james earl rated Coastal Plain Walk Trail, Yanchep NP to Melaleuca CP a 3 out of 5
We did this trail as three day walks rather than a three day hike with backpack in October and early November. There were still a few wildflowers about but I think September and early October would have been a lot better. We used paths from Yanchep National Park to join the Coastal Plain and generally used the old 'Wild About Walking' map ( also available as a PDF ) for planning and to have a rough idea where we were and where we were going. The first section of the CPT from Shapcott's camp site to Ridge's campsite was well-signed and easy to follow but the track was very narrow in places with a lot of sharp, scratchy vegetation. Ridges campsite shelter was in a reasonable state but with no water tank. Even the picnic table had been removed! From Ridges campsite to the 2WD access point at Perry Road was also easy to follow with clear signage. Unfortunately the track itself is in a bad state having been repeatedly churned up by motor cycles. Again I think that walking earlier than October/November would have been a bit better as the sand may have been a little firmer but I don't really know. From Perry Road we actually walked along the road rather than the soft sand track that followed the fence line of the rifle range. At one point on the edge of the range where the track turned left we missed the turn. Up to this time the signage had been so good we didn't believe that such a turn would not be clearly marked so we continued straight ahead for two hundred metres before we realised our mistake. It is very easy to know exactly where you are here thanks to the rifle range boundary and the bends in Perry Road so rather than backtrack ( which we should have done ) we followed a parallel route which was again very soft sand churned up by 4WDs until we intersected with the CPT about one and a half kms later. It was then only a short walk to the Moitch campsite. This is in much better condition with a water tank that was nearly full ( thanks to recent rain ) and not one but two picnic tables. From Moitch campsite the signage is excellent being very frequent and obvious. We followed the signs vaguely aware that the track was not following the path shown on the map. This was confirmed when we reached a point where the powerlines almost touched Wandoo Road. The new path seems to have been re-routed to the south and west of Wandoo Road partially through an old pine plantation. I don't know if the old path to the east of Wandoo Road is still in existence but I suspect not. At Wandoo Road the signage diappeared completely or we couldn't find it. The obvious straight ahead path was another deep, soft sand 4WD track with no signs that we could find although we only walk along it for two or three hundred metres. Neither Maps.Me nor Google Maps were any good except to confirm that we were on Wandoo Road. As we had arranged to be picked up at a specific time we decided to follow Wandoo Road for about 5 kms back to Neaves Road rather than take our chances. We will go back when we have more time and see if we can follow the CPT from Wandoo Road to its terminus as shown on the map.
Full day
12.4km
