Indian Ocean Drive - a scenic route to Perth
Submitted: Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 at 15:27
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Road to Discovery
It was a pure delight to arrive in
Cervantes WA to explore
the Pinnacles - to find that the Indian Ocean Drive had been extended/sealed just 2 weeks earlier - one can now drive south from Dongara/
Port Denison all the way to
Perth following this scenic coast road as an alternative to travelling the Brand Highway.
Even the
wildflowers were already establishing themselves along the road's edge, and the
views of the ocean and amazing white
sand dunes were great.
And I am sure the little towns along the route might appreciate the extra tourist dollar, which we chose to spend some of as our 'thankyou' for this new, excellent and
well made touring road.
Thanks WA road builders for your perfect timing!!
Reply By: ross - Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 at 17:13
Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 at 17:13
Couldnt agree more.
I've done it 3-4 times in my landcruiser and did it last week on my Triumph Rocket,what a blast.
Can only wonder why it wasnt done sooner.
Its also a tourist route only ,so you wont see roadtrains or other heavy transport on the road.
It also takes a load off the Brand Hwy,so if you do have to go that way,its also much more enjoyable.
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Reply By: Gone Bush (WA) - Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 at 20:05
Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 at 20:05
I'm just in the middle of a loop from home to home over a week or so.
Sitting at the oval at
New Norcia right now.
We drove north on the Indian Ocean Drive yesterday. Bit of a mixed bag for me.
The new bit from
Lancelin to
Cervantes is good once you get around the Bombing Range and back in sight of the ocean, after that I was a bit disappointed.
We intended taking the road inland from
Coolimba to stop at
Lake Indoon but we missed the turnoff. And from that position northwards there isn't anywhere to turn around with a decent size van on the back until it's so far north you might as
well keep going. 150 kms later we were back heading south on the Brand Hwy passing the point where we would have come out if we hadn't missed the turn.
The scenery north of
Cervantes is mediocre too.
Last night we stayed at Pioneer
Park in Dandaragan. It's always nice there and now van power outlets and a
dump point have been installed. Very nice. Only $20 a night. Good value. The excellent showers and
toilets are still there and
well maintained.
Indian Ocean Drive is OK; better than Brand Highway. Just miffed we wasted an hour and a half after missing that turn off. C'est la Vie.
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Follow Up By: Member - Agroe (WA) - Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 at 22:33
Thursday, Oct 14, 2010 at 22:33
Gone Bush, I saw your van & 200 series in pioneer
park. The shire has spent some time and money improving the
park. The facility are good for a small
park. Its nice drive through Dandaragan rather than the Brand Hwy. If you are passing through again I own the mech workshop at the north end of town. Agroe
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Gone Bush (WA) - Friday, Oct 15, 2010 at 00:00
Friday, Oct 15, 2010 at 00:00
Cheers Agroe,
We've stayed at Pioneer
Park a few times over the last couple of years. We like it. It's nice and quiet.
I couldn't believe the notice in the Gents about people stealing the waste paper
bins all the time. Unbelievable !! Why would anyone want to nick a bin.
Beats me.
Anyway, nice to hear from you.
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Reply By: Member - Rowdy6032 (WA) - Friday, Oct 15, 2010 at 14:07
Friday, Oct 15, 2010 at 14:07
Hi
A question for those that have travelled the new road.
Can you gain access to the coast from the new road?
Does the new road have access to
Wedge Island?
I have not been up that way for some time and have been thinking about wetting a line.
Regards
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Road to Discovery - Friday, Oct 15, 2010 at 15:03
Friday, Oct 15, 2010 at 15:03
Yes you can access the coast in quite a few areas, and I recall seeing a turnoff for Wedge Is. There was also a little town called
Grey which was not on any of our maps.
It was certainly a bonus to find a new road, and made our journey south a nice 'coast fix' particularly after 2 weeks in the
Pilbara....which has quite a different (dare I say monotonous) terrain and long stretchs between hidden treasures. The road was good therapy for the soul - but then so was seeing sheep and tall eucalypts for the first time in months, strange the things you didnt realise you miss.
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