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On location, hunting for dinosaurs! While waiting for a massive Sauropod to wander across the barren...
Destinations > Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure
Nocturnal wildlife around Five Rocks camping area was for some reason or other a bit thin on the ground, and apart from sighting one very skinny dingo-cross, the only creatures that my torch beam picked up were numerous cane toads, one of Australia's most noxious animal pests. The following morning however was much better, with lots of red-tailed black cockatoos feeding on the seed cones of she-oaks and banksias in the surrounding bush.
To reach Nine Mile Beach, head back to Stockyard Point township then keep veering left along the deep sandy track until you come to a long, plankway that leads down to the beach. There is a self-registration here where you can obtain your camping permit. It's easy to understand how vehicles were bogged to the axles when exiting the beach before the timber ramp was put down.
Beach camping is permitted along a 4.5km zone south of Freshwater Creek. Just make sure you camp between the blue markers as other areas have been set aside for regeneration purposes and are definitely out of bounds. Unfortunately the beach section of Byfield has had its fair share of peanut-heads form nearby towns illegally driving up steep sand dunes over the past few years, ruining the environment and sometimes rolling their vehicles causing severe injuries to both themselves and their passengers.
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In fact the risk of rollovers can be very real even for sensible drivers, especially when you are exiting the hard sand and driving up the soft tracks that lead to the camping spots amongst the casuarinas. I came very close to tipping over myself when I tried to exit the beach onto the inland Nine Mile Track and got stuck to the axles in a lopsided sand drift that had built up over time by the prevailing winds.
For a bit of good calm water fishing, drive south down to the end of Nine Mile Beach (it's about 12km from the entrance ramp) then turn up the sandy track that cuts across to Corio Bay. Saltwater crocodiles inhabit this picturesque mangrove lined bay so don't even think about going swimming there or standing knee deep in the water while you are fishing. Bream, queenfish, snapper, mangrove jack and flathead all feed off the nutrient rich muddy banks, so there's a reasonable chance of catching a good feed there during your stay.
Make sure you start heading back to your camp at least two hours before high tide otherwise you could get stuck on some of the low lying beach rocks and lose your vehicle. Keep a lookout in the sky above you for some of the spectacular birds of prey that live within the park including the endangered osprey and the magnificent white-bellied sea eagle.
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NINE MILE BEACH
To reach Nine Mile Beach, head back to Stockyard Point township then keep veering left along the deep sandy track until you come to a long, plankway that leads down to the beach. There is a self-registration here where you can obtain your camping permit. It's easy to understand how vehicles were bogged to the axles when exiting the beach before the timber ramp was put down.
Beach camping is permitted along a 4.5km zone south of Freshwater Creek. Just make sure you camp between the blue markers as other areas have been set aside for regeneration purposes and are definitely out of bounds. Unfortunately the beach section of Byfield has had its fair share of peanut-heads form nearby towns illegally driving up steep sand dunes over the past few years, ruining the environment and sometimes rolling their vehicles causing severe injuries to both themselves and their passengers.
read on below advertisement
In fact the risk of rollovers can be very real even for sensible drivers, especially when you are exiting the hard sand and driving up the soft tracks that lead to the camping spots amongst the casuarinas. I came very close to tipping over myself when I tried to exit the beach onto the inland Nine Mile Track and got stuck to the axles in a lopsided sand drift that had built up over time by the prevailing winds.
For a bit of good calm water fishing, drive south down to the end of Nine Mile Beach (it's about 12km from the entrance ramp) then turn up the sandy track that cuts across to Corio Bay. Saltwater crocodiles inhabit this picturesque mangrove lined bay so don't even think about going swimming there or standing knee deep in the water while you are fishing. Bream, queenfish, snapper, mangrove jack and flathead all feed off the nutrient rich muddy banks, so there's a reasonable chance of catching a good feed there during your stay.
Make sure you start heading back to your camp at least two hours before high tide otherwise you could get stuck on some of the low lying beach rocks and lose your vehicle. Keep a lookout in the sky above you for some of the spectacular birds of prey that live within the park including the endangered osprey and the magnificent white-bellied sea eagle.
next page »
