4WD adventure Western Australia Archives

Dirk Hartog Island

Dirk Hartog Island is Western Australia’s largest island. It is located 2km off shore from Steep Point – Australian mainland most westerly point in Shark Bay. The island got its name after a Dutch sea captain Dirk Hartog, who was the first European to step on the island in 1616. Current “Return to 1616” ambitious project aims to restore ecological balance on Dirk Hartog Island to its pristine condition prior to European settlement in 1616. First settlers brought goats and sheep with them which caused damage to native plants and reduction of native fauna. Since the start of the project in 2007 these domestic animals have been removed and are now replaced with native species. Feral goats still occur in large numbers in Edel Land National Park.

How to get there

Dirk Hartog Island is accessible only by boat from Denham, light aircraft or a private barge from Steep Point. Most people, especially the 4WD enthusiasts, choose a barge to get there. Barge transfer is an experience by itself and is quite iconic. 2km long journey across South Passage from Shelter Bay in Edel Land National Park takes about 15 minutes. The barge can accommodate only one vehicle.

Vehicle on the barge travelling to Dirk Hartog Island

What is the condition of the track like

Driving on Dirk Hartog Island is an adventure by itself. At nearly 80km long and 15km wide, travelling on the island is a bit of a challenge due to heavy corrugation. It might take a full day to travel from bottom to the top of the island. Should you be driving fast there? Here are our thoughts.

There are also some rocky sections, slopes and tilts and few sand dunes to cross. You will definitely need a reliable 4WD for this kind of terrain.

Camping at the national park

It is possible to camp on Dirk Hartog Island either in the Homestead or in the national park. There are only 20 sites at the Homestead and 20 at the national park. Bookings are essential through Dirk Hartog Island Homestead site. There are no facilities at the national park and you would need to bring everything with you and take your rubbish when you leave. No dogs and no campfires are allowed at the national park.

We stayed at Notch Point in the national park, which is the closest to the barge arrival site campground on Dirk Hartog Island. It is located on the eastern side of the island, which is protected from strong winds and has clear calm waters. There are only 2 spots allocated for camping either side of a beach, which gives everyone plenty of space and privacy (just as we like it!). You pay premium for such a privilege to camp in this pristine idealistic place. We spent 4 epic days and nights at Notch Point, fully enjoying ourselves, despite millions of flies 😊. They are part of camping, anyway, and we just treat them as such.

Like anywhere on the island, you can enjoy fishing, swimming and snorkeling, or just relaxing by the beach.

The sunsets and sunrises are some of the best we’ve ever seen.

Dirk Hartog Island Homestead

A lot of people choose to stay at Dirk Hartog Island Homestead sites where there are more facilities (including hot showers) and also onsite bar and merchandise shop. It is a great place for those who want a bit more social life in this remote location. When people gather at the bar every afternoon, it feels like a little village with all the buzz going on.

We stayed for 1 night at the Homestead, so we didn’t need to travel far for the barge transfer in the morning.

The best thing about the Homestead for us was free use of paddle boards and kayaks, which we enjoyed very much. We managed to see sea snakes, sting rays, star fishes and tropical fishes.

What to see on the island

Blowholes

The first thing you might like to see as you arrive on the island is blowholes. We found the blowholes in Edel Land National Park more impressive (meaning, louder and bigger). But these are still worth a visit, even if to appreciate the beauty of the landscape. Those massive Zuytdorp Cliffs rising out of mighty ocean are awesome. They are a visual example of fault scarp, which is actually the longest in Australia. Blowholes are on the western side of the island, 3km off the main track, on the way to Dirk Hartog Island Homestead.

Surf Point

Surf Point might need a bit more time than just a quick visit. It is a sanctuary zone in the south of Dirk Hartog Island. It is a 15km drive from Cape Ransonnet (the barge arrival site), on the western side. Surf Point is a great place to go snorkeling (assuming you don’t mind sharing the space with sharks 😊). The sharks, even though being small and relatively harmless, do scare many people away. But honestly, sharks looked more scared of us, then we of them 😊.

We spent a few hours at Surf Point, walking along on the beach and going for short dips. You can find some corals, giant clams and tropical fishes in the rocky pools on the exposed side of Surf Point.

Drone helped us to see a turtle too and many more sharks 😊.

Sharks in shallow waters of Dirk Hartog Island

Sand dunes

There are a few sand dunes on Dirk Hartog Island that you will need to cross if you travel north, past Homestead. They are actually fun to drive. We stopped for a closer look to appreciate the beauty of the landscape, shaped by nature. Kids had lots of fun going up and down the slopes. If you want to take nice pictures, going there in the afternoon, when the sun is a bit lower, is probably best.

Sandy Point

During our last trip we managed to venture only as far north as Sandy Point (having not realized how slow the driving on the island is ☹ but all the more the reason to visit the island again). Sandy Point is roughly in the middle of the island on the eastern side. It is a nice sandy beach, with a sanctuary zone on one side and fishing area somewhere further away. You can camp at Sandy Point or just come for a day visit.

Wildlife on Dirk Hartog Island

There is plenty of marine life to see in the water and on the shore. Apart from dolphins, sharks, seasnakes, sea turtles pictured above, sea stars were also in abundance.

There are many crabs too, which you can see at night and daytime alike.

While it is easy to spot marine life, animals on land are much harder to find. We were lucky to spot Banded hare-wallaby and Rufous hare-wallaby.

Rufous hare-wallaby at Dirk Hartog Island

Banded hare-wallaby at Dirk Hartog Island

But this guy didn’t need looking for. This Monitor Lizard literally occupied our camping spot at the Homestead :).

And here is us, satisfied with the trip (although annoyed with the flies) and eager to return back to explore the rest of the island.

Hamersley inlet and dunes

One of the attractions of Fitzgerald River National Park for 4WD enthusiasts is Hamersley Dunes.

Hamersley dunes

2,5km from Hamersley Inlet campground where we stayed in January, there is a track from Hamersley Drive leading over the dunes and to Hamersley beach. The track is approximately 4,6km long. It’s a fun drive, which is a mix of hard track through the bush, soft sand and some rocks. The track starts as an easy but scratchy drive through the bush until you arrive at the dunes.

4WD track through the bush to Hamersley dunes

There are long poles indicating the way as you drive over the dunes.

Having said that, it is still easy to get lost. We did lose the track for a while and nearly fell into the dip. Luckily, we stopped on top of a hill. It is always better to be cautious, especially if you travel in a single vehicle, like us.

A vehicle on top of a sandy hill at Hamersley dunes

Once you pass the dunes and are nearing the beach, the track gets rocky.

4WD track through Hamersley dunes to the beach

The beach looked “moody” due to stormy weather, so we didn’t stay long. But we thoroughly enjoyed the ride :).

Hamersley Inlet campground

To explore Hamersley dunes and nearby Hamersley Inlet, we stayed at Hamersley Inlet campground. It is one of only a few campgrounds in the Fitzgerald River NP, (others are 4 Mile beach camp and St Mary Inlet campground). Hamersley Inlet campground is 19km west of Hopetoun. It is reasonably priced, at $19 per site per night. You get excellent facilities, which include new and spacious toilets, bbqs with shelter and non-drinking water. There are 14 sites of various sizes, with sites 1-3 suitable for large caravans. The rules of the national park specify no dogs and no campfires. You would need to take all rubbish with you. The sites must be booked online prior to arrival, as there is no internet there.

Hamersley Inlet and walking trail

From the campground, there is a short (300 meter) walk to the Hamersley Inlet, where there are picnic facilities.

From the inlet carpark you can take 1,7km walk to the beach. If you are at the inlet at the right season, you might find these beautiful orange coloured Eucalyptus Utilis (Coastal Moort) trees.

Point Malcolm and Israelite Bay

Israelite Bay is a bucket list trip for many 4WD enthusiasts. It was for us too and last December we ticked it off. Israelite Bay is known for fishing and 4W adventures. It is located nearly 900km east of Perth and is part of Nuytsland Nature Reserve and the Great Australian Bight.

Israelite Bay location on the map of Australia

Point Malcolm

Point Malcolm is 25km west of Israelite Bay, so we decided to visit it first, as it was on the way. We travelled there from Cape Arid National Park via Pasley/Telegraph Track.

Map of Pasley Track and Fisheries
Track on the way to Israelite By

Pasley/Telegraph Track

Sign Telegraph Track on the way to Israelite Bay

The condition of the track depends on the weather. Generally, we found the track much better than we expected, with not much corrugation.

Starting with soft sand, the majority of the track was hard earth with some soft spots and occasional muddy sections. We were quite lucky to travel in good weather. You wouldn’t want to take those tracks when it rains or immediately after, as the track or parts of it become washed out.

Point Malcolm camp and beach

When you arrive at Point Malcolm you will see a sign indicating a camping area. It is very basic with limited spaces and no facilities at all, so it is important to be self-sufficient.

The actual Point Malcolm is 1km or so further away through the sand dunes. There is a soft sand track that leads there through a steep hill.

We preferred to walk on the beach, which was long, sandy and quite nice with colourful coastal dune plants.

Despite strong easterly winds in late December, we enjoyed our 1-night stay at Point Malcolm. The trip to actual Point Malcolm (not just a campground) is a must, whether you drive or walk there, or you won’t appreciate this place. We were impressed with eroded rock formations, some of which looked out worldly. There were plenty of colourful crabs hiding in rock pools and many water birds above.

Israelite Bay

From Point Malcolm it took us roughly 2 hours to get to Israelite Bay (33km long trip). We saw some washouts (luckily, most of them had alternative tracks to drive around).

There were also a few clay pans and salty lakes along the way. If you are not observant enough and lose track, especially if you drive after the rain, you might be in trouble. So, we took it easy and slow, to be on a safe side.

Israelite Bay Telegraph Station Ruines

Israelite Bay holds a lot of historical value. It is mostly known for ruins of the old telegraphic station, dating back to 19 century. The visit to the ruins is a must and they are quite interesting to see. It felt a bit spooky to walk inside the ruins (our older son saw a snake there too), especially when the weather was so gloomy. Unfortunately, there was no information sign or board about the history of the place there.

Israelite Bay beach and old jetty

Apart from the Telegraph Station Ruines, there is also an old jetty and the graves of former post masters which are worth having a look at at Israelite Bay. The beach itself isn’t particularly nice. It is very weedy, up to half a meter high of seaweed on the beach and at places no sand visible at all.

Graves of old post masters at Israelite Bay

Pink lake

But the nearby pink lake with salt crystals is quite picturesque.

There are plenty of camping spots around, however we chose not to camp at Israelite Bay and headed back to Cape Arid.

Aerial view of Israelite Bay camping area and pink lake

Fisheries Track

On the way back (from Israelite Bay to Cape Arid) we choose the other route and travelled via Fisheries Track. We were told by the ranger that Fisheries Track was in a worse condition than Telegraph Track. We didn’t find this was the case and guessed that it depends on the weather conditions on the day and prior your travel. We found it in much better condition than we expected. It often gets closed when it rains and it was closed just a day or two before we travelled due to bush fires. The wind was strong and it blew the sand over normally heavily corrugated track, so it was quite a pleasant drive most of the track.

For the nature lovers

Nature enthusiasts will find plenty of interesting objects both at Point Malcolm and Israelite Bay. Varanus rosenbergi (below) is very common both in Cape Arid and Nuytsland nature reserve and we saw a few of them.

Birdlife is also abundant there. Below – Pied Oystercatcher (left), Caspian Tern (right).

The wildflowers will delight the eyes of anyone who has the ability to notice them. Below are just a few of them (Boronia spathulata – left, Gompholobium confertum – middle, Jacksonia capitata – right).

And this is us, with the iconic sign of Telegraph Track.

Tag: 4WD adventure Western Australia

Dirk Hartog Island

How to get there

What is the condition of the track like

Camping at the national park

Dirk Hartog Island Homestead