Little Bay: is this WA’s best beach campground?

We recently ventured north of Perth to revisit a hidden gem we had stumbled upon while on a camping trip up to the Ningaloo. It is true what they say about first impressions. Sometimes they can let you down, but sometimes you are even more impressed the second time – which we were with Little Bay campsite in Horrocks.

If Brad Pitt was a beach, this would be it right!? And you can camp here!

Before we get into it, you need to know a bit of background about how we found ourselves here, and why we seriously think Little Bay is a spot that is worthy of being on one of those weekend paper pull-outs labelled “Australia’s top 10 beaches”.

We are a loved-up couple currently in our first week of our one year, once-in-a-lifetime anticlockwise “Aus Lap”. Emmerson is a carpenter from Newcastle, NSW, and Skye is a music teacher from Perth, WA.

The story of how we met is for another time (think of an app rhyming with flinder), but here’s the lowdown: we have been living at Skye’s parent’s house along with her siblings and Poppy-dog in Perth for the last two and a half years. As you can imagine, a household of adults all living under the same roof can sometimes be tough, but we were very lucky to have supportive families and friends to help us out.

The idea to venture around Australia while not being grey nomads came about after many trips camping around NSW and WA, and being amazed at how much we hadn’t seen in our own backyards. While most of our friends are galavanting around Canada and Europe, we decided to see Australia while we are young and fit and without anything holding us back (like a mortgage and little tackers etc).

Emmerson’s dream is to surf basically every wave possible, and Skye is keen to explore aerial and landscape photography. So, as the story goes, we have been saving and skinting off family and setting up our Trusty-Troopcarrier-Tracy, ready for the big adventure.

We wanted to be able to set up the car for our exact needs, so it was handy to have a carpenter to create and build with materials that we chose (just don’t call him a handyman). Don’t get us wrong, buying a trailer would have prevented lots of wasted money on bad ideas and arguments, but seeing it all finished and working perfectly is definitely all worth it – and it’s made just for us.

Little Bay was our first “test run” to try out the finished set-up and to see if we had forgotten anything or if we needed to make any last-minute changes. Boy, what a place to taste the freedom of travelling Australia would bring us!

Our friends @tracks.we.travel throwing shakkas for good times

By the time we got into Horrocks town, WA’s howling Doctor had kicked in and we were scouting for somewhere to set up camp out of the weather. From the top of the limestone cliffs, you can see a little secluded bay and a little tin roof.

You can drive through the gorgeous little town within five minutes (according to Wiki only 150 people reside there) before finding yourself at a 4WD track with a sign saying “Little Bay Campsite, let down your tyres”.

EJ couldn’t have been more excited to use his new air compressor, so we let them down before continuing into the protected bay. Even though it was school holidays there were only a couple of families present, and we soon found the perfect spot to set up under some trees (yes, there is natural shade here). It was close enough to (but far enough from!) the clean, drop-down tin shed toilet and had ocean views so we could watch the surf on the horizon.

The most amazing part about this place is watching the sun hit the bloody massive sand dune which turns it into this gooey golden syrup colour. Looks can definitely be deceiving, however. Please don’t try and get to the top after a few beers, you only end up needing an asthma puffer and going down on your bum. The views from the top are pretty spectacular, but we have to warn you that when you think you have hit the top... you haven’t.

It is really cool to be able to make a legal fire and cook your dinner on it. We didn’t catch any fish this weekend but made an epic roast in the camp oven and even had gravy! In the late afternoon Zed, the very Occa Ranger comes around for a chat and collects the $15 cash. He is basically a more weathered version of the honey badger! Legend.

Overall, Little Bay is one of those dream Australian beach camping scenarios. It is safe and peaceful and has so many activities for every age group. It really was the perfect spot to test out Tracy in preparation for our adventure. Cheers to that!

Quick Facts

Location:

Little Bay Campsite, Horrocks. One hour North of Geraldton WA. Access: 4WD only (but there is a caravan park in town).

Utilities:

Drop Down Toilets. No running water or electricity, stay for the day or come prepared.

Activites:

Great fishing spots, snorkelling, bring a boogie board for the massive sand dunes, golf course in town, and of course, surf.

Price:

$15 per car, per night for a maximum of 5 nights. Pretty good we reckon!

Dogs allowed!