yardi creek

Trev&Ness

The track from Coral Bay - Exmouth is mostly a hard surface made up of sandstone and very few boggy spots if any as long as its dry.

The softest patch from memory is crossing a small section of beach sand just before crossing Yardi Creek.

If crossing in an Xtrail, make sure you get the tide info and cross at low tide. This way you'll make it easily with the water barely reaching the rim, or maybe just on it.

The road probably gets graded from time to time but that's just hit and miss. When I traversed it, it was terribly corrugated in many parts and would not have been happy with a jayco behind me. But having said that, you can easily take the van through it, but it maybe a little worse for wear at the end.

If it were me, I would drive all the way to Exmouth on the bitumen, set-up in the caravan park, then do a day trip down the coast road to Coral bay with out towing anything. That way you can pop in and out of the little side tracks down to ocean for a look or a swim and continue at your leisure with the peace of mind you'll have a van in one piece all set-up back in Exmouth on your return.

This is what I did (sort of) and just did the 1.5hr drive back to Exmouth on the Bitumen.

If you can't go down onto the beaches then the track is a waste of time because it runs almost the entire length behind a sand hill ridge and you just don't get to see much, except a dirt track.

Hi T&N B,

While we can't offer track info, do a training course before you leave.

The X-trail has some very good qualities ........and a few "iffy" ones.

Carry a tarp, to use as a blind.

Set you vehicles up correctly,

Drive to the conditions.

Have a GREAT time!

Cheers,
Wayne & Sally.

We were over that way at about that time last year and had a great time. I would give Exmouth a big miss (ie drive straight through) and stay at one of the excellent camp spots on Cape Range national park, such as the Yardi Creek camp.
Crossing the creek is quite easy provided you cross at low tide. I was a bit apprehensive even with a well setup Patrol, but it turned out that the surface was very firm and the water at low tide just a couple of inches deep. We stopped at Boat Harbour just a couple of Kays south of the crossing and walked out on the rock spit to be treated to an amazing display of coral/ colourful fish and even a seal.

There is a great camping area in the sanddunes down towards the Ningaloo homestead (in Lefory bay I think), the bay is just beautiful. You get the key from the homestead.

The road down was very easy going with a mix of gravel and hard sand. We even ventured out to the beach for lunch and observed some unique natural sand sculptures that looked vaguely like city buildings.


We carried on down to Coral Bay and stopped for less than 5 minutes before realising that this is just the gold coast of the west. The whole trip from Yardie Creek to Coral Bay was only about 5 hours so its no great stretch unless you have to get back to your camper in the same day.