Cape Arid National Park

Thursday, 20 March we left Esperance at 8.15am to travel east 125 kms along a good bitumen road to the turnoff to Cape Arid National Park.    It was then 40 kms of good dirt with a few corrugations to the Thomas River camping area.    There are 2 camping areas here – the Dept Environment & Conservation (DEC) on the hill, or older shire area on the riverbank.   We chose the DEC camp which was set out very much like Cape Le Grand, but a bit more private.   No hot showers here, but excellent toilets and gas bbqs.  The shire site was also due to have a group of school children there on the weekend, so in the end there was no choice to be made.   A lot of the DEC campgrounds in WA have resident camp hosts during the busy times who collect fees, clean toilets, and generally keep the place in order.   It is a very good system, and a pity other states don’t do the same.

Looking towards Cape Arid

View from my doorway

Friday dawned overcast with very threatening clouds near Cape Arid.   It looked like a great downpour was imminent, but by late morning the clouds had cleared to a beautiful day.  In the afternoon we did a short walk along the track to Dolphin Cove.  

Saturday was another glorious day, so Brian took advantage of the calm morning and had a  paddle in the kayak up the Thomas River.   It was not very far, but he did see a black swan on the water and an emu in the bush beside the river.  The area was completely burnt out in 2006, so to see the vegetation there now is quite amazing.    There are lots of banksias, grass trees, melaleucas, cycads and some type of wattle which is just starting to come into flower.

Thomas River

On Sunday morning Brian donned his backpack and did a 2 hour walk to Dolphin Cove and Tagon Beach. It was not until Monday evening whilst having “happy hour” with our neighbours that Brian very quietly described a snake he had seen on his walk.   Could have been a dugite (only found in WA) or a tiger.   That would explain his advice to me to walk over the granite boulders when we went walking earlier in the day.

We did not attempt to drive along the tracks out to Cape Arid, as we were advised they were very sandy and not in  good condition.    We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 days at Thomas River, and headed back to Esperance on Tuesday morning.   It was good to get our favourite site at the caravan park again.

On Wednesday morning we drove along the tourist drive as far as Twilight Beach.   The coastline is just magnificent – sand so white, and water so blue.   Not good for surfing at the moment weatherwise, and also the abundance of big fish with black fins in this area.

Twilight Beach

Tomorrow morning (Friday) we will travel west approx 60kms then turn off to the Stokes Inlet National Park.   There are a couple of campgrounds there, so hopefully we will find something suitable before the locals come for the weekend.  After there we will look at Mason Bay for a possible stop, then Hopetoun.  We are due in Albany in 2 weeks’ time so sit out the school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day.