Guilderton Lighthouse

There are few lighthouses in WA that offer both dark skies as well as proximity to Perth – and Guilderton lighthouse is one of them. About an hour north of Perth, this lighthouse stands away from the nearby town of Guilderton and looks out over the Indian ocean. It is tall and thin (rather than squat and fat as some lighthouses are) with its light beams shielded on the landside – hence the beam sweeps roughly 180 degrees out to the ocean only and not over the land. Whilst the immediate area around lighthouse is fenced off, there is plenty of vantage points to capture the lighthouse under the night sky. A sandy track (only traversable by 4wd) does a complete circuit around the lighthouse which provides an easy path to walk along and find the optimum vantage point to frame the lighthouse with a particular portion of the sky. However, if using very long or very short focal length lenses then you may need to leave the sandy track and navigate through surrounding low scrub to find the perfect spot.

At Guilderton lighthouse the skies are dark in most directions, however there is some light pollution due to Guilderton town (and Two Rocks) to the south. This hasn’t been much of an issue when I have shot there as most of the compositions are looking to the west, or south-west at the worst – and the results were still great.

Getting to Guilderton lighthouse is fairly easy and possible with a 2wd car. Driving up the Indian Ocean highway, take the Caraban road turn-off and drive for a while until you pass through Guilderton town. Eventually this turns into a good dirt / gravel road which leads either to the beach (which is nothing special) or to a small parking area near the lighthouse. The sandy track that does the circuit around the lighthouse is accessed via this small parking area. There are other sandy tracks in the area which may provide alternative compositions – a bit of exploring is worthwhile.

The lighthouse is usually devoid of visitors / photographers at night. The few times I have been there I have been the only one there – so this is still one of those places you are likely to have all to yourself at night.