Cape Range National Park has EVERYTHING that we love about camping. What makes it our FAV, is it’s literally on the door step of the magnificent Ningaloo Reef. You’ll find this National Park near Exmouth, on Western Australia’s Coral Coast. Find out detailed info here and plan your trip…
🐢 SWIM WITH TURTLES!
Hundreds of turtles were visiting the inner reef, when we were there in November. This meant we had loads of opportunities to swim with these graceful beings. One of the most amazing experiences for all of us.
SHORE BASED SNORKELLING AT CAPE RANGE NATIONAL PARK!
1. Oyster Stacks – 3 bomies created from oysters. Lots of different types of fish and the current isn’t too strong.
2. Turquoise Bay – walk 300 metres down the beach, jump in and let the current float you across many types of coral, reef fish and sharks. The sandy beach is relatively flat and perfect for picnic lunches.
3. Osprey Bay – easy access straight from camp and heaps of turtles. Good bomies a little further out.
🦈 SHARKS, SHARKS, SHARKS!
Western Australia is known for its high shark population and Cape Range National Park did not disappoint! We all spotted lots of white tip reef sharks, a couple of black tips and grey whalers (similar to bronze whalers from over at the East Coast.) We felt pretty safe around the white tips, until five showed up and seemed to be doing big circles around us. At that stage, we decided to get out of the water! 👀
SCARY SHARK ENCOUNTER!
Outside the designated Sanctuary Zones, you’re allowed to do some limited spear fishing. Adam and Jett went for a boat ride with Nath from Pursuit of the Pianeda’s, Brad from Gearing Around, Andy from Sunshine Explorers & Todd from Clark Family Crusade, who witnessed a large shark breach the water and land on Adam while he was spear fishing. Needless to say, it was even more scarier for Adam who came face to face with this grey whaler, who ended up taking off with the spear gun. Adam did get the spear gun back eventually!
🏖 WHERE WE STAYED.
There are many camp ground choices. We parked our caravan at Osprey Bay for two weeks and day tripped from there. The great thing about Osprey Bay is that it has nice access to the bay, clear blue water and sand for the kids to build sandcastles in.
⛺️ CAMP GROUND DETAILS.
The camp is split into two sections: generator and non generator. There is no difference in price. The WA National Park camping fees are currently $11 per adult and $3 per child per night, plus vehicle entry pass fee.
You can only book online and it is an allocated site system so if you need to extend your booking, you have to hope that no one has booked your spot, otherwise you’ll need to move your entire camp. (We moved THREE times😅)
There is no reliable internet service so if you need to rebook, you may have to drive more than 50kms to get service.
🍎 WHERE TO SHOP.
The closest town to get groceries is Exmouth. It has two IGA’s ( go to the IGA opposite the Bakery – it’s cheaper) a laundromat, a couple of bottle shops, camping & fishing stores and a couple of breweries 🍻
🌞 WHEN TO VISIT CAPE RANGE NATIONAL PARK.
Most people visit Cape Range National Park during the peak season, May to August. This is the best time of the year to go on dive tours see the whale sharks as they migrate through Ningaloo Reef.
💡OUR #1 TIP.
Our 1mm wetsuits came in handy. Even though it was November, the water was cold and having the wetties meant we could stay in for a lot longer.
We will definitely be back to see the whale sharks, however visiting in low season meant fewer crowds. It’s easy to get a park, easy to book a campsite and plenty of room to snorkel without bumping into another swimmer.👍🏻
HOW MUCH TIME TO SEE IT ALL?
To take advantage of all the snorkelling and diving opportunities, explore the 4WD tracks, gorges and canyons, you’ll need at least 2 weeks. This is so you can plan your days around the current weather conditions and so you can spend a good amount of time at each spot!
You may also like to read our Top 20 Essentials to Travel Australia. Its loaded with ideas that we think you shouldn’t travel Oz without.
