Postcard from the best beaches in Australia
I’m having trouble finding the words to describe the beaches of Cape Le Grande. Perfect seems a bit too cliché, but honestly, each little grain of sand is so perfectly spherical that it squeaks when you walk. Seriously. And each perfectly spherical grain of sand is so white that not only does it look like snow from a distance, but it was voted Australia’s whitest beaches.
And then there’s the water. It’s sparkling turquoise from a distance, that glimmering sort of azure that graces motivational posters and desktop screensavers around the world. Up close, it’s so crystal clear that it seems almost white: reflecting the perfectly white sand beneath. The bays are protected enough to be able to wade in without getting knocked senseless by a way–but at the other end, there are awesome surfing waves.
It’s a place where friendly kangaroos sunbathe next to you on the beach. There’s a campground with an indoor kitchen space and barbecue, solar-powered showers and flushing toilets: incredibly luxurious after bush camping sites like Koonalda Homestead, but still delightfully disconnected from cell service and electrical plugs. A network of trails takes you up panoramic peaks and over rocky outcrops–or you can just wander along the 3.1-kilometer stretch of deserted white sand beach. You fall asleep under a blanket of millions of glowing stars, listening to the waves crash against the beach.
The only non-perfection is that the sun rises at 4:30 a.m. (because Western Australian cows don’t believe in daylight savings) and the birds start singing at 3:30 a.m. But is there a more perfect way to wake up than a swim at sunrise?
Nature and society interaction at its finest.
A washed-up whale bone–or perfectly placed mid-hike rest stop?
Perfection? I think so.
Note: Interested in camping at Cape Le Grande National Park? It’ll cost you just $11 a night per adult, but that cost is included as a stop on the Nullarbor Traveller trek.
