Ningaloo Reef to Karratha

Sun 2 June – We walked back to the small supermarket and bought a few things to get us thru the next 6 days before leaving the beautiful Coral Bay and the Ningaloo Reef. We are at the base of the Exmouth Peninsula and drove north for 150kms to the town of Exmouth where we filled with free water at the visitors centre. Drinking water is a problem in this area. Most water comes out of bores and is salty and undrinkable. Exmouth gets all its drinking water from a de-salination plant. We are now only using ‘Andy’s’ tank water for drinking and bore water for dishes etc. Very tricky!  We left Exmouth and drove to the top of the peninsula before heading south down the seaward side. At the Lighthouse camp we booked a couple of days on our way out of the Cape Range National Park. Into the park for a 55km drive to our first camp at Osprey Bay. Our bookings in the park are for 2 nights here and 2 nights back up at Neds Camp, all done 3 weeks ago. The whole park is booked out! Shelter from the easterly wind is priority when parking.

This park has the Ningaloo Reef protecting it from the surf so the water is calm. Off to the beach for a snorkel. Not much coral but plenty of fish, all colours shapes and sizes. At sunset we joined some campers at picnic tables and watched the sunset swapping stories. There was a dust cloud forming all around us.

Mon 3 June – It was much cooler in the night. A nice walk around to Sandy Bay with beautiful turquoise water. We walked back along the beach with a dingo following us in the sandhills. Some great snorkelling in the afternoon! Happy hour overlooking the ocean and the sunset. The stars at night are very bright.

Tues 4 June – We woke to a dust storm blowing grit everywhere and were happy to drive north to our next stop at Neds Camp, picking up more bore water on the way. The camp was very small and we are in a sheltered spot. After lunch we snorkelled but did not see much. Nice swimming beach however. Sunset drinks with a couple from Jakarta and Switzerland.

Wed 5 June – We walked along the beach to the next camp. Read in the shade before lunch then down to the beach for a swim. The water was a bit cooler. There is still a strong easterly wind so no happy hour at the beach tonight.

Thurs 6 June – Left Neds Camp and drove out of the National Park and on to the Ningaloo Lighthouse camp. Rain is forecast for the next few days. Val did some laundry and I did some cleaning before we climbed a steep goat track at the back of the camp to the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse.  Great views in all directions including some huge radio towers used for defence during  the cold war.

Fri 7 June – A cloudy day with light showers in the afternoon. We walked to beach opposite the camp with the wind howling, rough seas and grey skies. Haircuts all round in the afternoon. Rain set in around 4:30pm.

Sat 8 June – (My 70^th Birthday) Eggs on toast for breakfast and phone calls and emails to wish me Happy Birthday. Back around the tip of the peninsula to the town of Exmouth for fuel and shopping. Exmouth was constructed in 1966 to service the American defence radar station and the military air base. It had the feel of Twizel with the shopping centre being pedestrian only. We checked into a camp and went for a walk around the town. There was an Italian restaurant at the entrance to the camp and we decided to celebrate my birthday there. Val rode her bike back into town for a bottle of wine as it is a BYO and cask wine did not seem appropriate! The restaurant was a great choice! We both had creamy pasta, mine seafood, Val’s chicken followed up by a large gelato.

Sun 9 June – After some “quikeeze”, seems I can not handle rich creamy sauces now I am 70!  We drove south back down the Exmouth peninsula and across the bottom of the gulf to Bullara Station where you can stay and experience this cattle station. There were quite a few caravans etc there.

 In the afternoon we went for a short following a track around the homestead and camp. In the evening we went to “happy hour” where John was cooking damper. Unfortunately, it was for the staff on a Sunday night. We had a great chat around the camp fire however.

Mon 10 June – We decided to spend another night here and went and sampled the famous scones and coffee in the homestead gardens. After lunch we followed another short trail passed several windmills.

“Happy Hour” was packed out as this time the damper was for the campers. We all got a small sample which was more like a bread baked in camp ovens. Another good chat to a NZ couple from Nelson.

Tues 11 June – Back on the road across the bottom of the Exmouth Gulf and eventually we joined the main road north that we had left 13 days ago to go to the Ningaloo Reef and the Cape Range National Park. We drove north and stopped at the Nanutarra Roadhouse for the night beside the Ashburton River. The weather has been cool with several rain showers but it now seems to have cleared. It is amazing how quickly the bush greens up with some much needed rain.

Wed 12 June – We have now turned north west on our drive towards Broome. We stopped at the Robe River rest area and thought it was so good we stayed for the night. There were cattle wandering around in the dry river bed. There were huge flocks on Corellas (white cockatoos) racing from tree to tree screeching as they flew. There were about 20 caravans and campers in for the night.

Thurs 13 June – Breakfast outside with most of the campers gone before we got up. Drove to the Fortesque Roadhouse where we paid $6 for a loaf of white bread! This is iron ore mining country. The rocks and ridges are dark rust red. It looks like you could get iron ore everywhere. On to the Miaree Pool. A slight navigational error took us down a rough track (probably 4WD) before we extricated ourselves and found the only flat site for the night. A beautiful pool but we decided not to swim in it as the entry was thru reeds and we thought of snakes. We sat in the shade and were joined by a mini bus load of miners returning from training at Karratha. They were all New Zealanders and interested in our trip. There were 2 huge mines in this area that they were working at.

Fri 14 June – Only a short drive to the port of Dampier. This is a huge port where Rio Tinto exports Iron Ore from 15 Mines and loads it onto ships at a rate of 10,000 tonnes/hour. The trains delivering the ore from the mines are now unmanned and controlled in Perth. Our camp overlooked the loading facility. After lunch we drove to the other huge installation here.

 The North West Shelf has 6 off shore LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) production platforms 135kms out in the Indian Ocean. The gas is piped to a processing plant where we went to the visitor’s centre. There was a great video explaining the operation processing the gas ready to be frozen before loading into huge LNG transporter ships for the Asian market. It is the second largest processing plant in the world. Back at camp we went for a bike ride along the waterfront and around this very small town. Most of the accommodation is for the miners who fly in for their shifts and fly out back home (FIFO workers).

Sat 15 June – Off to Hearson’s Cove for lunch. A lovely shallow shell beach. The tides are quite large here and we walked about 1km over the sand in the afternoon.

 Drove back to Deep Gorge and walked to an area of Aboriginal rock drawings that were 30,000 years old!! The aboriginals want to drop the word “young” out of “Advance Australia Fair”, cannot blame them really! Back in Dampier we watched the local AFL team give the visitors from Port Hedland a thrashing. We spent some time booking a camp in Darwin for about 6 weeks time.

Sun 16 June – We left Dampier and drove 20kms to the large town of Karratha (pop 25,000). This is another modern town built in 1963 for the mining and the gas. Well set out with very nice homes. We had a big shop as we will be away from civilization for the next 10 days. Val washed all the bedding ready for the next phase of the trip.

Geraldton to Coral Bay

Sun 19 May – We are at Geraldton, 430kms north of Perth. It was election day yesterday and in a surprise the ALP (Labour Party) lost to the Coalition (Liberal and National). We drove north to Seven Mile Beach where we camped right on the beach. We climbed up to a lookout and read in the shade of the awning and our new sunshade. A nice warm evening watching the sunset.

Mon 20 May – It was much hotter in the night and we drove north turning off the highway at Northhampton and on towards Port Gregory. This is the wheat belt and there were miles and miles of wheat stubble which must look great before the harvest. We stopped at Lynton Station, a farm stay.

This was the site of a Convict Hire Depot. Station Managers came here and hired the convicts to work the land. We explored the managers partially resorted home overlooking the farm, climbed a ridge to a monument to a landowner, (on a motorbike) and walked around the ruins of the depot. Just as we got back to “Andy” the promised southerly struck with winds and rain.

Tues 21 May – We took a side road down to the Pink Lake. Not very pink however! Back on the road and into the Kalbarri National Park where we stopped at one of the lookouts with red cliffs and walked down to a beautiful little cove. The town of Kalbarri is at the mouth of the Murchison River and is a holiday resort with many apartments and camping grounds. We stopped at a camp over the road from the beach and were given a great site looking out onto the river estuary. We walked around the town and the waterfront and ended the day having drinks with most of the camp watching the sunset.

Wed 22 May – Another beautiful day as we biked north passed the marina and then around the very small town. In the afternoon we biked south along a cycleway to the Blue Holes. This would be a great swimming area but the tide was too high. Back at the camp we changed into our togs and went down to the beach but the wind had got up and we chickened out! Walked to the IGA for a quick shop and after the evening sunset drinks with the campers, we went to the local pub for a pizza.

Thurs 23 May – Watched the pelicans being fed before heading off into the Kalbarri National Park to the Natural Window and took the popular photos. A drive to another part of the park where we packed our lunch and followed a 3km trail down a gorge to the Murchison River gorge. Beautiful scenery with the red cliffs, white sand and lush green gum trees. It was a long slog back up the gorge in 30+C. Back on the road out of the park and on to Highway 1 (95kms) with the aircon on!! We camped on the banks of the Murchison River, a nice free spot.

Fri 24 May – It is now quite hot in the night. A real tropical feel. We walked over the river on an old bridge and around the camping sites on the far bank. After lunch we headed on for 115kms to the Billabong Roadhouse. We had misjudged our diesel and had to top up with our emergency jerry can to get there. Topped up our tank and jerry can and spent the night in another free area beside the Roadhouse in the red dust.

Sat 25 May – We have been deciding whether to go into Denham and Monkey Mia. It is about 155km out to the west and forms the seaward side of Shark Bay. We decided that, as it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we would do the trip, so headed west to Denham and stayed in a camping ground. We will stay two nights here and drive out to Monkey Mia tomorrow. There was a strong southerly wind which kept the temperatures down. We walked the small town and went to an audio/visual presentation of the sinking of the HMAS Sydney by a German ship during the WW11. This all happened just off the coast here.  Both ships sank with huge casualties. We went for a short cycle to a lagoon but could not find how to get down to it.

Sun 26 May – A cloudy morning. We drove 28kms over the peninsula to Monkey Mia. This is basically a resort where they attract dolphins to the beach by feeding them. We arrived just in time for the last feeding of the day at 9:15am. It all seems a bit weird, as this is marine reserve and feeding dolphins, so tourist can photograph them just doesn’t seem right. They only feed out 8 fish to 4 dolphins. It cost us $15 each and was all over in about 5 minutes. We did a 2km short walk inland and then along the beach. The flies were very annoying. With the sun out and no flies the resort would have been ok. Back in “Andy” we decided to head back to the lagoon we tried to cycle to but again the flies were bad, so we drove back to our camp where the cool wind meant there were no flies and we could enjoy the view and read.

Mon 27 May – We headed back to the main highway with the odd shower of rain. On the way we stopped at Shell Beach. This beach consists of tiny shells. Years ago, they cut the hard-packed shells into building blocks. Another stop was at Hamelin Pool. This is at the inland end of Shark Bay where the extremely shallow, salty hot water is an environment for stromatolites to grow. A stromatolite is a living fossil, and these are reputed to be the oldest living things on earth. (They told us the same think about the bristle cone pine trees at Mt Wheeler – Utah!!!)  There was a board walk over the stromatolites, so you can get a good view. Not very spectacular however.  We stopped for the night at the Wooramel Roadhouse.

We followed a trail along the beach to where they had quarried the shell building blocks. Lunch inside (showers and flies) before heading back to the highway and our trip north. The diversion to Denham and Monkey Mia was 312kms. Some people say it is not worth it and we would probably agree! Still sometimes you just have to see for yourself.

Tues 28 May – We drove 125kms north to the largish town of Carnarvon. We had a big shop-up at Woolworths and the BWS (Beer Wine Spirits) and then camped at a tourist park near the centre of town. On our bikes to explore the town and the waterfront. Carnarvon is at the mouth of the Gascoigne River. The waterfront was very nice with palm trees and grass. We biked across an old railway bridge and to the “Mile Long Wharf” used to service this area in the past. Back at the camp we had a swim in the camp pool. First swim this trip! In the evening we were joined by the campers next door for good chat. They were from Kalbarri and were on their way home.

Wed 29 May – We checked out and drove to the waterfront and sat in the shade of the palm trees enjoying the view. Walked into the town and found a Jaycars and bought an Indoor/outdoor thermometer. This town’s claim to fame is that it had two huge radio receivers. One was used for the Apollo moon missions. It was the first and last receive point before the capsules left the earth’s atmosphere and after re-entry. It was also the first receive point for Australia’s Overseas TV pictures. We planned to visit the museum but there was a power cut in Carnarvon so no go! 

We drove north after lunch to a rest area beside the Minilya River (dry) with nice shade from the gum trees. There were about 20 caravans there. The flies were bad, and we sat outside with our head nets. The flies are worse this year because the winds are from the east blowing the flies out of the bush to the coast. It was also very hot around 33C and still hot when we went to bed.

Thurs 30 May – We were last to leave at 9:30 as we only had a short drive N/W to Coral Bay. We had booked a camp there a few weeks ago. We got a nice shady site and walked to the beach. The water was a great temperature 26C. Perfect!! as there is good snorkelling here. The town is basically two tourist camps, booking offices, a few shops, bars and restaurants. Another place a bit like Kaiteriteri. After lunch we sorted out our snorkelling gear bought over from home and walked to the beach. The snorkelling is just off the beach. Bad start, Val’s flippers split as she put them on. Old age! (the flippers, not Val) The snorkelling was great with huge coral formations and plenty of fish. There are no flies here thank goodness, so we sat in the shade of our awning and even cooked dinner outside. First time this trip.

Fri 31 May – A cooler cloudy day. We walked around this small resort in the morning and went down to the beach in the afternoon when the sun came out. Snorkelled off the main beach. Not as spectacular as yesterday’s, but still pretty good. I am having trouble with my beard letting water in and discovered I am better with just swimming goggles and my snorkel.

Sat 1 June – Mucked around in the morning and down to the beach in the afternoon. We walked along the beach to the better snorkelling area and spent the afternoon drifting over the great coral and fish. All snorkelling gear working perfectly. What a great beach resort! We bought a takeaway delicious pizza for dinner. We will publish this blog from Coral Bay tonight.

2019 - Perth to Geraldton

Tues 30 May – An early start (4:00am) for our trip to Perth, (via Brisbane) where “Andy” is stored.  Our plan this year is to drive north from Perth, thru Broome to Darwin and then south thru Kakadu and back across to the east coast. Our flights went well and Val even managed to get our cellphone up and running at our stop over in Brisbane airport. We caught an Uber to the storage place where “Andy’s” battery had been charged and started first pop for the short drive to the Ragno’s (my niece) and parked up their drive. Louie and Tyler had footy practice, so we had a drink with Janine and we all had Chinese Takeaways for dinner. Off to bed early, 9:00 (1:00am NZ time).

Wed 1 May – Everyone had left for school and work before we woke. We had a long list of stuff to do today. First off check the tyres, complicated as most tyre places did not cater for small truck tyres. We found a very friendly place and I discovered that the inside rear was flat and not holding air. They put on the spare and ordered a new tyre which will arrive tomorrow. After a big shop-up we returned to Ragno’s and I cleaned the solar panel and fitted a new volt meter bought from NZ. Everyone has footy practice tonight, so I made a huge lasagne for dinner. Another early night.

Thurs 2 May – Our plan was to head north for 4 nights at Guilderton, a beach resort 100kms north of Perth. At breakfast we changed our minds, delayed our trip north by 2 nights, and booked the ferry to Rottnest Island. We set off back to Fremantle (this was our last camp last year). On the way we fitted the new tyre, picked up extra foam plastic for the squabs, and ordered a new sun screen for our awning. At the Fremantle camp we checked the bikes out and fitted the foam in the squabs, very successful. We walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. The weather is warm during the day but chilly at night.

Fri 3 May – Off on our bikes to the ferry to Rottnest about 5kms away and loaded our bikes on board for the 35 minute crossing. Rottnest is known for BBQ – Beaches, Bikes and Quokkas. It was sunny but with a strong wind. We did a short ride to a lighthouse and returned to the village to buy lunch and then set off for a ride around the island. There are no cars on the island, only buses and a few delivery vans. The views were spectacular with white sand and blue green sea. The road was quite undulating and coupled with the wind some of the trip was hard work. The Quokka is a small marsupial which was thought to be large rat when discovered by the original Dutch explorer, thus the name Rottnest. The quokka is very social and traditionally you get a selfie with them. Back on the ferry and the ride back to our camp. We biked 35kms and had sore bums!!! A nice warm night, so beers outside watching the sunset.

Sat 4 May – Back to our original plan of driving north. It was a long trip thru Perth, the suburbs and eventually out to the coastal road. Guilderton is a small pleasant beach resort set on an estuary with a nice golden sand beach. The camp reminded us of a small older version of Kaiteriteri with views of the estuary and the sea from our site. We walked along a boardwalk to the beach where several brave souls were swimming but the water was cold.

Sun 5 May – A day of rest! We had to shift sites because of our delayed booking. We still have the same view however. A sunny morning sitting and reading. After lunch we walked to the beach but as soon as we got there the sun disappeared and we headed back in light rain. The rain cleared but the temperature dropped.

Mon 6 May – A nice sunny day but with a cool wind off the sea. We decided to walk inland following a path along the Moore River. Away from the sea there was no wind and it was a very pleasant 7km walk. After lunch we sheltered from the wind and read in the sun. Many A-vans arrived in the afternoon. These are a folding caravan with an “A” shaped roof. It was the 20^th anniversary of the club and about 50 vans arrived.

Tues 7 May – Another sunny day with very little wind so we set off along the beach for 2kms (hard going in the soft sand) to a lighthouse. The lighthouse was 32m high, made from bricks and shaped like a “waisted lady” beer glass. Very unusual. We returned to the camp via the streets of Guilderton with some very nice holiday rental houses. Back in the sun after lunch. We have had a good rest here and keen to start our trip north tomorrow.

Wed 8 May – We filled with LPG before leaving the camp and drove north 50kms to another beach town of Lancelin. We shopped in a small IGA store and bought alcohol before checking into a camp where we got a site overlooking the ocean. These beach towns are much smaller than we had thought they would be, considering we are only 150kms north of Perth. There was a strong wind blowing down the beach and there were several kite surfers making the most of the conditions, jumping high into the air. This coast is known for its winds.

Thurs 9 May – Back on the road for a 90km drive to the Nambung National Park and the Pinnacles Desert. We paid our admission fee and went to the information centre before walking into the dessert. This is an area which was under the sea and has vertical outcrops all over the golden sandy desert. The outcrops are made of limestone and have remained when the soft sand has been eroded by wind. It was very unusual and beautiful, well worth the visit. Lunch at another small beach town of Cervantes before continuing on to Jurien Bay where we camped. This is a bigger town with another stunning beach.

Fri 10 May – After we checked out, we hopped on our bikes and rode a smooth path called the Turquoise Way for about 7kms along the beach. A very short drive along Jurien Bay to a beach camp at Sandy Cape. There were lots of campers tucked into the sandhills. The beach was white sand and curved.

Sat 11 May – We decided to stay another night, so we walked out to the registration booth and paid. Before lunch we walked up the sandhills to a lookout with beautiful views in all directions of the turquoise waters of Jurien Bay. The sport here was to slide down the steep sandhills on small surf boards and try and reach the water. After lunch we took our chairs to the beach and enjoyed the sun and a read.

Sun 12 May – Another short drive thru the town of Greenhead (dumped and filled) to the Milligan Island Eco camp area. A ranger collected our fee and again we went to the beach. Unfortunately, although the days are warm (27C), the water is still too cold for swimming. There were very few campers in this lovely spot.

Mon 13 May – We drove back out to the Indian Ocean Road which we have been following and travelled north for 50kms to an area called Cliff Head and eventually found a great camp right on the beach. We sat in the shade of a gum tree and later walked along another beautiful beach! We watched the sun set and sat outside until it was dark. The warmest evening we have had yet but it is still cool at night.

Tues 14 May – It was cloudy in the morning but warm. We walked the along the beach, past the cliffs (very low) to another camping spot on the other side. Our progress north is slow along this great coastline but we have plenty of time and will pick up the pace further north. We are about 350kms north of Perth and 100km south of Geraldton. There is very little wind, mostly coming either from the east (inland) or north.

Wed 15 May – We drove north to Port Denison/Dongara, leaving the Indian Ocean Road and joining Brandt Highway, the main road north. At Port Denison we booked into a camp for laundry. In the afternoon we sat in the sun and did some planning, booking a camp in Coral Bay and two National  Park camps on the Coral Coast for three weeks’ time. This is a snorkelling area and is very popular. When it was cooler, we cycled 9kms on a path along the coast and up the Irwin River to Dongara and then back along the other river bank to the sea, pushed our bikes across the sand bar and rode back to Port Denison. On one part of the path there were steel silhouettes of the ANZAC soldiers who would have stopped over here on their way to the 1^st World War. This is a lovely area, very popular with retirees. Out to the local pub for a fish dinner.

Thurs 16 May – There is a cold front coming up from the south as we drove a short distance to Seven Mile Beach and joined about 15 caravans in a gravel area overlooking the sea. It was cloudy but still warm, so we walked along the wild beach. In the evening it started to rain, strong winds from the south, cold and huge seas.

Fri 17 May – We woke to a huge truck (low loader) taking one of the caravans away (don’t know why but much excitement). Nice and sunny but a very cold southerly. A 60km drive to Geraldton. This is the third largest city (Ashburton size) in W.A. We shopped before checking into a camp for a couple of nights.

Sat 18 May – (Australia’s Federal election day). Our site was getting no sun, so the “Head of Communications” went to the office and now we are on a nice sunny site. We biked passed a lighthouse to the back beach before lunch and then biked along the waterfront to town in the afternoon. There was the usual great bike path passed the huge grain silos and along the foreshore of Geraldton. There are 3 great beaches in the middle of town and boat harbour with luxury yachts overlooked by stunning apartments. The city has a very nice feel to it.