Heading further south, I entered D’Entrecasteaux National Park, which stretches for 130km along the south west coast and is pounded by the big waves of the Southern Ocean.
D’Entrecasteaux was a French Admiral who explored here and in 1792 named a large headland jutting into the ocean on this coast in honour of well, himself.
There are some beautiful beaches along this coast and they are well worth a walk along.
Swimming isn’t recommended as the Southern Ocean is unpredictable, with really big waves and rips forming off the beaches.
Getting to Lake Jasper involved slipping and sliding along some pretty sandy tracks. This is not exactly my favourite driving but by letting the tyres down I managed without too much trouble and I didn’t get bogged, which is always a win.
This lake is really remote and quite beautiful, with crystal clear water.
The weather was threatening but it didn’t rain while I was here.
There were some late flowering wildflowers to brighten the overcast days.
Next stop was the very aptly named Windy Harbour. This little hamlet is really, really windy as it is totally exposed to the power of the southern winds. As usual, I ended up most days enjoying a quiet drink while watching the sunset but here the enjoyment was somewhat tempered by being buffeted by a seemingly force-10 gale!
The beach here is home to some amazing birds. Little New Holland Honeyeaters squabble in the heath on the dunes.
Pacific Gulls are striking as they float effortlessly over the waves and are much larger than your standard sea-gulls.
The young birds have dark plumage, but the adults attain the striking black and white feathers. These birds do make me laugh, as the red tips of their beaks makes it look like they are wearing lipstick!
Banksia Camp required additional sandy track driving and was totally worth the effort.
There is nothing here except the beach and a camp, each site with an extraordinary view of that beach.
Just off the coast is an island that provides a dramatic backdrop to this amazing spot.
Giant granite boulders on the beach create a spectacular setting while wandering along the beach.
I encountered this on the track leading from my camper to the beach. He was obviously enjoying the early morning sunshine and was not too happy about moving out of the way!
I’m pretty sure he is a baby red-bellied black snake, so I just let him make his way into the undergrowth before I went past; he might be a baby, but I would prefer he didn’t practice biting on my toes, thank you very much!
Even the evenings were spectacular here, with the full moon rising over the dunes.
I stayed here a few days and could have easily stayed longer. But the wind was increasing and so I headed off, as there are plenty of other great places to discover.
