The Largest 'Coffee Pot' In Carnarvon!

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Friday 27th and we were rather sad to be leaving Denham after having had such a great couple of days there. The journey to the next obvious stopping place, Carnarvon, would normally be quite arduous but we were to make it even more so because there were two more World Heritage Sites we wanted to visit on the way back along the peninsula. The first one was about 50 kilometers out of Denham – Shell Beach - and it’s not called Shell Beach for no reason. It is an incredible amalgamation of millions of small white Coquina Shells washed ashore from L’haridon Bight over thousands of years and stretches over the complete bay which is over 120 kms long, several hundred meters wide and, at some points, over 10 meters deep. It was only just off the road and is a popular calling in point for tourists, especially caravanners, and parking facilities were excellent. We had no trouble reaching it and special caravan parking bays were available. Tourists are requested not to take away any shells although it is considered a renewable source and so the poultry industry of WA use the shell for grit in feed and there is one remaining shell block quarry that uses the blocks to maintain the historic buildings in the area. We strolled down to the waters edge, along with a few other tourists and stood transfixed by the sight of millions upon millions of shells.

The next stop was another 50 kilometers or so towards the main highway which would eventually take us to Carnarvon. This stop was to see some Stromatolites - we had seen some at Cervantes which were mere youngsters at a couple of thousand years old. Some of these here at Hamelin Pool are thousands of years older – the oldest living organisms on the planet and linked to their 3 billion year old ancestors. We parked up near the old Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station and strolled through a shell block quarry and eventually came to the boardwalk that went out over the Stromatolites. Some entertaining information boards reminded us that Stromatolites are ‘living rocks’ formed from cynobacteria which first appeared 3.5 billion years ago. Eventually from these, ‘air breathing’ life forms began to evolve – it’s incredible stuff. When the tide is in the Stromatolites release air bubbles and we could see that happening in a few places. We wandered back through the shell quarry but didn’t stop to visit the Telegraph Station as Graham was keen that we continued our journey to get to Carnarvon at a reasonable time.

What a very special area Shark Bay is – we were so pleased we decided to stay a few days. There’s much more to it that we didn’t get to explore but we certainly appreciated the parts we did visit.

After a quick tea break stop at the Overlander road house on the main road, we ‘sped’ off towards Carnavon and arrived in good time at about 2:30pm. We decided to stay at one of the caravan parks on the outskirts of town - we hadn’t booked in advance but they had plenty of room and we were soon set up and eating our sandwiches. We both felt tired so decided to leave shopping until the following day but we did go for a quick drive into town and through to the jetty area. After having a take-a-way meal of fish (grilled) and chips we had an early night.

Around Carnarvon are many plantations that make use of the fertile river flats. When we drove in we saw bananas growing – what a lovely sight that was! The devastating floods in Queensland ruined most of the banana crop so bananas have become a real luxury item. A huge variety of crops is grown in this area and we looked forward to sampling some.

We had been told that the first ‘growers’ market of the season would take place on Saturday morning so we drove into town for about 9.30. There were a few interesting stalls but on the whole it was a bit disappointing. I did get some wonderful local bananas though at half the price they’ve been in supermarkets. Then it was time to visit the local Woollies store and stock up – and stock up I did! We won’t see another store like this for a few weeks so I decided to make sure we had plenty of the basic necessities. Back at the caravan it took me a while to find storage space for everything but I managed it in the end. We had a bit of lunch and then went off to the jetty again. The ‘One Mile Jetty’ was built in 1897 and is probably the second longest in Australia after Busselton Jetty. Like that jetty it has a small train that goes along it. We paid our $5 each and waited for the ‘Coffee Pot’ train to return from the far end of the jetty. Often fishermen use the train to save them walking along the jetty and so it’s all set up with rod holders. The only other passenger on the train with us was a lady taking provisions out to her family who were busy fishing. The train stopped before it got to the end of the jetty but we were able to stroll for ten minutes or so. The end of the jetty was fenced off because there was a serious fire there about 30 years ago and now it’s unsafe. The Carnarvon Heritage Group has been renovating the jetty but of course it’s a mammoth task and costs a huge amount of money. We were the only passengers on the return leg but when we got back to the “station” there was a queue of people waiting to get on. From there we drove on to what had been the tramway and walked across the bridge. A group of young aboriginal girls were there playing around and they took a liking to Graham and his binoculars. Some older lads were out in the river spear fishing. On the way back to the caravan we stopped at a plantation shop where they had a small selection of fruit and vegetables for sale. We bought a ‘custard apple’, a chocolate banana ice cream and a mango ice cream. We ate the custard apple later for pudding - it was very sweet but very nice.

Sunday, unexpectedly, turned out to be a very special day. We had decided to drive out of town to visit some blow holes which were located near Quobba. We covered the 75 kilometers easily enough and could see the blow holes erupting before we’d even parked the car. They were absolutely spectacular, shooting consistently many, many meters into the air. They have been known to be as high as 20 meters when the tide is high and forceful. It was neither of those today but the main blow hole was extremely active. Powerful ocean swells force water through sea caves and up out of narrow holes in the rocks causing the jets. To get right beside them it was necessary to negotiate some rugged, awkward rocks but it was worth the effort. Next we wanted to see where Sarah and Darryl had camped at Point Quobba. In their blog, Sarah had stated that the camp was brilliant but the toilets were the worst she’d ever seen!! We didn’t check them out but we could see why they liked the camp site.

Then we made a real discovery - again influenced by S & D’s blog, we had gone prepared to snorkel in a small lagoon next to the campsite. After seeking advice from a couple of Poms, now living in Esperance, as to where it was best to snorkel, we spent a magical couple of hours snorkelling in quite shallow water above the most magnificent coral we have ever seen. The variety and colour of both the fish and the coral were breath-taking and it was difficult to drag ourselves away. Unfortunately, the tide was ebbing and eventually the water became too shallow to snorkel satisfactorily. It was difficult to avoid touching the coral, a definite no-no while snorkeling, and when Graham grazed his knee and snagged his wet-suit we decided to call it a day. We had prepared a picnic so we enjoyed that whilst still marveling at this special location.

Afterwards we drove towards the Quobba Sheep Station but stopped a few kilometers short to see yet another HMAS Sydney memorial. It was at the nearest land point to where the war-time disaster had happened 150 kilometers off-shore and was just a simple cairn commemorating the event. Our journey back to Carnarvon was un-eventful except for when we came upon a couple of huge wedge-tailed eagles attacking some road-kill. They were reluctant to leave it alone even when we got close and I managed to get a good photo before they eventually flew a little way away. Back at the caravan we reflected on a good day out and looked forward to our “rest day” tomorrow before we tackle the long journey to Coral Bay.

We settled in for the night which was disrupted with a torrential storm. Carnarvon suffered badly with flooding earlier in the year but although this storm was heavy there was no danger of flooding. The following morning, though, everywhere was soaking wet and the rain continued on and off right up until lunchtime. I had left doing any clothes washing until our last day in Carnarvon but I persevered and in a dry period, hung it out. Miraculously, the weather improved dramatically throughout the afternoon and come 5pm it was all dry!

Monday was our “quiet” day as we got things prepared for the next day of travelling. We made several attempts to get more fuel from the cheapest garage in town but, each time we looked in, there were queues around the block. We had lunch in town and then decided to do a self-clean of the underside of the car to get rid of the thick red mud we had picked up at Kalbarri National Park and were still carrying many days later. Graham also did some maintenance of the jockey wheel - he had been having serious difficulty raising the caravan off and onto the tow bar without using a jack as well as the jockey wheel. Following some advice from a neighbour, he lubricated it thoroughly and immediately sensed a difference. He’ll be able to test it better when we pack away tomorrow. In the meantime, he put the awning and other items away ready for a quick start. A late visit to the garage proved successful as there was only one vehicle waiting for diesel. We filled up the tank and the one empty container so we are well set to make it to Exmouth without having to fill up at Coral Bay where we sense fuel will be expensive.

We were pleasantly surprised by Carnarvon. We could remember nothing about it from our last trip so we were expecting just to “pass the time”. But it has plenty to offer – not a glamorous place but we would be happy to stay there again if we had to.

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Photos

Shell Beach
A World Heritage Site

What are 'Stumpy' and his friends?
Just one of the humerous information posters on the boardwalk

Here comes the train
backwards

Comments

[Darryl and Sarah]

It's Quobbalicious!
Isn't it just gorgeous coral at Quobba!!! We loved it there and had such a laugh with some long term campers who we thought might just still be in situ when you arrived!! I'm half joking, but you never know! Next stop Coral Bay - just blissful. x x x

[Pootling Possums]

Quobbalicious!
Coral Bay is stunning but how lucky you were to stay at Point Quobba. May it stay such a fabulous, sparsely inhabited spot for ever! Mum xxx