Part 1. Western Australia. Perth to Munglinup.

We set up this blog because we had trouble finding information online about 'free camping' in Australia. If you are thinking of camping around Australia you will hopefully find some of this information useful. Please feel free to add comments, ask questions or leave feedback!

We hired the cheapest option from 'Backpackers' campervans in Perth. The first two nights we stayed in campsites for about $25 a night. This was more expensive than we were anticipating and so we decided to camp for free as often as we possibly could. No one could seem to give us a clear answer on the legalities of camping in public places in Western Australia. Using common sense, we decided we wouldn't park on private property, in the center of towns, or right outside of caravan parks. These are our experiences so far:

1st Night. Margaret River area.
During the day we scoped out an area outside town which seemed half industrial/half new development. There were no signs saying we couldn't camp (you often see these on beaches, etc, but they are ambiguous as they show a picture of a tent, not a campervan, or vice versa) and the area didn't seem to be used very much. When we came back in the evening there was another car there, but they left soon after.

2nd Night. Margaret River area.
In the morning we spoke to a couple who had stayed the night on a beautiful beach, we decided we would try the same that evening. However, when we came back after nightfall there were a bunch of douches having a huge wedding party. We decided to try the next beach over, which was smaller. There was already a full-time camper staying there so we decided it would be OK, despite all the 'NO CAMPING' signs everywhere. When we woke the next morning there were 7 campervans parked there. ha ha!

3rd Night. Flinders Bay Caravan Park
Paid $30 for a night here and sourly regretted it. It was full of old people and American kids. There were crazy amounts of mosquitoes everywhere and you had to pay to do anything (wash clothes, dry clothes, etc.) We charged our electrical goods, filled our water tank from the mosquito waterhole and got the hell out of there. This is when we decided we would try and go 3-4 nights in a row without caravan parks.

4th Night. D'entrecasteaux National Park.
Best place ever. Stayed in a scenic lookout point with views of the sea and surrounding landscape. An incredible place to wake up in the morning. At the entrance to the national park they had an information bay saying it is OK to camp as long as you clear up after yourself and don't light any fires.

5th Night. Denmark area.
Very difficult place to find free camping. We didn't search until too late in the day which didn't help. Ended up staying in a layby just outside of town heading east. The spot was fine but it took us hours to find it!

6th Night. Wellstead/Boxwood Hill.
Stayed in a layby off the highway again. We had already driven past several people doing this, and there are no signs around this area prohibiting camping (although there are signs warning against the lighting of campfires.) The night was quiet apart from a huge mosquito attack around 6pm, but they mysteriously vanished again. Maybe headed for Flinders.

7th Night. Munglinup.
There is a caravan park on Munglinup Beach but we couldn't get there without 4 wheel drive (which we would definitely recommend as most of Southern Western Australia is dirt track!) We ended up staying opposite the petrol station along with 4 other campervans. The people in the petrol station were very nice and didn't seem to mind everyone staying.


Summary: In many places, especially tourist areas, camping outside of campsites isn't legal. However, hundreds if not thousands of backpackers and Australians are doing this every night. If you exercise common sense, clean up after yourself and get up early then you should experience few problems. Try to find somewhere to stay before it gets dark because it is a lot harder when you can't see! Check for signs prohibiting camping and look for others who look like they might be spending the night. More often than not, nobody will question you and/or nobody cares. ;)