Overview

This page has a full description of this section of the trail, including supporting photographs. You can read this page and/or

• Download a PDF summary of this (click on this link); and

• A JPEG version of the map only (the figure below).

Starting point

The starting point is the Port Bouvard Surf Lifesaving Club, at the end of Southport Boulevard.

Getting there using public transport

The best way to get using public transport is to catch bus 593 from Mandurah train station. Get off the bus on Old Coast Road at the first bus stop after crossing the Dawesville Channel. Walk back up (north) Old Coast Road for about 400m, turn left into of Southport Boulevard and follow this to the end – another 1.2km. Another option is to take a taxi/Uber to get there.

Turn around point

The turn around point is Melros Beach carpark. NOTE: There are two options which extends this walk: walk to the end of the path, where there is a look out; and, from here walk along a wide limestone track to the northern end of Yalgorup National Park, at Tims Thicket Beach.

Getting back to the start from the turn around point – if you don’t want to do an out-and-back walk

The best way to get back to the start using public transport is to catch bus 593. Walk east along Melros Beach Road for about 400m and turn right into Sutherland Street, and then left into Oceanic Drive – the bus stop, which is the terminus stop for bus 593, is about 50m along. Get off the bus at the stop on Old Coast Road just passed Country Club Drive. Walk up (north) Old Coast Road for about 400m and turn left into of Southport Boulevard and follow this to the end and the starting point – another 1.2km. Bus 593 terminates at Mandurah train station.  Another option is to take a taxi/Uber to get there.

Summary of the walk

Figure 1 below shows the route. The total one-way distance is 4.2 km, making it an 8.2 km out and back walk.  NOTE: You can opt to do all or part of the last walking if you wish as one or two extensions. If you do the first extension i.e. to the lookout at the end of the path – the total one-way distance is 5.5 km, making it a 10.8 km out and back walk. If you opt to do both extensions - i.e. to walk to Tims Thicket Beach along the wide limestone track, the total one-way distance is 6.6 km, making it a 13.0 km out and back walk.

Water and toilets

Any toilet blocks are noted below in the text in italics. These are also sources of potable water. Any additional drinking water taps and showers are also noted in italics.

Figure 1

Walking guide

There is a toilet and showers at the surf lifesaving club. From the surf lifesaving club, head south along the coastal path (Plate 1).

The path is winding and undulating with frequent views of the ocean, and runs next to a golf course (the Cut) – Plate 2.

After about 1km there is a lookout on the left (Plate 3) which has good views of the coast (Plate 4), and can be accessed from the path that runs off the main coastal path – it’s about a 200m out and back walk to the look out.

Continue along the coastal path for another 1km, which ends at a path that links the Melros residential estate to the beach (Plate 5). Turn left and up the path and then turn right when you get to a large retaining wall and follow the path at the edge of the foreshore reserve in front of a row of houses (Plate 6).

The path ends after after about 300m, at a carpark. There is a toilet block and showers about 70m from the carpark up from the carpark on Hunter Street.

There is a gap in the coastal path here so a beach walk from here is recommended (Plate 7).

After about 750m of beach walking there is a small park with large metal umbrellas set back about 50m from the beach (Plate 8).

The coastal path re-starts from this park, and after about 700m, the path ends at a carpark with toilets and showers. This is the notional turn around point, but there are two options to continue the walk – see below.

Option 1 is to continue along the coastal path which re-starts at the southern end of the carpark just opposite the toilet block (Plate 9).

This is also a winding and undulating path with frequent views of the ocean. This path ends after about 1.3km at lookout (Plate 10).

Option 2 is to continue beyond the lookout along a wide limestone track (Plate 11), which is also used by off road vehicles.

The track is reasonable straight but quite undulating, and it is a bit rough under foot in places. The track end after about 1.1km at Tims Thicket Beach, and south of here is Yalgorup National Park (Plate 13).

There is a rough carpark at the end of Tims Thicket Road, which is about 200m along the beach access track from where the track ends. There are no facilities at the carpark other than rubbish bins.

Garry Middle, February 2018