About this place
Windy Harbour offers a safe harbour on this wild coastline, rewarding fishing opportunities and stunning views of the Southern Ocean.
Windy Harbour is a small settlement surrounded by D'Entrecasteaux National Park. Around 230 cottages have been built here since the 1900s, most after the Great Depression, when inexpensive camping holidays on the south coast were favoured by many local timber workers. It was during these times that the strong community spirit which typifies Windy Harbour was established. Fishing has always been a major part of life at Windy Harbour and one of the principal reasons of its establishment. The relatively sheltered aspect of the harbour means it remains popular with fishers today. You can also view Sandy Island from the cliffs at Windy Harbour, an important nesting site for flesh-footed shearwaters. Up to 300,000 breeding pairs of these birds descend on Sandy Island each year, a large proportion of the global population.
One of the best ways to experience Windy Harbour’s stunning setting is to take a walk on the Coastal Survivors Walk Trail.
As Windy Harbour is accessible through a sealed road, it is the only place in D’Entrecasteaux National Park with facilities for caravans. The nature based camping and caravan ground is small but well set out, and contains a campers’ kitchen, drinking water, hot showers, toilet and laundry and is managed by the Shire of Manjimup.
Safety information
Plan when to visit. Consider travelling with a personal location beacon (PLB). In the event you need to be rescued it could save your life!
Western Shield - The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions undertakes 1080 baiting at this location to reduce the impacts of feral cats and foxes on native wildlife.
Meat baits containing 1080 poison are laid in or around this area on an ongoing basis. 1080 is poisonous to humans and will kill domestic cats and dogs. Pets are not permitted in this park.
For further information contact your local Parks and Wildlife Service office or visit Western Shield.
Gallery
Activities
Bird watching
Bushwalking
Camping
As Windy Harbour is accessible via sealed road, it is the only place in D’Entrecasteaux National Park with facilities for caravans. The nature-based camping and caravan ground is small but well set out, and contains a campers’ kitchen, drinking water, hot showers, toilet and laundry. It is managed by the Shire of Manjimup.
Fishing
Windy Harbour has always been renowned for its excellent fishing. Keen anglers can expect to catch herring, whiting and skippy year round, along with salmon and tailor when they are running.
Swimming
The harbour’s protected nature means that it is one of the few places along this coastline to offer a sheltered area to swim, although care should still be taken.
Plants, wildlife and fungi
Visit the Atlas of Living Australia for a list of species recorded within a 5km radius of Windy Harbour.
Traditional Owners
We recognise and acknowledge Minang and Bibbulman people as the traditional owners of D'Entrecasteaux National Park.
There is evidence that Noongar people have lived in South-West Australia for over 47,000 years. The oldest archeological evidence at D’Entrecasteaux is dated at 6000 years, although this does not mean it wasn’t occupied early than this. Erosion of sand dunes within the park has revealed numerous stone artifacts, fish traps, quarry sites, mythological and burial sites. The majority of these are located around the Lake Jasper/ Meerup Dunes area, an area of particular archeological and cultural significance to the Noongar people. Artifacts have been found 10 metres below Lake Jasper’s current water levels, indicating a number of major campsites existed here when the lake was a prehistoric forest.
Wandjoo ngaalang kwoba/moorditj boodjar,
Nyoondool djinang ngaalang kwobidak Wardan, balyoongar, bilya, worl wer djinda kada werda ngaalang miya,
Ngaalang koort kalyakoorl nidja.
Welcome to our good/strong country,
You will see our beautiful sea, sand, rivers, sky, and stars across our place,
Our heart always here.
