Gawler Ranges National Park in South Australia is best known for its dramatic Organ Pipes—towering rhyolite rock formations sculpted by volcanic eruptions over 1.5 billion years ago. These ancient pillars were the reason we chose to camp in the park, even in the depths of winter.
We visited in July, a quiet and rain-soaked time of year. After entering the park from the east, we travelled westward, passing several empty campgrounds before arriving at Yandinga, where we had booked two nights. Along the way, we saw only one other vehicle, likely on its way out. It felt as though we had the entire park to ourselves.
The solitude was both peaceful and eerie. With heavy rain and grey skies, we spent our time watching puddles form around our caravan, chatting with the resident grey butcherbirds, and checking the weather forecast more often than usual. Despite the conditions, we stayed—drawn by the quiet and the promise of ancient landscapes.
Camping in Gawler Ranges is very affordable compared to Western Australia: just $22 per family per night, with park entry fees waived for campers. Facilities are basic (toilet only), campfires are permitted, and dogs are not allowed.
The Organ Pipes—Almost
Our main goal was to see the Organ Pipes, but the 4WD track leading there was flooded and impassable. With no one else around, we didn’t want to risk getting stuck.
Fortunately, we discovered smaller but similar rock formations just 1 km from our campground. We managed two short walks to Yandinga Falls before the rain returned.
Beyond the Organ Pipes: Exploring Gawler Ranges National Park
While the Organ Pipes are the park’s most iconic feature, Gawler Ranges National Park offers other fascinating glimpses into the region’s pastoral history.
Shearer’s Quarters and Shed
These historic buildings are dotted with information boards that share stories of the area’s shearing past. It’s a quiet, evocative stop that brings the outback’s working heritage to life.
Old Paney Homestead
Step into the past at this beautifully preserved homestead, now functioning like a walk-in museum. Visitors are free to explore the rooms and read the displays, which transport you back to the early days of settlement in the region.
Together, these sites offer a deeper connection to the land—not just its geological wonders, but the human stories etched into its history.
Wildlife Encounters in Gawler Ranges National Park
One of the joys of visiting Gawler Ranges National Park is the abundance of wildlife. Kangaroos are everywhere—so much so that driving requires extra caution. More than once, they bounded across the track right in front of our bonnet. Thankfully, we kept our speed low and avoided any close calls. Raptors were soaring high up in the sky. They too kept their distance, making it challenging to take a proper photo.
At Yandinga campground, the resident grey butcherbirds became our companions. Friendly and curious, they entertained us throughout our stay.
On the way to the Organ Pipes, we came across a herd of emus. Our kids, with their playful imagination, nicknamed them “negative knees”—a reference to the way emus’ knees bend backwards compared to ours. It was one of those delightful family moments that made the trip even more memorable.
Getting There
We entered the park from the north via Lake Gairdner National Park, following a dirt road in reasonable condition for the outback—though it becomes muddy when wet. After exploring the park, we exited in the south, rejoining the Eyre Highway at Minnipa.
Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park is undoubtedly one of the most popular attractions in Western Australia. Firstly, it is the best place to explore amazing cave formations, which are more than a hundred in the region, although only a few are open to public. Secondly, you can get up close to stingrays which frequent the waters of Hamelin Bay. Additionally, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park offers spectacular coastline with many beautiful swimming beaches, world-class surfing spots and fishing locations. Stretching for 120km along the coast in the South West, from Cape Naturaliste in the north to Cape Leeuwin in the south, the park is also known for its “Cape to Cape Walk” that so many locals and tourist alike undertake all year round. Lastly, Leeuwin Naturaliste NP is just next to famous Margaret River, where you can indulge in gourmet food and wine experience. To emphasise, this is one place to explore!
Caves of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park
Spectacular limestone caves lying underneath the ground are unquestionably a reason to visit Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. One can marvel at immensely beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and shawls, created by nature over the period thousands of years. While there are more than hundred caves in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, we only visited Lake Cave.
Lake Cave
It is easily accessible, just off Caves Road. While Lake Cave is not the biggest and not the grandest of all the caves open to public, it is our favourite. As the name suggests, there is a permanent lake inside the cave, in which you can see beautiful reflections of stalactites and straws. Even though the cave is not big, there are 350 steps to climb down (and then back up), hence one needs to be reasonably fit to accomplish this (our 8- and 11-year-old kids were well ahead of me, jumping like monkeys over the steps!)
Lake Cave
The entry to the cave (half way down the steps) is through a big sinkhole. Once you are down and inside, looking up into the sky through that hole is particularly an amazing experience.
Entry to Lake Cave
Another beautiful thing about this cave is Suspended Table – two massive columns hanging down from the ceiling, attached to the sheet of flowstone. Over the years the cave’s sandy floor has been completely washed away. As a result the whole structure, weighing several tones, floats on the surface of the lake.
Lake Cave is alive. Once inside, with the lights turned off you can tune to the silence, in which you can hear droplets of water dripping constantly from the tips of straws and stalactites.
Entry to the cave is with the guided tour only. It is worthwhile to book in advance, especially during public and school holidays. We highly recommend this experience and are looking forward to visiting other caves in this region.
Giants Cave
While Lake Cave is the most beautiful, in our opinion, Giants Cave promises the most fun and adventure. It includes climbing vertical ladders, scrambling over rocks, using ropes to get down steep slides.
In addition, you need to squeeze through tight spots (eat more salad and not burgers, if you want to attempt that 😊). It is fun for children and adults alike, if you are up to adventure. Climbing the cave requires some degree of fitness. I felt like I had a very good workout after climbing out of the cave. There is no guide, so you explore this cave on your own, which is part of the fun! Inside it is completely dark but friendly staff provide helmets (really a must!) with torches, as well as brief explanation of what to expect to see.
Apart from the fun part of climbing rocks and ladders, there are beautiful chambers. One of them has a pretty name Ballroom. At 70 meters long, it is indeed big enough for a good dance 😊.
Like in any other limestone cave, you will see many nice nature-crafted decorations, which are very fragile.
Giants Cave is the deepest cave in the Margaret River region at 86 meters deep. It is 575 meters long and takes on average an hour to explore. Check out our short reel about this fun cave on Youtube,Tiktok or Facebook.
Giants Cave is located 20km south of Margaret River town, on Caves Road. It is easily accessible. The cost of visiting the cave is $19 ($9.50 for a child). Being one of the hardest caves to climb, minimum age to visit is 6 years old. It is also one of the quietest caves. For that reason you do not need to book in advance, even during public holidays.
Canal Rocks
Canal Rocks is a natural attraction in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Over a period of thousands of years, mighty Indian Ocean has carved and sculptured granite rocks, cutting through them. This eventually resulted in a narrow channel between the rocks. The views of the canal rocks are simply amazing, no matter where you look from – from above , the bottom of the rocks or the side. Nature is so creative when it does its job. You can climb the rocks or walk across a boardwalk.
Canal Rocks are 4km south of Yallingup, via Canal Rocks Road.
Swimming and stingrays at Hamelin Bay
Hamelin Bay is a beautiful beach between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste. It is a long stretch of white sand, turquoise water and coastal cliffs. Being sheltered and protected from the strong winds, Hamelin Bay is great for swimming, snorkeling, as well as fishing. It is especially popular as a place to spot stingrays, which frequent the bay and can get quite close to the shore.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any (I suppose the timing was wrong – we visited Hamelin Bay in the afternoon, late January). Despite that, we still enjoyed walking on the beach, spotting Sooty Oystercatchers and Liolophura hirtosa (below).
Apparently, you can also drive on the beach (not from the main beach entrance). I learnt that by walking along the beach and spotting tyre tracks, a sign and vehicles in the distance.
Margaret River Mouth
Another place worth visiting is Margaret River Mouth in Prevelly. This is where Indian Ocean meets Margaret River. In summer the river is isolated from the ocean, creating a shallow warm pool, popular with families, as well for canoeing. You can even walk across it to the beach when the conditions are right. The beach itself is 500meter long, partly protected by the reefs. It can be windy there, which creates good surfing opportunities, albeit for beginners. Also there are excellent facilities with toilets and showers at the carpark.
World class surfing at Surfers Point
Surfers Point is undeniably one of the best places to go surfing and kite surfing. It is a prime location especially for advanced surfers, because the waves here are guaranteed year-round, reaching the height of 7-8 meters. A variety of breaks means that there are swells offering varying difficulty. For us, not surfers, it was fun and thrill to watch a group of surfers of various capabilities and experience to jump above the waves, fall into the water, get up and do it all over again time. For one thing, these surfers possess so much strength (mental and physical) to handle the cold, strong winds and numerous falls into the water.
Cowaramup Bay
Cowaramup is a small town known for its 42 life-sized fibreglass cows scattered around the town. It has many other attractions. Millers Ice Creamery was our favourite :). The beaches there are also worth visiting. Cowaramup Bay and particularly Gracetown Beach has interesting rock formations, which make an ideal subject for photography. Add to this clear blue waters, boat in the distance… You see the picture :).
Camping at Conto’s
If you are looking for nature-based camping, look not further than Conto campground. It is a huge campground, 19km south of Margaret River, off Caves Road, just next to Lake Cave and 4km from the beach. Being close to all the main attractions in that region, it is a popular place, especially with families. Nestled among peppermint and grass trees, there are over 100 campsites located within 8 camping areas, arranged in loops.
All camping areas have drop toilets and non-drinking water and some (bigger ones) have shelters, bbqs and dishwashing facilities. Only 2 camping areas (Chudith and Quenda) are suitable for caravans and trailers. Others are for tents and swags, because you can’t reverse in and consequently have to park behind the poles. Some sites have low clearance and narrow parking, and as a result you won’t be able to open your awning.
We stayed at Hamelin in 2023 and were fine with that arrangement for this trip. The cost of the campground was $15 per adult per night. Extra facilities include table and fire ring for each camping spot, chopped wood and rubbish skip bins. Sites need to be booked online via Parkstay site. Being a national park, no dogs are allowed at Conto.
Two years later we stayed at Conto’s again. The price has gone up to $20 per person per night since then. We find it too expensive. In 2025 we stayed at Davies loop. The tiled toilets looked nice but we felt it was unnecessary luxury for bush camping. This did not justify the price increase, in our opinion. But, as the saying goes, beggars cannot be choosy. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a camping spot close to Perth at a short notice. This campground had availability at the time of booking. So we decided to stay there and enjoy all that Margaret River had to offer.
Conto beaches
There are some good beaches in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Conto Spring Beach is 3km drive from Conto campground, just off the Caves Road, in the Margaret River region. It is accessible to all vehicles. The beach is great for swimming (on calm days), fishing, surfing and just exploring as it has beautiful rock formations and rock pools. Interestingly, the name of the beach comes from the actual freshwater spring that flows from the limestone ridge into the sand. “Cape to Cape walk track” passes through this beach.
Sunset is always a special time at the beach.
A short driving distance from Conto Spring are a number of points of interest. We Round Rock and Merchant Rock of particular interest, both offering spectacular scenery. Merchant Pool has lots of rocks to climb and powerful waves to watch as they crush against the rocks, creating massive splashes. Not only the beaches are spectacular, but they are also great for fishing.
Below: Merchant Rock (left), Round Rock (right).
Small things to observe at Leeuwin-Naturaliste
Emu, the second-tallest bird (after the ostrich) and can only be found in the wild in Australia, where it is the largest bird (below left).
Welcome Swallow, a small and fast-flying bird (below right).
In conclusion
We hope you have most compelling evidence to visit Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. It is easily accessible, there is no entry fee and there is so much to see, do and wonder at, that without a doubt, you’ll find something for yourself there. We certainly didn’t see and experience everything and need to go back.
Do you have a favourite place or experience in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park?
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