Exploring Western Australia | Van trip through the south

G'day and welcome to the final leg of our journey travelling from Melbourne to Perth by campervan. If it's your first time watching, my name is Ricky and in the last video we travelled across the Nullarbor. It was an epic journey, but it's fair to say we are both very, very excited to be here in Western Australia. It's Nat's first time, I love this place and if you want to see some dreamy white sand beaches lots of animals in their natural habitat and some stunning national parks, then stick around because all that and more in this video. Enjoy. We were on our way to an icon of Australia's golden outback called Kattakich by the Noongar, commonly known as Wave Rock a 2.7 billion year old piece of granite that dominates the landscape. We left Kalgoorlie late in the day and wouldn't make it before dark so decided to break up the journey at a secluded free camp by this salt lake. We've had some great stargazing opportunities on our travels but that would have to be the most spectacular night sky I've ever seen and waking up to this sunrise over the salt lake put us in a great mood for the day ahead. Neither of us had expected to enjoy the outback landscape so much but the colours were fantastic. Wave Rock is impressive, it's about 14 metres high and stretches over 110 metres. After paying $38 for entry to the park and a powered campervan site we quickly headed out to do some exploring before an approaching storm blew in. I'm really glad we came here. It was a bit of a detour but I'd always been curious to see this naturally eroded wave-shaped rock and it was a bonus discovering we could walk on top. Along with rock art at nearby Mulker's Cave there's some quirky outdoor sculptures in the neighbouring wheatbelt town of Heiden that we both really liked too. I'd heard many good things about the beaches further south and we were excited to be travelling in that direction. Two hours down the road the port city of Esperance would be our home for the next couple of days while we attended to work commitments. But as soon as the weekend arrived we were on our way to Cape Arid National Park a further two hours back in the direction of the Nullarbor. Coming here hadn't been part of our plans but we'd finally been caught out winging it having never booked anything more than a week in advance. But don't feel too sorry for us, we hit the jackpot with this place. The campsites are really private and the only neighbours we noticed were a couple of friendly lizards. We spent two days here and both followed a similar routine. After a leisurely breakfast we'd pack a bag and head out for the day. Each time as we made our way out of the campground we bumped into a family of emus heading to the beach. They didn't seem too concerned by our presence and it was funny watching the last chick play catch up with the rest. Further along we'd spot roos blending into the landscape. Some were a little curious but they'd still hop away on our approach. This place is really special. It felt rugged in some ways and yet this is some of the most pristine coastline I've ever encountered and it seemed we were the only people for miles. By the time we were ready to head back to the van our shadows had become long and the late afternoon colours made for some beautiful lighting as we retraced our steps from beach to beach. A well-earned hot shower followed and then an evening under the stars before repeating it all again the next day. Without a doubt one of the best weekends of our travels but after two days off the grid with no mobile coverage we sadly had to say our goodbyes. The sadness wouldn't last long as we were off for a day of beach hopping in Cape Legrand National Park. Our first stop, the famed Lucky Bay and it is every bit as spectacular as I'd been promised. I reckon the colour of that water needs to be seen to be believed though Lucky Bay is actually more renowned for having kangaroos hang out on the sand. We didn't see any, but we didn't spend very long looking either opting instead to take a short drive to neighbouring Thistle Cove for a swim which was a much quieter spot. The water was crystal clear and soon after getting out I put the drone up and realised we'd been sharing it with dolphins. We spent the day within the National Park cruising from beach to beach and it was hard to miss Manderboerenup which also goes by Frenchman Peak. Not only does it make an impressive backdrop but it's an important place in local Aboriginal culture. Clearly these are some high calibre beaches and it's near impossible to pick a favourite but Hellfire Bay would have to come close for me if for no other reason than how good that water felt under the hot midday sun. Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it! Though it wasn't as cold as Nat would have you believe. Our final stop for the day was Legrand Beach and while it was a little windy you can see why this is such a popular spot. While much busier than Cape Arid there's no doubt Cape Legrand lives up to the hype. We liked Death Prince and made it our home again for a couple of days while taking care of some work commitments. Van life is sometimes just a little easier with the conveniences of a city, albeit a small one. Two hours driving west, Hopetown was our next destination. We'd heard this small town offered a free beachside spot where RVs can park up for a night or two. Not only is the price right but this is some prime real estate and we were happy with our choice. While it's a free spot, there's an unwritten rule that if you stay, you support local businesses. So after stocking up on supplies in the town and scoffing down some fish and chips at the pub we made our way a short drive to Fitzgerald River National Park for a weekend of relaxation. We got all day long and we got the time Send me a surprise I got the message burning my mind And I can see it through your green eyes I know it's nothing like what you'd find So we can keep on laughing before going home What an incredible place. This rivals the beaches everyone flocks to in Thailand and Indonesia and while there's no street vendors selling Pad Thai it's not a bad trade-off to come back to your accommodation and be greeted by these guys. With a location to rival most five-star hotels a campervan spot here is pretty good value coming in at $15 per person per night plus an additional $60 for a WA National Parks pass for four weeks. And if the money goes to preserving places like this then it's worth every penny in my mind. Four Mile Beach had given us another quintessential southern WA experience and we didn't want to leave. So before heading further west we took a cruise through some more of the National Park. A fantastic little drive that and with some drone shots captured it was time to make a move. Not far into the four-hour drive to Albany the weather turned sour and with nothing booked for the night we decided to cover some extra ground and continue a further 45 minutes to Denmark. It was a shame to only drive through the rather European looking city of Albany but we only had the van for another 10 days and we had plenty of places to visit. Before we knew it we were parked up and surrounded by the green of Denmark. It wasn't just the landscapes that had changed dramatically the temperature had too. And even when trails led us to a beach we felt a lot more than 400km away from the warm white sands we'd left that morning. We had been moving a little slowly so despite wanting to stay longer in Denmark we decided to continue west where we encountered Valley of the Giants within Walpole Wilderness. Here jarrah, tingle and carry trees tower over more than 360,000 hectares of national parks nature reserves and conservation areas. By my calculation that's about five times the size of Singapore. All of that brings us to this spot right here which is Walpole. We're in the National Park by Coalmine Beach it is beautiful but we have to continue west it's on our way to Perth. Later that day we hit the road. Our plan was to stay somewhere in the Margaret River region but first a detour to check out the most southwesterly point on the Australian continent. This little corner of the country is home to a 125 year old heritage listed Cape Lewin Lighthouse. For a small entry fee you can get up close and in the right conditions you can see the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean collide right here. Making our way north from Augusta towards the Margaret River we booked a last minute spot within Lewin Naturalist National Park at a campground called Jarrideen. Another superb spot where we parked up for a couple of days in the forest. Along with a load of birdlife there's a great little walk here displaying signs with information about the timber mill and the area's logging history. I haven't showed a great deal of life inside the campervan but as some of you will know this van has been more than just our transport and a place to sleep. Five days a week Nat will run her tutoring business from behind the driver's seat while I rotate spots at the back of the van spending my time trading, investing and working on a couple of projects. There's a lot squeezed into this thing but when it comes to cooking we found it was best to keep meals fairly simple. We'd sometimes use the kitchen but being summer, more often than not we opted to spend our time outside on the barbecue. And when you're in places like this I think you'd be crazy not to. Our time here was up but before heading further north we wanted to spend some time seeing a little of the Margaret River where acclaimed wineries meet world-renowned surf breaks. I love the beaches here but after days of sunshine and sand it was the forest that really stood out for me. Being only three hours from Perth it's easy to see why this has become such a hot spot. We really liked it here and took another day to explore and sample some of the less healthy local produce. There's no shortage of spots to stop along the way but the following day we made it to Busselton home of this 1.8km jetty the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. Busselton is a nice place to hang out but I reckon the best way to take it all in is during one of the west coast's iconic sunsets over the Indian Ocean. Spending time in the country's national parks had been the highlight of our trip and as we resumed our drive north along the coast we decided we'd squeeze in one more before we were done. We booked a spot for the night in Yalgarup National Park another place where we were lucky to find a spot on short notice and somewhere where I spent far too much time flying my drone as I became mesmerised capturing the pink and blue colours of this epic salt lake. 20 minutes further up the road we discovered the thrombolites. These living rock-like structures on the edge of Lake Clifton are closely related to the oldest life on earth and there's only a few places they can be found. I'm ashamed to say I'd never even heard of them up until this point and I'm glad we ducked in for a visit. We wanted to spend our last night somewhere close to Perth and decided on a beachfront caravan park in Coogee. We were sad our adventure in the van was about to come to an end but thankfully it takes little more than a pontoon with a slide on it to put a smile back on Nat's face. All that was left now was a short drive the following morning. And that brings us here to the state's capital of Perth. We handed back the keys to the campervan and rented an apartment in the beachside suburb of Scarborough which turned out to be a great choice. We really enjoyed our time in Perth visiting historic Fremantle taking a ferry ride to idyllic Rottnest Island where there's some excellent walks idyllic swimming spots and of course, quokkas. In fact, I could probably do a video just on the places we explored around Perth especially when we hired a car and checked out the Swan River and then headed a couple of hours north to the bright desert landscape of the Pinnacles. While I show you some more of Scarborough Beach I can tell you we drove a total of 8,452km in the van across three states offsetting our carbon emissions using myclimate.org. Two months sounded like a long time when we set off from Melbourne but I wish we'd had longer. If you get the chance to explore anywhere we went on this trip I'd encourage you to do so. That's it for now. If you enjoyed the video, please feel free to give it a thumbs up and if you'd like to support us and see future videos please also click subscribe. Until next time, thanks for watching. you