Sleaford Bay contains one of the more exposed high energy beaches of the southern Australian coast, backed by massive Pleistocene dune systems extending up to 9 km inland and to height of 150 m, overlain by Holocene dunes extending up to 3 km inland. The bay and its beaches are accessible by car at the western Sleaford Mere end, at Wanna, and by 4WD through the dunes and along the beaches. However apart from the car park there are not facilities at the beach. The bay beaches all share a common 13 km long energetic surf zone. However the beach is cut by calcarenite bluffs and reefs, and bedrock in the west, into one main beach (818) and eight smaller beaches. Wave height peaks along the main beach and slowly decreases in height to the west. Beach 817 begins 1 km west of Wanna, as a 600 m long southwest facing sand beach, exposed to high waves, but protected at the shore by a near continuous beachrock reef 50 m off the shore. As a result is has a lower energy reflective to low tide terrace inner bar, then the reef, and a high energy outer bar. Two permanent rips drain the through the beachrock reef, while one large rip usually crossing the outer surf zone. read more

Beach Length: 0.6km