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.
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.
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