20 December - East Mount Barren, Stokes National Park and Dunns Rock, Cape Le Grand National Park

20 December 2016 – 199 865

East Mount Barren, Stokes National Park and Dunns Rock, Cape Le Grand National Park

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/fitzgerald-river

This morning we packed up and went to East Mount Barren.  This was an interesting climb that while not difficult in terms of steepness, the ground surface required constant attention to foot placement.  The views to the west on the way up were lovely, and at the top the views were along the eastern coastline, including Hopetoun.

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/east-mt-barren

https://trailswa.com.au/trails/east-mt-barren

We then drove into Hopetoun to fill up the van with water and have a shower, before continuing east.  

We had lunch at Stokes Inlet, this was very pretty and would be a lovely spot if you wished to sit and do nothing with the occasional spot of fishing.

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/stokes-inlet

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/stokes

Next up we drove to Cape Le Grand National Park – the sign said all the camping spots were full, but we drove in anyway to have a look at the park.  

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/cape-le-grand

First we went to Cape Le Grand Beach, the campground here is full until at least Christmas and the beach is quite sheltered.  We then drove across to Lucky Bay – it is beautiful looking and even looks like it might be worth swimming in (although it will obviously be cold)!  We had a chat to the camp host and he suggested we come back tomorrow morning, and let us know that we can free camp within the national park at Dunns Rock.  So off we went – this is the first time I have driven with the car in 4WD, reversing the van into soft sand in the dunes, where we are spending the night.  This spot is very pretty, however it is quite windy. 

https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/dunn-rocks