ESPERANCE TO EYRE BIRD OBSERVATORY & TRANS AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY

Hi Lozza,
Done it a few times. You get on the beach about 20k ne of Israelite and drive the beach for the 90km. Beach conditions can be quite changeable, from 90km/h on firm sand to 2nd gear low range, depending on season. and at the western end, almost always lots of deep seaweed. Going up the dunes on the eastern end of the beach can be tricky, and it's easier to do an east to west trip, but don't let that stop you from doing w to e.
On top of the cliffs, quite rough track (old telegraph line) with lots of overhanging mallee limbs to scratch that nice metallic paint, and s of Caiguna (before Baxter memorial), one must head back n to the highway, tho I have been told that the old telegraph track has been pushed thru to Eyre/Burnabbie by enthusiasts (can anyone confirm?).
Track pushes close to cliffs around Toolinna Cove (v.spectacular), and water is usually available at Toolinna rock hole.
Suggested camping at Pt Malcolm (20k s of Israelite), Pt Culver (back in the dunes), Toolinna rockhole, Burnabbie. Eyre telegraph station is a must to drop in on, but no camping (in a nature reserve). Accom available there tho. Burnabbie is just outside the reserve.
Bilbunya dunes along the beach are spectacular.
Re railway line, can't comment.
Drop us a line - lots of info.
rgds Gerry

Fully concur with joc45. It's at the top of our list of "must go back there".
Mal T.

I have not done the Isrealite but will soon
I have done the railway around cook etc, track is good as the rail boys use it a fair bit.

We done east west for 300ks iddid not no about fines>

I did the trip from Kalgoorlie to Rawlinna last year (August) then cut through to Cocklebiddy. Info I received before travelling was that the road was closed east of Rawlinna. The road is owned by the railways and technically you are trespassing if they close it.

At Rawlinna I asked a rail worker about the closure and they knew nothing about it. I suspect it may be disinformation from the railways to discourage travellers. (The road is no longer maintained so I guess they are worried about being sued if someone comes a cropper). I was short of time and couldn't afford to double back so didn't test the theory.

The road between Kalgoorlie and Rawlinna is a good gravel road, easy for a 2wd. The track between Rawlinna and Cocklebiddy is slow going, took 4.5 hours to cover 70km. It is mostly limestone and therefore very rough in places. The start of the track is hard to find as there are many station tracks criss-crossing the area which aren't on the map. A GPS helps. Once you have found the right track then navigation is easy.

Good luck.