Murujuga National Park

The Burrup Peninsula is only 35 kilometres from central Karratha yet feels utterly apart from the modern city. Entering through a landscape of pillow lava boulders stacked in fiery red heaps, visitors quickly realise that every surface here is a gallery. The petroglyphs were created by Ngarda-Ngarli Traditional Owners over tens of millennia - images of thylacines, megafauna, and sea creatures carved before rising seas inundated much of the coastline. The 700-metre Ngajarli boardwalk is wheelchair- and pram-accessible and features interpretive signage explaining creation stories and ceremonial significance.

For a deeper understanding, guided cultural tours run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings through Experience Murujuga, led by Traditional Custodians who share stories of bush tucker, bush medicine, and the spiritual law bound up in each engraving. Photography of humanoid figures is restricted out of cultural respect; visitors are asked to stay on designated paths and refrain from climbing on the rocks. Entry to the national park itself is free, and it is open all year as a day-use area - the only facilities on-site are car parks and seating, so bring water and use the toilets at nearby Hearson Cove before arriving.