Year-round bookings for Exmouth campsites

Camp sites on the Ningaloo Coast in Cape Range National Park will now need to be booked all year round because of the increasing popularity of the wild paradise.

Booking for camp sites during peak season was introduced six years ago to ensure people who made the trip out to remote camp sites in several popular national parks had a place to stay.

Camping during the off-peak season — the North West’s wet season — has operated on a first-come first-serve basis.

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions education officer Jamie Campbell said the trial had proved successful, but the popularity of Cape Range now warranted rolling bookings out year-round.

“Given the popularity of camping on the Ningaloo Coast in Cape Range National Park, it was becoming difficult because people would drive out there just to be turned away because the park was full,” he said.

“The uptake for pre-booking has been huge and feedback from campers is very positive.

“Our season generally ends at the end of the October school holidays, but ... the park has been just about at capacity since the end of the holidays this year.”

The sites can be booked on the department’s ParkStay website up to six months in advance, and will need to be booked for the Christmas and New Year period this year. Mr Campbell said the majority of demand over the festive season came from residents in the Pilbara, as well as a few international travellers.

He said despite the heat, the national park still offered plenty for those making the trip to the Cape this summer.

“The department runs turtle education interaction evenings most Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights between December and March for a low fee,” he said.

“There are stacks of turtles at the moment — it just seems like they are everywhere.”

Mr Campbell said anyone wanting to tackle walking trails over summer should do so early in the morning and with plenty of water.