Perth to Albany
Western Australia is a great place to road-trip. We left Perth and headed south to Albany over 4 days. Is 4 days enough to explore the area? Definitely not. But we have been lucky enough to have had many trips to Margaret River while living in Perth, so didn’t repeat places we had already visited!
Can you do it in 4 days? Absolutely, but that would leave you with no time to enjoy the climbing areas, and they are definitely worth it! (The best places to rock climb in Western Australia ). Plus the mountain bike trails in Wooditjup National Park are fantastic and worth the stop!
Day 1: Perth to Busselton
While you could do day 2 direct from Perth this would made it a bit rushed, with not enough time at all the stops! Instead we enjoyed a slow day driving down from Perth.
Day 2: Busselton to Hamelin Bay
We set off from Busselton, making this day very short on driving with plenty of time to explore along the way!
Meelup beach
A surprisingly busy beach given its distance from a large town, but easy to see why! The beach offered a sheltered bay for swimming, gorgeous yellow sand and plenty of grassy areas for picnics.
Cape Naturaliste lighthouse
We drove here but didn’t actually end up visiting! There is a $6 charge to enter the lighthouse which isn’t much, but we felt we had enjoyed views on the drive enough that this didn’t feel necessary! There are a few walks around which could have been great but we were feeling too lazy for them today!
Canal rocks
Epic. The rocks offer great views, and worth the visit to see the waves crashing around you!
Indijup Natural Spa
Not quite a spa.. but almost as enjoyable- or at least on a very hot day! The waves crash over the rocks forming a pool which is great for a refreshing dip on a hot day! Be warned though… the water is cold even on the hottest day!
Hamelin Bay
Maybe my favourite spot so far! The campground here is decent, with good spots nestled amongst the trees. However, it’s a fairly busy spot and phone signal is extremely limited.
It’s well worth camping here though so you have plenty of opportunity to spot the stingrays! We arrived about 3pm and hoping to spy a ray headed straight down to the beach. Unfortunately, it was slightly windy and the water wasn’t clear at all! We were relived we had another day to try spot a stingray! Fortunately, the next day we did see a couple and it was amazing!
Tip: Be patient trying to see a stingray! We had expected to turn up at the beach and see them instantly but we were looking for at least 15 minutes before some started to swim around!
Day 2: Hamelin Bay to Banksia Camp
A longer drive with fewer stops. We spent a few hours at Hamelin bay before setting off! make sure to arrive at Banksia Camp early afternoon to get a spot!
Pemberton
By Pemberton we really mean the big tree (dave evans bicentennial tree). It is crazy that someone essentially stuck metal rods into the trunk and now yuo can climb it! It is definitely a test of heights as if you slip there is no net or anything to catch you! That said, it’s a surreal experience to up amongst the trees!
Banksia Camp
It may be our first 4wd access campground, but it definitely won’t be our last! The drive in was a touch scary; the car managed easily but we simply had no idea what to expect or what our car was capable off! Plus, the campground isn’t bookable, but is popular. While there is an excellent backup campground nearby, the thought of having to leave the campground on our first 4wd adventure was depressing! Fortunately we survived the drive in and nabbed the last spot!
This campsite is simply incredible. A short walk leads down to an amazing beach which if located anywhere else would be rammed full of people. As it was, the location meant it was just us and a few other campers!
With more idea what to expect, we enjoyed the drive out far more than on the way in! Can’t wait until the next campsite like this!!
Day 3: Banksia Camp to Albany
Elephant rocks
After the night at Banksia we didn’t think that any rocks in the sea could impress us… we were wrong. Elephant rocks is simply gorgeous!
Make sure you walk past the first viewing point to elephant rocks to the second one further to the left.. it offers a much better view and few people knew it was there!
Lights beach
Far less popular than elephant rocks, but just as pretty! Due to the rips here it is not as safe for a paddle but definitely worth the stop while in the area! The view down the coast seems to stretch on forever!
And with this last spot we’ve made it to Albany! Spending a week here deserves a post of its own!
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