Cape Le Grand National Park is famous for its amazing white sand beaches and beach loving kangaroos and we were keen to check it out.

On the advice of the lady at the tourist information centre in Esperance we had packed up early and driven the sixty odd kilometers to the Lucky Bay to arrive around 8:30am.

There were a number of caravans leaving as we arrived and we had the choice of a few spots. We chose a shaded site and set up camp before taking off to explore the park.

LeGrand Beach

This is a beautiful white sand beach. There is a camp ground here that is more sheltered from the wind than the one at Lucky Bay. Four wheel driving is allowed on the beach and there were quite a few people that had driven down picnic on the sand.

Hellfire Bay

An absolutely gorgeous bay with curving white sand beach. There are toilets and picnic facilities available for visitors use. There is no vehicle access to the beach so it is a popular beach for families to use.

Little Hellfire Bay

A short 15-20 minute walk from the Hellfire Bay car park brings you over a hill to a smaller but similar white sand beach. We spotted a couple of small lizards on the walk.

Thistle Cove

The beach at thistle cove is accessed from the car park by walking over a large and somewhat steep rock formation. There were no facilities here which made for a quiet and peaceful location for lounging on the pristine white sands.

Also located at Thistle Cove is the Whistling Rock. Once again our lack of luck with wind meant that there was no whistling to be heard!

 

Lucky Bay

This beach is famous for being voted the whitest sand and we agree that it is definitely on par with Whitehaven Beach in Queensland. However where Whitehaven is soft sqeaky sand, Lucky Bay’s sand is hard and compact which allows for four wheel driving on the beach.  Lucky Bay is probably more famous for its kangaroos which can be regularly found on the sand. Almost every morning they could be found sifting through the seaweed or drinking from the small freshwater streams.

Walking Trails

Coastal Trail

There is a 15km coastal walking trail weaving along the coast and over the hills linking all these magnificent beaches together.  We  walked the shortest and easiest section from Thistle Cove to Lucky Bay, taking around 90minutes for a return journey.

The trail took us over a rocky hill formation providing breathtaking views of both Thistle Cover and Lucky Bay.

Frenchmans Peak

We wanted to beat the heat so elected to climb Frenchmans Peak early in the morning. Following the markers we made our way up the steep rocky slopes. We took a moment to enjoy the 360 degree view and checked out the cave before starting out decent. Whilst we were carefully picking our way back down the rocky slope, we were passed by a barefoot bloke strolling up the steepest section like he was going for a gentle stroll. We really need to improve our fitness!

4WD

We decided to head into town to check out the Esperance Market. Instead of taking the highway we dropped our tyre pressure and drove along the Le Grand Beach for the 23km to Wylie Bay.   The sand was firm and it was a fun and easy beginners beach drive.