Kalbarri is an outdoor playground best known for family holidays, safe beaches, and the inland and coastal Kalbarri National Park. The beaches offer safe, refreshing clear waters and plenty of wildlife sightings, so what could be better than seeing all this on a fun quad bike? Here's Lisa McClintock's story on how she wanted to share her passion for this beautiful part of the Coral Coast with others…
Originally from Germany, Lisa arrived in Sydney in 2008 but it was full of Germans! With the goal to improve her English, not her German, she packed up Sydney-life and booked a flight to Perth, Western Australia.
So, Lisa, what's your story?
I secured a job through a recruitment agency, which is how I ended up in Kalbarri, to start work at the local pub. With limited English at this stage of my Australian journey, and zero idea of what an Australian pub was all about, can you believe it, I started work just in time for the Melbourne Cup! It was a great introduction and the rest is history, as I fell in love with this beautiful coastal town, the lifestyle and the people.
During my time in Kalbarri, I met my partner Ashley who started Kalbarri Wagoe Beach Quad Bike Tours the year before with his parents. Not long after I moved to Wagoe Beach to live with Ashley and my now father-in-law and mother-in-law who own & run the Wagoe Beach Chalets. Ashley and I now have two beautiful “Aussie” boys and love the lifestyle and the business here in Kalbarri.
It’s been a great year for you – tell us about your passion?
The business is all about showing customers the magnificent sand dunes, wildlife and coastline around Wagoe Beach, along with a lot of fun riding a 4-wheel quad bike or beach buggy. Showing our customers this beautiful part of Western Australia is my passion, similar to the same way I fell in love with it years ago. I also hope I did my best to show them how to appreciate and look after our fragile environment.
Is there any particular work memory that stands out for you?
Each winter I look forward to the annual whale migration. The coastline along Wagoe Beach is a massive reef with the depth of 15-20m so we get to see Humpback and even Southern Right whales come very close to the shore. A great experience for our customers. Last year while on tour with 22 customers, we parked up on top of a hill and were lucky enough to witness a Southern Right whale give birth to a calf.
What else do you love about Kalbarri?
Kalbarri has some of the clearest and deepest blue waters you can see on any coast, along with interesting sandstone cliffs in the Kalbarri National Park. The sunsets are guaranteed to deliver each evening. The diversity of the national park is inspiring with the variety of gorges, beautiful rocks, and picturesque walks on offer, and the opportunity to see wildlife in the park. I am looking forward to the opening of the Kalbarri Skywalk in the national park, early next year.
More about Wagoe Beach Quad Bikes
Enjoy an unforgettable day of fun and adventure exploring Wagoe Beach while driving your own quad bike or beach buggy on a guided Tour. Wagoe Beach Quad Bike Tours offers a guided morning and afternoon tour of Wagoe Beach. The quad bike and buggy tour is designed for the novice as well as the accomplished rider on two seater quad bikes or a beach buggy. The courtesy bus will collect you from your accommodation in Kalbarri and take you to Wagoe Farm for the 2.5hour tour (4 hour tours also available). Soak up the magic of the ride along this pristine part of the Coral Coast.
Book your Wagoe Beach Quad Bike tour.
How to get there
Kalbarri is approximately 6.5 hours drive from Australia’s sunny capital of Perth, or you can fly to Geraldton with Qantas, hire a car and drive north to Kalbarri which is approximately 1hr 50 mins drive.
What else you can do in Kalbarri
Kalbarri offers a wealth of activities and attractions from swimming, surfing, hiking, canoeing, fishing and whale watching.
The Kalbarri National Park is a short drive out of town offering superb walking trails and boasts over 800 species of wildflowers which create an awe-inspiring display from July to October each year. Best known for the iconic Nature's Window, there are 14 sites within the Park including easy trails Ross Graham Lookout and Hawk's Head Lookout as well as more adventurous hiking trails of The Loop and Z Bend. The Kalbarri Skywalk is a welcome addition to the Park's lookouts. Follow one of the many walking trails, join a river cruise, or try abseiling and quad biking.
Jaques Point is a popular surf break for enthusiasts, and offers spectators on the beach close up views of the surfing action. If relaxing and swimming is your ideal way to spend the days then head to Chinaman's Beach and take advantage of the refreshing clear waters.
Don't miss a chance to feed the friendly resident pelicans on the foreshore every morning from 8.45am.
