Things to do in Port Gregory, WA

Port Gregory.jpgPort Gregory is a picturesque little town with a beautiful beach, jetty and pink lake. It is the perfect spot to fish, 4wd, swim or to simply relax.

Location

Port Gregory is located 514 kilometers north of Perth and 56km south of Kalbarri.

Driving from Perth to Port Gregory in the spring is stunning. There was a sea of yellow with the wattles in full bloom plus pops of colour on the side of the road as we are currently having our best wildflowers season.

Hutt Lagoon or Pink Lake

The first thing you see coming into town is a stunning pink lake called Hutt Lagoon. The lake is around 14 kilomoters long and over 2 kilomoters wide. We were lucky enough to witness the lake on a still day with an amazing reflection of the clouds on the water.

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The Pink Lake gets is colour from the algal blooms of the microscopic algae Dunaliella salina. The algae blooms when the conditions are salty, sunny and warm.

The Beach and Jetty

The water is very calm as the beach has a natural harbour which was perfect for our small children . There is 5 kilometers of exposed reef, as the waves crash water cascades over the reef. Walk or 4wd south along the coast and the reef is much closer to the shore. This is know as Nobby’s Hole and it is very popular with fisherman.

We launched our kayaks near the jetty and paddled out to the reef. The water was crystal clear with high visibility which meant you could see fish swimming around. Paddling back into shore Dixie had a fish following him. It beached itself right in front of us before wriggling back to the water. With a flick of the tail it was heading back out to the ocean. We later learnt that it was a Northwest Blowfish which is an aggressive species and can inflict serious bites! Lucky we didn’t give it a kiss like Rex Hunt before we set it free!

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There was plenty of marine life around the jetty and we threw in a line but didn’t have much luck.

Hutt River

Hutt River Mouth.JPG

At the mouth of the Hutt River we put our kayaks in the water and paddled up the river. We didn’t have to paddle far before we saw several little islands covered in grass which was a popular spot for pelicans. The river banks have a contrast with steep red banks on one side and large white sand dunes on the other side.

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hutt-river

We stopped on the sand dunes and climbed to the top where we took in a view of the ocean, river and over to Lynton Convict Hiring Station. Further down the river the vegetation changed to a thick growth on the banks of the river.

It is a beautiful spot to explore or you could simply have a picnic at the mouth of the river and watch the pelicans.

hutt-river-kayak

Lynton Convict Hiring Station

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Lynton Convict Hiring Station is located just out of Port Gregory. The convict hiring station employed convicts to work at the local Geraldine Mine and local pastoral station. The ruins of stone buildings still stand and some of the building have been restored. The Commandant Captain Sanford’s house is set on the hillside above the buildings of Lynton Station.

The station  was in operation form 1853 to 1856 and it is worth a look to get a glimpse of what life was like for the convicts.

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Sanfords House.JPG

Port Gregory offers many natural attractions and if you enjoy fishing then it is a perfect spot for you. It is the perfect place to wind down and relax!

26 thoughts on “Things to do in Port Gregory, WA

  1. Wow – what a beautiful part of the world. I cannot believe how stunning Pink Lake/Hutt Lagoon is!! I have never been to WA (I live in Brisbane) but gee I’d love to go. Thanks for showing me some great places to visit if or when I ever get there! 🙂

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  2. Gosh our country has so many amazing features and nature is the best!! Thank you for sharing your part of Australia with the rest of us. Magical places and I learned so much too. Thanks for linking up for Life This Week 4. Denyse

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  3. […] Port Gregory became our home for a week, we set up our camper trailer and enjoyed a peaceful stay at the Caravan Park. As soon as we arrived we were made to feel welcome. The owners were away and they had someone looking after the park. The caretakers were extremely helpful and always around the park checking things were running smoothly. […]

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