Advertisement
The Blowhole
59 klm north of Carnarvon.Well, we are now moving north far enough to say that the weather is more reliable. Most days are reaching 25 deg with an overnight low in the mid teens.
It is amazing that every place we visit offers something new and interesting. We are keeping very busy touring around and doing the things we can in each area. It is so far away that you don’t get to come over here very often. So we are trying to ‘do it all’ and having fun doing so.
The car has been excellent even though we accidently put 2 litres of unleaded petrol in with the diesel back in Ceduna! As we had hoped, it was obviously adequately diluted. The van has given a few minor things to deal with but, apart from that, has been exceptional.
CARNARVON
We were not far out of Carnarvon at around 11 am. A 4WD towing a van towards us and only 100 meters away was suddenly hit by a kangaroo. It was so quick we couldn’t see whether the ‘roo hit the car or the van before being catapulted across the road and into the scrub just in front of us.
The Coffee Pot
The little train takes you 1.5 klm out the Carnarvon jetty. It is powered by a VW motor. Looking back seconds later, another ‘roo hopped across the road in the same place just behind us! How lucky was that?
Upside Down River Carnarvan is the fruit and vegetable town that supplies most of the west coast. It is serviced with good water from the upside down Gascoyne River that has a dry sandy bottom under which water laden aquifers run. Fruit and vegie farms are found for kilometers on either side of the river on delta flats. A number of farms have fresh produce shops and many of them use the honor system for sales.
One Mile Jetty The jetty is just out of town. It is a long timber jetty and once was used to export livestock. Today it is a tourism and fishing precinct. There is a ‘Coffee Pot’ train that takes tourists out to the end for a nominal fee. It is, in fact, powered by a volkswagon motor that travels one way in forward gear and back in reverse. The driver was its devote mechanic. Good fun.
The Blowholes We have often visited blowholes in the past. This one was 60 klm away
Coral Bay
A beautiful sunset on a pretty beach. so we went with some reservations as they often rely on heavy seas to get them gushing. The drive was worthwhile and the blowhole provided some excellent entertainment. There were several others but they did not work as well.
Another interesting feature at the venue was a wave created waterfall. The waves washed up onto an elevated flat rock face and then, as they receded, the water level dropped 1-2 meters below the rock ledge and created a waterfall effect. Interesting to watch.
OTC Dish On the edge of town there is a large satellite communications dish that was used to assist the Americans with the moon landing and surveillance during the ‘cold war’. Although it is not now in use, it is a notable feature on the skyline in the area.
CORAL BAY
As we were travelling in Western Australia we received a phone call out of the blue from Peter & Marilyn Cotter to let us know they were coming across the Nullarbor as well and would like to catch up. After several calls our trips aligned in Coral Bay. The meeting went well and we look
Upside Down River
The water usually flows under the sand in aquifers. It services a significant fruit and veg growing area. forward to catching up back home. In fact we caught up twice as their destination was Exmouth and they went up and back while we were still in Coral Bay. A couple of chats over dinner went well.
We stayed at the Bayview Caravan Park. It gave us easy access to the beach and all facilities in this small but pleasant town.
Fish Feeding One of the interesting things that happen in Coral bay is that every day at 3.30pm there is a feeding of the fishes. Quite large Spangled Emperor come in to be hand fed in shallow water. There is a sprinkling of other smaller fish mixed in with them.
Our story revolves around one of us having been savaged on the finger by a fish that came out of left bank and grabbed at the food without warning. Its sharp teeth caused a triple slice down the underside of the ring finger.
Snorkeling We did it! Finally we went into the water. It was very pleasant too although we were happy to wear wet suits so we could stay in the water longer. Coral Bay is on the southern
Beauty & the beast
This dominant ram butted a kid off his bike! section of Ningaloo Reef. All we had to do was wade out a little , pop on the fins and snorkel, and immediately swim over coral reef and observe lots of fish of all shapes and sizes. They are there in abundance and easy to see. It was a very pleasant introduction to the reef.
BULLARA STATION
Once we had our bookings for Coral Bay and Exmouth, we had a night in between not sorted. Rhonda spoke with the Information Centre and they suggested we try Bullara Station. Yes, a site was no problem but there was neither power nor water to connect up to. We thought ‘what the hell’, our van tanks are full, we also had drinking water and the generator was on board if we needed it.
Bullara is a sheep station that has moved from growing wool to focusing on meat production and building up a herd of beef cattle. It is run by a young couple who home school their kids and work the station and the camping ground. From what we observed, it is go, go, go!
It was a short 70 klm trip and when we arrived
Waterfall
The waves wash up on the rockface and form a waterfall on the way back out. we quite liked it. The facilities were basic but adequate and we left the van hitched to the car and simply wound down the jacks to stabilize it. Everyone was friendly and it was so peaceful.
Once we had settled in Rhonda and I set off to explore the station on foot. By the time we did a circuit, we had walked upwards of seven to eight kilometers and were sufficiently worn out to have our happy hour, eat a meal and then pop off to bed for the night. There was no need to start up the generator as we had all we needed in battery and gas operated facilities. So we had an interesting diversion from the norm.
We then moved on to Exmouth for ten nights. What about you. What are you up to?
Advertisement
Tot: 0.146s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 58; dbt: 0.0587s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
barb
non-member comment
I'm warm toooo!
Ah! Lovely,nice here too....temp about 1000 degrees, wine nice and chilled,(but outside a mere 4 degrees, In fact its getting so warm,I'll have to turn the heating down. Ha, just tricking! had you there for a mini though? The sunset photo is just great PP,you are some photographer,and the blogs are fabulous.Thankyou.What an absolutely beautiful country! Be Safe, miss you. xoxo