Thursday 23 April 2009

The Cape Le Grand National Park - An Amazing Experience

I recently took a trip down to the Southern Coast of Western Australia for a week after the Easter break with my family and some friends. We basically stayed around two the town of Albany and Esperance.

The highlight of the trip was the half-day trip to the Cape Le Grand National Park. The National Park is located 50 kilometres south east of Esperance. It is named after Le Grand, an officer of the L'Esperance, one of the ships in a French expedition commanded by Admiral D'Entrecasteaux in 1792.

This national park is pristine and is known for its stunning scenery and idyllic white sandy beaches.

The Vast Aussie Land


Due to time constraint, we were restricted in the number of areas in the park we could visit. We arrived first at Lucky Bay, then proceeded to Thistle Cove after spending a couple of hours beach walking (and photo taking - on my part) and letting the children in our mist play on the white sandy beach. We had a quick look around the Le Grand Bay before heading back to Esperance.

Though the time we spent in the park was relative short, it definitely left a great impression on me. We witnessed the beautiful vast landscape, the tall Frenchmen peak (one can actually track all the way to the top of the peak) and enjoyed the clean, white sandy beach and clear blue waters on the bays. This is one place I would rate as one of my favourite holiday and sightseeing spots in Western Australia.

In the coming days, I hope to share some of the beauties of the park with you. I also hope that you will also be able to witness its beauty personally as my photos will definitely do it no justice.

Some images of the Thistle Cove

Rocks at Thistle Cove

White Sandy Beach at Thistle Cove

A "Dog" rock at Thistle Cove, Cape Le Grand

Beautiful rocks at the Thistle Cove, Cape Le Grand

A tribute to Ansel Adams and Earth Day

I didn't realise that April 22nd is both the Earth Day and the 25th years to the day of Ansel Adams death until a Flickr user told me this.


I have always admired the works of Ansel Adams. Adams was one of the greatest landscape photographer in the world. His works have influenced many photographers around the world even till today. He inspired me to wanting to draw a similar experience like his; travelling to the beautiful country side to admire and to capture the beautiful landscapes God has so graciously given to us. Fittingly the passion for the beautiful landscapes also remind us that we human must strive to protect our Earth, our only planet, the home to all of us. It is also to my amazement that Earth Day happens to be on the day of the passing of Adams.

My tribute to Adams is a photo I have taken recently at the Cape Le Grand National Park near the town of Esperance in Western Australia. The photo was taken at a place called the "Thistle Cove" in that national park.


Cape Le Grand is a national park in Western Australia, 631km south-east of Perth and 56km east of Esperance. The park covers an area of 318 km² at Coordinates: 33°56′49″S 122°09′20″E / 33.94694°S 122.15556°E / -33.94694; 122.15556

Established in 1966, the park is managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation.

The largely granite shoreline and white sand beaches is a picturesque feature of the area. The park is a used for fishing, off-roading, tourism, and hiking.

Beaches within the Park include those at Lucky Bay, Rossiter Bay, Hellfire Bay, Le Grande Beach and Thistle Cove.

Information: From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Le_Grand_National_Park)


Rocks and Texture

One can still view or even buy Ansel Adams works through a website run by his family. The web address is: http://www.anseladams.com/

Finally, I wish everybody a Happy Earth Day. Let us all do our little part to save our planet.