Overview
About Hawks Head Lookout
Why stop
- An easy, accessible path to a distinctive river-gorge view.
Heads up
- The hawk-shaped ledge takes imagination to spot.
- A more modest view than Nature’s Window or Z Bend.
Hawks Head Lookout is a roadside viewpoint over the Murchison River Gorge in Kalbarri’s inland section. A short, flat path from the sheltered picnic area ends at a viewing platform above red-and-white sandstone walls. It makes a good quick stop on the drive toward Ross Graham; if you only have time for Kalbarri’s headline gorge views, Nature’s Window and Z Bend are the more dramatic outings.
Parkwolf’s verdictShould you stop?Map
Where it is
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Kalbarri Tour Guide
Your drive to Hawks Head Lookout, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Kalbarri National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Kalbarri audio tourRecorded for this place
Hawks Head Lookout“You're nearing the access for Hawks Head Lookout, an easy place to see the Murchison winding below the gorge walls.”
Plays as you drive up to Hawks Head Lookout in the Parkwolf Kalbarri Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Father with Striped Chicks
- Ross Graham Lookout
- Slopes Inside the Sandstone
- Salt That Splits Stone
- 58 audio storiesacross Kalbarri’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Perentie, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Western Grey Kangaroo, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 18 trails, 19 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Hawks Head Lookout
The easy walk to the viewThe path is 0.2 km return on a flat, hardened surface, with no steps or steep sections.
The path is 0.2 km return on a flat, hardened surface, with no steps or steep sections. It’s suitable for unassisted wheelchair users and prams. You follow the same path back, so this is one of the easiest ways to get a proper look into the gorge.
Look for the hawkFrom the platform, the Murchison winds below layers of orange-red and pale sandstone.
From the platform, the Murchison winds below layers of orange-red and pale sandstone. The projecting rock profile that gave Hawks Head its name can take a little imagination to recognize. For a photo, keep the river below the cliff in your frame; that gives the sandstone walls some scale.
An old gorgeThese cliffs are Tumblagooda Sandstone, laid down about 400 to 430 million years ago.
These cliffs are Tumblagooda Sandstone, laid down about 400 to 430 million years ago. The rock preserves trace fossils left by early arthropods, including sea scorpions and trilobite-like animals. The Murchison River cut deep into an uplifted sandstone plateau, creating a gorge that runs for about 80 km.
Keep an eye among the rocksRare black-flanked rock wallabies live among the rocks near Hawks Head.
Rare black-flanked rock wallabies live among the rocks near Hawks Head. Look carefully, but treat a sighting as a bonus rather than something to plan around.
Picnic and practicalitiesThere’s a sheltered picnic area, parking and a toilet at the stop.
There’s a sheltered picnic area, parking and a toilet at the stop. There’s no drinking water in the park, so bring your own, along with anything you want to eat. National park entry fees apply. Pets aren’t allowed in the park, and caravans, trailers and boats can’t be taken into this area; there’s an unhitch bay near the park entrance.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Kalbarri
29 sightingsPerentieMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
12 sightingsWedge-tailed EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
33 sightingsWestern Grey KangarooMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
44 sightingsBlack-flanked Rock WallabyMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
24 sightingsEmuMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
23 sightingsEchidnaMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Kalbarri. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
