Traveling 631 km south-east of Perth – one of the most out-of-the-way cities on Earth, in far-off Western Australia, is a long way from anywhere. As I traverse Western Australia, I’m hit by that uncanny fizz of sacrifice, the struggle that reminds me this is a part of the world for the patient traveler. The one willing to move slowly and endure large, empty distances to discover pure landscapes, where few others have been. It’s a place that makes you feel things and realize that travel, after all, is an act of movement. I’ve been hooked on WA for a while; perhaps it’s the challenge of getting here, the sense of conquest at the end of each journey that I find so appealing – or it’s the effort that always, always pays off.
It’s late January, and we cross WA’s raw Outback without seeing another single soul. We spend eight hours on the road until, without warning, the deserted landscape changes dramatically. In extreme isolation, massive granite outcrops give way to freshwater pools. Over a few days, we navigate across Cape Le Grand National Park, 50km from the nearest town of Esperance, and discover the most compelling collection of pristine beaches – a place I thought existed only in dreams. But the absence of footsteps in this unheard-off wilderness is so real. There are no hotels, no accommodation within a 50km distance from the Park. Just the whitest sands, the most transparent blue water, in front of my eye, in a protected area of 31,801 hectares.

Western Australia’s Cape Le Grande National Park – one of the most extraordinary National Parks on Earth

Hiking through gravel paths, wooden boardwalks, and exposed granite all the way up to Frenchman Peak

The bright white sands and turquoise-colored waters of Lucky Bay

Spectacular Twilight Bay with its rounded granite cliffs and deepening blue ocean

Deserted Thistle Cove – a marvelous beach in Cape Le Grande National Park where I don’t come across another single human

Lost in paradise in Duke of Orleans Bay

Wharton Beach and its miraculous water

Wharton Beach – another remarkable beach in Le Grande National Park

Lucky Bay – one of the few places in Australia where kangaroos sun-bake on the beach

Impossible blue

Empty paths across untouched beaches

A place that feels like a dream
We traveled to Esperance, Western Australia, in January 2019 over five days. We stayed at Esperance Chalet Village and flew with Qantas airways.