Just when we thought we had seen one of the most beautiful beaches, along comes this.........
Ladies and Gentleman, may I present, Eighty Mile Beach, a hidden gem on the vast West Australian Coast. So where is it? It is around 400km South of Broome and about 200km from where we were this morning at Barn Hill Station. You get to this place by turning right off the Great Northern Highway on to Eighty Mile Creek Road and following the red corrugated sandy soil road for 9km. The road has been recently graded, and being a gazetted road it is maintained by Broome Shire Council.
From the moment you walk into the reception area to book your site (they don't take any pre-bookings) you get the feeling that this place is just a little bit special. The check-in process is simple and runs like clock-work. We are handed a map with instructions and it is very easy to find our site and to reverse on to it. The parks is very large with well over 200 shady grassed sites marked on the map and that doesn't take into account the unpowered area that could probably accomodate another 100. All sites, including unpowered, have water, and our power is coming from generators that I can hear humming in the distance. And how about those rows of hedges that separate the sites from the road? They are so perfect you would almost think they were artificial (they are not). I've never seen anything like that before.
The drive to Eighty Mile was almost a mirror image of the drive from Broome to Barn Hill. It is still Pindan country but interspersed with yellow wattle. But then we pass the turnoff to Shamrock Station, owned by the Argyle Cattle Co, and the country changes dramatically. We see some good quality Grey Brahman Cattle feeding on some fairly decent pasture. I recall reading somewhere that Shamrock Station has a large area under irrigation so maybe it is used as a finishing depot before the cattle are trucked out.
We fuel up at Sand Fire Roadhouse and it is the first fuel stop we have seen since leaving Broome. There are heaps of cars fuelling up, all towing caravans, as the next stop for fuel heading south is Port Hedland some 300km away. This is the most expensive diesel we have purchased, coming in at a whopping $2.44/litre.
This afternoon, just before sunset, we strolled the very short distance down to the beach. It really is a stunning beach and there are lots of cars dotted along the coastline as far as the eye can see. Philip has already said that he wants to go for a drive along that vast beach so we might just do that tomorrow. You are allowed on the beach from 7am to 7pm and after that the gates are locked. We always have to remember that this is a Marine Park and has protection orders in place. It is regularly patrolled by rangers.
The beach is literally covered in seashells. I've never seen anything like it in my life. You have to be careful walking barefoot as broken shells can be quite sharp. I noticed a pamphlet in the office area when we were checking in, showing the different types of shells you could expect to find on this beach so I will pick it up tomorrow and see if I can identify some of them. The little ones that I did pick up where pretty special.
As we move further south the evenings are cooling down, and last night I was almost looking for an extra blanket. The days though are still quite warm with temperatures averaging about 30 degrees. We have intentions of going for a beach walk tomorrow morning. The beach is very flat so it should be good walking. We are here for three nights but already thinking of extending to five nights. It really is that good.
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