Our day's destination was Wooramel River Retreat. This is another station campground, but this is a new venture and has only been open for four months. What a lovely peaceful place it was. They have put in all weather campsites along the river bank with fire pits dotted along. Not quite what you might expect, as they have been in drought since 2010 and the huge river is a big sandy patch. But the large river gums make for a beautiful sight. They use artesian water that comes from 300 metres down. A feature of the property are two artesian spas. This was great way to spend the afternoon, and I was quite surprised to discover I had been in there for an hour and a half. After this we lit our fire, with lots of wood available close by, and had a lovely evening sitting by it. We talked to the owner for a while, and she told us their future plans. They have just put turf lawn in near the spas and will be setting up a happy hour area with a big fire pit. Another amenities block will also be built in this area, There are also eco tents for those without their own camping gear.
Tranquil camp site by the "river"
When we got up Sunday morning, we donned our bathers for an early morning dip before leaving. How disappointed we were to discover the spas had been emptied, perhaps to be cleaned.
The empty spas
The plan for the day was easy, just 30 kilometres down the road to Gladstone Camp. But for once our plans came astray. The road in was one of those affected by the rain, and there was a big closed road sign. A quick rethink of our plans, and we continued on to Hamelin Pool, part of Shark Bay, with a side trip to a lookout on one of the few high spots in the area.
View from the lookout
By the time we had set up and had lunch, the weather was deteriorating. It was raining intermittently and the wind was increasing. We waited for the rain to ease, and walked over to see the famous stromatolites. These can only be found in two places in the world. They are micro organisms and believed to be the oldest living organisms on earth, although they really don't look any more than rocks. By this stage the wind was still increasing, and we looked at the boardwalk over the stromatolites and knew there was a good chance of getting wet. At least at that stage it wasn't cold yet. And sure enough, on the way back some of the waves did get us.
Saturday afternoon
And Sunday morning
Stromatolites - even if they do just look like rocks
We continued the loop walk which took us along the beach and then through a fascinating quarry. The beach in this area is made of up millions of tiny cockle shells, sometimes to a depth of ten metres. Over the years these have solidified into limestone, and the early settlers cut these into blocks which they used for buildings. They were fascinating and we thought would make a fantastic feature wall. Unfortunately you can't do this any more of course.
At the quarry
As it got closer to dark, the weather kept deteriorating. For the first time in many months, we ate inside the van. It was quite a wild night, but nothing compared to what we read they had further south. By Monday morning the rain had stopped and the wind eased. The tide was also out, so we ventured down for a much better look at the stromatolites. This time they were mostly out of the water, and there was no chance of any waves getting us. At the start of the boardwalk we saw a dead sea snake. It must have been washed up over night.
Dead sea snake. Notice the tail for swimming
By the time we were packed and back on the road, the weather was again taking a turn for the worst, so it was an easy decision to continue on to Denham and a caravan park with power and water. One of them was offering a pay 2, stay 3, so that was good enough for us. Once we were set up, we went for a walk around the township. It has a small supermarket, but a surprising number of eateries. I guess it is a very tourist orientated town.
After lunch it was on to Ocean Park, a very informative aquarium featuring local marine life. They have a tour guide explaining lots of interesting facts on the exhibits, and as they just keep cycling through, swapping guides every now and then, you can join the tour at any time. But of course one of the highlights was the shark feeding. Something else that fascinated us was the stone fish. No wonder they are so easy to step on, some of them we had trouble seeing even though they were pointed out.
Ugly stone fish
Shark taking the bait
After leaving there, we went to Eagle Bluff, where an impressive boardwalk has been put along the top of a cliff. In good conditions you can see straight down and see all the marine life, including sharks and dugongs in the water. But the weather was too windy and not sunny enough. Maybe we will try another day if the weather improves.
Before heading back, we drove further out, driving in to a lot of the beaches to inspect the camping areas there. They have a 24 hour limit and we are thinking of stopping at one on our way out.
Tuesday we left early and spent the whole day at Francois Peron National Park. After the first 7 kilometres to the old homestead, the rest of the park is 4WD only, many of these very sandy tracks. We headed to the very top, Cape Peron, first. This is where the warm waters meet the cold and can produce strong currents, so no swimming anywhere near here. We took the 3 kilometre return walk to Skipjack Point, looking down into the clear water from the cliffs above. When we got to the Skipjack Point Lookout, we were amazed how clearly we could see mantra rays, sharks and turtles.
Track through the National Park
Heading upwards on our walk
The cormorants that the walk is named for
View to Skipjack Point from the walk
On the way back to the car, I got my wish for the day, as there, right in the middle of the path, was a Thorny Devil. He thought he was so well camouflaged that he didn't move at all, even when Jim had the camera about 40 centremetres from him. Such a remarkable looking creature. Soon after we saw a small bearded dragon and back near the homestead was a goana. Lots of wildlife for the day.
Our Thorny Devil
Backtracking, we drove into all the campground/day areas, and eventually stopped at South Gregories for lunch and for Jim to try his fishing rod. No luck, so after about an hour we decided to head on and look at Herald Bight on the other side, especially as it sounded like that side was more sheltered from the winds. Big mistake. The track just ended in super soft grey sand. No warning, no where else to go. So we tried to do what it appeared previous tyre tracks had done, and loop out. He got about two thirds around, and could go no further. Lucky we always have the shovel on the roof, so Jim got out and shovelled the sand from in front of the tyres. Another metre or so was obtained and we sunk again. This continued for about three times until we finally hit harder sand. While this was going on, I was standing outside listening to the mosquitos buzzing my ears, so as soon as he hit the firmer ground, I yelled out to just keep going, and got back in once he was back on the track. We won't be marking that one as a future campground, although we couldn't even see where the campground was. I assume somewhere along the beach as there were no signs.
Our final stop for the day, after reinflating the tyres at the compressors they have very nicely installed, was at the Homestead. Most of the National Parks seem to have been previous homesteads. This one had a bonus, an artesian bath. On with the bathers, but we found it just a bit too hot, and couldn't stay in for too long at a time. But it was a nice way to finish the day.
Wednesday it was time to see one of the reasons this area is a tourist mecca, so it was off to Monkey Mia. We were lucky to see the final dolphin feeding of the day, and found the experience better than we were expecting as the guide gave quite a lot of interesting information about the dolphins and what they have learnt in the 40 years that dolphins have been interacting with people in the bay.
Monkey Mia dolphins
After the dolphins went their way as soon as the fish buckets were empty, we walked out on the jetty and spotted a turtle right next to us.
Apart from the dolphins, there really isn't a lot to Monkey Mia, so we were gone by lunchtime. We stopped at the pretty Little Lagoon on the way back, and a little further on we had lunch at a viewing area where the channel to Little Lagoon comes in. After we got back to the van, Jim happily packed his fishing gear while I sorted the washing and shopped for supplies as we won't have any shops for a few days.
Dinner was a social occasion with the park putting on a sausage sizzle with the proceeds going to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
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