Balladonia to Cape Arid

There was a discussion about travelling south from Balladonia in thread #146621.

Leaving aside the politics the road has been declared closed by Shire of Dundas but is still used by some.

Last experience two years ago was it was ok as far as the hut at Deralinya but that was then and the road gets no maintenance.

From there down towards Cape Arid it was much worse and pretty slow going. It's rough with lots of twists and turns and lots of bushes to squeeze through. A member in the group had a camper trailer and was challenged in a few big washouts.

cheers

Gidday David
From reading multiple recounts on the topic in the numerous ExPlorOZ posts it's a challenging track & something to be assessed & taken with care. Politics & logical sentiment aside..!
Life's too short not to "have a red hot go"...per Peter Brock.
One could say, we live by our failures & success.
Maaaateee, go for it, but please post your genuine experience for other traveler's guidance.

Its akin to replacing aging 80series wheel studs ...ignore it at your own peril !!

ExplOz continues to entertain via these postings ; There's so much experience / worldly practical knowledge out there.
Whatever, David, safe travels should that be your choice.

Now can we "run a book" over 2024 as to how many times this topic hits the screen.. ??

Why can't Dundas Shire just put a "no Left turn" sign @ Balladonia. Norseman has a good pub !!!

cheers all

Thanks everyone for that information. Some of it is what I’d read about too but just wanted some reliable information. On the map it looked like an interesting drive.
Looks like we’ll have to succumb to the Norseman shires wish for people to support their pub, lol. The owner must be on the council. ????

I went through all the way from Balladonia to Esperance not quite two weeks ago. Good track all the way etc.etc..some holes, corrugations.

Stopped and chatted to Roger, who lives in a shack at Deralinya.

Will go back end of next week to the area to film some youtube vids - lots of hidden gems in the area.
Cheers
Alan

Thanks for that info. When I looked closely I decided that it may have been okay to head for Esperance and the turn east and go through Cape Le Grande, and your advice confirms that.

So just to be clear, down Balladonia Rd and on to Parmango Rd, correct?

I’ll be towing our AOR Matrix…

Reckon we’ll be there inside the next two weeks or so, leaving Melbourne next Tuesday. Forecast as far as I can see looks okay…

Thanks everyone for your advice, much appreciated.

David

Hi David, travelled this track from the south 5 months ago and 3 more times over the years. Any experienced traveller should have no great problems. On a previous trip on this track it was very wet which made it a great challenge and I would not recommend it for a single vehicle under such conditions. Equinox travelled this track very recently and said it was OK. Equinox is among the most experienced and knowledgeable travellers in WA so I would be taking his advice if I was you.

Well yesterday we arrrived at Cocklebiddy to hear of a fire in the Balladonia area and that the Eyre Highway is closed between Caiguna and Norseman as well as Balladonia Road and Parmango Road both being closed.

I hope old mate at Deralinya, mentioned by others, is unaffected.

https://www.emergency.wa.gov.au/#

We are currently parked up around 20 kilometers east of Caiguna waiting for the roads to open and have already decided to head to Norseman once the Eyre Hwy opens to restock our food supplies, and it looks like we won’t be able to use Balladonia and Parmango roads anyway.
Maybe next time.
Cheers