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North of Minilya Roadhouse
This is the countryside as far as you can see both sides of the road heading north from Minilya. Warroora Station
Leaving Carnarvon, we went via the south Road to join the highway so that we could for a last time drive through all the Plantations and pick up some Carnarvon Gold (Bananas) from a roadside stall, fantastic. Joining the North West Coastal Highway (NWCH) again it was point the nose North West and eat up kilometres. The landscape now has become quite flat with red sand and scrub dominating. Occasionally we will pass by or over a ridge but we are now in the Pilbara and it is basically a hot, flat and red landscape, and it is winter! As we headed towards Minilya Roadhouse, our first and only available stop before our destination, we looked at some of the amazing stats for this state, Western Australia. With a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres and with a population of 2,260,000 people, (70% of whom live in or around Perth), that is 0.8 people per square kilometre. In contrast there are 9.8 sheep and cattle per square kilometre! The coastline is 12,900 kilometres long with 3747 islands and the hottest town is Marble Bar (in the Pilbara) with 160 days per year over 37.5 Celsius.
Warra Station
We have just turned off onto the main drive into Warra Station So you can see we are now reaching the pinnacle region of our trip in WA, the North West.
Stopping at Minilya Roadhouse was pretty much the same as all other roadhouse breaks, check the fuel prices whilst the girls, (Trish & Jackie) have a loo stop, browse the shop to see what quirky ‘Minilya related’ souvenirs were available, (we purchased a sticker), and then a cold drink and break under a tree outside for a few minutes before setting off again.
Only a short distance up the road we had to turn off the NWCH for our destination, Warroora Station along the Exmouth Road. The station country looked great after a good wet season, with native grasses and saltbush breaking the red sand landscape and it was along this stretch of road that we passed our first termite mounds.
Turning off the Exmouth Road into Warroora Station (pronounced Warra), Jackie immediately woke up as we hit dirt and corrugations (again!) Warra is a family run sheep and cattle station adjacent to the famous Ningaloo Reef coastline, offering eco- friendly wilderness beach camping, (and authentic Station Stay Accommodation), on white sand beaches that you have only
Warra Station
..and then we saw our first termite mound (of any note) for this trip. ever seen in photos and movies. Step out of your campsite onto the white sands, then just a few steps to the warm blue water, this is camping and only $7.50/per person per night, but you have to be fully self- sufficient, there are no facilities here.
Camping on Warra Station was once one of Western Australia's best kept secrets, but word of mouth has seen its popularity as a fishing, 4WD and camping destination soar.. 14 Mile, The Lagoon, Black Moon Cliff, Elle's Beach and Steven's Surf Break are all camping areas on Warra Station. We camped at 14 mile and it was unbelievable.
Warra Station's western boundary fence is 50 kms of pristine Ningaloo Reef Coastline and it truly is the place where the outback meets the sea. Lying just a kilometre offshore, Ningaloo Reef, is Australia's most easily accessible coral reef and Western Australia's largest and most spectacular coral reef. It spans over 260kms of coastline and is home to over 250 species of coral and 540 species of fish, (as I was to learn in Coral Bay).
We will have to come back in the springtime as we are told that 1000’s of
Warra Station
..and we had to have a pic with the Girls in it ! acres (the station covers 266,000 acres) of Warra become carpeted in wildflowers at this time of year and also because of what happens next we need to come back to experience Warra without any ‘drama’ !
After our 4WD trip out to Steep Point (see earlier Blog) we had noticed a few electrical ‘issues’ with the ‘Troll’, all to do with aftermarket additions to the vehicle I might add, not Nissan related issues. Peter and I could not put a finger, back in Carnarvon, on what might be happening. We had suspected that the electric brake controller had shaken itself to bits initially, but no that was not the case. One evening at Warra we noticed the rear brake lights on (again) so I played under the dash with the controller and yes they went off (eventually) but the next morning the car was ‘dead’, flat batteries? No, connections, No, stuck starter motor, No, stuck solenoid, No etc etc. Eventually we called for help and from Coral Bay, 50 odd Kilometres away arrived Johnny, “the Magician”. Quickly he discounted all the items we had checked and honed in on an after market immobiliser, this was the culprit, its ‘brain’
Warra Station
Beach side camp site....nice! had shaken itself to bits. Quickly rerouting a few wires got us going but with the words ‘this thing has another 20 odd wires going to other sections of the car, I would advise an Auto Electrician take it all out and rewire back to original spec’. Great! But the good news was there was an Auto Elec in Exmouth, so before the ‘brain’ could interfere again in the running of the vehicle we packed up early from beautiful Warra to head into Coral Bay for a few days.
So that is why we would like to come back here to experience a long term stay at this magnificent beachside camping spot. Luckily for us the notorious WA westerly winds had come up the night before we decided to leave and it made the pack up and trip out that little bit easier as camping here in a westerly could be limiting (in what you can do)and uncomfortable. But what a place the Tropic of Capricorn runs right through the middle of the station giving this property a climate other places only dream of, look at this for a climate. Temperature: April-Sept: 22-25C, Oct-Dec: 30-35C, Jan-Mar: can get warm,
Warra Station
You can see the high tide mark in relation to our camp site, beach fishing from your camp chair! 40C+ Rainfall: 100-200mm in Jan-Feb and June-July, minimal at other times.
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Brian
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Greetings from the UK. Just been up the North West Coastal Highway and stopped at Miliya Roadhouse, via Google Earth. Those Google cameras have been everywhere however they don\'t give your top of the range guided tour. Not too much green grass in sight and I must have missed the coldies shop (pub). Makes me thirsty looking at scenery like that. Trust you have the electrics sorted on the 4X4. The last pictures showed Mrs.V in the sea!!! What about jaws??? Keep having fun. Brian