Banksia camp near Walpole

It was time to head back to the beach, so we left Shannon's & headed out to a beach campsite called Banksia camp near Walpole. We couldn't find much information about it other than it only had 1 camper trailer site. We decided to risk it. The initial track in of about 8km was good gravel, but the next 3km was soft sand & dunes. 

Track in

We got lucky for once with all the rain the night before it made the track more firm & we made our way in without reducing tyre pressure, we needed 4WD though. We found a lovely campground right near the water, with about 6 tent sites, 1 large camper trailer site & a bush hut. The camper trailer site would easily fit 2 camper trailers in, & even 3 if you were desperate or a group camping together. A trailer would also fit at the hut itself & one of the tent sites was suitable if you had a small camper or pop top. When we arrived the camper trailer site was free, yeah! 

Camp at Banksia beach

There was a young couple camped at the hut, but they soon left & a tent camp, but they also left. So in the end it was just us. We set up camp & headed back into town Walpole to grab a loaf of bread & to cut some firewood on the way home, as fires were allowed. On the way back we called into Mandalay beach for a look. It's was pretty windy, but a nice spot, there is the ship wreck of the Mandalay ship on the beach, but the tide was to high for us to see it. 

Mandalay beach

Back to camp & we were revelling in getting the place to ourselves & what a great spot it was. We went down to the beach for a look & Mat had a fish. In the late afternoon we were enjoying a few beverages, when our serenity was shattered. Out of the bush came a group of about 25 teenagers on a school walking camp. Luckily they camped further up the road & only used the camp hut to cook their dinner & then on dark they trudged out again. They stopped in the next morning to fill up their water bottles from the tank on the hut & kept on their merry way, phew. 

Banksia beach above & below

The next 2 days there is not too much to report, we relaxed, read, fished, walked & had a great time. A couple of other campers turned up each night, but we're all good. We sat around the fire at night & got pretty lucky with the weather mostly. A few showers of rain, but at least the wind was calm for most of the time. We had a great time at Banksia camp. 

Banksia beach

Rocks on the beach 

As mentioned there is a hut that is first come first in, that had 4 rooms with bunks, tables & chairs, a rainwater tank, a place to hang your shower bag out of the wind. There were also new drop toilets. The beach itself was a short walk & was beautiful. Lined with rocks at the front, but then a bit of open beach as well, it was sheltered by a couple of islands. We were told you can see seals on the smaller island, but we didn't see any. The fishing is also supposed to be good, but despite hours of trying Mat didn't get any which is unusual to not get anything. The cost was $7.50 per person per night & it's a parks & wildlife campground. A fantastic find, one of your favourites. Watch the track in & if you have a heavy trailer or a not great 4WD definitely reduce your tyre pressures before starting the sand track. We reduced ours on the way out. We didn't really need it, but of course it helped, we inflated them again at Walpole. No phone reception at this camp. The reception has been really average along this whole 

area. 

Hut at Banksia