Perth To Esperance Roadtrip
No need to wash the car for this one. The red dust & sand will stay with you just as long as the memories of perfection do…
Updated January 2024 -
You may have already seen my Instagram guide on this amazing trip and if so I know you will be dying to know more details on the specific locations I ventured to. This trip was like no other, after months of border closures we finally got the green light to enter Western Australia and explore the South Coast that had been a bucket list item for years! Having seen so many incredible photos, videos & reviews on this region I knew from the moment we hired a motorhome that it would be love at first sight. Endless red dirt roads, stretches of sizzling hot asphalt & millions of flies made for some long days spent behind the wheel driving ridiculous mileage. However, the moment we pulled up to the first beach in Esperance, we realised it was all 100% worth it!
For so many years myself and I’m sure many others have said: “I hope to travel around Australia one day… maybe after a few more international trips”. One of the silver linings of Covid is that it almost forced you to explore your own backyard, and who can’t be happy with that when you live in such a huge, diverse country?
Not only is travelling your own backyard one of the most rewarding things in terms of finding so many places close to home that you never knew existed, but it also shows you just how far you need to go in order to cure your travel blues.
Landing in Perth was very different from the last time I was here, being greeted by a strong police and health department presence the moment you disembark the plane. This might not give you the best first impression but with the world the way it was, I was just happy to be in the state and not locked out any longer. It was only a short drive around the corner before we picked up our new home on wheels for the next 2 weeks. It was 7 meters long, 2 meters wide, completely self contained, everything we needed to cook, sleep, adventure and repeat!
While it took a bit of getting used to, and after getting through Perths 5pm traffic (which when compared to the East coast felt like a Sunday drive) we were East bound with the first planned stop around an hour away in a small old town named York. Western Australia is fairly welcoming to free campers in regional smaller towns with areas set aside that included dump points, fresh water, toilets and even sometimes 240volts of power all free of charge! We found Campermate app an absolute life saver on this trip with so many recommendations of free and small fee sites to call home for the night while also using it as a map while out of phone reception.
Waking in the morning next to the river was a refreshing way to get the day started. With our sights on Esperance (6.5hrs / 630kms) it was a quick departure not long after the sun rose. Apart from Wave Rock there is very little on this drive so make sure to find a good playlist and do this drive first while the adrenalin is still high!
When you first see the waters surrounding Esperance, you wonder why it has taken you this long to venture down this way! With empty stretches of white sand leading into crystal clear blue waters, a dream come true for any beach lover! With so many good coves, Blue Haven, Twilight Beach & Salmon Beach sure did take the cake!
Once you have got your coffee from Downtown Espresso, venturing East will land you in the world renowned Cape Le Grand National Park. This is somewhere that takes it to the absolute next level… it is indescribable how perfect this park is. The red dusty roads lead to pristine water. The beaches seem to never end. The serenity is something one could only dream of. Watching Kangaroos jump across the famous Lucky Bay beach brings people from all corners of the country. With beach driving permitted here it would be rude not to drive down past the crowd and set up for the day. Once the sun starts to drop, you have the option to camp for a small fee right along the beach with around 50 spots available. I also recommend getting a “Holiday Parks Pass” HERE before venturing through WA as it saves you a lot of money in the long run with single entries to these National Parks costing $15 per car otherwise.
There is so much that Cape Le Grand National Park has to offer outside of Lucky Bay. Hellfire bay is packed with spectacular rock formations that look incredible from the air. If you’re looking for a birdseye view and don’t own a drone, a fantastic option is a hike up Frenchman Peak.
We decided to make the trek a little further down the road and call Duke Of Orleans Bay home for the night. Opening the back door to an empty Wharton beach at sunset, could this get any better? Waves smoothly rolling in towards the shoreline as we cooked dinner… this is what you picture when you think of a Western Australia road trip.
Leaving the Esperance area was tough as it’s hard to imagine anywhere that could top it but all good things must come to end eventually. Our next stop was Fitzgerald River National Park (2.5hrs / 215kms from Esperance). With very little research being done on this area, we drove until something jumped out at us and managed to stumble across an incredible pink lake by complete accident which to our surprise had no mention anywhere on the internet? We seemed to have arrived at Hamersely Inlet in the perfect conditions as salt flaked around the outside and fluorescent pink water illuminated the river!
After tossing up between whether it was worth the drive out of the way or not to visit Bremer Bay (2.5hrs / 220kms), we were over the moon to have made the right call steering off the highway on into the township. This little town quickly became one of our favourites! Quaint little restaurants, pubs & a great little cafe along with incredible white sand beach meters away from the caravan park! I can’t recommend stopping here enough if you get the chance.
Next up we started heading inland to the Stirling Ranges. With our intentions to climb Bluff Knoll quickly put on hold with the winds picking up, we opted to still drive to the view point and get a close up view. Something I would love to go back and tick off the list. Never the less we managed to still explore the area but I would definitely recommend a 4 wheel drive to truely explore this area as most tracks (apart from Bluff Knoll entrance itself) are over 30kms with added corrugation. Heading South on route to Albany for the night after deciding we needed to be by the water, we passed by the Granite Skywalk which you should set aside a few hours to climb and explore.
Albany is home to some pretty amazing sights itself. Our favourite spot actually happened to be found just under 30 minutes East, in a little place called Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve. Little Beach was a standout of the entire trip, somewhere we quite easily could have missed had we not been told from a local to check it out.
After passing through Denmark, we headed straight for Elephant Rocks & Greens Pool which on a calm day would be one of the nicest places to pull up an umbrella and spend the day. Unfortunately the wind had other ideas and nearly blew us back to the carpark. We didn’t get the chance, however Mad Fish Bay just around the corner is highly recommended also. Spending the night in Peaceful Bay we were much happier in the morning when there was barley a breath of wind to be had.
Hamelin Bay was next on the list (3hrs / 260kms) and it sure didn’t disappoint. Its battered coastline showed from the old pier stumps still standing made it all that more dramatic when the famous locals swam past. These stingrays are no special guests, they regularly glide past giving everyone a chance to get up close to the incredible creatures without leaving the comfort of the beach.
Only 30 minutes up the road from Hamelin Bay and you will find yourself in the surfing paradise of Western Australia, with year round swell, Margaret River has the best of both worlds. Surfing and wine might not be your usual mix but here they definitely go perfectly together. A little further on and around 30 minutes further driving will have you in one of the most underrated areas in the South. Yallingup gives you a chance to relax with the Injup Natural Spa, and Eagle Bay gives a whole new definition to summer in WA.
Finishing off the road trip In Busselton (2.5hrs / 220kms outside of Perth) which is home to the longest pier in the Southern Hemisphere being a little under 2kms long! This makes for a great sunrise walk out to the end, it is completely flat with plenty of options for coffee on your return. Should you feel a little lazy, there is a miniature train that can take you the entire distance throughout the day (top tip - if you visit outside of these hours then entrance is free!)
Wrapping up this trip is tough as you know there are so many more places that you potentially drove past, missed because of weather or simply ran out of time to see. We spent a solid 2 weeks doing the “loop” clockwise and don’t regret a single day spent lounging around the beach, climbing up mountains or waking up to watch the ridiculously early (4am) sunrise! This trip definitely came with it’s testing moments; getting used to small spaces in the van, cracked windscreens and millions of flies. At the end of the day, while the showers might be brief, the hours of sleep short and the food basic, exploring this bucket list coast line could not have been anymore exhilarating in which I couldn’t recommend it highly enough!
