D’Entrecasteaux National Park is an important conservation area of wild beauty, blessed with expansive beaches, rugged coastal cliffs and towering karri forests. This National Park stretches along the south coast for more than 130 kilometres between Augusta and Walpole. The park is named after a French explorer, Admiral Bruni D’Entrecasteaux. Point D’Entrecasteaux was named on his scientific voyage circumnavigating Australia in 1792.
The park’s impressive features include the hexagonal basalt columns at Black Point and the mouth of the Donnelly River formed by a volcanic lava flow 135 million years ago, ancient granite, consolidated limestone cliffs and aeolian dune systems including the 10-kilometre long Yeagarup Dunes. This land-locked dune system moves in to the forest at a rate of between 4-6 metres a year. Inland from the coast is a series of lakes and swamps, including Lake Yeagarup and Lake Jasper, the largest freshwater lake in the southern half of WA. Several rivers empty to the ocean through the park. The major rivers are the Warren, Donnelly, Gardner and the Shannon which flows into Broke Inlet, an immense inlet near the eastern end of D’Entrecasteaux NP. Mandalay Beach is the site of a Norwegian barque wreck, Mandalay, which is occasionally exposed during storm events.
D’Entrecasteaux National Park is a popular destination for fishing, camping and 4WDing. The park is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna and threatened and priority species including Quokkas, Fairy Terns and Hooded Plovers. Peak wildflower season is mid-September to November and extends into December.
