Pure white sands and deep blue ocean, two great National Parks and Esperance: feed the inner beachbum in the deep south of Western Australia.
Lucky Bay Is famous for having the whitest sands in Australia and friendly kangaroos on the beach. However, here we were the first weekend in January and the beach had turned into a giant carpark. Ranks of Toyotas were lined up on the sand as far as the eye could see and the sole kangeroo was sensibly sticking to the upper carpark. There were hundreds of people – this wasn’t my idea of paradise.
I was pissed off with Esperance too. The woman had been unfriendly in the tourist office and had taken great pleasure in telling us that all the camp sites in the nearby Cape Le Grand National Park were booked out until April. We decided to drive 120 km east to Cape Arid National Park instead and found a mercifully quiet campsite at Thompson River. The park stretches nearly all the way to the South Australian border, supporting a huge diversity of plants and bird life in near pristine wilderness, but this was as far as we could get in our 2-wheel drive vehicle. It was far enough.
Walking down the estuary from the campsite, we came to a white sand beach, stretching far away to the east. The water was a brilliant vivid blue and we had stunning views as we set off on the Tagon Walk, picking our way up rounded red granite slopes which fell right down to the waters edge.
The track led us down the rock to Dolphin Cove, a lovely sheltered bay and not a person to be seen. On squeaky sand, we picked our way along a clean white beach then climbed back over a scrub covered granite headland to drop onto Little Tagon Beach. The next section was sandy and led us to Tagon Beach, overlooked by a large hill to one end.
In the course of an afternoon, we saw about three other people and were astounded by the beauty of these beaches. Even the vegetation was different: our leafy campsite was surrounded by banksias and we were woken by flocks of honeyeaters coming in to feast on the flowers. For anyone thinking of visiting this corner of Australia in the holidays, I would pick this park – and even better if you have a 4×4 to explore further.
We loved the tranquillity of Cape Arid and reluctantly headed back west. A great free half way camping spot is the reserve at Condingup, near the Condingup Tavern which has a store and fuel. It is a good stop en route to and from the parks or it is possible to drop down to Wharton Beach for the day.
Not being able to camp at Cape Le Grand, we had a busy day’s visit. We started with the climb to Frenchman’s Peak, only 262 m high but a hot half hour ascent. We were awarded with superb 360° views from the top, the bushland below drawing one’s eye through to the ocean and the distant islands that make up the Recherce Archipelago. Don’t miss the cave opening to your left near the top as you climb up: it is actually a massive arch and frames the seaward view beautifully. It has the added advantage of being cool and breezy.
Lucky Bay’s white sand combined with the blues of the ocean to stunning effect, but it as it was so horribly crowded, we didn’t linger, choosing instead to take the scenic Le Grand Coastal Trail over to Thistle Cove. Soon we had left everyone behind and Thistle was much quieter and just as beautiful. This walk actually runs for 20 km, linking Cape Le Grand Beach to Rossiter Bay, with camping at the start and at Lucky Bay: I can see it would be an incredibly beautiful walk.
These beaches all have granite backdrops and it is this hard stone which produces the whitest sand. Unlike soft shell beaches, the tiny pieces of sand are so rough and hard that they actually squeak when you kick your feet along them – and quite loudly too. Try it, it’s great fun!
We finished the day at Hellfire Cove, as lovely as any and by the time the sun was low in the sky only a lone fisherman was left. We had to duly traipse the 50 km back to Esperance where we stayed at the jolly Bushlands Caravan Park near the Pink Lake (which is no longer pink!).
Esperance
There’s not a lot to say about Esperance: it is really just a succession of wonderful beaches with a perfectly pleasant service centre tagged on. We did the 40 km loop of the Great Ocean Drive (anti clockwise is best) from town, each bend in the road revealing yet another breathtaking beach. We liked Eleven Mile Beach with its lagoon tucked behind the reef, creating great swimming holes. Two dolphins frolicked past in the waves and it was very beautiful with the offshore islands – indeed I would go as far to say that the ocean portion of this loop could be the equal of any ocean drive anywhere.
The cove to the west of Twilight Beach also had great waves for Simon to bodysurf and some nice flat rocks to lounge on, as well as the usual white sand, but it is really impossible to pick a favourite. If you have ever had inclinations to be a beachbum or you just love great beaches, those of Western Australia are as good as any in the world. You might have to bring a packed lunch and you will definitely need shade of some sort, you might even have to camp but you will be rewarded with some of the worlds best beaches and you may well be the only person on them.
Just don’t go to Lucky Bay in the holidays!
