Eighty Mile Beach (WA44886)

This is the longest beach in Australia and possibly the longest mile beach in the world.

General Location Great Sandy Desert
Aboriginal Tribe/Language Group Nyangumarta/Garadjari people
Access to beach Road access to the beach
Beach Classification Tide Modified – Ultradissipative
Start Date/Time 27 August 2018 16:10
Start Location (inc Lat/Log) S19° 02.821’ E121° 31.439’
End Date/Time 1 September 2018 14.01
End Location (inc Lat/Log) S19° 58.249’ E119° 47.668’
Mode of Travel Car
Distance Travelled 123.9km
Location of Sand Sample (lat/Long) S19° 12.215’ E121° 26.248’

It extends south-west from Cape Missiessy in a shallow curve to Cape Keraudren. It is a beach some 220km (140 mi) in length, forming the coastline where the Great Sandy Desert approaches the Indian Ocean. It is one of the most important sites for migratory shorebirds, or waders, in Australia, and is recognised as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

The beach is about 100 m wide and has a gentle gradient. It consists of sand with a high proportion of shelly material, and experiences a very large tidal range with an amplitude of up to 9 m. The adjoining tidal mudflats vary from 1 to 5km in width.

Travelling back down from Broome we arrived at Anna Plains Station. You can only really access this area by invitation. Anna Plains is a work cattle station. From here we access the northern section of Eighty Mile Beach, starting from Cape Missiessy we spent two days drove along the beach for over 80km until we reach some tidal wetlands and mangroves.  The second day was in complete white out due to a all-day sea mist that engulfed the Eighty Mile Beach.

Our next access to the beach was further south at the Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park. From this access point we travelled north and south from the Caravan Park for 70km.

Our final access to the beach was at the southern end of the beach to Cape Keraudren where we camped for a few nights.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *