Rugged granite peaks slide gently into the sea, surrendering to the waves tiny crystalline grains of quartz that shimmer and shine as the tide rolls in. A heady seascape of turquoise, teal and baby-eye blue, this far western coastline is so utterly bewitching that even kangaroos venture out of the heathlands to forage the shoreline as the sun goes down.
Tucked into an arid, unpopulated corner of the country’s southwest, Cape Le Grand National Park has long received accolades for its beautiful, arcing, white sand coves. Its beaches blow every visitor away, but the park’s remote location — 750km by road from Perth — reserves this unspoilt wilderness for unhurried travellers, ideally with their own beds on board.
I arrive by road too, steering my Landcruiser through the seaside town of Esperance in search of fresh provisions for our week-long camping trip. I have a car full of hungry travelling companions to feed, but I easily gather a bounty of organic fruit and veggies, and find freshly baked sourdough bread, free-range eggs and delicious ground coffee too.
