West Cape Howe National Park, half an hour drive from Albany, contains the most southerly point in Western Australia – Torbay Head. The park offers spectacular scenery with 23km of dramatic coastline dominated by black granite looking (it is actually dolerite) towering massive cliffs and headlands washed over by huge waves from the mighty Southern Ocean. The wind blowing straight from Antarctica is strong there. The black cliffs and white sandy beaches are contrasted with coastal heathland and further inland there is karri forest. For the most part, the park is accessible either by foot or reliable 4WD (except for Shelley Beach). Together with D’Entrecasteaux National Park, West Cape Howe is our favourite.
Shelley Beach (2WD accessible)
Located half an hour drive from Albany, Shelley Beach is a spectacular and rather popular beach with turquoise waters, white sand and cool breeze. Close to even more popular Cosy Corner beach, we found Shelley Beach a lot more interesting and attractive.
Camping at West Cape Howe NP
The only place to camp at West Cape Howe National Park is at Shelley Beach campground. It is a small campground with basic facilities, which we actually liked more than Cosy Corner campground. Having said that, Shelley Beach campground is a lot more exposed to the elements and does not have any privacy.
It is rather small with two camping areas – tent sites only area on the grass with vehicles parked in the carpark and campervan area on the opposite side of the carpark with the ocean view. No caravans or camper trailers are permitted. Dogs are not allowed. The cost of camping is $11 per adult per night. Facilities include a drop toilet only. The sites are not bookable.
However, the views are fantastic and this place is well worth visiting, even if only for a day trip.
Testing your 4WDriving skills
West Cape Howe National Park is the place to test your 4WD skills. We found it the most challenging and remote place we’ve visited so far. With very soft sand, stones, slopes going up and down, occassionally narrow lanes and overgrown vegetation, West Cape Howe NP is undeniably a 4WD lovers paradise. In our humble opinion, the tracks are not for the faint hearted, especially when you tackle them on your own.
Know your limits
You should certainly be well prepared when you tackle 4WD tracks on your own. We got bogged a couple of times but managed to get out. We’ve seen someone else got bogged, who had to ask for help to be pulled out with the winch.
At some point we had to turn back (along Dunsky Track going toward Torbay Head) because the track looked too soft and the chance of getting bogged there was very high.
With absolutely no other vehicle nearby, it was too risky to proceed any further once we got to what it looked like a fork that led to a ravine. You need to make your own judgement.
This place is so remote, that there are even no signs to identify where you are when you finally manage to get to your destination. With no map, other than the map provided at the entrance to the park, we had to guess where we were!
Almost the most southern point of Western Australia
So, we guessed that we got to West Cape Howe point (and we checked later that it was correct). West Cape Howe was very spectacular, pristine and untouched, with its dramatic black cliffs, crushing waves. We even felt like first explorers discovering a new land.
West Cape Howe is also a popular place for experienced rock climbers.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to Torbay Head (the most southern point of Western Australia) but the scenery is probably more impressive at West Cape Howe and we definitely enjoyed exploring it.
