Carnarvon's unique location, just south of the tropic of Capricorn, makes it the perfect tropical oasis. Situated approximately 904km north of Perth, Carnarvon is a place to relax and enjoy the sunshine or take a break before continuing your exploration of Western Australia.

Carnarvon's wonderful climate and beautiful beaches stretch north towards the Ningaloo Reef and south towards Shark Bay. With its abundance of attractions, a host of accommodations and exciting tourism products the town is a wonderful place for a truly memorial holiday.

Carnarvon is commonly recognised for its banana plantations, tropical fruits, fine seafood and warm climate and situated in the heart of the Gascoyne Region on the doorstep of the Indian Ocean.

Also known as a fisherman�s paradise, Carnarvon has many prized fishing spots, the most famous of which is the one-mile jetty. Carnarvon is also well known for great surfing and its tropical mango and banana plantations.

Inland from Carnarvon is a very different landscape. To the east, 450 kilometres away is Mt Augustus, rising 1,160m above sea level. Mt Augustus is twice the size of Ayers Rock. The Kennedy Ranges are 160 kilometres from Carnarvon and offers an opportunity to explore for fossils and gem quality stones, not to mention the natural beauty of the ranges.

Carnarvon provides excellent accommodation including Bed & Breakfast, self contained, resort, hotel motel & caravan park accommodation.

Carnarvon gets warm to hot Summers and cool, wet Winters but there is still plenty of sun in the cooler months to go around!  It's a typical Mediterranean style climate really!

So whether you like it hot or a little cooler the weather is ideal for holidays in our beautiful region most of the year round, so planning a holiday is made so much easier

Like so much of the Western Australian coastline the area around Carnarvon was known to Dutch sailors in the early seventeenth century. It was the Dutch sailor Henderik Brouwer who, in 1610, discovered that the best route from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia was via the Roaring Forties. The idea was head east for a few thousand kilometres then turn left. Brouwer achieved the crossing of the Indian Ocean and turned left before reaching Western Australia. Six years later Dirk Hartog sailed too far and arrived at Cape Inscription on 26 October 1616. It was here that he placed his famous pewter plate.

After 1616 the area of the coast which includes modern day Carnarvon became known as Eendrachsland after Hartog's boat Eendracht. No one showed any huge interest in the Eendrachsland because of the unreliability of the rainfall, the apparent non-existence of permanent water supplies, and the harsh desert vegetation which characterised the area.

The first serious exploration of the area was that undertaken by Lieutenant George Grey in 1839. By any conventional measure the journey was a disaster. In February 1839 Grey and ten men were landed on Bernier Island with three whale boats. The plan was to explore the coast north of Bernier Island. They quickly established that there was no water on the island and decided to head for the mainland. During the crossing one boat was smashed on rocks and most of the provisions for the expedition were destroyed. The trip to North West Cape was abandoned and the party attempted to return to Perth. At Gantheaume Bay the other boats were wrecked and the men (one of whom died) were forced to walk the 500 km back to Perth. Perhaps the only contribution Grey made to the area was when he named the Gascoyne River after a naval friend, Captain Gascoyne.

By 1934 (the peak period) the Gascoyne was supporting 1.4 million head of sheep. Numbers have reduced since then as an awareness of the fragile ecology of the area has forced pastoralists to appreciate the risks of overgrazing. The Western Australian Department of Agriculture describes the area as 'mulga scrubland' and that does not suggest endless paddocks of rich pasture.

The town of Carnarvon, named after Lord Carnarvon, the British Secretary of State (1866-74), was gazetted in 1883 and for most of its early life it served as a port and supply depot for the surrounding pastoral industry.