Situated in the most northern point of the Peron Peninsula, François Péron is one of the highlights of Western Australia. The national park is part of the Shark Bay World Heritage and we fully understand why! I spent one day with a 4WD guide to explore the beauty of François Péron National Park.
Do you need a 4WD for François Peron National Park?
I spent one day with a 4WD guide to explore the beauty of François Péron National Park. Without a 4WD vehicle, you won’t be able to get further in François Péron NP than the homestead. This is where your fear of missing out should go to your feed. The homestead is a ‘nice to see’, but the red cliffs, viewpoint and wildlife are why you want to visit this national park.
We rented a 2WD campervan to drive from Perth to Karijini National Park so we couldn’t enter François Péron NP on our own. We went with a tour guide from the Ocean Park Aquarium. It was not a cheap tour as we were with 2 and we had to pay for 4, the minimum required for the day trip. I can’t believe that there weren’t enough people to explore the park. Did I consider renting a 4WD myself? No. Would I like to learn how to drive a 4WD car? Yes 🙂 If you know how to properly drive a 4WD and how to reduce your tyre pressure yourself, I would recommend keeping your hand on the purse strings.
Highlights of François Péron National Park
The highlights of Francois Peron NP are easily accessible with a 4WD from south to north. Thinking back of François Péron National Park, the breathtaking red sand and rock formations immediately come to mind. And as a wildlife lover, I couldn’t be happier with the emu’s, eagles, cormorants and the turtle we saw. We even saw a group of dolphins playing with a stingray right in front of us.
Peron Homestead Precinct
This remote sheep station gives you insights of what live was like as a sheep shearer. A visit to Peron Heritage Precinct feels like going back in time. Until 1990 Peron Peninsula was managed as a 100.000-hectare sheep station. I can recommend ending your visit to the park at the homestead as there is a hot tub where you can relax after a day in the red sand.
Cape Peron
While driving over the sandy roads, the car leaves red clouds of dust behind us. Our guide tells about the aboriginal language, the pearl camp, nature and animals. Cape Peron is the park’s most northern point of the peninsula and is a great place to have lunch.
Wanamalu Trail
A 1,5-kilometre trail that follows the cliffs between Cape Peron and Skipjack Point. It will take you about 45 minutes or1,5 hour if you return. The trail offers you stunning views of the Wulyibidi coastline, you may want to bring your binoculars!
Skipjack Point
If you are lucky you can spot wildlife from Skipjack Point! We were lucky and saw four pied cormorants and the turtle on the photos below.
Bottle Bay
A beautiful spot in the north of the peninsula. We did not stay overnight but at Bottle Bay is a campground, toilets and picnic area. Beautiful beaches and great for a dive in the water or fishing.
There are a few places in Francois Peron that we didn’t see during our one day visit. Have you been to these spots and would you like to share your story on our blog? Just drop me a line 🙂
- Big Lagoon
- Kraskoe’s Tank
- Cattle Well
- Gregories and Gregories
- Herald Bight where in the 1880s a pearl camp was established.
Tips for travelling to François Péron National Park
As long as you bring your brain, water and food, everything should be fine! Anway, some practical tips that make your life easier:
- Drive carefully. François Peron NP is home to many animals and they also live close to the roads and tracks.
- Check your tyre pressure. As I said before I’m not an expert but the guide told us that pressure should be reduced to at least 20psi. Don’t forget to inflate your tyres again when you leave the park.
- Bring a fly net. This is not a joke. Even though I felt like a total clown, the huge amount of flies were incredibly annoying. After my visit to the Pinnacles without a fly net, I just needed the net to survive. This might be a seasonal thing though.
- Drink loads of water. It’s WARM!
- Use sunscreen.
- We did not go snorkelling but I did see wildlife in the sea: stingrays, dolphins and turtles so please behave and be kind.
Have you been to François Peron National Park? Let us know your experience! Happy Travels ♡
2 comments
I did the 4WD tour to the Francois Peron National Park when I visited Shark Bay. It was fabulous. Our guide was full of information & showed us so much. And the wildlife was amazing. It was well worth the money & if you are into photography it’s great. I was lucky there were 5 of us on the tour.
Hi Denise, maybe we have been on the same tour then 🙂 We were 2, which made it a bit more expensive but it was definitely worth the money! I would not have wanted to miss the great experience!