Exmouth and the beautiful Ningaloo Reef

We checked into the Ningaloo Caravan and Holiday Resort and headed across the road to the Ningaloo Visitor Centre and Aquarium & Discovery Centre. While going through the Aquarium we ran into Dave and Michelle from Victoria, whom we initially had met at Ellenbrae – way back on the Gibb River Road. We had crossed paths a few times but had yet to connect over drinks or a meal – so we decided to meet up at Froth’s Craft Brewery (within walking distance of the caravan park) for drinks that afternoon. We got on really well, with much to talk about since our children were the same age and their son worked in Software Design, so drinks turned into dinner as well. We had a fun evening.

Day Two in Exmouth we headed back to the Charles Knife Gorge turnoff with the intention of hiking the Badjirra Jirra Loop Walk Trail in the Cape Range National Park. Unfortunately however  we were greeted with a road closed sign 6 km’s before the hike commenced, so we walked about 5km on the road while viewing the canyons and then headed back to the car. Returning to Exmouth we viewed Town Beach and spent the afternoon pottering around the local shops including visiting Mitre 10 for bike tubes and the Caravan Store for a replacement refrigerator vent. We then met Dave and Michelle at the Italian restaurant attached to the caravan park for dinner and chatted excitedly about our whale shark tour the next day.

Day Three – Whale Sharks!!!!
We were picked up at the front of the park by Ningaloo Blue at 7:20am and transported to the boat, about 40mins drive, moored at Tantabiddi Boat Ramp. There were 20 people on our tour, so they made several trips in the tender, and we were off – motoring across the beautiful blue waters of the Ningaloo Reef. It was a bit rocky getting across the swell of the reef, but once we were across we motored out in search of the whale sharks – fingers crossed!!!

First stop on the tour was to the designated snorkelling spot. After being provided with wet suits, masks, snorkels and fins, it was into the water to test our ability to snorkel and swim (in deep ocean water) successfully. All on board passed the test – and so we were off.

There are 12 companies in Exmouth running tours and they have 5 spotter planes between them. The protocol is whoever’s plane spots the whale shark has first dibs to swim with it. After about 45 mins travelling along the reef, we got the call from the spotter plane and we were on! Sippy and I had been placed in Group 1, so it was quickly to the back of the boat with masks, snorkels and fins and we took the plunge. No time to worry about other sharks – we were too excited to see a majestic whale shark.

AMAZING!!! We were SO close, we felt like we could touch it! The shark was huge, being well over 5 metres and beautiful, with its unique white spots. The water was so clear and we both got an amazing view and swam alongside the massive creature for several minutes. We were very lucky that it was travelling quite slowly, so we got a great view and could easily keep up with it. Incredible!

Back on the boat we were all buzzing and thrilled that we had seen one. After another 30mins we got the call again and we were in swimming with another beautiful 5m whale shark – this one a bit wider and with a very big open, gapped mouth in view!! We were blessed to have a third swim, with the same shark, and then it was time to get dried (we were rather cold by this point). We were so excited about what we had just experienced – a once in a life time fabulous adventure!

We were then treated to a lovely lunch and a tour back through the crystal blue waters. While sipping champagne and enjoying a delicious fruit platter, we spotted countless whales, doing breaches (so close to the boat!), a pod of dolphins and a couple of squid.

We again caught up with Mish and Dave to share stories (they were on a different tour), celebrating at the brewery with a delicious lamb shank. A fantastic day indeed!

Day Four we drove back around to the Ningaloo Reef to spend the day snorkelling in the pristine water. On the way we visited the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, which runs on kerosene but is now decommissioned due to the VLF Antennas installed on the point.

The best thing about Ningaloo Reef, as opposed to the Great Barrier Reef, is that you can simply walk in off the beach, swim several meters out into the water and be experiencing another world! Both the fish and the coral were incredible! We had bought snorkels with us but ended up purchasing fins and wet suit jackets at the visitors centre – which was well worth it. We snorkelled at Lakeside and Turquoise Bay (recently voted the 6^th best beach in the world) and then drove down to have a look at Sandy Bay where we enjoyed a late picnic lunch. The snorkelling was so incredible – it was like being in the Nemo movie – SO many beautiful fish. Our favourite were the big rainbow coloured Parrot Fish, the brilliant blue little fish swimming in large numbers and the bright yellow and blue angelfish. We also saw numerous blue-green chromis (iridescent pale green) fish, beaked leather jackets with their yellow spots and convict surgeonfish with their vertical black stripes – all amazing!

Day Five and we headed back to Lakeside to set up the Cool Cabana, where we spent the entire day snorkelling – we were hooked!
As we headed back to our campsite we turned off to see the SS Mildura Ship wreck, clearly visible at around 50m off the shore. We were very blessed to have spent five days here.

Bullara Station Stay

 

Travelling a further 200kms south along the North-West Coastal Highway, we again headed west, this time at the Burkett Road turn-off, back out to the coast, stopping for two nights at the highly recommended Bullara Station. Bullara is a working cattle farm, currently running over 3,500 cattle. What a fun place! We were very warmly greeted by the camp hosts, John and Jilly and shown to our site, following Jilly on her push bike.

After setting up and a quick lunch, we went for a walk around the campground to explore and take photographs. So many wonderful farm icons of which to snap beautiful photos. We then walked the Tin Can and Windmill trails and met several farm animals including cattle, horses, sheep, goats and two little Shetland ponies. We made it back in time for John’s famous campfire damper and enjoyed the stories he shared of his travels and life at Bullara Station.

The next morning we took advantage of the opportunity to travel 20km on a 4WD track (on the Bullara property) to the bottom of the Exmouth Gulf. It was a very windy day and the tide was well out, so we didn’t last long, and headed back to the station

That evening we thoroughly enjoyed a beautiful two course meal in the woolshed. Bullara currently has two Michelin French Chefs in residence for the season, so we scored well with a beautiful ‘home grown’ Beef Bourguignon with salted carrots and sweet potato, with a delicious cinnamon donut and lemon custard for dessert – yummo. We sat opposite a couple from Perth, Ian and Pamela, who had owned a Toyota franchise in Perth and knew the owner of Clintons Toyota in Campbelltown Sydney (Mario) – who happened to live on the water in Dolans Bay. It was an entertaining night of conversation.

The next morning we treated ourselves to scones, jam and cream and coffee, with a home-made Bullara sausage roll – all delicious! We spent the afternoon relaxing, reading and planning our next stays.

Back to the WA Coastline - Onslow

From Millstream NP we took the gravel road option across to Pannawonica, to avoid having to trek up to Karratha and then back down the North-West Coastal Highway. From the Onslow Road turnoff it was then 80km back to the coast. On the way we passed several salt evaporation ponds, which cover 90 square kilometres across Onslow. Onslow Salt is a large industry, solar run plant operating out of Onslow. The facility processes, stores and exports 2.5 million tonnes of sodium chloride annually. As we drove into the town, we passed several huge salt mounds and when we pulled into the overflow section of the caravan park, which overlooked the ocean, there was a large ship docked at the end of the 1.3km salt jetty, receiving its delivery to be exported somewhere around the world.

We originally were planning two nights in Onslow but ended up arriving a day early – hence the need to go into the overflow section of the park for our first night, as the park was chock a block full. The following morning we moved into the main park and after putting through a few loads of washing, (after 8 nights in the Pilbara our clothes and towels had a rather red tinge to them), we went for an explore through the town. Onslow is a pretty, coastal town, which we soon discovered is known more for its fishing than swimming. The beach sand was quite brown and there were plenty of rocks exposed at low tide. There also wasn’t much to the town, with only a small grocery store, a one pump petrol station, a pub and the Beach Club Resort (which did serve great pizza’s for dinner). The ‘Paparazzi Dogs’ statue was another highlight we found along the beach front in Onslow, well positioned to face the famous Staircase to the Moon and daily sunrise over the Indian Ocean. We remember viewing a similar statue in Hong Kong many years ago, when on our way to live in China. The Paparazzi Dogs (the four Dogmen) are a world-famous social phenomenon by artists Gillie and Marc’s. The life-sized dog sculptures originally went viral in Brooklyn, with many celebrities eager to pose with them. They can now be found in many famous cities around the world – so pretty cool to be in Onslow!

We ended up really enjoying our stay in the quite coastal town, relishing the slower pace and a chance to relax. Although quite windy on both mornings, the wind dropped after lunch, enabling us to go for lovely walks along the Ian Blair Memorial Walkway from Beardon Point to Sunset Beach and then strolling back along the beach at sunset, collecting a few shells. We also spotted the green birdflower plant along the boardwalk -  a small shrub with green flowers that resembles a hummingbird in flight, that is attached by its beak to the main stalk – very cool.

Whilst in Onslow we learnt that it is actually one of the few places where you can watch the sun rise and set over the water – at Sunrise and Sunset Beaches (aptly named). The town’s War Memorial has a beautiful sculpture based on the insignia of the ADF’s Rising Sun cap badge. Cathy rose early on the final day to view the sunrise through the arch of the sculpture – very beautiful and well worth the effort. Sippy chose to stay in bed and view Cathy’s photos …..

 

Millstream Chichester National Park

We travelled on the Rio Tinto Rail Access Road to Millstream Chichester National Park, viewing several iron ore trains along the way, arriving to set up camp in the Mliyanha Campground around 2:30pm. As we only had two nights here, we grabbed the bikes off the car and did the 7km cycle trail along to the cliff lookout and then onto Deep Reach Pool for a quick swim. After 6.5km back, Sippy got a puncture, just as we turned back into the campground – lucky as we didn’t feel like walking the bike all that way back!
Day Two we drove back to the Roebourne Wittenoom Road, heading north for 20kms before turning off to Python’s Pool. This involved 10km on terrible corrugations before the road returned to bitumen for the last 9km’s. A bonus along this road was our first sighting of the beautiful red Sturt Desert Pea, which is WA’s State flower. On the way in we stopped at Mt Herbert to do the 4.5km return walk to McKenzie Spring. This was very interesting as we hiked through different flora including many wildflowers. There had been a recent bushfire resulting in many burnt out spinifex plants. We finished the walk by climbing to the top of Mt Herbert for beautiful views across the Pilbara. It was then onto Python’s Pool for a picnic lunch and a refreshing swim in the deep swimming hole surrounded by a backdrop of ancient, rugged cliffs. We were lucky to have the place to ourselves for 20mins so we both had a swim and took video of us being the only one’s swimming in this majestic place – magical.

Arriving back at the campground around 4pm, we grabbed the drone and headed back to the cliff top to take some footage of the river. Sippy is still learning to drive the device, with his first crash into a bush at the top of the cliff. Luckily it was at the top and we could retrieve it – all good! We then set the drone to follow the car, capturing some great footage on the red dirt. We headed back to cook dinner and watch the sun set behind the snappy white gums surrounding our camp site.

Karijini National Park - back on the red dirt

 

Travelling over 400kms, we reached Eco Retreat in Karijini National Park around 3pm. We were greeted by reception and were told that they had given us their best site as someone was celebrating a special birthday! Woo-hoo. The site, #105 in Mulga View, was sensational. Well away from other campers and with an uninterrupted view of the mountains and the sun setting– jackpot. As we settled in to watch our first golden hour, we heard the dingoes begin to howl. We had been warned at reception not to leave anything out overnight as the dingoes may attempt to carry it off. During our week stay we saw a couple around the campsite and a few on the road, but they didn’t approach us – thank goodness. We were happy to know we were safe inside the BT every evening – as they howled every night – sometimes to the early hours of the morning.

Day Two Sippy let down the tyres, as we were back on the corrugated red dirt to travel 14kms to Weano and Hancock Gorges. What a fun day! The hike into both of these gorges was reasonably challenging, with many a rock scramble and ledge climb over quite slippery rocks. After viewing Weano Gorge from the Oxer Lookout we headed into the gorge and down to Handrails Pool. A handrail had been installed to help people access the pool, as the narrow entry was on a slope and was very slippery. Signs instructed you to grip the rail with both hands and reminded you that several fatalities had occurred in the area. The pool was very cold with the few brave swimmers coming out bright pink and shivering.

After completing the rim walk, we headed over to Hancock Gorge and commenced the descent. The guide books described this walk as a ‘journey to the centre of the earth’. It was aptly described!
After climbing down a series of ladders, we wandered further into the gorge which narrowed into a huge chamber with small rock pools and marbled walls. We continued on to perform the ‘spider walk’ (stretching out arms and legs to staddle both rock walls) to Kermit’s Pool. Well, Cathy did, Andrew just walked through the freezing water to get there.

Cathy then took the plunge into the freezing waters of Kermit’s Pool, to swim across to the other side for a view into the next gorge. This section is then roped off as deemed too dangerous to continue on. While towelling down we saw two people fall heavily, one young girl flat onto her back and an older man straight down smacking both his knees. It was incredibly slippery. Cathy got low, considering it was less distance to fall if already crouching. We sat in the sun, enjoying snacks and cool water, before venturing out – making it back to the car in one piece.

Day Three we made the 90km journey back along the Warlu Way to the Dales Campground and stopped at the visitor’s centre. This was a lovely new building in the shape of a goanna. We then hiked down the long metal staircase to reach Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool before walking 2km through the bottom of Dales Gorge. We really enjoyed the stunning scenery of red rock walls with a beautiful meandering creek running through this gorge. We climbed up the many, many rock stairs to exit and hiked along to view the Circular Pools. After a flat 2km walk back to the car park we headed for a well-deserved picnic lunch at Dales Picnic area. As we arrived back at Eco Retreat later that afternoon, we were pleased to find that the severely corrugated red dirt road into the campground had been graded! What a difference – happy days.

Day Four was a massive day – climbing the summit of Mt Bruce (Punurrunha). This is WA’s second highest mountain with a height of 1,235m. The walk was only 10km in total – but the climbs at times were very steep and involved lots of concentration, as every step was either on rocky ground or traversing deep drops – rather scary at times. The last section of the climb was particularly challenging as were in the full sun and the going was steep and rocky underneath – but we made it and were rewarded with amazing panoramic views. Many a young person turned back on the walk, so we were quite proud of ourselves that we conquered this vigorous climb. The walk took 5 hours in total, spending approx. 40minutes at the top with a few short drink stops along the way.
After falling into the car with a cold drink from Sippy’s esky, we headed to Tom Price, the ‘Top Town’ in WA, standing 747m above sea level. We had heard of Tom Price from Ted Bachor, (Sippy’s work mate) who was employed as an electrician in his young days in the late 60’s (making lots of money) as they set up the infrastructure for mining. We needed to go into Tom Price for fuel and to gain a permit for travelling on the Rio Tinto Rail Access Road to Millstream. This involved watching a 20 min safety video at the visitor’s centre and having Sippy’s license recorded.

We arrived back at the campground late in the afternoon. Boy did we sleep well that night!

Day Five we had a lazy morning with a full cooked breakfast of bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes. We then walked through the campground to Joffre Gorge and did the class 5 descent (via lots of metal ladders) down to Joffrey waterfall. The spectacular curved rock walls creates the shape of a natural amphitheatre. Whilst there was only a small trickle of water coming over the edge, the waterhole was still quite full and Cathy braved the freezing water for a quick swim to the other side. We had to wait for a bit, but finally got the waterhole to ourselves to enjoy the awe of its scale and take photos.

Day Six we packed up in the morning and were on the road to Hamersley Gorge by 8:30am. One of the most remote gorges in Karijini, Hamersley Gorge has ancient rock formations which show a kaleidoscope of colours, patterns and textures, making for some great photographs. There was a beautiful swimming hole at the bottom, but as we were pressed for time (as driving onto Millstream NP) so we gave it a miss (next time).

Port Hedland - The industrial town of Iron Ore and Salt

After umming and arring about whether to venture into Port Hedland, we decided to stay one night at the racecourse free camp in town, and so booked a twilight industry tour for the afternoon. We are so glad we did -what an interesting place!

We walked by the port and watched the enormous ships being guided into the docks by the little tugs. We also viewed the Rio Tinto Salt Mine and wowed at the grader on top of the enormous mound of salt as it spread it evenly – seemed a rather dangerous job.

The industry tour took us around Port Hedland showing the workings of the iron ore industry. We went out to Finucane Island, where BHP have their loading dock and past FMG (Twiggy Forrest) and Roy Hill (Gina Reinhart’s) operations. Such an eye opener! We had no idea of the magnitude of the iron ore industry happening at Port Hedland. We watched as the 2km long trains, pulled by two massive locomotives, lugged 136 carts x 2, of iron ore, with each cart weighing over 80 tonnes, down to the docks. The carts were then tipped, 3 at a time, onto conveyor belts, which travelled up to the ship, with the whole process fully automated from Perth! Incredible.

We certainly could have spent another day or two in town, doing the Sea Farers and Salt-mine tour, the later being booked out for over a week! Next time.

Cape Keraudren / Beach front location

Another hour further south on the Great Northern Highway, we turned west for 13kms to arrive at Cape Keraudren. We had been informed by a few travellers at 80 Mile Beach that the best place to camp was along the creek, so we veered left at the first turn off and nabbed a spot with awesome, uninterrupted views to the beach. What a beautiful spot!

The afternoon was perfect. No wind and a warm 27 degrees, we spent the afternoon strolling along the beach and inlet gathering beautiful shells. We had two great finds – 2 large yellow, spiral cone shells that we didn’t think existed anymore on beaches. We also unearthed many sea cake shells – white muffin shaped shells with beautiful patterns on top. We collected a bag to bring home. After also collecting ample firewood, we were again invited over to the neighbour’s van (Judy and Ian from Melbourne) for pre-dinner drinks. The majority of people we have camped alongside have been so super friendly and are always keen to catch up over a drink and hear tales of your travels.

The next morning we had a lovely long lie in the BT, looking out the window at the water, while snug and cosy inside as the wind blew outside. At mid-morning we decided we needed some exercise and so headed off for a walk. We ended up walking over 10kms – all around the headland, across the rock pools at low tide and back along the beach. We saw several octopus and sea slugs, being careful not to tread on any (we kept our crocs on the whole time while in the water as also conscious of stone fish).

That evening we shared more drinks and stories with Judy & Ian, had a raging beach camp fire and slept soundly to the crash of waves.

 

Farewell to the Kimberley Coast / 80 Mile Beach

 After dropping Jen off at Broome airport, with hugs all round as she journeyed back to Thursday Island, we headed back into Broome to grocery shop, fuel up and have one last swim at Cable Beach. We then spent the night at Broome Gateway Caravan Park before commencing our journey south in the morning.

We took a detour into Barn Hill Station (9km off the Great Northern Highway) to farewell the Kimberley Coast by snapping some final photos of the red cliffs, orange dirt, white sand and turquoise water – SO beautiful. We also sampled an awesome homemade beef pie from the bakery at the Station.

It was then onto 80 Mile Beach. We were allocated a great site, right near the beach front, and thoroughly enjoyed our three nights stay. Walking the never-ending stretch of white sand, while searching for gorgeous shells, was a lovely way to spend three relaxing days. We camped in front of a fun Tassie couple, who were on their first trip with their new van and enjoyed their company when invited over for drinks.