Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 at 11:43
Went thru there in late Nov last year, travelling from east to west - on the Pt Culver to
Israelite Bay beach run, the seaweed was pretty bad from
Wattle Camp thru to
Israelite Bay and I had to turn back. The track from
the beach to
Wattle Camp was flooded due to rain, so that option was also out. But an EO member was able to get thru about a month later with better tides. Driving thru the metre-deep seaweed is pretty risky business, and you could get hopelessly stuck.
I suggest you check tide charts for the area and try to make the run when the tides are at their largest amplitude (I was trying during a neap tide). Even so, you may still have to duck around some large seaweed heads at the
water's edge. The 250K Topo, if you're using it, will show a track just behind
the beach towards the
Israelite Bay end, and you should try to get onto that as soon as you can, or if travelling west-east, take that track as far as you can before descending onto
the beach. Alternatively, you could take the telegraph track a bit further inland between Israelite and
Wattle Camp (Willem has successfully done that), then a few kms east of
Wattle Camp, you can turn onto
the beach (if the salt lakes are dry). The track is reportedly pretty overgrown and expect scratches.
Either way, there are some rocks NE of
Israelite Bay blocking
the beach run, which means you must take the telegraph track NE for about the first 20km before trying for
the beach.
Having painted a gloomy picture, it is a wonderful run; the
Bilbunya dunes are amazing, and there is a good
camping spot at the eastern end in the dunes amongst banksias. If you dig, you can get good fresh
water at the base of the
Bilbunya dunes.
Also the run from Cape Arid along the telegraph track to Pt
Malcolm, south of Israelite is a good run. Good
camping at Pt
Malcolm (better than Israelite) with a fresh
water bore hidden in the dunes.
Cheers,
Gerry
AnswerID:
388932