Covering nearly three thousand square kilometers Fitzgerald River National Park is an ecologically notably, and scenically beautiful, place about 500km south east of Perth. I was there for a night so only saw a tiny, if memorable, part of the park.
The main reason for visiting was to hike to the 372m high summit of East Mount Barren, a 2.6km return walk along an at times slippery track.
Just after starting the track were some of the distinctive Royal Hakea.
There were some unusual rock formations on the way up, with the vast expanse of the park stretching beyond them.
The rocky outcroppings at the summit provide different vantage points to soak in the panoramic views.
The most scenic part though was saved for the return as the sun set.
I’ve seen a lot of sunsets but the strength of the colours this time was up there with the best.
We camped at the basic (no drinking water, few toilets, one shower) but smart and relatively new Four Mile Beach campsite. Sleeping in a swag under star filled skies is a wonderful, if not very easily photographed, experience.
The campsite is only 400m from Four Mile Beach, which I popped down to before breakfast to see the sunrise.
From Perth to Fitzgerald River National Park is a long drive, but thankfully the popular (150,000 visitors a year) Wave Rock is about half way. Australia has plenty of amazing rock formations and while the site isn’t the greatest it was still worth a visit. We started at Hippo’s Yawn, with the name hopefully self explanatory from the photos.
Wave Rock is along one edge of Hayden’s Rock, which offers good views from its undulating top, and is home to these ringed dragon lizard.
The 14m high wave effect is understandably the reason people visit though.
I also stopped at York, home to some giant straw animals and an automotive museum containing a few animals…
Only an hour away, a short distance by WA standards, was part of the famous rabbit proof fence.
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