Aug 13-19

13th August
Rainy morning with cool breeze so it was nice to sleep in. After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs we head off to do some sightseeing of Carnarvon. First we went to the visitors centre for ‘what’s to see’ here and drove down to the One Mile Jetty stretching 1493m and constructed in 1897. The jetty was restored an opened in 1998 as part of the Carnarvon Heritage Precinct. Ongoing major restoration is continuing this jetty. The ‘coffee pot’ tram ferries visitors to the jetty for views and fishing. Today the coffee pot tram was not functioning so we took photos and continued on.
After the jetty, we walked into the Railway Station Museum and The Lighthouse Keepers Cottage (some below photos of old wares) where Billy was looked after on the veranda by some lovely people while we looked around.

Found an old jetty not far from the long jetty. This one is now unusable and only good for photos.  

Next on the agenda was following the Plantation Loop through Gascoyne Bio Dynamic and Organic farms offering a wide selection of seasonal fresh produce direct from the growers including fruit and vegetables such as bananas, tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, capsicums, melons, grapes, zucchinis. We sampled a mango and passionfruit ice-cream made onsite which was delicious. We spoke to the store owner/ farmer who was lovely and explained how her farm functioned and was mostly family run with the crops tended by hired hands usually Tongans.
14th August Monday
22 degrees and light rain.
Leaving Carnarvon this morning and packing up in light drizzle, but before we leave Carnarvon we take some time out at a coffee shop here and wait for Neville and Robyn to catch up. Our day is unplanned so we take another sightsee drive to view the airport and surrounding south end of Carnarvon. The rain has continued as we drive out of Carnarvon looking for a rest stop, as odd as it feels to stop so soon there is no point driving towards seaside beaches as rain is forecast everywhere.
We decide to stop after only travelling 80kms or so from Carnarvon at this road side rest stop, only because of the unknown weather.

Other than the road noise it was somewhere to rest and plan tomorrow.


15th August Tuesday
This morning we are driving onto Denham the most westerly settlement of Australia and the gateway to Heritage Listed Shark Bay, where the striking beauty of desert landscapes meet the sea.
First stop on the way was Shell Beach- this beach is made up of shells from just one type of animal, the Shark Bay cockle (Fragum erugatum) a burrowing mollusc enclosed in tiny bivalve shells a few millimetres long making it truly unique. Shells replace beach sand stretching for 120 kilometres with shells up to 10 metres deep.

Formed from billions of tiny shells, aptly named Shell Beach is part of the World Heritage Listed areas. In years gone by the shells were hard packed, cut into blocks and used to construct many historic buildings in the nearby towns of Denham.
Shell Beach, Shark Bay World Heritage Area.
Booked into the overflow Denham Seaside Tourist Village for two days, so we can spend time sightseeing the area.
In the afternoon, we went for a drive through and around Denham and walked on Nicholson Point, while Billy was delighted to be in the ocean once again. Signs here state stonefish inhabit these waters so we are mindful of marine dangers.
The wind has increased tonight so be nice to be inside and warm with TV.

16th August  Wednesday.
This morning is sunny and no wind which is wonderful. After I complete some postcards we meet up with Neville and Robyn at Saltwater café for coffee. We all decide to explore what we can of Denham today so we split up for most of the day.
First view point is Denham Lookout with The Thong Shack and a nice white beach. Billy of course did not want to leave.

Next point of interest was the Ocean Park aquarium which we did not do, as was a paid exhibit of feeding sharks, manta rays and other marine life.
From here we drive only another few kilometres to reach Eagle Bluff boardwalk and what a magical place. Tropical and temperature climates meet at Shark Bay and combine with 400,000 hectares of seagrass to support a mixture of life found only here. The seagrass banks also shape Shark Bay’s marine geology, chemistry and biology.

After Eagle Bluff we drive onto Fowlers Camp and Whalebone Bay which are just beautiful calm waters and crystal clear.
Back to camp and finish writing out some postcards, have lunch and relax.
The wind has increased again as the day gets later, so feels like another cool night.



17th August Thursday
This morning we have decided to move on from the caravan park, and spend a day camping beside the water called Whalebone Bay just 40 kms from Denham and relax, and Billy can have the water all to himself. Only four campsites allowed here at one time and the Ranger is very strict on checking permits. A permit purchased from the Discovery centre in town for $15 for no amenities and camping permitted for one night only. This is Whalebone Bay.

Of all of our camps so far this is one we did not want to leave.

Neville and Robyn have gone to Steep Point which is a few hundred kms from Denham for a few days and catch up with us after that.
Only four of us here tonight at Whalebone Bay and well apart from each other, all you can hear is the sound of the rippling water. Billy absolutely delights in having the freedom to walk in and out of the water at any time.
As the afternoon sun slowly disappears over the horizon we watched the tide recede, leaving behind exposed rocks and long strands of sea grass. The sea breeze has increased and so we head inside the caravan for dinner.






18th August Friday

A very peaceful sleep last night beside the bay listening to the tide slowly lapping at the edges of the shore. We had an early morning arrival of a fisherman keen to try his luck just out from where we are camped.
Where else would you really want to be right now having a cuppa ½ a metre from this beautiful bay’s edge, sand at your feet and Billy sitting on the water’s edge pondering a dog’s life.
We are staying until around midday then head off to somewhere else for the nights camp. We will be back to visit this truly beautiful place as soon as we can, it is on our ‘to do again’ list.
On our way out we continue along Shark Bay road towards Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve to look at the Stromatolites and the historic Telegraph Station.

From here we continued along the Shark Bay road to the entrance we came in on three days ago, which we now turn onto the North West Coastal Highway. Following Wiki we aim for Neren Neren rest stop for the night, so about 90 kms until we arrive at around 4.30. Loads of other caravans here including a truck of racing pigeons which we could clearly hear 100 mtrs away.






19th August Saturday
12 degrees
This morning we had some light rain but only passing over the area. The truck that contained the racing pigeons was due to let them fly as people gathered around to watch (video). These pigeons fly home to Perth taking them about six hours and was interesting watching them released.
Continued onto a Wiki camp Galena Bridge and were lucky enough to have some caravans move out as we came in. We set up in gale force winds with some rain, put the hose out to the river so we can have drawn up river water for showers and wash up water, not using ours. This water is slightly salty but okay to use for general use. A lady came over to us when we just got here and informed us not to drink the river water, as she believes there is lead that has filtered down from the mining here & into the water. Billy has been enjoying the green grass patches here and has fallen asleep. Whilst here I made some biscuits and a slice for afternoon tea.

Neville and Robyn arrived around 3pm and have had to set up in the strong winds as well.
May consider having the diesel heater on tonight as it is very cold.

Maybe a bit too close.

It's Saturday already and this weeks blog is finished ............ Almost



This is us photo bombing Billy's selfie......

See you next week.

August 6 - 12

6th August Sunday

Leaving Old Onslow camp on Ashburton River this morning and driving onto Exmouth. Booked into Ningaloo caravan holiday park for 3 days to look around the area including National Parks, as no free camping this close to Exmouth.
Our stop for morning tea was on the Ashburton River Yannarie rest area overlooking a great water view. Back on the road we bypass the emergency RFDS airstrip which was quite hidden from the road although appeared on our GPS.

The surrounding sandhills are part of the Great Sandy Desert and are quite immense as we drive on the Burkett Rd (Exmouth).
Exmouth is situated 1270kms north of Perth with a population of approximately 2250 permanent residents. With no wet season, the Ningaloo region has a dry climate with hot summers and mild winters. Exmouth enjoys around 320 days of sunshine each year.
Passed the RAAF Learmonth base and it is quite an expansive site with training grounds and airport.  Also a solar observatory to the other side of Murat Road on the way to Exmouth. We can see glimpse of the Indian Ocean as we slowly get closer and the outside temperature has dropped from 30 degrees down to 22 over the last few hours of travel.
Arriving at Ningaloo holiday resort caravan park we locate our site 26 and set to work filling water tanks, and other necessary things. In the afternoon, we all go for a walk with Billy to the local shops and check out what is there. No major shopping centres but they do have an IGA, butcher, newsagency, chemist, camping shop and a few other retail shops.


7th August Monday
Today there is a full maintenance by Russell of tyre rotate of car and caravan, hand brake adjust on car, caravan rotate and wheel alignment to do before we go anywhere. Sue went and did a small food shop then we can go to the town beach with Billy, which is only 1km from the park, and what a beautiful beach.
We spent a few hours just walking and picking up shells, throwing the frisbee for Billy and making a coffee whilst enjoying the view.

The tide was on the way out and we found what looked like a cone shell with the living creature still inside, so we stopped playing with it and let it go on its way.




Apparently, the sea creature could be a poisonous cone shell. We also discovered a sea slug that was black and white burying itself deep within the ocean sand floor. With Billy all tired out and covered in sand we make our way back to camp to organise a few things for tomorrow.

8th August Tuesday
Swapped to the 200 series as it has the national parks permit and out to experience Turquoise Bay which is part of the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage listed for our day of snorkelling. All this area is Cape Range NP which is why we can’t take Billy. Oh wow the water is exactly what it is turquoise colour, clear and beautiful. We got the snorkelling gear on and in we walked……bit cool and took us a bit to get used to the strong current and breathing under water. The fish were right at your fingertips and were not scared of us at all.
We finally got the hang of relaxing and snorkelling but not confident enough to go out to deep but I absolutely loved it. This snorkelling area is a designated drift snorkel area and it will take you out and around a point if you want to. We spent about a two hours enjoying the water and sitting on the sand in the warm sunshine.
After here we travel onto look at Oyster Stacks where the entrance to the beach is very rocky but the ocean is beautiful, continued onto North Mandu, Sandy Bay, Osprey Bay where we stopped and made lunch. All the camping is booked out at all of these sites. We went to the crossing of Yardie Creek Gorge but didn’t cross it due to it being tidal.


Below are some Euro which are stocky kangaroos found all over WA except in lower south. Last viewing was the lighthouse before camp.

9th August Wednesday.
We had rain last night with wind gusts so we had to roll in the awning to save any damage. This morning when we all awoke it was nice to see what grass was here certainly got a drenching.
Over to the mobile coffee hut with Billy and of course the centre of attention again, we spoke to a few people wanting to know how he learnt so many tricks etc. A few children were excited to make Billy do tricks for treats and Billy loved a cuddle as well.

After our coffee we walk back through the caravan park only to find 4 emus helping themselves to cereal Robyn had left out this morning on the camper. The commotion that unfolded was hilarious it stopped the flow of local traffic as people were taking photos and laughing. These emus are residents of Exmouth and are seen regularly walking through the streets, shops and parks.

Billy had a close encounter with one the other day and the emus are not scared to fight back.
Today we have to vacate the premises by 10am so all hands-on deck sorting, packing and putting away our gear after three days it is surprising how much you have out.
Once packed we fill up our water tanks and make a last visit to the bakery for bread and morning tea before heading out.

We are making our way to Coral Bay today from Exmouth. Coral Bay sits right on the shores of the Ningaloo Reef and is situated 152 km south of Exmouth and 213 km north of Carnarvon.

Pristine beaches and coral viewing is what attracts the tourists here to the very small township of Coral Bay. History states the township of Coral Bay started off as a holiday camp in the 1920’s known back then as Billies Bay, today it is Bill’s Bay with pristine coral along the reefs. Bill’s Bay can be accessed by walking through the main streets of Coral Bay to drop down onto the 4 kilometre long beach of pristine sand. There were “no dog “signs all over the beach so we put Billy back on the lead and went for a walk into the small choice of shops- overpriced, over rated and over my budget.

After making lunch we drove down to the jetty took some photos and left Coral Bay. If we were to stay other sites to visit were at Purdy point, Paradise Point, Point Maud & Maud’s Landing, many coastal 4wd tracks, Skeleton Bay Reef Shark nursery and aquarium, Five Fingers Reef, Oyster Bridge (4wd track only), The Lagoon which attracts a vast array of reef fish such as spangled emperor, big parrotfish and trevally.
Neville and Robyn could not get a caravan site due to not being a hard floor camper and the tours for glass bottomed boats were cancelled due to the wind. So onwards we continue towards Carnarvon but will stop halfway for the night at a rest stop on Wiki camps Minilya and make Carnarvon tomorrow (The Mills’s set up at Minilya)

There would have to be at least a dozen or so caravans, motorhomes and varied forms of transport here already as we pulled in off the North-West highway- now to find us a spot.

The wind has increased since we have been set up in the gravel rest stop. We put up a wind break for Billy so he could sleep outside, but have the feeling he will be inside.

10th August Thursday
Leaving from Minilya this morning and making our way towards The Blowholes. This is located 25km north of Carnarvon on the North West Coast highway, and 49km off the North West Coast highway we follow the sign to Blowholes Road(sealed), 1km and we turn left at the King Wave Kill Sign to the campground.

This campground is 1.6km long and a fair bit of beach camping available.
These are photos of where we are camping a very short walk up a sand track and this is the view.

After we set up we decide to unhitch the van and go on a short trek around the area to look at the blow holes and whilst we were there we sighted a whale breaching in the distance. Driving up to the only lighthouse here at Quobba we had a 360 degree view and also mobile service although weak.

This afternoon the wind has increased to the point of having to build a wind break for Billy using a found piece of tin, star picket and wire and N&R located their end canvas wall they haven’t used in six years.

Sunset over Quobba.

11th August Friday. Rest day
Walk on the beach this morning with Billy then morning tea.
Russ and I & Billy walked up the massive sand dunes behind where we are camping to get service on our phones. Whilst up there Sue found so many shells in the troughs of the sand, which we presume was once where the ocean used to be.

The view from the top of the sand dune looking down to camp and the ocean view. This afternoon we all went in the 100 series up to the lighthouse and then out towards the ocean tracks to take Neville’s drone out for a fly and footage of whales.

Back at camp for afternoon crackers and cheese and discussed the plans for Saturday. We decided to leave tomorrow and head early to Carnarvon as the have some markets on so we will no doubt be staying in a caravan park for a few days.

12th August Saturday
NB. 16,693 kms travelled so far.


Packed and leaving early for Carnarvon and looking forward to the fresh produce markets that are on every Saturday from the end of May to early October, Gascoyne Growers.
 Carnarvon is located 904kms north of Perth and positioned right on the edge of WA’s coral coast, in the centre of Shark Bay and Ningaloo World Heritage areas.
Carnarvon is the only town in Australia where the central desert reaches out to the sea. Carnarvon’s One Mile Jetty is one of the longest jetties in WA.
We arrived at Carnarvon around mid-morning and checked out the fresh food markets, before booking into a caravan park for two days. Not the most modern van park and is desperate need of TLC. Very windy all day and looks like rain is heading our way.
Tonight cooking butter chicken and have decided we will all watch TV outside and bear the brunt of this rain.
13th August
Rainy morning with cool breeze so it was nice to sleep in. After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs we head off to do some sightseeing of Carnarvon. First we went to the visitors centre for ‘what’s to see’ here and drove down to the One Mile Jetty stretching 1493m and constructed in 1897. The jetty was restored an opened in 1998 as part of the Carnarvon Heritage Precinct. Ongoing major restoration is continuing this jetty. The ‘coffee pot’ tram ferries visitors to the jetty for views and fishing. Today the coffee pot tram was not functioning so we took photos and continued on.
After the jetty, we walked into the Railway Station Museum and The Lighthouse Keepers Cottage (some below photos of old wares) where Billy was looked after on the veranda by some lovely people while we looked around.
Next on the agenda was following the Plantation Loop through Gascoyne Bio Dynamic and Organic farms offering a wide selection of seasonal fresh produce direct from the growers including fruit and vegetables such as bananas, tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, capsicums, melons, grapes, zucchinis. We sampled a mango and passionfruit ice-cream made onsite which was delicious. We spoke to the store owner/ farmer who was lovely and explained how her farm functioned and was mostly family run with the crops tended by hired hands usually Tongans.

SEE YA NEXT WEEK.

July 30- Aug 5

30th July Sunday
This morning we walked over to the caravan park to see N&R and sort our drive plans today. Dampier is only 13km from Karratha so we are off to take some photos of Red Dog with Billy.

Coffee at Hullabaloo then onto sightseeing Dampier. Driving past at least four blocks of disused units once housed miners when the boom was strong. Now standing desolate and run down and for sale.
We drove up to Seafarers information centre at Dampier and again very run down in the need of repair. The views from the veranda were spectacular of Dampier boat ramp and blue ocean.
We went for a drive out to Wickham a small townsite located North of Roebourne in the Pilbara region. The majority of the residences and facilities in town are owned by Rio Tinto.
After here we continue onto Port Walcock which is a large open water harbour located on the Northwest coast of WA, located near the town of Point Samson.

We drove down onto the beautiful beach next to the yacht club where Billy enjoyed a swim and we had lunch. Billy had fun with his frisbee until it drifted out with the tide and he couldn’t get it.
 From here we drive to Point Samson a small coastal settlement 18km north of Roebourne in the Pilbara region. History states from 1938 to 1966 blue asbestos was carried here by rail from Wittenoom for ship loading. This is a very popular holiday location for families and nearby mining towns including Wickham, Karratha and Dampier.


The last town we are visiting today will be Cossack located 15km from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of WA. The decline of the township was due to the pearling industry to Broome and the gold rush. Cossack is an historic ghost town with refurbished bluestone buildings including police quarters, cookhouse which is now budget accommodation.
Today at Cossack there was a cultural art exhibition with free admission running from 23rd July to 13th August which we had a look at whilst there.
The afternoon was starting to get late and we had about 85kms so time to head back to camp.
Sue made scones for afternoon tea, and as luck had it there was motor racing on for Russell to watch.
Also Sue's favorite two shows were also on being The Block and Survivor.

31st July Monday

Our two day stay at Karratha RV site ends today so we plan to drive onto a place Miaree Pool 24 hour rest stop not that far from town actually. The track we took down to the river was fairly steep with washouts, but the Bushtracker did it very easily for a big van. It took a bit of time to work out and level the van as the ground was not flat at all but we finally were able to secure a safe spot.


The river was great being close as Billy was happy to walk in and out as he pleases for a swim. We used our hoses to pump up creek water for showers etc. The day was just beautiful and such a pleasant outlook over the river with little whistling ducks sitting on a pontoon of rocks. There are also barking owls here which we heard last night.
We have mobile service when we walk up to the hill but no TV.

1st August Tuesday
This morning the wind was gusty picking up the dirt and leaves in every direction. Had a few other cars with camper or caravan coming past where we are looking at the river.

N&R arrived this morning from Karratha to spend a restful day or two here with us at Mairee Pool.
A lovely fire tonight to sit around and catch up on our days events. We all decided to stay tomorrow as we cant get enough of this relaxed lifestyle.

2nd August Wednesday.
After breakfast we went for a walk to see another part of this river and followed the hills up to some nice view points as well. Back at camp we enjoyed a lovely morning tea of pancakes made by Neville served with lemon and sugar, maple syrup.
 Through the day many people arrived either to look for a camp or passing through. As we were just camped off the track other people still could drive past but with a squeeze, some had to reverse back up the hill behind us when they realised their van would not fit. We had a lady come down to have a look at the river she had been ten years prior.
Tonight another small fire to sit around just to use some timber up before we all go off to sleep. Billy has been asleep on his bed beside the fire for an hour or so and hasn’t moved. He had a big day of running and we think he has bruised paws, sore muscles and legs. Sue and I carried him on his bed back to our caravan and he didn’t move.

3rd August Thursday
Unfortunately we are moving on today after breakfast, it has been such a lovely spot for three days rest.
Billy got let in early this morning as it was quite cold and noticed Billy was still very sore….he jumped up on our bed snuggled in close to me shivering and went to sleep for about an hour. I know his fur is filthy and full of dried dirt, grass and mud but he is so tired and not often he stays that still for long enough.
Packed and ready to go we make our way towards Onslow today for another camp. We have travelled 277kms from Mairee Pool this morning so not a big day of travel at all. We passed iron ore trucks hauling the ore and drove down to a rest stop next to the mine to get a closer look. These trucks are just massive on scale and up close. This mine is one of Rio Tinto’s most Westerly according to the information at hand.
These are photos of our camp at Old Onslow on the Ashburton River. The dirt track goes for 5 miles with scattered camp spots along the river, and a few people already here and still driving looking for one.

We had another nice fire to sit around down beside the river, and Sue also cooked a puff pastry apple pie using the coals.
4th August Friday
Slept in this morning till almost 9.45 so must have been tired. The wind is here again and we are off for a drive to look at Old Onslow township and what remains. There is a cemetery, a police quarters and prison. We continued a bit further on the sandy track towards the Wheatstone gas refinery but the track deteriorated somewhat, so we turned back and continued out towards Onslow.

It was only about 20kms to Onslow town where we located a small supermarket for milk and bread. We also bought some chips to eat beside the beach. Billy had a run on the beach while I collected shells.

These are some of the shells that were collected at Onslow beach. As we got back to camp Neville had some savory damper waiting to cook on the fire for afternoon tea. We had a brown cow come down to the river with four calves drinking water and chewing leaves. Again a very relaxed day which we are all getting used to.
5th August Saturday
This morning we are staying back at camp and Neville and Robyn are driving to Old Onslow town before taking a drive to Onlsow for supplies and a day out. Sue made scones for morning tea with cappuccinos made from the Aldi coffee pod machine.

So this week has been about ' stopping to smell the roses ' type of week. Next week we move onto the tourist coast areas of Monkey Mia, Exmouth, Carnarvon etc. 

Till then that's all from us.