Exmouth & Coral Bay Instagram Trail Map

While you will need a 4wd to access this epic spot, it is well worth it! Crossing yardie creek, driving along a dirt road, and then eventually reaching the beach - you will want to time your visit here for low tide so you get a nice and defined sandbar (we recommend a tide of 0.1 - 0.2 metres). Additionally, you could try and time your visit so low tide coincides with early morning/late evening and add interest to your images by having prominent shadows along the sandbar. while we think a drone is best suited to shooting Winderabandi, you can of course capture the sandbar with a phone/camera too. in this instance, we recommend using either the zoom function, or capturing just the point of the sandbar. (Tip – if you’re steady on your feet - try and take the photo from out in the water – the sandbar will give the illusion of walking on water!).

Our favourite walk in Exmouth! We personally love visiting yardie creek at sunset as the cliff faces turn the most incredible shade of orange and red. Photography wise - the options here are endless; you can get a photo paddle boarding or kayaking down the bottom, picnicking up the top, or our favourite – you can walk along the top until you reach the curve in the river and capture the gorge snaking around. To get to this specific spot it’s about a 25 minute walk (~1km) from the carpark. Drone, camera, or even phone photography works well here – if you’re looking to shoot from down in the gorge (e.g. kayaking/paddle boarding) - wind and time of day will be your biggest considerations and a gopro or drybag will be essential. Otherwise, if you’re looking to capture the beauty from up top, and want to include yourself in the pics - we recommend wearing light and bright clothing so you stand out against the cliffs. Note: please ensure you do your research before flying a drone, permits may be required and of course, be careful near cliff edges.

What’s better than a beautiful sunset walk? A beautiful sunset walk with wallabies! While you can walk up top and/or along the bottom of Mandu Mandu gorge, we personally prefer shooting it from up top, and especially at golden hour (1 hour before sunset) as the cliff walls light up with the last rays of light. An hour after sunrise would also work well. Our favourite spot for photography in Mandu Mandu gorge is about a 40 minute walk from the car park (walking up along the top) as from here you can really capture the gorge snaking in and out and of course, its sheer size. If you visit this beautiful spot at golden hour we recommend experimenting with capturing sun sparkles and rays in your shots! We loved using a low aperture so we stood out against the soft glowing backdrop. Alternatively, if you’re feeling a bit camera shy, you can use your phone/camera and snap some cute photos of the rare black-footed rock wallabies! Which let’s be honest, might EVEN BE MORE INSTA-WORTHY!!

Turquoise bay - one of our favourite spots to photograph in Exmouth! If you want to capture the picturesque sandbar here, we suggest visiting on a low tide of 0.4 - 0.6 metres. We also love capturing our defined shadows against the white sand. To do this, we recommend timing your visit so that low tide coincides with golden hour (1 hour after sunrise/before sunset). Alternatively, if you have an underwater camera/ housing, turquoise bay is the perfect spot for snorkelling and capturing the plethora of marine life. For snorkelling and underwater shots you will want to visit at high tide – at least 1.2 metres. Not a confident swimmer/snorkeler but still want to capture the abundant marine life? No worries – turquoise bay has you covered! You can actually stand (or even sit) in the calm shallows and still get your insta-worthy shot! Just get ready for the friendliest (and most!) Fish you will ever meet in your life! Note: please ensure you do your research before flying a drone, permits may be required.

Our favourite hidden gem in Exmouth! To get to this incredible spot, take the second last track on the right before the yardie homestead turnoff, park your car and follow the track to the dunes (~ 5 minute walk). Any type of camera will work wonderfully here. A drone will capture the sheer size of the dunes while a phone/camera will capture the beautiful patterns in the sand. To make the ripples prominent in your photos, we recommend setting your phone/camera quite low to the ground. The dunes are a great spot to get creative with your shots too – try throwing sand, or holding ribbons/ scarves in the wind, or at sunrise/sunset, try snapping one side of the dune in light and the other in shadow. Lastly, we think wind is the most important factor for shooting here - anything over 25kph will make things pretty tricky.

While a 4wd is certainly required to access Shothole Canyon, the adventures you will have (and the photos you will take!) Are well worth the corrugations and bumps! In terms of photography, our favourite part of Shothole Canyon is right at the end of the road – approx. 12km in (where the parking is). Here, you can take the short climb up to the lookout (less than 5 minutes) and get the most incredible view overlooking the canyon. (n.b the initial lookout was washed out when we visited – dec '21 – but we thought this temporary lookout was great! We recommend visiting the canyon at golden hour (1 hour after sunrise/before sunset) so you can capture the soft light pouring in. Be aware that as you are on the canyon floor, it gets much darker around sunrise/sunset than at Charles Knife Canyon. In terms of equipment, we think a drone lends itself to shooting the road as it snakes and winds its way through the ranges while a camera/phone is a better for capturing the view from the lookout.

The most scenic drive in Exmouth! And of course, that means endless photo opportunities! Our favourite time of day for shooting Charles Knife Canyon is during sunrise (n.b - the sun rises over the ocean) and we particularly love shooting this specific cliff edge as it faces directly out to the sun (especially during the months of march and October – the sunrise lines up perfectly). This specific spot is on the right, 450m after the road turns to gravel and you can park right near the edge. From here, it's less than a 1 minute walk and plus – by having your car parked right there, you have the option of getting it in a shot too! Unsurprisingly, any type of camera works well here - you can use a drone and capture more of the canyon down below, or a zoom lens and carefully have a subject standing/sitting out on the edge (tip – a bright picnic blanket looks great against the red rock) or you can even set up a timelapse on your phone if coming at sunrise/sunset. Disclaimer - be careful around the cliff edges.

Rock pools, sand dunes, bays as far as the eye can see and a spectacular rock formation with a lagoon. Oyster bridge is nothing short of stunning and you will be reaching for your camera as soon as you arrive. Like most of coral bay – your options for photography are endless here. You can angle your drone and capture the seemingly endless bays or position it straight down and capture the lagoon created by the rock formation. Alternatively, if you have an underwater camera or housing, you can snorkel along the sides of the reef and share your insta-worthy snaps with a few cute turtles or fish. To snorkel along oyster bridge, the lowest tide possible is best. Want to get a photo of your 4wd set up on the beach? You can do that here too – just make sure it’s not during October – march for turtle nesting! (and be prepared to 4wd over some soft dunes!!) Note: please ensure you do your research before flying a drone, permits may be required.

Pack the 4wd and take off for the day – go and explore the incredible coastline south of five fingers reef - the turtle cliffs are filled with adventure, incredible views and of course, rock pools. We loved this rock pool uniquely shaped like Australia (we just couldn’t find Tasmania!). We found the most rock pools between the southern end of five fingers beach and the turtle cliffs. To get here, park your 4wd in one of the small pull offs (where it’s safe to do so) and walk down to the ocean to start adventuring! To explore the rock pools along this stretch of coastline, we recommend a low tide of less than 0.6 metres so the waves aren't crashing over you. We found the drone best for capturing the clear waters of the rock pools (and of course - us floating in them!). Ps - don’t forget to wear your reef shoes when exploring and of course, be extra careful not to damage the reef!