Exploring Albany and Camping at Cosy Corner, Western Australia

We were sad to leave our perfect location at Munglinup Beach, but it was time to move on and we were only heading to another beach called Cosy Corner, so how bad could it be?

Continuing our journey west along the south coast of Western Australia, we made our way to the old port city of Albany, the very first settlement in Western Australia, settled way back in 1827. The city’s old historical buildings lead down to the picturesque natural harbour, which made the perfect location for the port. We stopped here for a break and to have some lunch while looking out over the harbour.

The harbour in Albany

Our lunch spot in Albany

From here we headed out on the road to Frenchman’s Bay to explore some of the beautiful coastline in the area. The road climbs up on top of the rugged peninsula which is mostly national park, before heading down to Frenchman’s Bay. This is the location of Australia’s last whaling station which closed in 1978. It now  functions as a museum called Whale World that is very interesting to check out to learn about the old whaling industry and how the station operated. The coastline around the station is also quite stunning, though I’m sure this wouldn’t have been the case back when there were whale carcasses floating offshore.

Whale World

Panorama of the coastline at the old whaling station – Whale World

By the time we finished exploring the peninsula, it was around 4pm and time to head to our camping spot at Cosy Corner. Driving down Old Denmark Road, we took the turnoff towards the coast and found the camping spot easily enough. Though busy, we found a beautiful spot shaded by peppermint trees, located about 40 metres from the beach. The campsite was free, close to the beach and there were no flies, so we decided straight away to stay for a couple of days.

Cosy Corner

Cosy Corner is a picturesque bay with a lovely long beach that seems to follow along the coastline for a long way. There were plenty of people here, but the length of the beach meant that we could easily find a large stretch to ourselves. The water was great for swimming and there we some good waves for surfing and boogie boarding. It was just amazing the spend the day jumping in and out of the waves and body surfing back into shore.

Mindy loves the beach!

As the campsite is free, it seems to be a popular spot for backpackers travelling around the country, and in the late afternoon it can get pretty crowded with vans and cars as they all pull in for the night, but they are generally all off first thing in the morning so the day is pretty quiet.

If you aren’t into camping, I noticed that there are a few cottages and B&Bs in the area, so you can still have a vacation at a decent price in the area, while enjoying the beautiful beach at Cosy Corner.

If you are after a beautiful beach location, the south coast of Western Australia seems to have it all. It’s just a matter of choosing which one to go to!