Advice or tips on camping coastal tour from Perth down South

Hi .Thats a realy good trip in summer. It can be crowded ,especially Marg River,but its not too bad.
Kids will love the caves around Marg River
Denmark is another must see place in summer.
Albany has an interesting old convict prison and whaling station.
The lighthouse at Augusta is a favourite of mine.

Esperance deserves a week of its own.Drives along the beach and trips to Woody Island were fantastic

I took my son to all these places when he was young and he has never forgotten them.
Im heading down that way in the opposite direction early January with my old age mates,cant wait;)

Insa,
It gets very very busy, all booked out and expencive down here in late December and early January.

G\My tip is to go into a CALM office and get a copy of their camp sites down here, there are many, but none are right on the beach.
There are some (illegal) beach camp sites, but the lacal Rangers are really hot on them and issue fines readily and it's not easy to beat them because the "no camping" signs are everywhere.

Over in the Albany & Esperance area you will have more luck, the law as it stands, as I understand it, is you can't 'free camp' with-in a certain distance of a town, I think it's 30 Klm, but I'm sure someone will know better.

There are 'free camping' areas inland.

Maîneÿ . . .

You are doing the trip in the right direction IMHO. The scenery starts off great and gets better as you go east.
Caves at Augusta, trees at Pemberton both good. Plenty to do around Albany including Stirling ranges. Fitzgerald River NP is pleasant. Esperance very scenic, great French bakery. Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grand NP is really good. Our favourite was Cape Arid. Very few facilities but peaceful and spectacular.

cheers

There are quite number of "Free campsites" and you can buy a book informing you of them. However most people have the book and get there fast. (Some are pretty crummy and I have avoided them.). If you are cautious and make some enquiries, with a smile and a good nature, you can get lots of local information.
Legally you are not camping until you go to sleep. You cannot be forced to move if you are under the influence of alcohol. But play it safe and ask for help. It is appreciated by the locals if you spend a dollar or two. Overall it is difficult to "camp out" at this time of the year but some people have been doing the same trick for many years.
"Seek and ye shall find"
Happy holiday.
Brian

G'day Insa, I think you are very optimistic expecting to find a pleasant wild camping site in the SW corner. I have just returned from a whirlwind two day 1000km circuit of the area, Bunbury,Donnybrook, Manjimup. Bridgetown, Muir Hwy, Denmark, Walpole, Pemberton, Northcliffe, Karridale, Augusta, Margaret River and Busselton. I motelled it overnight in Denmark. There are numerous roadside rest areas that would not be comfortable overnight camping areas because of the road noise. The only place I saw where you could get off the road and have a pleasant spot was on the north side of the Frankland River crossing on the Muir Hwy. If I were you I would focus on the coastal strip Denmark to Walpole and use unpowered caravan park sites to go 4 wheel driving from. The beaches are a convenient distance off the Great Southern Hwy. Augusta to Busselton is now very glitzy/boutiquee. The main street of Margaret River, about 500 metres, was straight out of Subiaco at 3.30 in the afternoon with cars and people clogging the place. Happy Days. Pauper.

See if the ExplorOz Shop still has "4wd days out of - -" series. We found the south coast one invaluable when touring and camping along the southern coasts a few years ago. Sorry i can't find it just now to give you the correct title.

Motherhen

As one who lives in one of the smaller towns on the south coast,west of Albany, I suggest that you start planning yesterday and book any accomodation you need tomorrow.

From my experience both as a caravan tower and a resident, most of the coastal towns from Mandurah south right through to Esperance will be pretty well booked out for that period.

Having said that, if you start ringing around or googling the towns on your route ASAP and checking out caravan parks, holiday parks etc you just might be lucky, but hurry

Any free camping sites in the SW (and there is not really that many near the coast) will be well and truly taken every day.

Hope that helps a bit.

Disco.

Shannon Mill camp site, about half way between Manjimup and Wapole is my favorite place. It is in the Shannon national park and it has hot showers and toilets. Fires are allowed and wood provided. There are quite a few other camp sites around the South West away from the packed out Margaret River.

Neil

been bush camping in the SW between Xmas and new years before and had no worries.

best advice i can give is avoid margret river

most over hyped destination ive ever seen

nothing there except a mini perth. I stopped off because id heard so much about it and it was full to bursting with people going to the coffee shops, coles and other shops

Hi
you should just about have it all worked out by now with all these replies....
I would like to add a couple of places you might be lucky which are free or low price...warron river national park between Pemberton and NorthcliffeBig Brook Dam, Pemberton, Parries beach, between Walpole and Denmark, Crystal Springs (,west of walpole) Blue Lake (north east of Demark ) a little bit of soft 4x4 here Cosy Corner East (between Denmark and Albany) on lower Demark Rd Shelly Beach (around the same area...) most of these places should work out for a night or two but if it is getting a bit late and you just need to stay over ...I was once told that Rangers start around 0830 but are home by 1630

have a great trip
Brian

If you drop by Nannup then Barrubup Pool is a nice camping / swimming spot, not so much for the littlies if they don't have floaties though. I live in Nannup so of course I think it's a wonderful town :D, but hey if you're trying to aviod Margaret River, it's pretty central, less than an hours drive from there, Busselton, Bunbury, Bridgetown, Balingup, Augusta etc, could be a good base to explore a few towns from! Oh the kids will like the couple of parks here, one at the caravan park, but one further up town which is popular with the local parents for birthday parties etc.

Anyhow I'm rambling on, I do hope you have a great trip, my two are 5 and nearly 7, so sounds like you have a similar age gap!