Ningaloo, WA
Dunes Surf Beach
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20km outside of Exmouth town. Turn onto Mildura Creek Rd off Yardie Creek Rd
North West Cape WA 6707
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There’s a designated parking lot right off the beach entrance. Unpaved.
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Free
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Pros: Very few, if any, people. Sandy beach access. Great spot for surfing and whale watching.
Cons: Great surf beach, which generally means not ideal for swimming.
No dogs allowed as this is a “baited” beach, meaning there are poison traps in the area
Dunes was the first beach in Western Australia that I went when I was just trying to get lost. I took the car out one night determined to see where all these sandy turn-offs and no name roads went. I pulled up to the makeshift parking lot and was greeted by one person changing outside her caravan (Australian for little trailer). The parking lot proximity to the sand is less than 50 feet, marked by rope and railroad tires.
When I got down to the beach, there was no one in either direction for as far as my eyes could see. Not one person. Eventually three surfers showed up, said hello, and out they paddled. That’s when I saw my first poof in the distance. I didn’t know it at the time but just beyond the break wall is Humpback Highway and less than a mile out, 400,000 humpback whales were in the process of their annual migration.
