Holiday houses in Green Head

A small community on the Western Australian coast, Green Head is a great place to stop over on the scenic Indian Ocean Drive from Perth to Geraldton. The town straddles a headland between two wide bays with long sandy beaches: South Bay, to the south of Green Head, and Anchorage Bay to the north offer some of the best windsurfing in the state. Point Louise Lookout, at the northern end of Anchorage Bay, is great for wave sailing, while South Bay is known for its slalom sailing conditions. On the headland itself, the smaller Dynamite Bay is protected from the prevailing strong winds by limestone cliffs wrapping around the inlet. The sheltered beach here is ideal for swimming and snorkelling.

With only a couple of cafés and takeaway food options in town, you may want to cast a line off the town’s jetty in Anchorage Bay and catch your own dinner. The islands and reefs off the coast are great for fishing as well as scuba diving, and keen bushwalkers will want to head to the nearby national parks and nature reserves within a short drive of town.

Like the rest of the Coral Coast, Green Head enjoys hot, dry summers, with the heat extending well into autumn. The school holiday period is always busy; come after school is back in session and you’ll enjoy perfect beach weather and warm nights. The spring and mid-autumn are the best times to tackle bushwalking tracks along the coast and inland, with warm days and little chance of rain. It doesn’t cool down until around May, when the rainfall picks up, ahead of mild winter days and cool rather than chilly nights. Winter is the wettest time of the year, especially around June and July. All that rain results in a spectacular wildflower season. From around July to November, wildflowers bloom all along the coast and in the nearby national parks.

Lesueur National Park

This national park bordering Green Head bursts into colour during the wildflower season, from late winter to spring, but it’s a spectacular place to visit at any time of the year. From Green Head the start of a scenic road route through the park is around a 25-minute drive away, and there are half-day and shorter walks to tackle as well.

More national parks

Besides Lesueur National Park, there are a host of nature reserves and national parks to explore around Green Head. Stockyard Gully National Park is riddled with limestone caves, while untamed Alexander Morrison National Park comes alive in wildflower season, as does Beekeepers Nature Reserve north of town.

Three Bays Walkway

A sealed path following the limestone headland around Green Head, the Three Bays Walkway runs from the rocks above Anchorage Bay past Rocky Beach to Dynamite Bay. The path then continues past Hunters Beach to the South Bay lookout. You can extend the walk by adding beach walks at either side of the headland.