Esperance: Cape Le Grand National Park

On the last day of our break from the road, we headed off to explore Le Grand National Park, located about 30 minutes east of Esperance.

What a lovely day we enjoyed!

For one thing, the temps were very comfortable … a high of 83F … wonderful after yesterday’s three-digit temps. It was quite breezy. In fact, as we were scrambling over the rocks at Thistle Cove, Mui had to stand behind me so that I wouldn’t get pushed over backwards while I was taking photos. Hey, not complaining.

Cape Le Grand NP is billed as possibly being “the most spectacular of the Southern Coastal National Parks.” Can’t compare, but can categorically say that the scenery here was simply magnificent — white sand beaches; waters ranging from turquoise to navy blue; green heathlands; boulders with a tint of brown, orange, and red. The water really was the color you will see in the photos … the beaches that white … the sky that blue … the sun that brilliant.

We started our day very early — on our way by 7:00a — hoping to see kangaroos on the beach at Lucky Bay … recognized as the best beach (worldwide) in 2023. Alas, no marsupials of any kind. But we were amongst the few on the beach at that hour, which was a definite plus. By the time we had walked the beach, and Mui had taken a dip or two in what I would consider frigid waters, the action was starting to pick-up … including the number of vehicles coming down to drive the beach. Definitely time for us to leave.

From Lucky Bay, we meandered our way back, making stops at Thistle Cove and Hellfire Bay. The water being deeper in Thistle Cove, it was quite cold. And terribly windy. So, Mui skipped taking a dip there. But he could not resist going in the water for one more dip in Hellfire Bay.

The one thing about beaches in Australia — at least the one’s we’ve been to or seen — there is no natural shade. No umbrellas or lounge chairs for rent either. If you don’t have your own shade shelter, there is nowhere to seek relief from the sun. So, much as we wanted to have a picnic lunch on the beach at Cape Le Grand, we opted to sit in the cockpit of the motorhome and watch the view through the “windscreen” (as they call windshields in Australia).

An early start to our day = an early end to our day. It was nice to be able to sit out in the shade of the motorhome back at the caravan park. We even had to put on jackets this evening … woo hoo!Read more