Day 122 – 18th September – Exmouth National Park

We have been eagerly anticipating our stay in the Cape Range National Park.  We have seen some amazing things on our adventure but my favourite part of the world is still the Ningaloo Coast…

We arrived in the park late in the morning only to be told today, between 12pm and 1pm , would be the only day where the tides were high enough to snorkel over the Oyster Stacks.  So we did a super fast set up, bolted down some lunch and before we knew it, we were in the water for some snorkelling action.

Here’s our camp spot with a million dollar view.  We were lucky enough to book a site right on the water front. 

In the water 

The sea breeze picked up by the end of our snorkel so we were back at camp by mid-afternoon.  As we were lazing about I was watching some fairy-wrens in the bushes right next to our camp.  Out of nowhere a goanna starts slithering through the tree trying to catch one of the wrens… it was very cool… I love nature up close and personal!  Never fear, the goanna didn’t catch his lunch this time… 

After the sea breeze settled down a bit we went for a wander up the beach.  Did I mention how much I love this part of the coast? 

Looking back at our camper – the one furthest to the right

It’s been a while since I’ve done a foot shot… 

As we were walking we noticed this shell just at the shoreline.  It was massive!  The animal was still inside but it didn’t seem to be alive… we weren’t sure so we put him back in the water and left him in peace… 

Day 121 - 17th September - Exmouth

We have just arrived in Exmouth.  We have a quick overnight stop in town to stock up on food before we head into the national park tomorrow... looking forward to the snorkelling at Turquoise Bay...

Day 120 – 16th September – Onslow

Today’s task was to go exploring.  We headed back out of town 20km and out to the Ashburton River to find the ruins of the Old Onslow town site.  There is a common theme with all these early towns… they began in the late 1800’s, lasted a short time during a pearling/gold/mining boom, then inevitably died a slow death due to a lack of access to fresh water… 

Here’s the old Police Station

I like this photo… the old meets the new… The pillars in the foreground are from the old tram tracks from the town to the jetty built in the late 1800s and the construction in the background is the new Wheatstone Gas Plant. 

On the way back into town we stopped at several places along the Ashburton River.  What a magic spot!  You can camp all the way along the river in spots that are away from other campers and perched right on top of the river bank.  The only thing that stopped us from packing up camp in town and moving out here were the lack of toilet facilities.  There are not too many things we have missed out on this trip, but spending a night on the Ashburton River will be one thing we are disappointed we didn’t do…

This is the causeway crossing the river.  We saw the largest flock of brolgas we have ever seen just standing around in the water.  Unfortunately they were a bit too far away to get a good photo, but here are a few a bit closer. 

A bit further along the river was a spot called 5 Mile Pool… just stunning! We could have camped right where I am standing to take these photos… 

Day 119 – 15th September – Onslow

We left Karratha this morning and made our way to Onslow.  Our expectations were not high as we were expecting a rather small town.  It turns out we enjoyed our stay here and were glad we dropped in…

The caravan park is right on the beach.  Here’s the view from our camper.  As with Cape Keraudren, there were zebra finches all along the beach front.  The special treat were the numerous ospreys constantly hovering around our little beach. 

We arrived early in the afternoon so there wasn’t much time to explore.  We managed a 1km walk along a coastal boardwalk then followed the beach back to the caravan park. 

Unfortunately, like Cape Keraudren, we discovered Onslow has its own share of sand flies… so we have an additional lot of bites to add to the previous ones we are still dealing with… a billion mosquitos too…

Day 117, 118, 119 – 13, 14, 15th September – Karratha

We’re back in Karratha again.  It’s a chance for me to catch up with my board gaming friends again, for Dave to get the car serviced and a general restock of the fridge before we head to Exmouth and Coral Bay.

Day 116 – 12th September – Cape Keraudren

We only had time for one night at Cape Keraudren so it was pack up day again.  It would have been nice to stay longer but I think the sand flies would have driven us nuts.  We hadn’t quite managed to explore the whole Cape so we jumped in the car and headed up the coast a little.  Check out the colour of the water… magic! 

On the way back we found a whole lot of nests people have made for the finches.  There were an assortment of nests including coffee tins and wine casks.  The kids checked them all out looking for eggs.  Like all other siblings they have their moments when they seem to be constantly arguing… but every now and then they work together nicely… here’s Aiden carrying Megan to the nest because she left her shoes in the car… 

Day 115 – 11th September – Cape Keraudren

Today we discovered a little paradise on the west coast.  Half way between Port Hedland and Eighty Mile Beach is Cape Keraudren.  Anywhere we can set up camp overlooking the beach is our idea of heaven… 

The first thing we noticed (after the outstanding view) is the birdlife here.  The beach was chock full of shore birds and the dunes were full of finches and fairy-wrens and white-eyes and spinifex birds…   

Unfortunately, after the view, then the bird life, we then noticed the sand flies… there were swarms of them.  If it wasn’t for those pesky sand flies Cape Keraudren could easily have become one of our favourite places… It still rates pretty highly, it’s just a shame…

After setting up camp we headed straight down to the beach for an explore.  We didn’t manage to get far, there were so many birds to check out.  The binoculars got a work out…

Back at camp we had some lunch then donned the long sleeves and half a bottle of insect repellent before we took off up the beach in the opposite direction.  By this time the tide had gone out leaving a magical stretch of rock pools for us to explore.  Two and half hours we spent combing the pools, chasing octopus and marvelling at all the weird and wonderful creatures… 

There were loads of clam shells exposed on the rock shelves.  Megan discovered the hard way that when you approach one they spit water at you…

This poor octopus got prodded several times to make him squirt some ink and swim away.  We love everything about octopus… they are the coolest masters of disguise.  Check out the difference between this one when it swims compared to when it parks up on the sandy bottom. 

We followed the rock pools for quite a way up the beach before we stumbled across this wall.  Apparently it’s part of a rabbit proof fence… 

Once again back at camp we found a tin can someone had tied to the fence.  There is a massive population of zebra finches that live around the camp.  Their nests are everywhere… apparently this tin can is good enough.  There was no toilet paper in the toilets because a finch had made its nest in the paper holder… 

Day 114 – 10th September – Eighty Mile Beach

Yesterday was pack up day again… from one beach to the next… we’re back at Eighty Mile Beach.

I am pretty sure the last time we were here at Eighty Mile I mentioned there is not much to do but fish and collect shells… it’s a tough life… 

She is becoming a queen of selfies… 

Day 112 – 8th September – Barn Hill

How do you start the day when you’re camping at the beach?  With a spot of fishing, of course.  You can see Dave and Megan at the left end of the beach… 

We had some exploring to do today… about 8km further up the beach (going north) is a place called Eco Beach.  Our neighbours had walked there yesterday along the beach.  The idea of such a long walk didn’t appeal to us, so we jumped in the car instead.  We drove 10km on the dirt to get back out to the highway, then 10km north, then 10km on the dirt to reach Eco Beach which is 8km away…

Anyway, it was absolutely worth the effort.  It is an absolutely stunning beach!  It’s probably a big call but I would say it’s the nicest beach in the north-west…  There is a resort here where you can stay in chalets or eco-tents.  Unfortunately they don’t cater to us campers… however, we can visit as a day guest and make the most of the bar/restaurant and the beach… which is precisely what we did!

Our first glimpse off the beach

We had some morning tea and a game of noughts and crosses before we wandered along this magnificent stretch of coast… 

Back at camp for a lazy afternoon and, surprise, surprise, more fishing… 

Day 111 – 7th September – Barn Hill

How much have I missed the beaches of the West coast?  Even I didn’t realise how much until we reached Barn Hill today.  That first lung full of sea air… the white sand beach… the sun setting over the ocean… how I missed you…

As you can guess, we have arrived in Barn Hill.  Unfortunately we are fast approaching the end of our holiday which means a whole lot of driving as we start meandering toward home.  Today wasn’t too bad, 480km from Fitzroy Crossing to here. 

We arrived late in the afternoon, set up camp then made a beeline straight for the beach.  It was a quick stroll as we had to make it back to camp before sundown to ensure we had hot water in the solar showers.  So happy to be back camping along the beach with open air toilets and showers…

Here’s Dave enjoying beer o’clock in the afternoon sea breeze watching the sun go down… 

Day 110 – 6th September – Fitzroy Crossing

Yesterday was a big travel day just eating up the kilometres to reach Fitzroy Crossing. 

Today was a bit of a rest and recuperation day.  We did manage to do a boat cruise in Geike Gorge.  Remember that Devonian Reef I have mentioned on several occasions?  The Geike Range is more of that fossilised barrier reef from the Devonian Period.

Apparently it was hot here… 

The reef is a form of limestone so, of course, it is white.  The difference in colour of the rock simply shows the flood water level during the wet season. 

There was a bit of excitement on the tour when the resident bull shark started splashing around in front of the boat… guess there’s no swimming here then…

Day 108 – 4th September – Wolfe Creek Crater

It’s official… we have found the worse road in Australia!  Today we drove 100km on the Tanami Highway then we turned off for 20km into the Wolfe Creek National Park.  The Tanami was actually pretty good, but, that last 20kms on the road into the National Park is by far the most corrugated road we’ve driven on…  we now know what it’s like to have your teeth rattled out…

BUT… it was worth the effort to reach the infamous crater at Wolfe Creek.  For those of you who have seen the movie, no, there were no John Jarrett-like characters about… and we’re not foreign backpackers, so we were safe…

About 300,000 years ago a 50,000 tonne meteorite traveling at 15 km/second crashed into the earth at this very spot.  On impact most of the meteorite was vapourised, however, there have been fragments of the meteorite found up to 4 km away.  All that remains now is an 850 m wide crater about 20 metres deep (the original crater was 120 m deep but has since been filled in with dirt and sediment).

For science geeks like us, the remaining crater is pretty cool to see.  You can even work out what direction the meteorite was travelling by the lower rim height in one section and the corresponding peak on the opposite side…

The rim 

Of course, we scrambled over the rocks down the steep slope to enter the crater.  Here’s the view about half way down. 

The view from the floor of the crater 

We made it to the very centre of the crater where there was a mass of Mulla Mulla flowers… 

Later that afternoon we came back again to sit on the rim while the sun set behind us.  Aiden entertained himself by making a spear head (apparently)