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Published: November 25th 2006
Back on dry land we bid farewell to the Pelicans and drove solid until sundown to the Overlander Roadhouse back on the Great North Western Highway 1. As the rich sun faded the beautiful Milky Way came into view for a dazzling 15 minutes before the Moon took over lighting duties in the East and we were struck by an amazing sense of our location on a planet which is spinning on its axis. With another hefty drive ahead we awoke and continued our way north through Carnarvon and the bone dry river Gascoyne and past hundreds of dead kangaroos being devoured by crows and the odd large eagle. To much jubilation, we actually drove across the Tropic of Capricorn on the way and posed for a memorable snap with our hippy wagon. Chugging on we rolled into the high sand dunes and tiny town of Coral Bay and immediately on arrival were approached by a dreadlocked traveller assuming by our van that we were Cheech and Chong! He left disappointed of course but I suppose it had to happen somewhere!
It being school holidays when we arrived in
Coral Bay, the place was jam packed but we managed to
Just straight on yeah?
Chasing Horizons on the West Coastgrab one of the last powered sites at Bayview and immediately hired two snorkel and flipper sets and headed round the bay to check out the Southern tip of the magnificent Ningaloo Reef. Wading into a shallow sand bar just 20 metres from the beach the sand dropped away to about 8 metres and the beginnings of dead coral were surrounded by large blue fish. Further out still the water teamed with the most incredibly coloured fish and the coral began to come alive with bright colours. Butterfly fish, Emperor Angelfish, Gropers, Moorish Idols, Hump headed Wrasse, Coral Cod, Barred Long toms to name but a few swam around us on all sides including our favourite the White barred Triggerfish. Now out about 100m from the shore we swam above and through the most breathtaking coloured coral of all different shapes and sizes. Some like giant cabbages and some like vast forests of leafless trees tipped with the most vivid purples and blues. Turning to come back to shore we spotted a large Green Turtle and spent some time diving and swimming alongside as it gracefully flapped past. Shortly after we were enveloped in a huge shoal of Rainbow Cod
Echidna
Alone with the Platypus as the worlds only egg laying mammal. and were wrapped up in a different world. Turning at the sight of a flash of dark I was faced with an equally startled White tip reef Shark some 1.5 metres long. It took a few minutes to decide whether to tell Claire about it but once informed we both briskly swam inshore only to be sidetracked by another Turtle... it’s a hard life.
After an enjoyable evening cooking in the communal kitchen and chatting to several holidaying Aussies we hired the snorkels for another half day in the morning having been so blown away by the experience the day before. Equally as spectacular as the day before on this occasion we also caught sightings of 2 huge Blue Angelfish, a blue spotted stingray and a beautiful Bull Ray in the shallows. After another incredible half day snorkelling what must be one of the most spectacular and accessible coral reefs in the world we set off again past hundreds of tall termite mounds for an hour and half drive north to
Exmouth. After stepping outside with flocks of squawking cockatiels and into the noticeably hotter air, we stopped in at the Information Centre, hired some more snorkel gear before
continuing up and round the peninsular to the
Cape Range National Park.
Dropping our entrance fee in the unmanned post box we cruised past yet deeper red termite mounds before reaching Neds Camp, a series of beachside plots maintained by a couple in their eighties by the names of Norm and Gwen. When we arrived they were in the process of packing up before returning to their home in Perth having spent the previous 6 months as camp hosts living out of their caravan; something they have done every year for the last 17! Despite the leathery skin from many years of sun exposure Norm and Gwen were a lovely couple and even assisted in securing the best plot in the camp at the expense of two dithering German girls who had driven off to find another camp as the plot failed to have both shaded area and a personal picnic table. When they returned a moment later without success elsewhere, they were swiftly sent packing by Norm who declared them as winging pommes. Confused that he thought we were not Pommes, we parked up and were immediately invited to a Happy Hour at the communal bench where we
met about 10 other campers and discussed our travels as the sun went down. One couple in particular had spent the last year and a half travelling around Australia in their motor home and expected it to take a further 2 until they returned to Queensland!
Cooking up some dinner under the starry sky we were awoken during the night by what sounded like Kangaroos sniffing and scratching around the back our van. Drifting back to sleep we were then woken by a different animal only this time it was definitely inside and rustling through our rubbish bags. Having seen tracks outside, Claire became convinced that a snake had slithered up the plughole and so made me get out and open the back to remove it. If it was a snake that would be a ridiculous thing to do of course but after opening the back and prodding lamely I failed to find anything. Minutes later the rustling began again and I sneaked out and quickly pulled the boot up to find a mouse munching on our loaf of bread before scurrying away! Twice more we were woken up by mice but by that time we couldn't be bothered
to do anything about it.
The next morning we awoke to cloudy skies and after the mice incident decided to book into the Lakeside camp just a short drive south for the following night. Saying our goodbyes to Gwen and Norm we arrived in Lakeside and walked along the stunning beach just 50 metres away. This being another recommended site, we donned our snorkel gear and swam out towards a series of dark patches in the water. The patches were of course Coral or bombies and unlike Coral Bay the water was full of huge Orange brain coral and Blobs of fire coral the size of a hatchback. Snorkeling a loop round the reef we saw another spotted Stingray, a puffer fish and the highlight, a huge swirling shoal of 2 foot blue fish which we thrillingly swam amongst for some time before realising that they were probably huddling in a group to keep safe from something much larger! After a recommendation, we drove down the coast a further 5km or so to Oyster Stacks, a long thin stretch of bright turquoise shallows where we stepped out over jagged rocks to see incredible bright purple starfish and purple brain
Norm and Gwen
leathery but lovely coral surrounded by hundreds of Convict Sturgeon, Buffalo Bream, Moorish Idols, rainbow Cod and Giant Clams. Now shrivelled beyond belief and feeling like our lips were about the drop off after so much snorkeling we spent the afternoon at
Turquoise Bay lying in the sun, swimming in the ice blue water, walking out on white sand bars and generally discussing how it just might be the most amazing beach we have ever been to.
Australian wildlife is it seems like buses; having driven from southerly Perth to near tropical Exmouth over 8 days without seeing anything other than dead kangaroos and torn skeletons, our 5km drive back to camp was a wildlife extravaganza. First, a wandering Emu and her 3 babies walked across our path followed about 5 metres later by a bouncing baby kangaroo, then only 100 metres on we saw about 15 more kangaroos and 10 more Emus! To top it off we even had to screech to a halt to avoid a rare Echidna (somewhere between a Hedgehog and a Porcupine to look at) which lethargically crossed the road. On returning to camp we met Adam and Kerry, a really nice Australian couple from Melbourne who
Another empty beach
Surely this must be one of the only places where you can roll up to an empty beach and wade in just a few metres for amazing snorkelling? like us were travelling the West Coast and who were grateful for the tip to visit their own Museum! Before bedtime which was becoming embarrassingly early we mice proofed the van by sellotaping practically everything up.
For our final day in the incredible National Park, we returned to the breathtaking waters of Turquoise Bay only this time for the purposes of Snorkelling the Drift Loop which at some pace, takes you from one side of the bay to the sand bar point. In the water this time, Claire on two separate occasions came within 3 metres of White tip reef sharks before frantically swimming back to shore. After another few hours lounging on the beach we said our goodbye's to the Cape Range and headed back down the coast to Coral Bay for what we felt was a superior snorkelling site. Stopping of at a lighthouse lookout over looking the enormous tail of Ningaloo Reef we dropped our snorkel gear back in Exmouth and drove south down the Termite mound road. Back in Coral Bay we awoke on Friday the 13th October to a fierce hot wind and set off round the bay this time armed with a disposable
This is the life!
Claire floating in the crystal waters of Turquoise bay. underwater camera in the hope we would again catch up with a turtle. For some reason my mask decided to leak and in the choppy waters it was a struggle fighting the current but we got our wish on the second outing when we spotted two Green Turtles resting on the sea bed. Elated, we strolled around the northern end of the bay to a sheltered inlet where 50 or more juvenile Black tip reef sharks prowled around the shallows. Despite only being about a metre in length it was incredible to be paddling our feet in water a few strides from wild sharks.
With sadness to be leaving Coral Bay we began the 2 and half day drive back to Perth. On the way toward Carnarvon, a tall tower of what looked like smoke was the only thing to interrupt the wide blue sky. As we approached, we realised the tower was actually a huge twister of swirling sand just as a smaller tornado swiped across our path and had me grappling with the steering wheel! For about 20km or so the trail of the large vortex had thrown a vast smog of red dust into the air.
Without CD's we spent our entire road trip listening to local radio and on this particular leg we were entertained by the crappiest Radio DJ the world has surely heard. In one hour alone she forgot the names of 5 artists, dropped 3 CD's onto the floor, restarted the previous song... twice, and generally struggled with every word she spoke. For camp that evening we worked from the giant road atlas given to us with the van and turned onto a hideous dirt track to find a camp at Bush Bay supposedly 10km away. I'm sure the camp would have been just dandy but after 35km of grimacing every bump to our clapped out hippy wagon and surfing at speed through red sand dunes to avoid getting stuck, we gave up and pulled over literally in the middle of nowhere at sundown.
After an early night and having successfully shaken ourselves back onto Route 1, we drove long and straight to camp at Galena Bridge on the Murchison River. In the late afternoon we stood by the water, battling with flies and failing miserably to catch any fish with bread. Moving on in the morning through the city of
Ouch! so hot!
Claire posing at Turquoise bay. Geraldton and the farmland to the south, listening to ABC Radio through Greenough where Eucalypts have been bent double by prevailing winds, it was fascinating to hear Macca's travelling Sunday Road show which aired the voices and stories of the residents of Hopeton, a tiny community on the southern Nullabor Coast. Australia like many places in the world are severely feeling the effects of climate change and an extended drought for the hottest and driest country on the planet is putting the livelihoods of many rural communities in serious jeopardy. The excellent radio show aired pleas of support from the local Mayor along with personal experiences throughout the rainless 26 year period by members of the community; many of whom have had to turn their hand from farming the arid plains to odd jobs and even magic to earn a living.
It is no surprise that times are tough in rural Australia though... in the absence of soil replenishing processes like Glaciers or Volcanoes, Australia's landscape has been stagnant for some 90 million years. Coupled with the continents isolation for 45 million years its unique wildlife has had to adapt to the extreme climate and nutrient poor soil... and
how it has adapted! The kangaroo has evolved to hop in order to conserve energy by using the sprung tension in its legs to double as an internal piston for lung function and the vacant eyes of a Koala, evidence of the ultimate sacrifice; reduced brain size to conserve energy. The natural curiosities of the Platypus or Echidna as the only egg laying mammals and virtually all of Australia’s trees which shed their bark rather than their leaves are all fascinating examples of what evolution can produce when left isolated. Despite adaptation, life is hard enough for the nature and people of rural Australia without the prospect of Global Warming. Let us hope that enough can be done to preserve this unique environment from introduced species and drought for future generations.
Back in Perth again the following day after a mammoth total of 3680km behind us, we checked into the homely One World backpackers and took a train out to Freemantle for the day. Strolling around the quite but historic streets we began to reminisce on what a fantastic time we have had in Australia. It seems mad to think that we had always planned on skipping through Australia
quickly because of the cost and had as a result, expected a less than lovable whistle-stop tour. First beautiful Sydney then cultural Melbourne, followed by adventure in Alice Springs and an incredible road trip up the West Coast, Australia has in contrast to our expectations proved a destination of enormous enjoyment. The people we met along the way have affirmed friendships and made new ones. With some apprehension and sadness we loaded up a cab to the airport the following morning bound for our final continent... Asia.
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Jackie
non-member comment
loving the blogs
Have loved reading them. Can you tell me what the van cost to hire?