THE ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE: Australian South-West Road Trip
- Giselle Benson
- May 26, 2024
- 11 min read
Updated: May 27, 2024
Are you a lover of endless days of sunshine, blue skies, ocean waves, and beaches that seemingly wander on forever? Australia's south west offers breathtaking discoveries for nature lovers and wanderlust souls alike. As someone who grew up in Western Australia it was not until moving abroad that I truly began to appreciate how marvellous the Australian coastline is. My soul had been yearning to reconnect with the ocean spirit and our four week holiday to the south west of Western Australia was a nourishing and life-affirming voyage. In this guide you'll discover the best beaches, camping spots, hiking trails and vegan eateries from Perth to Esperance.
Australian South West Road Trip Guide:
When to visit Australia's South West
If you envision an adventure filled with swimwear and sunshine, there is no better time to visit Western Australia than during summer. We arrived late January and journeyed around the south west until late February. While you'll experience wonderful weather from late November to mid April, it can be helpful to consider how stimulating you want your trip to be. Bear in mind school holidays take place during December and January, and university breaks are usually from late November until early March. Our holiday timeframe overlapped the end of school holidays by a few days and we were so grateful for the peace and tranquility that was afforded to us for the remainder of the trip. If you're happy wafting through the crowds of locals and tourists than you need not consider the aforementioned discussion. A bonus for visiting WA is that it is noticeably less touristy than the east coast of Australia. It is quite possible that you'll have many of the most magical destinations to enjoy entirely by yourself and your band of travelling companions.
Another factor to consider when planning your roadtrip is the weather. Fortunately, much of Australia's south west is notoriously dry. For the most part, we were graced with weeks of endless sunshine and blue skies. We experienced two days of rain out of our month-long road trip, both of these occurring in Esperance. Something else to consider is that January can often be the windiest month of the year. If you are not already familiar with the winds of the south-west, they can indeed be very volatile.
Planning your roadtrip
As mentioned, we visited Australia for about one month. Our actual time spent road tripping, however, was closer to two weeks, as we enjoyed a week in Perth and Rottnest Island prior to hitting the road, as well as 6 nights at Airbnb's in the Cape Naturaliste peninsula towards the end of our trip. Had we had had neither of the additional stays booked we perhaps would have extended our time on the road by one or two weeks.
We would highly recommend an SUV four wheel drive - we borrowed a family friend's Toyota Prado which was a wonderful decision. Consider bringing a few gallon-sized water bottles to ensure that you have ample hydration for when you pass through regions with limited access to potable water. Other helpful travel essentials included sunscreen, shade (hats and a portable parasol), snacks, and offline maps or a functioning GPS.
Perth and Fremantle
We flew into Perth and headed straight for North Fremantle to stay with family. We would recommend staying in Fremantle (Freo) or North Freo rather than Perth city as there's a great laid-back beach vibe to this area and you'll find an abundance of good restaurants, cafes, and the likes. One place to visit in Perth, however, is Kings Park. This expansive botanical green space offers great shady walks through natural vegetation as well as spectacular views of Perth city. If you enjoy walking or bike riding you can also explore the Mounts Bay Road foreshore which offers waterfront bike and pedestrian access from Perth City to Nedlands.
Perth Beaches and Nature Outings
Our favourite beaches around this area were Mosman beach, Leighton beach, Port beach and North Cottesloe beach (Grant street entrance). The first three beaches mentioned are essentially one long strip of sand sectioned off according to different neighbourhoods. We ventured from Port beach to Mosman beach and back on several occasions for leisurely morning walks while the air was still cool and fresh. As Perth is notoriously windy we found the most sheltered spot on a gale-force day to be Port Beach snuggled right next to the groyne (rock strip). We found the weather to be calm early-mid morning, so this was often the best time to head out for a walk and a swim. Leighton beach can be a great place to spot dolphins and sea lions early in the morning on a calm day, so keep your eyes peeled. If you're wanting to maximize your time enjoying the sunshine and visiting as many beaches as you can, consider renting either a push-bike or an electric bike. We opted for the latter. Another beautiful morning walk to catch the sunrise is along the shore of the Swan River. A great place to start is the trail head at Alfred road in North Freo and turn left and follow it along for as long as you would like.
EATERIES
My favourite eatery for breakfast, lunch and dinner was Bib and Tucker, located on Leighton beach. The views of the ocean are wondrous, the food is tasty, they have plenty of delicious vegan options, and there's an easy-going laid-back vibe. Although there is not much in the way of vegan options, the Shorehouse in Swanbourne is a great place to sit out on the deck and enjoy a drink as you welcome in the views of the expansive Indian Ocean. Another great spot for a morning tea, coffee or juice is Il Lido. The Beach Bus was one of our regular stops in the morning for a smoothie or smoothie bowl, located in the Mosman beach park car park offering a spectacular perspective of the beach. There are numerous restaurants to check out while in Perth and Freo, although we mainly enjoyed home-cooked goodness from the world's best chef (my mum - biased opinion) during our stay in the homeland.
Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island (Rotto) was certainly one of the highlights of our trip. We stayed at the Samphire hotel for three nights. We would definitely recommend staying here. The ocean was our front yard and we could see stingrays gently swimming along the clearwater shores of Thompson beach. Rotto is also home to the Quokka - the sweetest mini kangaroo-looking marsupials that dot the land with their furry and loving presence. You'll be bound to cross paths with dozens, if not hundreds of quokkas during your visit to Rotto. Our favourite eateries were Isola - an Italian restaurant offering an abundance of delicious vegan options, the Lane Café - for vegan pre-prepared take-out breakfast and lunch items, and Kuld Creamery for tasty vegan ice-cream sandwiches.
BEACHES AND BIKES
We rented e-bikes to ride around the island and discover Rottnest's many white-sand limestone beaches. You could rent a traditional push bike although this would require considerably more time, energy, and water bottles to keep hydrated. Every beach we happened upon was magnificent, although if we had to choose a select few these would be our top six: Little Parakeet (we saw quokkas on the beach here), Parakeet Bay (for dune rolling - if you climb up the dunes on the eastern edge of Parakeet bay you get great views of the neighbouring Little Parakeet bay), Little Armstrong Bay (for snorkelling), Rocky Bay (far western corner of the beach - you're likely to have the beach to yourself), Eagle Bay (great for rock jumping) and Little Salmon Bay. We also saw a group of seals out at Cathedral Rocks.
Esperance
Esperance was the first stop of our official road trip. We chose to venture out to this destination first as it would be the coldest spot of our trip, so we wanted to get there while the temperature was still fine. We drove just shy of eight hours directly from Perth, stopping once for my husband to try an Aussie meat pie and a sausage roll. We arrived shortly after noon on an uncharacteristically warm day for Esperance (temperatures nearing 40˚C). We wanted to be sure to experience this warmth as we were warned that the water in this region was particularly chilly. The cool waters proved to be the perfect way to stay cool during the heatwave. Esperance is also typically a windy place however, we were blessed with a very gentle breeze upon our arrival. We stayed at an Airbnb less than 200 metres from the beautiful Blue Haven beach. We had direct access to a beautiful beach walking trail which spanned kilometres of Esperance's beautiful coastline. We would recommend staying near Blue Haven Beach or further west rather than in the town of Esperance. We found this region to be in closer connection to nature and very peaceful. Plus, the town was only about a 5 minute drive from our accommodation. Given we had some parameters around the duration of our road trip, we only stayed in Esperance for three days before heading east to Cape le Grande national park. If you happen to be blessed with a week full of brilliant blue skies and sunshine we would encourage lounging around this beautiful coastal town for longer.
Our favourite beaches in Esperance in order of appearance were: West beach, Blue Haven, Twilight beach, Salmon Bay, and Fourth beach. The great southern drive is also worth exploring. We decided to turn around and drive back along the coastal route as opposed to exploring the inland loop.
Cape le Grande National Park
About 50 minutes east of Esperance lies the sublime Cape le Grande national park. We camped here for three days at Lucky Bay campground. We would recommend camping as opposed to a day trip from Esperance as there are so many natural wonders to discover in this beautiful nature reserve. We saw dozens of kangaroos during our stay at Lucky Bay, most of which were spotted early morning or around sunset. While this was indeed a beautiful bay, we preferred Thistle Cove, Hellfire and Little Hellfire as these were more peaceful and also free from cars. We journeyed along a beautiful and rocky coastal out-and-back trail from Lucky Bay to Thistle Cove. Our favourite beach in the Esperance region was Wharton Beach. Perhaps important to point out, this beach lies to the East of Cape le Grande national park and was about an hour drive from our campsite at Lucky Bay to get there. For anyone who is wanting to voyage to this magical land of tranquil turquoise waters and pure white sand beaches, it may be helpful to consider that there is about a 25km stretch of unpaved gravel road along the way (well worth it in our opinion). You can also drive (we walked) a short distance to Little Wharton beach for more spectacular sun-drenched sanctuaries. We recommend packing a picnic, lots of water, portable shade, and a good book - unless, of course, the ocean is your entertainment. Although we didn't have surfboards with us, Wharton beach appeared to be a great spot for beginner surfers with friendly-looking gentle waves.
Fitzgerald River National Park
Fitzgerald River National Park was a short and sweet stop on our westbound journey. About a 2 hour drive west of Esperance, we stayed the night at Four Mile Campground located in the eastern sector of the national park. We arrived here shortly before sunset and enjoyed swimming at Four Mile and Barren beach, both located a short walk from the campsite. Early the following morning we drove into the park to complete the East Mount Barren trail. This was a beginner-friendly ~3 kilometre out-and-back trail that took roughly an hour and a half to complete at a leisurely pace. The burst of fresh air and the gorgeous panoramic views of East Mount Barren served as our morning espresso shot. We hit the road shortly after to continue venturing west towards the Albany region.
Albany and Denmark
After about three hours of driving from Fitzgerald River NP we arrived at East Bay Campground. This was a magical spot looking out across brilliant blue waters at Two People's Bay Nature Reserve. Although we did not visit this nature reserve on our trip we heard great reviews about Two People's Bay, so it could be someplace worth exploring. We arrived shortly before noon and enjoyed the rest of the day lounging at the beach and soaking up the sun.
The following day we headed out early into Albany to visit Torndirrup National Park and walk the Bald Head Trail. This was by far our favourite hike of the entire journey. The views were breathtaking from start to finish. The trail traverses hilltop ridges with unparalleled panoramic vistas of turquoise waters and lush vegetation. This out-and-back hike took us about 5 hours to complete, including a leisurely lunch at the end of of trail before making our way back. We visited the NP on a beautiful warm summer’s day, so by the time we finished the trail we were sweaty and ready for some salty swims. Misery beach and Salmon Holes are both located a short drive from the trail head and are great destinations for either a quick dip or an afternoon of sunshine. We found Misery beach to be more sheltered from the wind.
As nature enthusiasts our goal was to soak up the splendour of the great outdoors as often as possible, so we did not really explore the town of Albany other than to use the free showers (which were great) and to stop by @_fredericks_ for a wholesome and delicious smashed avo 🥑.
Next up on our road trip extravaganza was Denmark located about a 45 minute drive west of Albany. Denmark was a magnificent and memorable portion of our south west road trip around Western Australia. Throughout our adventures in Denmark we camped at Shelly beach located in the West Cape Howe national park. This campsite was about a 30 minute drive east of Denmark, and it was well worth the travel time. We pitched our tent about 40 metres from the mesmerizing blue waters of West Cape Howe, nestled amid lush rolling hills. This was the perfect spot for morning and evening beach walks. A 20 minute trail lead you to a cliffside lookout with panoramic views of the surrounding natural wonders, boasting spectacular sunrises.
During our three days in Denmark we would head to Mrs. Jones Cafe either for lunch or breakfast to fuel our bodies with nourishing, wholesome, vegan goodness before heading to William Bay national park. Our favourite swim spot was Elephant rocks, which offered promising snorkelling and shelter from the notorious winds of the south west. On a calm day Madfish Bay and Greens Pool are great places to hang out. We also stopped by Monkey Rock one day for a short and sweet morning stretch before a day of soaking up the healing benefits of sunshine and saltwater.
Margaret River Region
Next up on our road trip was the Margaret River region. We packed up from Shelly beach early one morning to journey the three and a half hour drive towards Hamelin Bay to swim at the popular sting ray hotspot. Hamelin bay boasts kilometres of pristine white sand beaches and tranquil turquoise waters. We swam with four stingrays. After this we made our way north into the Boranup forests and visited Contos beach. This was my favourite beach in the Margaret River region (possibly the entire trip). The beach is backed by limestone cliffs providing shelter from strong winds, and it’s a great surf spot. There is also a spectacular region of the cape-to-cape track to explore from Contos beach to Bob’s Hollow offering scenic views as you walk along the edge of a limestone cliff. Other splendid beaches around the Margaret River Region include Smith's beach, Injidup beach, and Yallingup beach. We camped in the Boranup forests for a couple of nights before visiting a funky gothic looking airbnb for two nights in Injidup. Injidup has a beautiful viewing platform that is perfect for watching a mezmerising west coast sunset. During an early walk along Injidup beach one morning, we also saw a pod of dolphins. After this we stayed at an airbnb in Old Dunsborough for four nights.
Two other brilliant trails we did during our stay were the Cape Naturaliste to Sugarloaf rock trail and the Meelup beach trail. Margaret River is also a great region to participate in surfing lessons, no matter your level of experience. We took surfing lessons at Redgate beach and we loved every moment of it. Regarding food adventures: another one of our highlights was a vegan degustation for a late lunch at the beautiful @rustico_hayshedhill . Our favourite vegan breakfast spot in town was @littleiriscafe , and @pekopeko_feelgoodfood also had a variety of healthy yummy take out options.
We hope this ultimate guide for road-tripping around Australia's south west inspires you to discover the boundless bliss of Mother Nature's sanctuary. If you've already visited this region feel free to leave a comment down below and share your favourite moments. If this is on your bucket list let us know where you're hoping to visit!
May you be well!
留言