Cheynes Beach Caravan Park Albany

Cheynes Beach Caravan Park Review

Take a trip down south to Cheynes Beach Caravan Park if you are looking for a relaxing holiday. It’s peaceful with views of the stunning beach area, plenty of kangaroos to keep the grandchildren amused and some rare birds to keep twitchers engaged.

Travelling on the Reid Highway onto the Albany Highway for our first visit to the Great Southern, we stopped at the Williams Woolshed for breakfast and had an overnight stop in Katanning before heading through the Stirling Ranges. The park is quite isolated as it is a 45-minute drive to Albany and 17kms off the South Coast Highway.

Cheynes Beach is a very quiet place and a great place for switching off from the often hectic lifestyle we have in Perth – made even more relaxing by the lack of wifi signals. Wifi is limited to a small area near the shop and is patchy so it was very easy to switch off from technology and enjoy the natural surroundings of the Waychinicup National Park.

There were a lot of bird watchers in the caravan park, easily identified by their cameras, long lenses and extremely soft way of walking. We heard lots of different bird songs and saw a few interesting looking birds but lacking a telescopic lens, were unable to get photos!

We decided to hire a cabin for our eight-night stay which turned out to be a good decision as the weather was quite chilly, compared to Perth and the four friends who joined us for dinner every night were pleased to be indoors and not crowding into their caravans.

It would have been nice to have a couple of days relaxing on the beautiful beach but the weather did not co-operate although some hardy souls went swimming every day and the kayakers and anglers were not deterred by the cold. The beach is a five-minute walk from the caravan park.

So sightseeing it was. We spent a couple of days in Albany exploring the magnificent National Anzac Memorial and the historic whaling station, visiting the Farmers Market and enjoying some retail therapy in the interesting small shops. We also spent a day in Denmark – about a 90-minute drive having lunch at the excellent Lake House and a day in Bremer Bay (two hour drive – detours in place due to road works) enjoying the views. Another day was spent in the nearby national park. Lots of the small inlets and trails in the national parks and surrounding areas require four wheel drive vehicles.

Hiking Castle Rock and the Granite Skywalk at Porongurup took up another day but I opted out of that one as my mobility issues would have made it highly unlikely that I could have managed the level five, 2.2 kms, near-vertical scramble over the rocks and ladders to Castle Rock!

At the weekend two local wineries opened a wine tasting area at Cheynes so we were able to sample some Great Southern wines from Monty’s Leap and Parish Lane.

Staff at Cheynes Beach has to be one of the park’s big assets – pleasant, helpful and nothing was too much trouble. It’s rare to find all staff members enjoying their jobs and it was a pleasure to deal with them over the phone and in person.

There is an onsite shop that has all the essentials – milk, bread, fruit, vegetables, lollies, wine and beer. There is also a petrol and diesel facility. A takeaway store is open seven days for coffee, tea and meals. We had hoped the store would open earlier than 9:30 am every day so we could bag a coffee before heading out sightseeing.

Cheynes Beach has 35 caravan sites, 6 group sites (minimum of four caravans) and 29 tent sites – all powered. Cabins come in various sizes complete with stove, fridge and basic kitchen equipment, crockery and cutlery:

Standard – no ensuite facilities and no bedding provided. One double bed and one bunk bed.

Ensuite: A separate bedroom has a queen bed with bedding, two double bunks, shower and toilet, table and six chairs, microwave and television.

Chalet: Two bedrooms, queen bed and two bunk beds, bedding provided, shower and toilet, sofa, tables and chairs, microwave and television.

All cabins have an outdoor table and chairs on the small verandas. Two campers’ kitchens are available as well as gas powered barbecues. The site also has fish cleaning, boat wash and boat parking facilities as well as a security boom gate. Children’s playgrounds are available but to be honest the whole place could double as a playground. During the Labour Day weekend, lots of children were running around, riding bikes or scooters and generally enjoying themselves but strangely the park was still quiet enough to totally relax.

Address: 12 Bald Island Road, Cheynes, WA 6328

Phone: 08 9846 1247

Reservations: Recommended

Opening hours: Cabin check-in – 10am, checkout – 2pm

Gluten-free options: Yes

Vegetarian options: Limited

Restrooms: Clean and well maintained – good shower areas.

Parking: Available for the store, takeaway and for visitors. Car park is available at all sites.

Website: www.cheynesbeachcaravanpark.com.au

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About the Author
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About Hazel Broomhead

My name is Hazel and I am a Perth senior!

Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, my husband and I moved to New Zealand with our children in 1974. As my husband is in the oil business, we moved to several other countries including the Sultanate of Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan during the next 36 years before retiring to Perth.

We have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe – New Zealand, Scotland and Colombia - which makes a great excuse for us to travel and visit.

My career background is in radio and print journalism in Scotland and New Zealand as well as public relations in various other countries.

We love to eat out, walk, travel and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle here in Western Australia.