Between the southern rocky shore of Cape Upstart and the Elliott River mouth is a 12 km long beach, that is cut toward its northern end by a tidal creek, draining a swampy area behind the beach. This beach is, in fact, the major link that ties the cape to the mainland, as it is backed by the swamp, then an older Pleistocene (120 000 year old) barrier and then the extensive salt flats and mangrove-fringed shore of Upstart Bay. The Cape homestead lies on higher ground 2 km in from the northern end of the beach, and there is a vehicle track from the homestead to the main beach as well as Coconut Bay. There is, however, no development on the beaches. Beach 928 occupies the first 600 m between the jutting 30 m high headland that separates it from Coconut Bay, and the meandering mouth of the tidal creek. The east facing beach is backed for the most part by the rocks of the cape, with waves reaching the rocks at high tide. The southern 200 m is occupied by the dynamic northern spit of the creek mouth. The beach is low gradient, with a 200 m wide low tide bar, that widens at the creek mouth and is fronted by up to four rips in the low tide surf. read more

Beach Length: 0.6km