Carnarvon

It was with reluctance that we left Coral Bay Thursday morning.  It is certainly a great holiday destination and there was a lot we didn't see and more time snorkelling in that coral would have been wonderful.  But as we couldn't get the same site for two nights, packing up only seemed worthwhile if we were moving on. 

The next destination was not very far, in fact only about 15 k's as the crow flies, but around 40 by road.  A lot of the Western Australia coast is on large leased stations, and we have already stayed at quite a few that have a side income from camping.  Warroora Station is probably one of the dearer at $10 a head a night for what they give (which was a absolutely nothing) but it was also probably one of the most spectacular beaches we have stopped at.  To be able to camp on pure white sand, only ten to fifteen metres from the most beautiful coloured water with waves crashing on the reef further out, is indeed a treat.  Our original one night quickly turned to two.  There are a number of camping areas on the station, but our choice was Fourteen Mile Camp.  Our luck with good sites continues to hold, as we got a prime spot right at the beginning of the camp.  Late comers would have been over the back in the sand dunes, nowhere near as lovely.

Look at that beautiful white sand

Our campsite in the evening light

All the other campers lined up along the beach at Warroora

There was about eleven kilometres of rough road to get in to the campsite, and I was getting the - where are you taking me - look from Jim.  But one look at that beach and all was forgiven.  Of course in no time at all he had his lines in the water.  He got a lot of good bites, and just after dark something very big took his line and he had it on the edge of the water when it got away.  I was heading down with a torch but got there too late, so we don't know what it was that got away.  He did catch a number of Long Toms, similar to a garfish.  We cooked these whole and they were very tasty when you were careful to remove the flesh from the bones first.

Our Long Toms

We got a bit of a bonus while camping there.  The campers before us were going to be devastated when they stopped for morning tea as they had left a lovely aluminium whistling kettle on the firepit there.  Oh well, good win for us.

It was tempting to stay, but we opted to move on to Carnarvon where we were able to hook onto power and water, the first time for quite a while.  Many of the recent caravan parks, such as Coral Bay, suggested not hooking up to their brackish bore water.  Good water is hard to come by, and it was especially nice at Carnarvon not to find the white marks from the bore water over everything after you have cleaned.  The signs going out of town bring it home a little.  Heading north a sign warns there is limited water for over 600 kilometres, and heading south over 400, and to ensure you get water at Carnarvon.

The water situation at Carnarvon is extremely interesting.  The town is on the Gascoyne River, a huge sandy tract that rarely has water in it.  But underneath are huge aquifers that supply the town as well as the flourishing fruit and vegetable industry.

Once we had the van set up, it was time for some restocking of the pantry and a bit of exploration of the area.  We went to Pelican Point and also called into the old jetty.  We opted not to go on the jetty itself (a bit pricey really) but in the cafe area was a very interesting display and museum area.  Again we have found more WWII history.  Near Carnarvon was where the HMAS Sydney went down with all 645 crew after engaging with a German boat.  The German boat also sank, but some did survive and made their way to shore near here.

Saturday evening we joined happy hour at the caravan park.  Apart from giving a good discount for seniors, they put on a free sausage sizzle on Saturday nights.  That was dinner taken care of. 

Sunday morning Jim tried out the area near the jetty for fish while I spent the morning doing another thorough clean of the van.  That red dust just keeps getting in, but it was nice to have power to run my vacuum and steamer and good water that didn't leave marks. 

Sunday afternoon was a very enjoyable treat as we took the north and south river roads, visiting some of the plantations open to the public.  I think I read that the area has 176 fruit and vegetable plantations.  I am unsure why they are referred to as plantations in this area.

I very much enjoyed purchasing the lovely fresh produce after finding it left wanting in many of the places further north.  And it was so cheap.  Beans, capsicum, tomato, brocolli, button squash and corn were just some of my purchases.  Our last stop was the best, home made icecream and jams and chutneys.  Yumm.

After eating our icecreams (passionfruit for Jim and choc mango for me) we still had time to venture a little further to look at the historic Bibbawarra bore and then Maboolya Beach.

What is left of Bibbawarra bore

Part of our explorations on Monday included a visit to the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum.  The telescopes at Carnarvon paid a big part in the US space exploration and moon landings.  The official opening of the museum in 2012 had Buzz Aldrin in attendance.  This month at the official opening of the new extension, Australia's only astronaut will be there.  Quite a big thing for a little town.

The new dishes

View from the satellite dish of some of the local plantations

The satellite dish

On Tuesday morning we drove south to have a look at the free camps on the beach, around 40 k's from Carnarvon.  As usual, we were quite surprised at how many people are prepared to stay for weeks on end because it is free to do so.  It was low tide, but it certainly didn't seem that wonderful a beach to stay at.  We decided we were happier with our low cost powered site. The afternoon was again spent fishing, this time a tailor for dinner was the outcome.

Wednesday morning it was pack up time again, and a 70 k trip north to Quobba Point.  We thought about a day trip, but decided it would be more worthwhile to be camped here to appreciate the area more.  Obviously peak season has now passed as we had no problem finding a good spot not far from the water.  And it is beautiful water, lovely colour but a bit rough perhaps for swimming.  But just up a little further is a sheltered lagoon with heaps of fish in the shallow reef.  This is also a popular snorkelling spot.  We walked along the edges at low tide, and the reef and fish are easy to see. 

We drove back out to the Blowholes.  These were a magnificent sight, with a huge stream of water periodically roaring upwards.  You could tell when a big one was coming by what sounded like a train racing through a tunnel.  On the way back we walked out near the point, which is also the other side of the lagoon.  From this higher vantage point the huge fish could be seen swimming beneath us.  Understandably this reef area is a fish sanctuary.

What a coastline

There she blows

Where we are camped is just outside the sanctuary, and of course Jim was down with his rod as soon as we got back.  Lucky I had dinner organised as what he caught was too small.

Thursday morning we were woken to a sound we hadn't heard for a long time - rain on the rooftop. It was only light and didn't stop us from exploring further north up the coastline.  This part of the coast is amazing and so different to where we have come from.  There are towering cliffs and rock ledges, with mighty waves working on breaking them down.  Interestingly in a number of places we drove in to, there were plaques asking was fishing from the rocks worth the risk, and then listing those who had died in that particular spot.  Quite confronting to see the numbers.

Ten kilometres from our camp is Quobba Station.  This has camping and accommodation and is supposed to have a nice beach area with snorkelling.  As we had to drive past the camp area, we couldn't really see the beach.  Quobba and Red Bluff, another 60 kilometres up the coast are part of the same station and used to be very popular winter hideaways for those from down south.  However, like many WA stations, they have recently increased their prices by a huge margin, and campers have left them in droves.  We met people who had been coming there for years, but went elsewhere this year.  Driving past there appeared to be very few camping in there.  Interestingly, I looked at their website some weeks ago, and the quoted price was $20 a head, but this week I noticed it now says $15. 

There was some beautiful scenery heading north from Quobba Station, but soon after the road went inland and we lost our views.  I was intrigued by a huge intersection in the middle of our dirt track.  It was sealed with flashing lights and stop signs.  It is a major road from the local salt mines out to the point where they load the ships. 

The intersection in the middle of nowhere

Our next stop, Garth Rock, gave us great views of this.  I was amazed at how high this cliff was and looking down the other side we could see the wreck of the Korean Star.  We could see a track leading down to this and heading back out we were able to find the track. There is little left of the wreck now. The remains sit on a rock shelf and beside it was another of the plaques to lost fishermen.  Two died here on the same day. 

View from Garth Rock

The ground at Garth Rock - it looked like a man made mosaic floor

What is left of the Korean Star

The day remained overcast with occasional showers, and we even lit a fire.  However, it did stop us from doing the snorkelling we had planned on. Early in the afternoon the rain came down heavier, and we hoped it was washing some of that red dust of the roof.

Another one of our sunsets, but this time with clouds

Friday we headed back to Carnarvon to the same caravan park so that we could restock, rewater etc.  I couldn't resist revisiting the fruit and vegetable plantations.