Cape Arid NP.

Cape Arid Website...

http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/national_parks/previous_parks_month/cape_arid.html

hope this helps.

rick.

Exploder
If you take Fisheries Road (major gravel road servicing farming properties in area) and then Poison Creek Road you will get within 7Km of Cape Arid without need for 4WD and can average ~70 - 80km/hr. Don’t know current status of tracks in park but suspect they are not difficult. If things get a bit sandy just let your tyres down if need be and all will be sweet (if you are using "skinny" tyres just let them down and all will be sweet:). You will not be totally alone (for any significant length of time) so you should be able to get help from passerby’s if need be (doubt you will need it). The DLI Streetsmart map (available from Exploroz) while at small scale provides good info. Dave (and others) will, no doubt, be able to fill us in on finer details when they get online.
Cheers
Greg

I just returned 2 weeks ago from both Cape Le Grande and Cape Arid National Parks.

First Le Grande its a magnificent piece of National Park, all roads within the Park are sealed and the only 4wding you would do would be if you take to the beaches.
If your not a bush walker you can visit all the major viewing points within an easy days drive.
Two camp grounds available one at Le Grande beach and one at Lucky Bay both nice with the usual good facilities that CALM seem to provide so well.
These two locations are also where the beach driving access is if thats what your interest is.
I camped at Le Grande Beach and enjoyed it immensely.

Cape Arid as advised above is again almost no 4wd tracks if you don't include the beach areas.
Its also a brilliant place with magnificent scenery.
The Tracks to the west side of Poison Creek Rd were closed when I was there under a seasonal basis to stop the spreed of some disease so we drove down to Seal Creek and Jondee Creek, nothing difficult at all about the roads to these locations, if you want to do the beach then different matter.
Fisheries Rd to Israelite Bay is a certain 4wd track its about 50 km's from the formed fisheries Rd to Israelite it was about a 4 hour trip for me and if it has been wet then I would avoid it, lots of big bog holes most have chicken tracks around them but these areas will also be boggy if it has had rain recently.
This track is also very sandy for the first 10 to 15 km's.
Israelite is also a great place, very isolated, the Old telegraph station is interesting.
We camped a few km's up the coast from the fisherman's hut nice and quiet.
I then exited up the Mt ragged Track to the Balladonia Rd to the Eyre Hwy.

Davoe (from Widgiemooltha) will probably answer you soon he will also be better at advising you about the Beaches as he fishes down there a lot.

The CALM office at Esperance were great to deal with and worth dropping by to ask about local conditions, CALM don't seem to go to Israelite Bay much and they could not tell me all that much about the track.

Hope this helps, its a great place and I will certainly return again.

Cheers

The Thomas river area in the Cape Arid NP I reckon is the Nicest part of the coast. It has excellent campgrounds set amongst the banksia. The actual beach is about 30km long and passes Pt Jedacorradup which is an immpressive rock jetty heading seaward from the beach. You go around a few headlands and you can head inland to the walking track to Mt Arid. The track terminates at another headland with a couple of beaches including barrier anchorage.
There are other nearby beaches such as tagon beach with the toweing tagon point on the Western side as well as Doilphins beach. There is also an in terprative walking trail to Boolenup Lagoon which has been created by a creek unable to penatrate the dunes. all this is within about 5km. Info on all this is available on the rangers station on the road into thomas River.
Poison creek is more of a fishing beach although a good trip is to take the beach East to the top of Mt Pasely and down where you can follow beaches and headlands before heading up a steep cuttingand track which takes you to Bellingers beach where the inland track heads to a telegraph track which can be taken East to Israilite or West to Fisheries road

Exploder

Wife and I just returned last week from Esperance we stayed at Cape Le Grand the facilities were great. A very good campers kitchen with flush toilets and a solar shower, shower sometimes is not hot enough.

Cape Arid is another great site we will probably stay there next time, basic bush facilities only. Travelled to Cape Arid along Fisheries Road and just follow the signs at no point did I have to let down my tyres all the roads had been re graded and the beaches are hard packed.

If you get a chance and feel like some exercise a walk up Frenchmans Peak is worth it.

Regards
Steve

Thanks for the replies all; the info was what I was looking for. .

Won’t be camping on this trip.
Will be staying in Esperance, have access to a fully furnished Holiday house down there that I can use occasionally so will be staying there. A bit girly yes, but if you have it use it I say.

We used to drive out there in the trusty HQ / HX Holden V8 utes including the beach work. Even got a Coaster bus out there once but that's another story. That was a long time ago though - don't know what it's like now.

Used to work on the farm at Tagon Harbour as a matter of fact. Mulesing in August - not the best job in the world.

An interesting footnote. A lot of the land around there was owned by US 1950's television personality Art Linkletter. Even saw a 16mm promotional film he did there once.

One of the bays out that way used to have a few roo's that would have a siesta on the beach. Very laid back.

Condi tavern too.

Here's another thing to ask some locals about. There was a real American Indian bloke who used to live out there in the late 1980's. Always thought he was a very along way from home. See if he's still around.