Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Cape Leeuwin is the southwest corner of the continent, a low limestone point where the coast stops running west and turns east. The lighthouse was completed in 1896 from local stone, and at close to forty metres it is the tallest on the mainland. Guided tours take you up the internal stair to the lantern room and out onto the balcony, where the wind is usually the main event. Below the tower, a waterwheel built to supply the construction camp has calcified into a solid lump of limestone, which is a better exhibit than it sounds. Two oceans meeting here is a convention rather than a visible line, but the position is genuinely an edge.

Highlights

• The tower climb - the internal stair up to the lantern room and the outside balcony.
• The calcified waterwheel - an old timber wheel encased in limestone deposits below the cape.
• The keepers' cottages - stone quarters and interpretive displays near the site entrance.
• The point itself - low rock and open water at the southwest corner of the continent.

When to go

October to April is drier and warmer, though wind is constant in any season and winter storms here are serious. Tower tours run at set times and are cancelled in high wind, so leave some flexibility in the day. Whales pass this coast between roughly June and September. Late afternoon light on the pale stone is the best of the day.

Practical notes

The tower tour is short for the price, and it is often trimmed or cancelled for wind. There is little shelter on the point, and the walk from car park to tower is fully exposed. The meeting of two oceans is a line on a map rather than something you will see, and some visitors feel let down by that. Augusta is small and quiet out of season.

Nearby

Augusta, the Blackwood River mouth and the limestone caves along Caves Road.

Key facts