Day 107: Cape Le Grande National Park

What a difference a day makes. Today the wind is calm, the sun is shining through a bit of cloud, and it is considerably warmer . Our plan is to drive to Cape Le Grande national Park, about 60 m east of Esperance.


Our first destination is Lucky Bay, but along the way we have to pass the impressive Frenchman's Peak, a 262 m granite outcrop next to the road.


Frenchman's Peak

Soon we arrived at Lucky Bay, purported to be WA's most beautiful beach. It is not hard to see why it has this reputation.




The sand at Lucky Bay is very fine and incredibly firm, and driving on the beach is allowed, something I find surprising in a National Park.


From Lucky Bay there is a walk to the next bay, Thistle Cove. It is about 4 km return so we decide to give it a go. Not far along the way,  we great a look back at Lucky Bay.
 

The walk to Thistle Cove is incredibly scenic as the path winds through large granite outcrops and secluded bays. Early along the path is a commemorative plaque to Mathew Flinders who named Lucky Bay which he used as a safe anchorage in 1802 during his circumnavigation of Australia, on the Investigator.






There are some amazing rock formations along the track.




Finally we get a glimpse of Thistle Cove. We take a few photos looking down at the Cove, but do not follow the track all the way down to the beach as we can drive there on the way home.


I went down the track to a rock platform to get a closer view of the cove


Thistle Cove

Heading back along the track there were lots of wildflowers. Here are a couple we hadn't seen before.











Back at Lucky Bay we were ready for a rest and the picnic lunch we had bought with us. Fortunately there are ample sheltered picnic tables available for us to do both.

Our original plan was to spend a night in the camping area here, but circumstances changed and it made more sense to visit as a day trip from Esperance. We did have a drive through the camping area for future reference, and it was well laid out and surprisingly busy. In summer I imagine your would have to book many months in advance.

The drive to Thistle Cove is only a few km and we get to see it a bit closer up.

Named after John Thistle, Master of Flinders ship the Investigator, it is another very pretty beach.


Just next to the carpark is another unusual granite outcrop called Whistling Rock. I am sure that when the wind blows hard here the rock must whitsle.


There is also a nice place to relax and take in the view next to Whistling Rock.




I walked down the beach access road to get a better view of the beach and came across this visitor, an echidna a bit disturbed by my presence.




Thistle Cove

Further along the road back to Esperance we called into Hellfire Bay, quite near Frenchman's Peak. We had been told this was a popular swimming beach. The picnic area is well set up for large groups, and includes a BBQ.


Hellfire Beach

There is one last beach to visit, so we divert slightly to go to Le grande Beach, where the other camping ground in the National Park is located. It was pretty unspectacular, just along white beach without the natural beauty of the others.

As it was on our way home, we called in at the local craft brewery, Lucky Bay Brewery, located on the outskirts of Esperance.


It is an impressive complex but not all that busy for a Saturday afternoon. I bought a tasting paddle of 4 beers a Kolsch, Pilsner and 2 IPA's. None of them were too my taste so I left a craft brewery without buying at least a few cans, a rare occurrence.  Their marketing seems better than their brewing.

It has been a long day, but well worth visiting such a spectacular coastline.




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