Busselton Health Campus – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2
Mill Road, West Busselton WA 6280
Cape to Cape Track · Checked October 2026
Cape to Cape Track emergency & health guide: hospitals, 000, PLBs and fire closures
How to call for help where there is little phone signal, the nearest hospital for each of the 7 stages, and the park rules: campsites and bookings, fuel stoves, the Margaret River crossing and fire-danger closures.
In an emergency call 000 from any phone, or 112 from a mobile; both reach the same service. Ask for an ambulance for injury or illness, fire for a bushfire, and the police for a lost walker: WA Police coordinate land search and rescue. Say which stage you are on, the nearest beach or car park, the code on the nearest BEN beach sign and, if you can, your GPS coordinates from the Emergency+ app. Where there is no signal, activate a personal locator beacon (PLB) in a life-threatening emergency.
Emergency numbers
| Number | What it is |
|---|---|
| 000 | Triple Zero: police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone, 24/7. For a lost walker ask for the police, who coordinate land search and rescue; for a bushfire ask for fire. |
| 112 | Works from mobile phones only and reaches the same service as 000; it still needs signal from some network. |
| 106 | Text emergency calls from a TTY for people who are deaf or have a speech impairment. Australia has no SMS emergency service. |
| 132 500 | SES: help in storms and floods (not for life-threatening emergencies) |
| 131 444 | WA Police Assistance Line, non-emergency, 24/7 |
| 1800 022 222 | healthdirect: medical advice from a nurse when it is not an emergency, 24/7 |
Mobile coverage is reasonable in the northern third of the Cape to Cape Track and poor or missing on much of the rest, so carry a personal locator beacon (PLB) and use it only in a life-threatening emergency. Install the Emergency+ app, note the code on the red and green BEN signs at the beaches, tell someone where you plan to sleep each night, and check DBCA Park Alerts and Emergency WA before each day.
Rules to know
- No permit or fee is needed to walk the track. The four walk-in campsites (Mount Duckworth, Moses Rock, Ellensbrook and Deepdene) are free, cannot be booked and are first come, first served; each has a drop toilet, picnic table and rainwater tank, but no shelter.
- The national park campgrounds at Conto, Point Road and Boranup must be booked online on Park Stay WA, up to about six months ahead, and charge a per-person nightly fee. Camping anywhere else in the park is not allowed.
- Campfires are banned anywhere on the track, including the walk-in campsites: cook on a fuel stove. Fires are allowed only in the fire rings at the national park campgrounds when conditions permit, and never on Total Fire Ban days.
- Fire and burns: sections close on Extreme or Catastrophic fire danger days, and prescribed burns can close or divert the track at short notice. Check DBCA Park Alerts on the day; in a bushfire move to the beach and stay there until the danger passes.
- Margaret River mouth: usually crossable with care on the sand bar, but deep and fast in winter and early spring. Then use the signed inland diversion between Kilcarnup and Wallcliffe Road via the Caves Road bridge; never try to wade or swim a flowing mouth. Call Parks and Wildlife on (08) 9752 5555 for current conditions.
- Water: tanks at the campsites are not guaranteed and must be treated, and streams are mostly dry in summer. Carry about 1 litre per hour of walking, and more on hot days.
- Beaches and rocks: walk close to the waterline where the sand is firm, plan long beach sections for low tide, keep off rock platforms in big swell, and use the alternative route where storms have washed out a beach.
- Snakes are active in the warm months and may lie on the path: stop and wait for them to move off, and never handle them. Carry an elastic bandage for snakebite first aid.
- Dogs, other pets, horses and bikes are not allowed on the track or in the national park; approved assistance dogs only. Hiking trailers are not allowed. Recreational drones follow CASA rules: not within 30 m of people and at least 60 m from whales, dolphins and seals.
- Transport: there is no public transport on the track. Transwa coaches link Perth with Dunsborough, Yallingup, Margaret River and Augusta; for the trailheads and daily pick-ups use a taxi or one of the transfer companies listed by the Friends of the Cape to Cape Track. Carry out all rubbish: bins are only at Conto and in towns.
Nearest hospital for each stage
| # | Stage | Hospital (24/7 emergency) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Naturaliste → Yallingup | Busselton Health Campus – Emergency Department |
| 2 | Yallingup → Moses Rock | Busselton Health Campus – Emergency Department |
| 3 | Moses Rock → Ellensbrook | Margaret River District Hospital – Emergency Department |
| 4 | Ellensbrook → Prevelly | Margaret River District Hospital – Emergency Department |
| 5 | Prevelly → Contos | Margaret River District Hospital – Emergency Department |
| 6 | Contos → Hamelin Bay | Margaret River District Hospital – Emergency Department |
| 7 | Hamelin Bay → Cape Leeuwin | Augusta Hospital – Emergency Department |
Hospitals
South West Health Campus – Bunbury Hospital Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Corner Bussell Highway and Robertson Drive, Bunbury WA 6230
Margaret River District Hospital – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
17 Farrelly Street, Margaret River WA 6285
Augusta Hospital – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 6, 7
8 Donovan Street, Augusta WA 6290
Pharmacies, cash and supplies
- Pharmacies:
- ATMs:
- Shops: Prevelly
- Bus stops:
Australia has no duty-pharmacy rota; pharmacies keep shop hours. There are pharmacies in Dunsborough, Margaret River and Augusta, but none on the track or at Yallingup, Gracetown, Prevelly or Hamelin Bay. Carry a first-aid kit with a blister kit and an elastic snakebite bandage, sunscreen and insect repellent.
Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.
Have the nearest help on your map, offline
Outest shows these hospitals, pharmacies, ATMs and stops on the Cape to Cape Track map, offline, together with the route, water and places to sleep.