A Magic Place

We pulled out of the Exmouth caravan park at about 6:30am so we would be near the front of the queue at the ranger station when it opened at 8am. Sites in the National Park camp areas along the Ningaloo Reef are allocated on a first come first served basis and there were a limited number of sites coming free each day. Our friends Frans and Bev had been for a look the day before and had come back with the opinion that the “Osprey Camp” was the best one as from the camp sites it had a view of the sea and it had sites big enough to take their 5th wheeler van. This all sounded good to us so we wanted to get a site there too. We arrived at the ranger station at 7:15am and were third in the queue, Frans and Bev being the first. We had breakfast while waiting for the ranger to arrive. At 8am the ranger got a radio report from the hosts at the various camping areas and we were able to get one of the four sites available at Osprey Bay. We arrived at the camp and got a lovely site with a beautiful sea view next to Frans and Bev. Jim and Sue arrived the next day and got a site on the other side of us so about half of the Derby group was back together again. The camp was nicely set out with staggered sites and large spaces between them. We had kangaroos hopping by, the occasional lizard and although emus were in the area I only saw one near the camp.

We didn’t do much the day we arrived as there was a strong wind blowing but later in the day did go for an amble along the beach. It was a lovely beach, fine white sand; rocky foreshore in places and 500 metres to a kilometre off shore was the outer coral reef. The reef created a lovely lagoon between where we were camped and the sea. (photo – our camp with lagoon in foreground, breakers on reef in background)
We snorkelled in the lagoon and while the coral wasn’t the best we have seen there was a variety of shapes and colours and lots of different brightly coloured tropical fish. We also came across schools of 20 to 30 good-sized trevally that were swimming around quite unconcerned that we were only a few metres away. I was lucky enough to see a large turtle swim by me one day and Al got a glimpse of a reef shark.
We made two trips to Turquoise Bay, about 20km up the coast, where there was a good snorkelling area. Good coral, lots of fish and an area where you could drift with the current to effortlessly be taken over the coral for an ever changing view. Here while we were in about knee deep water we came across a school of 50 or more common dart (photo) just holding themselves in the current, going nowhere. I saw a small octopus and was amazed to see it change colour from a reddish-brown when it was near some coral to a mottled sandy colour when it was over the sand. It was very well camouflaged and after it was pointed out to me it was only when it moved that I only spotted it.
You would think with all the fish we were able to see that we would have been in fisherman’s heaven but although the rods were out each day no fish were on the menu. We both hooked something that looked good but didn’t manage to land them.
Another highlight of our stay here was the whales migrating south just outside the coral reef. From our van we were able to see their spouts and on occasions saw them breach or wave their tails. Often we saw just a huge splash where we had just missed seeing them breach. We initially planned to camp here a couple of nights and maybe extend to three but ended up staying for six nights before reluctantly moving on. It was thanks to Frans and Bev getting us extra water and giving our batteries a charge from their solar system that we were able to extend our time. We said our farewell to Frans and Bev as we left Osprey Bay as we may not meet up with them again. We have our deadline to be in Sydney in early March but as they are on the road full time they go at whatever speed they wish. We have met a few people that are on the road fulltime and can appreciate why they choose this lifestyle. (photo sunset at Osprey Bay)

Karijini National Park

Karijini NP is an area of many spectacular gorges. As you drive along the presence of these gorges isn’t obvious as the view is of rounded hills tinged pink, as the colour of the red rock intermingles with the colour of the spinifex grass. Every now and then a crevice edged in red rock appears indicating there is an opening in the ground. The exposed rock is almost entirely multi layered iron rich rock that is a bright rust-red colour. (photo rock) We camped at the National Park Dales camp and used this as our base to explore the Dales and Weano Gorge areas. After setting up camp and before we started exploring we made a quick lunch and went down to Frans and Bev’s van (friends from Derby) to catch TV coverage of the league final, Storm v Eels. They have satellite TV so we were able to watch the final as we did the 2 semi finals when we were at Barn Hill Station a week earlier and the AB’s v Wallabies when we were in Broome. Before the sun set we had time to walk down to the top of the Fortescue Falls in Dales Gorge and walk a short way upstream to Fern Pool where we went for a swim. This is quite a large pool fed by a small waterfall and it has lots of maidenhair ferns on the banks near and under the falls.
The next day we drove to the Weano Gorge area, via 42km of gravel road that wasn’t too rough as Aussie gravel roads go, (photo road) where we had several gorges to view and/or explore. At the Oxer Lookout we viewed the meeting point of the Hancock, Joffre, Weano and Red Gorges and we decided to explore two of these.
Hancock Gorge - the track included going down steps and a ladder to get to the bottom. We walked along a narrow path between high rust red multi-layered rocks. Walked along rocky ledges and waded through water up to knee deep.
Weano Gorge - walked down rocky steps to get to the bottom. (photo Jill in narrow bit at Weano Gorge) The gorge was very narrow in places and at times we were mid thigh deep in water. At one point walked along a rocky ledge while knee deep in water, a well used path so the rocks here weren’t slippery. Went as far as “Handrail Pool” where the way into the pool was down a slippery slope with a metal handrail for security. This looked to be a bit much for us and when I saw someone trying to get out by using a rope to get herself up to the handrail I knew it definitely wasn’t for me. We drove back down the road to where there were some more gorges to look at and explore. On the way saw an emu with two chicks and a falcon in a tree eating a mid sized lizard.
Joffre Gorge & falls and Knox Gorge we viewed from the lookouts. (photo Knox Gorge)

Kalamina Gorge – easy steps down to the bottom. A wider gorge and big flat rocks to walk on. (photo Jill in Kalamina Gorge) We didn’t get our feet wet this time. Nice reflections in the pools and a very pleasant walk.
At the day’s end we still hadn’t explored the gorge near to where we were camped so decided to explore it the next day before departing for Tom Price. This walk took us along the rim of Dales Gorge through spinifex grassland with good views of the gorge below. We descended into the gorge near the Fortescue falls and walked the track to Circular Pool where the gorge ended at a pool at the base of a waterfall. The track along the gorge was beside a barely flowing stream and there were lots of trees and pools along the way. It was an easy walk as it was generally along flat rocks and we didn’t have to get our feet wet.
While at Tom Price we drove up to the top of Mount Nameless (a stupid name) and from here got a great view of the surrounding country. In one direction was a view of the iron ore mining area and we were blown away by the size of it – HUGE doesn’t cover it. In another direction was a panorama of hills covered in spinifex grass. (photo from Mt Nameless)
You would think that by now we would have seen enough gorges but no there was still one more we wanted to explore, Hamersley Gorge. To get there involved a round trip of 150km and most of it on a gravel road. We were pleasantly surprised to find the best gravel road we have encountered for a very long time so it was an easy drive. The rock formation at Hamersley was unlike those encountered the previous two days. Here the rock shows signs of having been under great pressure and is pushed up and twisted. Easy steps took us to the bottom of the gorge where we walked up stream to find “The Grotto”. We didn’t know exactly what we were looking for and had been told we should follow the right hand side of the stream. From the pool below the falls (low ones) we made our way by scrambling over the rocks beside the falls and pools above them to an indistinct track. We followed the track for quite a way through trees, over and around rocks until we came to a large pool. A scramble around some large rocks by the pool led us to an arrow on the track, marked out in rocks, indicating that we should cross the small stream. We did this and a few metres further on we found the grotto. It was a cool pool in a big cavern with a dribble of water coming in at the far end. On the rock sides of the cavern were maiden hair ferns. We retraced out steps as far as the pools at the top of the waterfall and made out way out of the gorge by following a bit of a track then walking up a rocky spinifex covered slope to get to the top of the gorge and back to the car park. Once back at the truck we made sandwiches for our lunch and took them down to the pool to eat, while sitting in the shade of a tree. After satisfying our hunger we went for a swim. The water was a bit cooler than our swims of late but was still very nice. We got some advice from a local on how to cross the falls and get to a pool above, where there was the “spa pool”. (photo "spa pool" under waterfall) This was where a waterfall has carved a circular pool in the rock. A wriggle up a short slippery rocky slope had us in the very deep small pool with a small waterfall flowing in. It was an unusual experience to be swimming in a pool almost enclosed by rocky walls.
On leaving Tom Price our destination was Exmouth at the top of a peninsula about 1200 km north of Perth and 550km from Tom Price. To make for easy driving we had two stopovers on the way. The first of these was at a roadside rest area, a clearing in the trees near a dry river, toilets and fire pit supplied. We pulled up here and while having a late lunch the breeze picked up and with stronger gusts of wind there were clouds of red dust flying in the air. We closed off the vents on the upwind side of the caravan and hoped that the wind would die down by sunset, as is the usual pattern. We went for a wander down the dry river bed to the nearby road bridge then back through the trees and under a fence into a paddock where there was a small rocky hill that we climbed to look at the view. By the time we got back to the van the wind was abating. Swept the red dust out of the van twice while we were stopped here! Our next night we spent at Giralia Station, a sheep station of 654,000 acres that was purchased by the Conservation Department in 2002. The buildings were quite modern as most things got destroyed in 1999 when cyclone Vance came through the area. The vegetation was mostly spinifex grass with lesser areas of buffel grass. The average annual rainfall is 10 inches.
The farmland we have been travelling through is very different to what we see at home. There are no lush grasses, no topsoil instead there are rocks and stones with a random covering of spinifex, sometimes other dry looking grasses, a scattering of various types of bushes and low growing trees. Every now and then there is a recently burnt area that has a little new growth on the ground and the occasional claypan area where nothing is growing.
We are now on the coast at Exmouth. We have stopped in the town for a couple of days waiting for the school holidays to finish and the National Park camps along the ocean side of the peninsula at Ningaloo Reef to have some spaces. It is apparently a very attractive area with marine reserves and sanctuaries including a coral reef within wading/swimming distance of the shore, all backing onto a coastal National Park. We will head down there on Monday 12/10 for a few days of fishing, and snorkelling and generally not doing too much or going very far.

Blue Blue Sea

As we drove into Broome our attention was taken by the turquoise colour of the sea (Indian Ocean). We settled into a camp on the shores of Roebuck Bay and while we didn’t have a beachfront site (just one row back) we did have a nice view of the sea. It was a very short walk to take our chairs and coffee and sit in the shade of a tree to have an uninterrupted view. The view changed dramatically with the tide which varies by up to 9 metres. At full tide the sea was a brilliant blue stretching from the grassy bank as far as the eye could see but at low tide there was a kilometre or more of sand flat before the blue sea started. When we arrived we wondered why the boats were moored so far off shore but at the first low tide the reason was obvious. At the caravan park was a nice swimming beach that we used around high tide each day. We didn’t come across any stingers (jellyfish) and the locals say they don’t get crocodiles around the town beaches. When we first arrived in Broome the daytime temperatures were around 29C, which was a pleasant relief from the 38 to 39C we had been experiencing for the previous fortnight or so. As the week went on the temperatures climbed back to 38C but with a sea breeze and a refreshing sea to swim in at our door it was very nice.
A visit to Broome isn’t complete without a visit to Cable Beach (2 photos) so we went there one afternoon and had a swim (water temp 28C) and also took in a sunset at the beach. We drove down the beach and found a spot to observe the sun dip into the ocean as several trains of camels (carrying tourists) wandered by.

After about a week in Broome we travelled 150km down the coast and camped at a camping area on Barn Hill cattle station. The property has 350,000 acres and runs 8,000 head of cattle. It stretches for 85km along the coast situated between Port Hedland and Broome. With that ratio of acres to cattle it’s no surprise that we didn’t see any cattle on our 9km drive from the highway to the camping area. The camping ground was at a beautiful beach and we had a lovely view of the sea from our campsite. It was a five minute walk down a track to the beach (photo) – white sand, blue sea, interesting rocks, red cliffs, lovely shells and few other people. It was a lovely swimming spot and you didn’t need to go out very far for it to be deep enough to swim.

Having enjoyed our stay at this beach spot our next camp was further down the coast at 80 Mile Beach. Like NZ’s 90 Mile Beach the beach wasn’t as long as it’s name implied. Here the coastline was very different; a long flat beach with a low sand dune running along it’s length and behind the sand dune was very barren looking land. On the day we arrived we went out to the beach for a look and in both directions, almost as far as the eye could see, there were fishermen (and women) standing in the surf. We saw a few catching fish and saw one guy with a 700mm white threadfin salmon, a lovely fish. On seeing this we knew what we would be doing the next day, or at least trying to do! The next morning after we had been to the camp shop to buy some bait we ventured out to the sea, a 200 metre walk from the caravan. We stood about knee deep in the water and as the beach was very flat our cast didn’t end up much deeper but there were plenty of fish biting. We caught our daily limit (4 each) of blue threadfin salmon, not very big but they gave us enough fillets for 3 good meals. The sea was nice and warm so it was no problem to be standing knee deep in water and getting an occasional splash from the surf. The next day we planned to go fishing again with the hope of catching a big fish but we woke to a stiff breeze coming off the sea. Al tried a couple of casts but as his line was being washed along the beach and inshore he gave up. As the day wore on the situation didn’t improve so the idea of fishing was abandoned.
At 80 Mile we were camped with a group of people that we had met earlier on our travels. One couple we first met back in Northern Territory when we camped at Gregory National Park and three other couples we met at Derby, all four couples were on our Horizontal Falls trip. From Derby we all went to Barn Hill then 80 Mile where we met another couple, from Whangaparaoa, who we first met at Kununurra. We are all travelling in the same direction but taking different detours along the way. It will be interesting to see if and where we meet up again.

We stopped at Port Hedland for a night so we could stock up on food for our trip inland to Karijini National Park. Port Hedland is a centre for BHP Billiton’s iron ore operations and their facilities dominate the town. Ore is loaded onto ships on both sides of an inlet and a huge processing plant flanks the road into town. Everything has a rusty brown hue so it isn’t a pretty town but it did supply us with all that we needed.

Not far out of Port Hedland, on the road to Karijini, we stopped for a couple of nights at Indee Station, another cattle station that gets income on the side from tourists. The camp area was rather rustic, that is find a spot in the back yard preferably with some shade from a tree, if there is one that doesn’t have another camper there or not filled with junk (dead cars and machinery and the like). We did find a spot by a tree and were welcomed each evening by the owners who put on nibbles for the campers in their spacious breeze-way dining room, BYO drinks. While at the station we went for a drive for about 10km through the property to “Red Rock”, a large weathered granite dome in the middle of nowhere. Here there were aboriginal rock carvings and the rock had lots of hollows (photo) on its surface, two of which were deep and still held water. We spent time walking over the rock looking at it’s formation and the many rock carvings. Near the rock was a memorial to 26 people who lost their lives in 1968 when a Vickers Viscount plane crashed nearby, after a wing failed due to poor maintenance methods. The owner of the station was the first to the scene, finding no survivors. Indee Station covers 400,000 acres and runs 1,600 head of cattle (could stock up to 3,000 head) although no cattle were spotted on our drive across the station. The country is semi-arid desert and the cattle seem to survive by eating the abundant Spinifex grass and foliage from the scattered scrub.

We are currently in Karijini NP and I will post a blog about our visit here in a few days time once we get back to the coast.

Current stats: total travelled 21,316km. 14,487 of this towing the caravan. 81 campsites to date 7/10