900 km stopping at stunning beach side camp grounds.
Esperance
After stopping in Norseman for a coffee, we continued on to Esperance, staying at Bathers Paradise Caravan Park, for the next few days. The weather was cold wet and windy, until the last day.
Cape Arid National Park
Once the weather cleared we headed out to explore Cape Arid, having explored Cape Le Grande during our previous time in the area.
The wild flowers were amazing.
So many Banksia speciosa (Showy Banksia) lining the tracks. And all in full flower. Stunning.
The beaches are gorgeous, turquoise blue water with white sand. Too windy and cold for us to swim, but beautiful to visit.
Seal Creek Camp Ground
Poison Creek (no camping)
Benlinup Beach Camp
Benwenerup Camp, Stokes National Park
From Esperance, the skies were blue, but the wind remained wild for over a week. Benwenerup Camp in Stokes National Park was lovely, very private, protected from the wind and peaceful. No water, power or phone service, but there were drop toilets and BBQ shelters, all very clean and new looking.
Around the camp
Stokes Heritage Walk, 2.8km
Willy Wagtails building their nest
Right next to our van, two Willy Wagtails were building their nest. It was fascinating to watch them. They collect spider webs on their faces and rub them into the nest.
I love the way they lean on their chest and stomp their feet to press down the spider webs.
Munglinup Beach Campsite
We stopped at the little town of Munglinup which consists of a roadhouse selling fuel and basic groceries and snacks. Directly across the road was a public toilet, a dump point for RV toilets, and a place to fill our van with water.
The Munglinup Beach Campsite is an absolutely gorgeous place to stay. It is run by the shire council, they don’t take bookings, it’s first in best dressed and someone comes around each evening to collect fees. The water was stunning, the snorkelling is apparently great, with leafy sea dragons and sea horses on the reef. Sadly we didn’t go snorkelling as I was still recovering from an illness and the wind was wild. Plus it was very cold. Tim jumped in each day for a dip in lieu of a shower but didn’t stay in for long. There are about 10 camp sites with bushes between each site. They are close to the beach and the area has drop toilets and rubbish bins. There is no drinking water, power or internet.
For anyone wanting power and hot showers, there is the Munglinup Beach Caravan Park just up the road. We didn’t stay there so can’t really say what it’s like.
Tim walked around the eastern point to check out the next bay along.
There were Common Swallows with a nest of chicks, and Willy Wagtails on a nest of 3 eggs.
Hopetoun
To stock up on groceries and check e-mails, Hopetoun is an hour’s drive from Munglinup Beach Camp. The town has a pub, grocery store, cafes, a park, and a few other shops. It also has a great car and caravan/boat wash with 24 hour fuel.
We ended up staying longer than expected as our car battery died while there. As it is a big wheat growing district and it was harvest time, all the local mechanics were out harvesting, so the nearest one was several hours drive away. Thankfully it didn’t take quite that long to diagnose a flat battery and a big thank you to Jimmy of Hinchys Auto Electrics, who had finished work but invited us to his house where he supplied and installed a new battery for us.
Starvation Bay
Starvation Bay is beautiful, we went for the day to have a look. The camp ground has toilets, BBQ areas, the sites were large and it looked like a lovely place to stay. Again the ocean water was so clear, and we heard that the snorkelling is great.
Masons Bay
We took a day trip to Masons Bay to check out the camp ground and ocean. The water looked a lot darker and quite green here, we believe it’s due to the sand being a darker colour. But apparently it’s great for swimming, not sure what the snorkelling is like. The camp ground was large, with each site surrounded by bushes. Probably still a nice place to stay but I would prefer Munglinup Beach Camp.
Albany
Click here check out our 2019 visit to Albany.
On our way to Albany we passed through Ravensthorpe and had to stop at this very colourful shop selling a great variety of local as well as imported confectionary.
Grain Belt of WA – From Munglinup to Albany we spent many hours driving past wheat/grain crops and silos. Also lots of road trains because it was harvest time.
The wheat/grain belt of WA is big, covering 155,256 sq km
Mining
The mural on the overpass forms part of a 10km conveyor belt which carries ore from ‘Ravensthorpe Nickel Operations’ Shoemaker Levy mine on the north side of the South Coast Highway to the processing plant on the south side at Bandalup Hill.
In Albany, we once again stayed at Rose Gardens Beachside Holiday Park, on King George Sound.
We headed here to sit out some bad weather coming from the west. It was nice to have power, water, internet and heating, while the van shook from the wild winds and rain. Being close to town was also a bonus. When the weather cleared we walked around Emu Point to Oyster Harbour.
Always an emotional place to visit. Due to the rain we didn’t explore the grounds like last time, but you can see the photos from our 2019 visit here.
Cheers til next time, Helen & Tim