Ready to Go

Ready to Go
Ready to Go

Thursday, 21 July 2016

Eighty Mile Beach, West Australia

Sunday July 10th saw us getting an early start. Our next stop was 80 Mile Beach and as they don't take reservations we hoped we would beat other caravans heading that way from our location or Port Hedland.

The trip south was fairly uneventful but quite a bit of wind blowing across and against us. Not too good for the fuel economy. We topped up our diesel at the Sandfire Roadhouse which must make a killing. Lots of cars/vans/trucks in line for fuel. Only took cash as well so lucky we carry some extra in the remote areas.

We arrived at Eighty Mile turnoff around 11 AM. The 10 Km in was dirt road but in really good condition. Quite a bit of traffic so some dust but very smooth. The Ransleys were a bit ahead of us and managed to secure two spots. Ours was backing onto the sand dunes leading to the beach. There was no shade but it was huge with lovely green grass, which was something we hadn't enjoyed for some time. This is quite a large, busy caravan park that appears to be full most days during the high season. There are a number of non powered sites for overflow if you arrive after all the regular sites are full. They move you into a powered site when one becomes available. I think a proper reservation system would save a lot of grief and extra moves (for both staff and customers) but hey I'm just a Grey Nomad! Amenity blocks are scattered around the park but get fairly busy. They are modern enough and kept clean so I'll give 3.5 Stars.


Not surprisingly the key attraction at this location is the huge beach, fishing, and sea shells (although not necessarily in that order). This was a must revisit for the girls after our previous trip because of the shells. We headed out for a quick walk along the beach once we got setup. Sadly, the shell situation was not as good as the girls remembered. There was still a lot of shells but not of the same variety or quality apparently! Sandra and Carol went out again in the late afternoon and got some sunset photos along the beach. Rans and I decided to watch dinner preparing and have a few cold ones.




We had originally booked for 3 nights but extended by one as we were enjoying the relaxation and one of our last warm locations before heading South. The days were fairly uneventful with lots of beach walking and shell collecting. We also took the opportunity to catch up with family and friends when Telstra service permitted. The weather did turn cooler and there was a constant wind so we kept the awning down. You can see by the picture below that our afternoon temperature had dropped a few degrees!


We let the tyre pressure down in the Jeep and did a couple of beach drives as well. Went a few kilometres South and about 6 Km North another time. Got into some areas that were less picked over for shells but still not quite as good as our previous trip. That being said a number were collected and packed away for future artwork when we return home.




I should mention that the beach was full of people fishing at each high tide. Someone every few metres for kilometers it seemed. Didn't look like much fun and we didn't see anyone being to successful. Apparently the sharks are bad here so I refrained from going in the water this time.

Another enjoyable stay and a place we will most likely return to again.

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