trip.
3. MITCHELL PLATEAU (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)
Back in the Kimberley, a region we had high hopes for, we took a side trip off the Gibb River Road along the Kalumburu Road to reach the Mitchell Plateau.
Unlike Shark Bay and Ningaloo Reef, we had actually planned to come to Mitchell River National Park to camp for a few days and hike to impressive Mitchell Falls.
The Mitchell Falls hike was indeed fabulous, the 4-tiered thundering waterfall spectacular (the early morning ‘helicopter fly-in’ crowds less so), and the swimming in the river later deliciously refreshing.
The Mitchell Plateau also offers some unusual but fascinating Gwion Gwion rock art, and King Edward River is just beautiful to swim in (though check with locals regarding croc activity first).
4. CAPE LE GRAND NATIONAL PARK (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)
Queensland likes to think that it has the best beaches in Australia but honestly, Western Australia doesn’t even have to try when it comes to beaches.
And nowhere are they more spectacular than on the southern coast of WA (though the Coral Coast is glorious too).
The sand around Cape Le Grand National Park near Esperance is incredibly white, the water incredibly blue-green, and the granite outcrops and headlands incredibly scenic.
Lucky Bay, Hellfire Bay, Thistle Cove, … take your pick, they’re all insanely picturesque.
Cape Le Grand is not a quiet place; in fact it’s extremely popular but even in the madness that is Christmas/summer holidays, you can somehow still find a spot to chill.
Camping here is not easily achieved (I suggest you start booking your campsite six months out!) but it’s oh so worth it if you can get in and spend a few nights at Lucky Bay.
5. HIKING THE SOUTHERN WALKS LOOP AT NITMILUK NATIONAL PARK (NORTHERN TERRITORY)
We tried again and again to book the Jatbula Trail in Nitmiluk National Park last year but couldn’t quite make it work. So on the spur of the moment, we decided to hike the lesser-known but equally deserving Southern Walks at Nitmiluk National Park.
You don’t hike the Southern Walks Loop for its scenic trail value (though I did enjoy them in the early mornings). A large part of the hike is on a wide management track, the trails are very exposed and hot, and you’re hiking on top of the escarpment with few views.
But… the campsites at Eighth Gorge and at Fifth Gorge are in the most spectacular spots!
If you’re early in the dry season, you may not be able to swim in the gorge (crocs) but the rock pool at Eighth Gorge will still have swimmable water and maybe even a little waterfall. It’s just gorgeous.
Go mid-week if you can and you may be there all by yourself. You might just find yourself in a little slice of paradise.
FLOP 5 ON OUR GREAT AUSSIE ROAD TRIP
Well, if there are tops, there’s got to be some flops as well.
Surprisingly, we had very few real disappointments when you consider that we spent almost eight months on the road.
1. TAKING A HELICOPTER FLIGHT OVER PURNULULU NATIONAL PARK (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)
Our biggest disappointment on our Great Aussie Road Trip was definitely the helicopter flight we took over Purnululu National Park in the Kimberley region.
It’s not that I wouldn’t recommend it (everyone likes different things), it’s just that our expectations were completely shattered.
The husband had listed this scenic flight as one of his ‘must-do’s’. I’d spent time researching, spoke with the company before booking regarding what I was after (the 45 minute flight option to take photos with good light), talked to the office guy and the pilot before taking off but all to no avail.
We had a terrible pilot (monotone, rote commentary, not accommodating to ensure everyone got views at all, …), terrible light (totally wrong time of the day), sitting in the wrong spot on the helicopter (we flew a different direction than the flight brochure indicated), and then the scenery across the Bungle Bungle Range was far more ‘same-y’ than what we’d expected.
As a result I didn’t get the photos I was after.
It felt like we’d just flushed $1,200 down the toilet.
If you do ever decide to take a helicopter flight over Purnululu National Park, go in the morning, just take the short option (except for the famous domes, it all looks remarkably similar) and have low expectations. You’ll probably have a great experience.
2. BREAKING OUR CAR
On months-long road trips you would expect a few car troubles (and we were prepared for a fair few issues) but we didn’t expect that our beloved Toyota Prado would actually break.
It all came down to the radiator cap breaking (who’s ever heard of that?!), leading to the car overheating, leading to a cracked cylinder head while we were travelling some 100km north of Broome.
Although the husband had a hunch from the get-go, it took some time to diagnose and be sure, and then it took even longer to actually get it fixed.
Up in northern WA, mechanics are crazy busy and a large proportion seem only interested in working on mining cars. It was impossible to get anyone to repair our car.
So we didn’t manage to get Mr Prado fixed until we reached Geraldton, almost 2,000km south of Broome.
But he’s been running nicely ever since and got us all the way back home to Queensland. 🙂
3. KAKADU NATIONAL PARK (NORTHERN TERRITORY)
There’s a reason Kakadu National Park is often called ‘kaka-don’t’. 🙁
We’d been to Kakadu National Park in 2017, and although we only had three days, we really enjoyed exploring the park. We took a Yellow Water Billabong cruise, looked at ancient rock art, enjoyed the sunset from Ubirr and hiked some of the shorter trails. But we were in a 2WD campervan and couldn’t explore places like Jim Jim Falls or Twin Falls, only accessible by 4WD.
This time we were in our own vehicle with plenty of time on our hands, ready to explore it all.
Sadly, neither Twin Falls, Jim Jim Falls, Maguk nor Gunlom opened in time for us to explore due to a late wet season (we were there in late June/early July). That’s bad luck.
But the campgrounds were also pretty ho-hum if not downright disappointing while the hiking tracks were in abysmal condition for the most part.
There was some new signage but old signs hadn’t been removed, making things only slightly confusing (2km or 5km? is this supposed to be a loop trail or not? …). Track maintenance didn’t appear to be something that was a priority (is this the end of the trail? why is it just petering out? …).
And then the burning-off, whether controlled or uncontrolled, I have no idea. But the skies were full of smoke by lunchtime every day, creating hazy, smoke-filled vistas and acrid air.
Even the stunning rock art, watching the crocs feed at Cahill’s Crossing, and a beautiful sunset cruise on Yellow Waters Billabong couldn’t salvage such a disappointing visit.
4. MOUNT HART, GIBB RIVER ROAD (WESTERN AUSTRALIA)
On the whole, our station stays along the Gibb River Road were pretty nice, some better than others. But driving all the way to Mount Hart Station was an exercise in ‘don’t waste your time’.
If Mount Hart wasn’t so far off the main road (~50km along a fairly corrugated dirt road), it probably wouldn’t have mattered as much as it did.
The facilities are fine but unfortunately, our camping experience wasn’t great (a couple of young studs decided that starting a fire and chatting loudly at 11pm would be a great use of their time).
Our hike into Matthew Gorge was a bit of a letdown, and any other gorge or waterfall was only accessible via a pricey helicopter flight.
We did really enjoy our calm morning swim at Barker Pool (Dudungarri mindi) but for that the 50km off-road adventure was a bit too far.
5. BROOME
And then there’s Broome.
Due to our car troubles, we ended up stuck in Broome for over two weeks, which was one and a half weeks too many. We probably would have enjoyed it for a few days but we had entirely too many days in a place where there just isn’t that much to do. By the end, we were itching to leave.
Broome’s pearl-fishing history is fascinating and I loved seeing Broome and its coastline from above (our scenic flight to Horizontal Falls almost made it into our Top 5).
But it’s a very small town, you can’t swim in the ocean, and once you’ve been to the Courthouse Market and the (fairly small) night market, watched the ‘Staircase to the Moon’ phenomenon (which is basically lunar reflections in the mudflats), gone to (overrated) Cable Beach for the obligatory sunset experience, and seen the admittedly stunning red cliffs and turquoise water, there isn’t much else left to do.
We even had a look for dinosaur prints in the tidal rocks at Gantheaume Point, drove out to Willy Creek Pearl Farm, strolled around the historic cemeteries in Broome, and did a snubfin dolphin tour in Roebuck Bay (sadly, the snubbies didn’t want to put in much of an appearance).
Broome has amazing marketing, and it’s probably a perfect winter escape for a few days.
For us, it fell a bit short.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I could have easily extended our Top 5 into a Top 10 list, we experienced so many fantastic places and saw so much incredible stuff. I could have included the fantastic overnight hike we did in Purnululu National Park or our scenic flight over Horizontal Falls or the one to the Abrolhos Islands.
We had lunch at the Whaling Station Cafe in Albany that was probably our best meal on the entire trip. Or hang on, was it the sunset dinner cruise at Nitmiluk National Park?!
Even our disappointments are limited to one really bad experience (yes, the Purnululu helicopter flight). The others simply fell a bit short for a variety of reasons or were just unfortunate.
Our car cracking a cylinder head wasn’t the best (and resulted in a fairly hefty bill and a lot of stress along the way) but we’ll never forget that we somehow managed to drive 6,000km through WA in a car that was always on the verge of overheating and had to be gently nurtured south.
If you’ve ever wondered whether time out for an extended road trip around Australia is worth it. It is.
We just wish we’d done it sooner.
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