Day 18: Fri 05 Apr 24 - Esperance to Dunns Ecopark

Fri 05 Apr 24 - Esperance to Dunns Ecopark - Merivale (52km)

Warning - A lot of photos but they still don’t capture the raw beauty of this place.

14 Deg, clear and a very brisk 25 km/h NE wind at Esperance, remaining sunny and reaching 26 Deg during the day with the brisk NE winds persisting. Another stunning day.

We drove away from the Pink Lake Tourist Park at 09:15, and because we had only a short distance to drive, our first stop was 5 minutes later for a coffee at the Esplanade - very enjoyable.

We then proceeded about 50km to Dunns Ecopark adjoining the Cape Le Grand National Park at Merivale,  the centre of three locations that we want to visit - Cape Le Grand National Park including Lucky Bay, Hellfire Bay and Frenchmans Peak (40km), and in the opposite direction Whartons Beach (42km) and Condingup (31km). Dunns Ecocamp is set amongst blue gum trees nestled in the heart of Robin Downs, a working farm and surrounded by woodlands, wetlands and some walking trails. It has no power or connected water available, but its very spacious, well maintained and has fantastic facilities for an off-grid camp. It is a bit shady for the solar panels and we did have a bit of trouble getting Starlink to lock onto a satellite, but overall it's very nice campground. 

After setting up we drove 42 km to Wharton Beach, 30km of which was along dirt road which was quite corrugated in places. Wharton Beach is absolutely stunning, but we couldn't believe the number of vehicles lined up along the beach. Viewing the beach from near the headland we continued down a narrow dirt track to Little Wharton Beach located in an absolutely gorgeous little bay. It was stunning. After wandering around for a while and soaking up the scenery and lovely sunshine, we continued back past the Duke of Orleans Caravan Park here we had originally planned to stay, but decided on the Ecopark instead. After leaving the area, we continued 25km to Condingup for a late lunch at the Tavern. Here we met another young couple like us, who are from Gippsland. They were lovely company and we may even catch up again later in the trip - possibly at Albany. After our 'satisfactory' lunch which was way overpriced, we returned to the van for a VERY quiet night. Another very enjoyable day. Tomorrow, we will spend the day in the Cape Le Grand National Park taking in more stunning scenery, and if there is any time left in the afternoon, I'll try and find one of those nearby walking trails.

Coffee stop 5 minutes after we left the Caravan Park - on the Esplanade

Wharton Beach - Find a parking spot.

Stunning Wharton Beach

Surfers at Wharton Beach

Stunning Wharton Beach

Headland overlooking Wharton Beach

Headland at Wharton Beach with track into Little Wharton Beach

Headland at Wharton Beach

Looking down over surfers at Wharton Beach

Headland overlooking Wharton Beach

Drone view at Wharton Beach

Rocky Headland at Wharton Beach


Wharton Beach

Rocky Headland at Wharton Beach - Hanging in there

Rocky Headland at Wharton Beach

Track into Little Wharton Beach - a hidden Gem

Little Wharton Beach


Little Wharton Beach

Little Wharton Beach

Little Wharton Beach

Another selfie - at Little Wharton Beach

Little Wharton Beach

Little Wharton Beach - This is the carpark

Little Wharton Beach - lovely blue colours

Little Wharton Beach

Little Wharton Beach

Leaving Little Wharton Beach behind


Stunning Banksia bushes prominent around the south coast of WA


Driving away from Little Wharton Beach

Little Wharton Beach

View from the top of the headand


The Duke of Orleans Caravan Park where we had originally intended to stay for a couple of nights - a fabulous location close to both Wharton Beaches

Caostal view near the Duke of Orleans Caravan Park

Celebrating a wonderful day at the Condingup Tavern, beer tasted nice, lunch was edible, but way overpriced. Overall, very enjoyable nonetheless.

Condingup Tavern

Condingup Tavern

Condingup Tavern

Back at Dunns Ecopark - our home for the next two nights. 

Dunns Ecopark - our home for the next two nights. Us in the background to the left

Dunns Ecopark - Camp Kitchen - It's a beauty

Setup at Dunns EcoPark

Afternoon Brew

Setup at Dunns EcoPark

Dunns EcoPark - View from Above

Dunns EcoPark - View from Above

Dunns EcoPark - View from Above

Dunns EcoPark - View from Above






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