Our drive to Coral Bay was uneventful, other than we commented on the landscape over the 160kms and its similarities to the Yorkshire moors. It was rather surprising! We set up camp with the intention of staying 3 days. What a magical little part of the Western Australian Coastline this is! Coral Bay beach is very protected from any wind, and with the outer reef doing its job of holding back big seas, the whole wider bay, known as Maud Sanctuary Zone, is accessible for snorkelling, kayaking and swimming.

Looking across Coral Bay

The whole bay is full of coral and fish life, its a marine wonder- land. Walking straight off the beach and into snorkelling crystal clear water with around 250 species of coral and 500 species of fish is fabulous. Needless to say we spent a lot of time in the water, between swimming and snorkelling.

On our second day the weather was perfect – sunny skies (what’s new there!) and no wind – so we set off early, hired a double sea kayak, donned wetsuits, and along with our snorkel gear headed for the outer reef. We had come here for some serious stuff so we needed to take action. The kayak company has a number of moorings along the inside of the reef, so we were able to go to different spots to snorkel. Because it was so calm, the water was like glass and it was quite incredible paddling along looking down at amazing corals and all sorts of colourful fish. It was just like being in the water with them. Of course we ‘gracefully’ slid off the side of the kayak into the water to snorkel. The depth was between 3 and 8 or 9 metres, and wow, this was an excellent snorkel experience. Whilst the corals are not as colourful as some we have seen, the sizes and types of different corals was staggering, and again there was an abundance of colourful fish life from very tiny to sizeable. we had a great time. Climbing back on board was a bit clumsy, but hey, no one could see us! Off to the next spot! This was great fun. On our next snorkel we played chasey with a turtle, that lead us on a very complicated and intricate dance. From above it must have looked very comical as we went in all directions alongside this beautiful creature. After almost three hours we thought we had seen a lot, and although the water is relatively warm, its not tropical and we were a little cool despite the 30 degree air temperature. So we called it quits for the day, spending the afternoon at the beach swimming.

If you have a keen eye, here’s the afternoon’s entertainment – aerobatic planes

We certainly enjoyed snorkelling at Coral Bay, and being able to literally step into deep water (3m plus) from the shore, and fin out a short distance to an underwater garden is incredible.

Coral Bay is also known for its manta-ray population. It isn’t easy to get to see these majestic ballet dancers of the sea, and yes we scored a bulls eye! Three metres from the shoreline in the shallows, playing for an hour, how good is that. We sat above on a 4m cliff, watching a magical performance in 1 metre of water. One step better would have to have been in the water, but that wasn’t to be.

It was so nice here we stayed 5 days, changing parks after 2 days to the ‘best spot in town’, with water views and the beach straight over the road in front of us.

The views a bit hard to take!

We also enjoyed bike riding and beach walks between Coral Bay and the little boat harbour. And, we got to see the second Bledisloe Test, with the Kiwis whipping the Aussies 51 to 20. Steve was very happy, Jane not so happy….yes I am the renegade kiwi that supports the Wallabies.

From Coral Bay our next stop has been Carnarvon. Carnarvon is known for 2 key things – firstly it supplies 70% of WAs winter vegetable requirements, and secondly Carnarvon’s Earth Tracking Station was built in conjunction with NASA in 1966 as a satellite communications and tracking station,

I’m a bit dated but I still stand tall – The OTC Dish

which was involved in the Apollo space missions – it was closed in 1987 after assisting in tracking Halley’s Comet.

Looking back along the jetty to land

Historically and of interest is the town’s one mile jetty built in 1897 to transport wool and livestock. It was used until 1966, and today it is largely original timbers that are progressively being preserved. There is a very active trawler fleet here, with a number of different fishing companies operating rather healthily. There does appear to be a very good sense of community, with a real mix of those involved in horticulture, those in fisheries, and those in local businesses supporting tourism and the townspeople. This is the only town (population 8,500) between Port Hedland and Geraldton, so when traveling its a pit stop for supplies and any maintenance work required.

Yesterday, taking a different approach I did the town tour by bike – so 26kms later, plus walking the jetty, I had seen everything that was of interest. Steve took the other option…..the car.

Today we spent the day at Quobba, 70kms by road, and north of here. Quobba is renowned in the area for its blowholes, its marine reserve and its waterfront camping, courtesy of Quobba station. When its a bit windy like today, swimming and snorkelling the marine reserve (inside a fringing reef) are sadly a no go.

The seas rushing into the bay….no swimming today

I was really disappointed we couldn’t get in the water, however the water displays made up for it. With 3 metre swells crashing into the small cliffs just north of the beach, the blow holes were performing and 20m plus water plumes billowing into the air and over the cliffs and rocks were quite spectacular to watch. We did get close but not too close because there are ‘king waves’ that appear from nowhere and envelop the rocks and everything in their path. Hopefully these couple of photos provide a sense of the scale and volume of water thrown into the air.

Crashing waves at Quobba

I wasn’t running away from this one – that came later!

Tomorrow we head south again, toward Denham, Shark Bay and Monkey Mia. We expect to spend a week or two in this area – we are getting closer to Perth and don’t want to get there too soon and leave behind the warm weather.

As we drove out of the camp ground this morning and came toward the town of Exmouth it struck me just what an area of great contrasts this is. On a number of evenings we drove up to the Light House to enjoy a glass of wine and watch the sun set over the sea, whilst looking out on whales frolicking along the outside of the reef. The beautiful colours of the reef sparkle in the evening sunlight. Then, right out in the distance, on the horizon are 4 oil rigs. As the sun sets the lights become obvious as do the flames. Further to the north west and what can’t be seen is Barrow Island, a significant LNG plant operated by Chevron, processing 15 million tonnes pa. This is known as the Gorgon Project, with FIFO workers flying in from all around Australia, including Exmouth.

At night time there are a number of very attractive red lights on the skyline to the north. We could see these from our bedroom window every evening. This is a key Defence installation, jointly operated with our big brother the USA, to track submarine operations around key parts of the globe. Its known as the HAARP facility. These are part of the naval Harold Holt Facility, which provides very low frequency radio transmissions to the US and Australian navy ships and submarines in the Western Pacific and Eastern Indian Ocean.

Then there’s the RAAF Learmonth base, a bare base, with a number of large hangars and as a bare base, no air force units are based here, other than a small caretaker team. The base also has an air weapons range attached to it.

So, yes, the township is more recent, established to support defence operations, specifically the Harold Holt facility in the late 60s. Today there is more development including a marina and canal homes, to house the FIFO workers and expected growth.

Interesting isn’t it that these major and controversial developments and projects live alongside the sensitive and beautiful Ningaloo Reef. Imagine, just one environment incident could destroy this finely tuned marine environment. It doesn’t bare thinking about! Farewell Exmouth.

Farewell Exmouth

And, welcome Coral Bay

Beautiful Coral Bay

We have spent 8 stunning days at the Ningaloo Lighthouse Caravan Park, on the edge of the Ningaloo Reef and the National Park. It’s not hard to watch the sun rise each morning, creating pink and orange over the horizon, followed by clear blue skies each day, and then watching the sun set over the sea, again with stunning colours of reds and oranges, from Ningaloo Lighthouse.

Sun setting over the Lighthouse……view from ‘The Tent’

We have enjoyed daily swims in warm waters, amazing snorkelling over coral reefs full of sea life, and the occasional visit to Exmouth to stock up and sort out a few chores. In fact we don’t even have to leave home base to enjoy the wildlife. There are many emus in the area and babies are hatching….so its not uncommon to be sitting outside with a coffee and have dad (yes mum takes off once they are born and dad brings them up) and two tiny little ones wandering by.

The Ningaloo Reef Marine Park is world renowned for its wondrous sea life, in particular the whale shark. Unfortunately we are too late for whale shark season, so we have to ‘put up with’ large numbers of hump back whales (lots of pairs of mum and bub), dugong, stingray, dolphins, sea snakes and hundreds of different types of colourful fish. Life isn’t too tough! The best snorkel sites include beautiful Turquoise Bay (in my last blog, there was a photo of Steve sitting on the sand at Turquoise Bay, it is quite stunning),

Just a reminder of the delights of Turquoise Bay

the Oyster Stacks and Lakeside. We visited both Turquoise Bay and Lakeside and have to say that Lakeside is one of the best snorkels we have ever done – it is superior to the Barrier Reef (including Lizard Island), Tahiti and Aitutaki. The prolific and inquisitive fish life was quite astonishing. And it is quite remarkable to be at a quality dive/snorkel site and be the only ones there! Because the area has massive rains in April, you now have to walk through an ‘inlet’ to get there, and this can only be done at low tide. We tried at high tide and it wasn’t a success!

There’s another site we spent a whole day at, South Manlu. This isn’t publicised as a key snorkelling site,  yet it has some of the best and most colourful corals we have ever seen, in all shapes and sizes, and again an incredible number and range of fish life – including reef sharks! It was quite stunning.

The tidal flow on the reef is quite strong so when snorkelling here the technique is about ‘drifting’. You go further along the beach and then drift down to the area that you want to finish at. It certainly takes a lot of the effort out of it!

Our other favourite activity here was flying over the reef in a microlite. We had to wait for the right conditions and that was yesterday. Thankfully we knew from forecasts to book for Monday afternoon, and on cue the winds were right and it was another magic day. Off we went to the small aircraft airport for our briefing and Trainee Pilot Lesson before donning our flying suits (similar to a diving dry suit), putting on our helmets and gloves and climbing on board. I went with Tony and Steve with the very skilful 33 year old effervescent dreadlock business owner Gavin, who has 3000 hours under his belt….he started when he was 12, his father was a pilot. The flight goes from the airport over the ranges and over to the reef.

Steve with Gavin, over Ningaloo Reef

There were just a few fluffies over the range, and Steve and Gavin went over them and we went under them. Once over the reef we swooped and circled, watching hump back whales breeching and cruising alongside the reef, dugong feeding inside the reef, lots of stingrays, sharks, dolphins and sea snakes. The colours are just beautiful – light and deep turquoises and blues, water sparkling in the sunlight. Down at 500m the reef comes to life. After spotting and lots of ooohs and ahhs, it was time to return across the ranges, back over Exmouth and back to base. Steve couldn’t resist it, and pilot Gavin, who is so competent was keen…..it was time for Steve to take the controls. Yes the ex-pilot took the controls and flew back from the coast toward the airport before Gavin cut the motor and glided back down to land. Tony and I watched and flew in behind….but there were no motors cut. The microlite I was in wasn’t as powerful and nor was the pilot as experienced (albeit he is very competent and I was totally relaxed the whole time). Wow, what a blast! This is a must do. If you can’t swim with the whale sharks then this has to be the other absolute must.

Two microlites in flight over Exmouth – Steve in front and Jane below

We have really enjoyed our time here, and now its time to head just a little further south to the bottom end of the reef, to Coral Bay….for more snorkelling in warm waters. Okay, someone has to do it!

Last Thursday we left Port Hedland nice and early, heading for Karijini National Park. Because the road we travelled connects Port Hedland to Newman we knew we should expect lots of road trains commuting between the Port and the mine site. So, as you do, we decided to count the oncoming road trains and work out how many we passed each hour…..it was one every two minutes. So combine this with those in front of and behind us, and yes, it’s more than one a minute. Quite astounding, a very busy road. We were also fascinated by the number of dead cows on the side of the road – because many stations are not fenced due to cost, they risk loosing stock on the roads. Over 200kms there must have been at least 40 carcases, worth close to $40,000….a huge loss for the station owners!

Our first stop was at Albert Tognolini free camp, just off the highway and at the side of the national park. What a delightful stopover. We arrived before noon, and had a relaxing afternoon and evening enjoying stunning views across the hills and escarpments. It wasn’t too hard to handle.

The view down to the highway from Albert Tognolini free camp area

Camping areas are well spaced so that no one needs to even be aware of their neighbours. Early afternoon we went for a walk and on our return were confronted by what looked like a road train coming up the hill…..and then it parked in the same area as us. We learned that this was indeed a camper, built in a semi trailer, owned by a lovely QLD couple Alan and Linda. Its amazing the range and scale of buses and campers we meet on the road!

This huge semi trailer is actually a camper!

On Friday we ventured into Karijini to Dales camp ground. Thankfully this is a national park camp that is at the end of a sealed road. We were so lucky! There is an area that is designated for coaches (tourist version) and because there were none due for 5 days we were able to park here, a separate area from the rest of the camp ground. The sites are huge and well spaced, there are dedicated b’bcues and toilets and it is quiet. This was a fantastic spot, so much so we extended from 2 to 3 nights.

There are a number of gorges in Karijini and with 3 days we wanted to walk as many as we could. Karijini was formed over 2500 million years ago as iron and silica-rich sediment deposits accumulated on an ancient sea floor. When you drive into the park its easy to question ‘where are these gorges?’, because the landscape doesn’t look like there could be any! Small creek beds are hidden in the rolling hillsides, suddenly plunging down 100 metre chasms. These gorges become wider, with sheer cliffs changing to steep slopes of loose rock dropping down to dramatic waterfalls and clear fresh pools. Quite simply they are amazing. On Friday afternoon we walked to Dales Gorge, home of the Fortescue Falls, the Fern Pool and the Circular Pool.

Looking down on Fortescue Falls

We walked down to the Falls which are quite beautiful and after soaking up the atmosphere walked 300m along to the Fern Pool. Wow, this is a glorious and large fresh water pool at the bottom of low falls, surrounded by ferns and trees creating a tranquil oasis that is hidden away from the main event. We just had to have a swim despite the fresh cool water! It was beautiful, but just a little fresh. I wonder why we were the only ones in the water!

The Fern Pool

Following a light lunch, it was down into the gorge, to walk through to the Circular Pool, a kilometre downstream. After a scramble back up the cliff face, and a stroll back to base, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, planning our jaunts of the next two days.

Over the next 2 days we visited and conquered Knox. Joffre, Hancock, Weano and Kalamina Gorges. The first four of these are class 5 trails – that is difficult with a high degree of fitness required….we must be fitter than we thought! Each gorge has its own beauty. Knox has a very steep descent, with lots of loose scree, and the meandering waters and pools in the gorge lead to a narrow pool at the end that is just made for skinny dipping.

The bottom end of Knox Gorge

There was no one else there so I just had to jump in! Brrrhh, it was a bit chilly.

Hancock has the crazy spider walk, leading to Kermits Pool.

Jane doing the spider walk in Hancock Gorge

We had heard about this gorge. Its a rapid descent into the gorge, followed by thigh high pool crossings, that lead to the spider walk through a 50m very narrow water filled chasm, cliff climbing using small hand and foot holds, ending at Kermits Pool. We were a bit sceptical about the spider walk – could we do it? Yes we could! Our muscles had a good workout, and despite being a little wet we had big smiles on our faces as we climbed back out of the gorge on to our next venture, mastering Weano Gorge. Weano Gorge is deceptive, it is an easy climb down to the gorge itself, and you can take a relatively easy walk through the gorge, or you can tackle more water, clamber along rock faces using tiny hand and foot holds, and then gingerly walk along very smooth rock to the Handrail Pool – which is a deep pool reached by climbing down rock steps, straddling the handrail.

Jane climbing down to the Handrail Pool

And it doesn’t end there. If you are brave enough, it’s into the icy cold water for a swim through a long and narrow chasm to another pool. Fantastic but cold!  And then you have to get back again and climb the rock face back out of the gorge. And yes we didn’t take the easy option! Phew, lots of energy expended but so much fun!

Our last day at Karijini was light in comparison to the earlier days, with just a walk through the Kalamina  Gorge. We knew it would be a little easier given it’s a class 4 trail. Down the escarpment to the gorge floor, the walk criss crosses the bubbling waters of the streams, and there are only a couple of scrambles along rock faces, before arriving at the pool at the end of the gorge.

Steve taking a photo before climbing through ‘the window’ at Kalamina Gorge

To get to the swimming pool there is a cliff climb through a ‘window’. We didn’t swim, choosing rather to enjoy the scenery and peace and quiet of the morning. We had the gorge to ourselves for most of the walk. Unfortunately on our way back to camp we got a puncture, and Mr McGiver had to get his tools out and make a swift change back at base.

It was hard to leave the scenic beauty of Karijini, which had been a real surprise to us and it’s clear that it’s not well publicised. We wouldn’t have detoured to the park if it wasn’t for fellow travellers who shared their experiences and noted it as a must visit destination.

On Monday morning we hit the road, with our first stop of the day planned for Tom Price, a Rio Tinto mining town that was established in the early 1960s when iron ore was discovered by the American Tom Price. We needed to get our Suzuki puncture fixed and were lucky enough to get it done straight away at the first place we tried. After a quick look around we hit the road again. Some 400kms later we stopped for the day, and travelled the last 200kms on Tuesday morning. Now I have a confession to make. As the chief navigator it’s my responsibility to book camp grounds when we choose to stay in them. I duly met my responsibilities for Exmouth and booked the camp ground…..but it was the wrong one. We rocked up to the Ningaloo Lighthouse Caravan Park to be told we had no booking. Not good! And the driver wasn’t too happy. So some quick footwork and conversation and thankfully we had everything sorted and have booked for a week here. We’re in the overflow area in the best spot, with beach and sea views and our own amenity block….and there’s just us and one other van! How good can it get. We have a whole week to play in this world heritage area that offers snorkelling on the reef, swimming with whale sharks and beautiful clear waters for swimming. What a week! And here’s a wee tempter….

Steve enjoying the tranquillity of Turquoise Bay, Ningaloo Reef, this afternoon

We originally planned to leave Broome last Thursday, however we had to wait until Friday for mail to arrive and with friends Rod and Dearne ‘in town’ we made the decision to stay until Saturday morning. It wasn’t too hard a decision given the company, the sunshine and lovely beach for swimming. We had a very social few days, joining Rod and Dearne and their friends Lyn and Bruce from the east coast for lunch on Wednesday, dinner out on Thursday at a local restaurant and again on Friday night at the Broome fishing club.

Rod, Dearne, Lyn, Steve, Jane and Bruce enjoying a wine watching sunset in Broome

We could have become quite accustomed to this lifestyle and the good company however after almost 3 weeks we opted to head south on Saturday morning.

We weren’t quite sure where we would be at the end of the day because both places we wanted to visit meant taking red dirt and corrugated roads, which are not ideal for ‘The Tent’. Barn Hill was the first consideration, some 130kms, a relatively short trip. We had made the decision we would park the bus and take the car down the 9km road and see what we thought. Five minutes after setting off Steve met 3 caravans on their way out and the verdict was ‘you’ll eat it if you take it slow’. So that’s what we did. The road was manageable driven at 20kmphr and being vigilant. We weren’t sure what to expect, other than what friends Therese and Kerry had told us how lovely the beach was….and we weren’t disappointed! Barn Hill is a 450,000 acre cattle station along the coast between Broome and 80 Mile Beach. It is quite an isolated camp, with a truly magnificent beach overlooked by rugged red rocks and cliffs .

Enjoying the deserted beach at Barn Hill

The camp ground overlooks the beach and out to sea.

Sunset over the sea, from ‘The Tent’, Barn Hill

We are convinced we had the best spot in the park with stunning views right along the beach and back up to Broome, so it was easy to make the decision to stay for 3 nights. Many beach walks and swims were enjoyed.

Unusual rock formations at Barn Hill

Being able to walk the beach with no one else in sight is quite something given there were several hundred campers at the station. Yet it is certainly possible. For a less commercial caravan park that isn’t expensive they make a real effort, providing a very cost effective 3 course meal and entertainment on a Sunday evening, which we very much enjoyed.

On Tuesday we hit the road again. We had planned to go to 80 Mile Beach, however it was very windy and forecast to be today also, and we didn’t fancy being battered by sand and red dust, so headed on toward Port Hedland, making an overnight stop at Pardoo on the way and arriving here mid morning today. At Pardoo we met a fellow kiwi (John an extremely fit 62 year old) who is riding his pushbike from Darwin to Perth in less than 10 weeks because he needed a challenge! And amazingly he works for the philanthropist Julian Robertson in NZ, and as some of you may know my brother is Julian’s CEO. And John’s sister lives at Oneroa, his brother lives at Whangaparaoa and he lives at Havelock North near Napier. He is also a keen sailor and a member of the Napier yacht club and Steve was a member in 1973. The coincidences were amazing.

We originally thought we might spend two nights in Port Hedland……but have revised this to just the one. Port Hedland is a mining town that services the local mines and port activities. There are 3 main areas which are typically referred to as Port Hedland. There is the port itself incorporating the city and beach suburbs (Port Hedland); South Portland which is residential; and Wedgefield which caters for light industry.  Port Hedland is one of the world’s largest and busiest working harbours with a 24×7 shipping operation moving over 158 million tonnes a year, and $100 million in daily iron ore. It was really interesting to see the port activities and just how incredibly busy it is, however other than the port, rail yards and salt works there really isn’t a lot to see – its very industrial, and of course strategically very important to Australia’s economy.

Rio Tinto’s Minerals – salt works in Port Hedland

This is though an expensive place to live, and there isn’t a lot on offer for visitors. The camp grounds are geared for miners and are over priced. So once we had watched port operations, we toured Port Hedland, enjoyed a bite to eat at the historic Esplanade Hotel, stocked up, finalised our chores and said ‘let’s hit the road tomorrow morning for Karijini National Park’. So tomorrow we hit the road again for the next adventure.