Carnarvon to Kalbarri

September 18 to September 24

The usual big town chores were done before we left Carnarvon, a big food shopping trip, and fill up with fuel and water. We hadn’t traveled for 8 days so we were pretty keen to get going. We had set our sights on a free camp area at the Gladstone Lookout, on the eastern side of Shark Bay. Although both our free camp reference guides said it was available, numerous newly erected signs said otherwise. As there were no facilities there anyway, and on top of a hill in 40km/h winds, we weren’t too concerned and drove further south to a “Parking Bay” just before the Denham turnoff.

Secluded camp spot off the highway

South of the Pilbara the availability of parking bays has increased dramatically. Some are typical truck stop type pull off areas very near the highway, while others lead to a labyrinth of tracks that snake away from the highway and can be quite quiet and spread out. On some of the highways they can be every 15 kilometres, so if you need to stop (and revive) there are plenty of opportunities. There are still large rest stops with toilets every 100km or so, but they can get very busy. The right parking bays can be way better (see photo).

We were joined at the parking bay by three very young backpackers in a station wagon, and although we had driven well into the track maze, with no one else in the whole area, they came and camped about 20 metres from us. We decided they must be new at it and wanted the security of another camper close by their tents.

Monday we headed for Denham and Monkey Mia, in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.

Shell Beach, amazing beach and scenery

There is a number of things to see on the 130km drive from the highway. We stopped at Nanga Bay, an old fishing resort, and then Shell Beach. This whole area along the L’haridon Bight and Hamlin Pool, about 120km of coastline, is bounded by a Faure, which is a sand/shell ridge that stops the tidal movement of the water within the two bays and keeps the water shallow. This causes evaporation and therefore concentration of salt in the coastal water. These conditions are ideal for Hamlin Cockle shells to thrive over the centuries, and Shell Beach is tens of metres deep in shells. In the deepest areas the shell has dissolved and compacted, and was “quarried” in blocks (like sandstone) and used in construction.

The salty condition is also ideal for Stromatolites to grow at Hamelin Pool, which we visited on our way out. These growths are of microbial construction, the oldest and simplest form of life on earth (stromatolites date back 3.5 billion years).

Monkey Mia "dolphin experience"

We arrived in Denham to a mass of construction. In October, Denham will host the 400 year anniversary celebrations of the landing of Dirk Hartog in 1616, the first recorded European landing on Australian soil. We had heard some unflattering reports about Denham (especially its caravan parks), but I liked it. You can see how good the foreshore will look after the redevelopment, and it is nicely spread out along the coastline without needing transport to get around.

It was suggested to us (thanks Mark) that we should try and stay at the caravan park at Monkey Mia. There’s only one, and although when we rang we were told there was no powered sites available, there was “plenty” of unpowered, which suit us fine. On arrival the unpowered sites were only car parks around a small grass area for tents. Fortunately we found a good park next to a palm tree so it was actually really good. So good we decided to stay two nights.

Monkey Mia

Tuesday morning we headed to the beach for the “dolphin experience”, what everyone comes for. Get there early because the dolphins are more consistent visitors first up I was told (again, thanks Mark). After the 7:45am briefing finishes, everyone stands/sits/lies around waiting for the “experience”. There can be up to three visits in the morning, and there is no contact after midday.

At 10am (as we were about to board a catamaran for a bay cruise and visit to the black pearl farm) we were graced with the presence of one of the anointed dolphins. We had an earlier dolphin come in, but the rangers checked its markings and deemed it unworthy of receiving a feed.

Stromatolite formations at Hamelin Pool

Am I starting to sound like a grumpy old man? Allow me a short rant. I understand the need for wildlife preservation and managing the interaction, but from a time in the past when they would get twenty odd dolphins coming in every day, they now get a couple at a time, maybe twice a morning. They had a streak of two and a half weeks last year when none came in. I’m not sure how long big paying tourists will gamble on a chance interaction. The next morning none had come in by 9:30am, with about 300 disappointed guests biding their time.

Anyway, we did enjoyed the experience, and the black pearl farm visit was also interesting, which is a fully self-contained floating operation in the bay. We did a couple of walks in the dunes area and admired the wildflowers.

Eagle Bluff south of Denham

Wednesday we departed Monkey Mia, visiting a number of bays and lookouts along the peninsula. This area is spectacular, and if you were a four wheel drive enthusiast there is hundreds of tracks leading to secluded beaches and headlands to explore.

We free camped on the peninsula near Hamelin Pool on Wednesday night, before heading towards Kalbarri, stopping overnight at a free camp at Galena Bridge on the Murchison River. The Murchison River Winds its way from some 300km inland, and as it reaches the coast at Kalbarri forms the centre piece with the gorges of the Kalbarri National Park.

Kalbarri's famous surf spot, Jakes Point

We arrived in Kalbarri on Friday, of a long weekend, at the start of school holidays, looking for a caravan site. After being told “good luck” by the Visitor Information Centre person, I did find a park with one site for two nights, easy. Kalbarri is an old fashioned beach town (a very popular spot for school holidays apparently), reminiscent of Kingscliff (I think, rather than Noosa Pete, sorry) 30 years ago. The coastline is also exposed to the big swells from the south and home of Jakes Point, a sanctioned surfing reserve (like Bells Beach and Crescent Head). The waves were breaking at about 5 metres while we were there so I declined the opportunity to take it on. As it is a reef coastline there aren’t a lot of other surfing opportunities at Kalbarri, maybe as we head south.

The wind has continued to blow and the temperature range has been around 8 ^o overnight to 19^o since we arrived. Let’s hope spring gets here soon.

Carnarvon

September 11 to September 18

We said last week that we planned to stay in Carnarvon for a few days, which stretched into 8 days. We decided to get our mail sent from home (thanks Russell and Steve) so we had some admin to catch up on. Leah also picked up a cold/flu so she had the opportunity to hibernate and get over it quickly.

Gascoyne River - There's water under there somewhere

The weather south of us is continuing to be cool and wet so that was another reason to stay for a week. When you stay in towns for a week or more (as we also have in Karratha, Broome and Darwin), you not only get to relax, but you become a little bit imbedded in the local area and get to know the services and people more intimately.

There are a few things that stand out about Carnarvon and its district. First is the Gascoyne River. Well known for delivering the water reserves to support the fruit and vegetable farming in the area. The area supplies up to 70% of the fresh produce for WA in winter. However the river is a dry bed (see photo), only flowing after heavy rains. It is an “upside down” river, with the water feeding into an underground aquafer reserve where it is protected from evaporation and is pumped as needed.

Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum

Carnarvon was also an important satellite communications centre from 1966 to 1987, playing a major part in many NASA projects including the Apollo moon missions, the Skylab Project, through to tracking Hailey’s Comet. The centre is now a museum with extensive displays, equipment, memorabilia and interactive installations.

The waters off Carnarvon is where the HMAS Sydney II was sunk in 1941 by the German ship Kormoran, killing 645 Australian Navy personnel. There will be a 75 year anniversary commemoration in November this year.

It is also windy! We had only one day when the southerlies didn’t blow 30-40km/h. Still we did plenty of walking and cycling around the beaches and river area.

We left Carnarvon on Sunday Sept 18 in the direction of Denham and Shark Bay/Monkey Mia.

Exmouth to Carnarvon

September 4 to September 11

30kg Grey Band Cod

While staying at Yardie Homestead at Cape Range National Park, I got to know our neighbour who was a keen fisherman and comes up here every year. He loves fishing and went out every day with his friends, but he doesn’t eat fish!? He happily catches, cleans, fillets then freezes it and takes it home to family and friends. He was fishing in up to 250 metre deep water about 10km offshore, and caught a huge 30 kg Grey Band Cod (see picture) one day, and offered me a “chunk” of fillet, about a kilogram. I happily accepted and cooked it for dinner, very tasty but very dense, meaty flesh. The next day he returned and gave me a kilo or so of Ruby Snapper fillets! I should have stayed for a week, I would have had a freezer full myself!

As a lot of Homestead and Station host camps do, on Sunday night Yardie Homestead did a roast dinner for the guests. The fish could wait for another night as I had a night off from cooking and we had a great pork roast.

Camp spot at Learmonth Jetty

We departed Cape Range National Park Monday and went back through Exmouth for fresh water (a rare and valuable commodity along the coast here), fuel and food. We checked a number of the sights as we headed south including Vlamingh Head Lighthouse with amazing 360⁰ views of the cape, the SS Mildura shipwreck and the Krait and Potshot Memorial. The memorial detailed and commemorated the war support effort in the region made by American and Australian troops. We stopped at Learmonth Jetty, near the RAAF base and airport about 37 kilometres from Exmouth.

Big Tiger Shark caught off Learmonth Jetty

Planning on having lunch there, we chatted to a guy who had his caravan parked on the beachfront, and he tells us it’s unofficially OK to camp here, he does it every year. We promptly decided to join him and stayed for two more days.

Leah snorkeling at Coral Bay

The jetty is very short but fairly popular to collect baitfish and sometimes catch trevally and queenfish. I went out on the kayak and trolled lures, had three hits and one catch, an undersized lizardfish. The same day I watched a group of three fishermen chase sharks from the jetty. They spent all day there, paddling a kayak out to place baited hooks a few hundred metres out. In the afternoon they landed two tiger sharks, one about 6 feet long and the one pictured, about 10 feet long. My shadow in the photo was close enough for me! It made for entertaining viewing as he battled for nearly an hour to land it, before photographing then releasing it.

Wednesday we drove 120km to Coral Bay, still on the Ningaloo Reef, and world renowned for swimming with the whale sharks (only available from April to July). Coral Bay is a spectacular area with protected bays for snorkelling, and every conceivable charter service known to man! We made the most of our two days there snorkelling and beach walking. Our visit coincided with a Camp Quality stay for cancer affected kids and their families, which included a charity drive of antique cars.

The main bay is a fish sanctuary and as such is teaming with sea life including a school of spangled emperor which are hand fed every second day. The coral here was more diverse than at Cape Range, and a bit more accessible so Leah had a chance to enjoy a quick snorkel.

This coastline is known for the southerly winds, and on the day we departed (Thursday) they became quite strong. We slowly travelled south, stopping at a couple of free camps on our way to Carnarvon.

It is wildflower season in WA, and as we travel south they are becoming more abundant. Although not an avid flora fan, the variety of colour, shape and style has been a real interest as we drive the (fairly uninteresting) landscape.

We arrived at Carnarvon on Saturday with the plan on staying for at least a few days. Being a decent size town it is situated on the mouth of the Gascoyne River. The Gascoyne River supports the plantation district which grows a major proportion of fruit and vegetables for WA (more on that next week).

One Mile Jetty, Carnarvon

We visited the One Mile Jetty in the heritage precinct of Canarvon. In the late 1800’s the jetty was used to support the strong wool and livestock industry. There was also well presented historic buildings housing restored items from the area’s past. The lighthouse keeper’s cottage has been presented as it was in the early 1900’s and the rail engines and equipment used on the jetty have also been restored and are occasionally used.

We are looking forward to further exploring the area over the next few days. 

Dampier to Exmouth

August 28 to September 4

Sunday night we were back in Karratha Caravan Park again (next door to the Army Barracks). This caravan park used to cater for a large number of mining staff, with maybe 100 demountable accommodation units on site. One of the legacies of this is the café attached to the park. It is open 7 days a week and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner for the transient workers. Although only about 10 or 20 workers were staying in the mostly deserted accommodation area, the café continues. The chef prepares very good, well priced meals. We indulged a couple of times for dinner and were surprised by the quality.

View from the river of our Mairee Ponds camp spot

Monday we return to Dampier for a couple more days, mostly to keep slowing down our trip south, and we really enjoyed the small, personal caravan park. We visited the salt mine lookout, where you can view the vast evaporation pond system and read the extensive information boards. Although about 25% of the salt is for food, 75% is for industrial use and export for winter road de-icing in the USA.

We made the most of the caravan park and completed more washing and chores. Wednesday we restocked on fuel and food in Karratha before heading south. We had spent 11 days in the greater Karratha/Roebourne area and had really enjoyed it, a lot more relaxing than you would think, even with its industrial feel there is plenty of quiet places to visit.

We had been recommended a free camp spot at Mairee Ponds on the Maitland River. There is a signposted site to the north of the river, then a “secret” spot on the south side of the river. As you can see from the photos it was a great spot right on the river bank.

Mandu Mandu Gorge

The river is fresh water and in theory there is barramundi, mangrove jack and catfish in residence. We shared the spot with two other campers who both say they have had rods pulled into the river when using bait (they weren’t watching the rods!). I had no bait so I tried working lures with no success. On Thursday I headed out in on the kayak to troll lures and look for snags to fish. Such a nice day Leah came along for the ride but again no luck. In the afternoon the neighbour caught a couple of small fresh water perch type fish, too small but nice to see something in the river.

Ningaloo Reef

We stayed two nights before leaving Friday to head for a camp spot closer to Exmouth, our next destination. We stopped about 60km west of the highway towards Exmouth, just a pull off area in the middle of nowhere. The stars are magnificent in these isolated areas at night.

We drove into Exmouth on Saturday to get information, water and fuel before heading to Cape Range National Park and Ningaloo Reef. Exmouth was first established in 1963 as a service town for the joint Australian and US Army VLF (Very Low Frequency) Transmitter Communication Centre build here during the cold war. It is the world’s largest VLF transmitter, and the second tallest structure in the southern hemisphere, standing some 388 metres tall. When the defence forces were withdrawn in 1992 (the VLF communications centre is still manned and in use) the town’s survival was re-focused on tourism.

Ningaloo Reef looking pretty healthy

Since then (and after being devastated by a cyclone in 1999) the town has expanded dramatically, the Cape Range National Park was declared and Ningaloo Reef was World Heritage Listed in 2011. The town (to me) has no soul, very focused on the tourist dollar and little else.

Snorkel Eye View, check the motorhome near my head!

The North West Cape is spectacular. The narrow cape has the range running down the middle, the protected Exmouth Gulf on one side, and the reef on the other. Massive swells hammer the reef and make for fantastic viewing. There is a few surfing spots on the cape, but most of the renowned breaks are at the southern end of the reef towards Carnarvon. We stayed at Yardie Homestead, about 35km from Exmouth and 5km from the National Park.

The main attractions of the National Park are the gorges in the Cape Range, and the snorkelling at Ningaloo Reef. We hiked Mandu Mandu Gorge, a dry gorge with fantastic views from the top of the range.

Awesome coastline of Ningaloo Reef - click to enlarge

There is many great places to swim and snorkel, one of the best is Turquoise Bay, where you enter the water and let the current move you ever the coral, exit the water some 500 metres down the beach, walk up and do it again!