Carnarvon

CARNARVON 5^TH – 7^TH MAY

Carnarvon is the town of the banana plantations and tropical fruits. This is because of the Gascoyne River which flows underneath it!! Yes the river itself is an underground river and only comes above ground in the wet season. They are apparently always monitoring the water level underground and they have had times when the plantations have been on watering restrictions.  The C.P. we stayed at was surrounded by banana plantations. We got into the C.P. around lunch time so before setting up we pulled out the picnic rug and had some lunch. As we were sitting there Pete had a feeling we were being watched, yes we were.



A Tawny Frog Mouth which blends in very well!



Lovely colours!



Very nice of him to sit still while we took his photo! 




I love this shot! What do you think he is thinking?
I though these guys were supposed to sleep during the day!!!!



Carnarvon has its own long jetty, which is called The One Mile Jetty. It is in need of much repair which they are trying to raise the funds for by charging you $10 a family just to walk on it and extra to ride on the train. No we did not go out on it for there really wasn’t anything to see but more ocean and the view from the water tank was just as good.  Just near the jetty is a little museum telling the history of Carnarvon and the life of the Jetty. It was only small but it was very clean and well presented.




Info on the jetty, it has had a very busy life.




The water tower, a great lookout from the top.




                                                   Info on the tower.

View from the tower looking out at One Mile Jetty.
The mouth to the Gascoyne River is to the right.




The old steam train used on the jetty.



Pete giving Tom a shave with the shearers. It was a great
display of how the shearing was done.



Charlie on the "man powered" cart that the workers used
to use on the train tracks to get from one end to the other.
( yes it is a bit blurry)




Tom and Charlie




From Carnarvon we did a day drive out to Point Quobba which is roughly 80kms north of town and right on the ocean. Before we turned down to Point Quobba we stopped to find the blow holes. We couldn’t see them but the waves crashing up on this rough looking coast line looked amazing.



This is just the waves hitting the cliffs.




This is what we could see of the rock shelf near the blow holes.
We thought they were amazing but when we came back at low tide they
looked even better. ( photo down lower of them in low tide).



We were told by people that this was a very popular spot with the grey nomads to sit for months and wait for the right time to go on to Broome. The grey’s like it because it is cheap to stay and they can fish all day long but you must be fully self-contained because the only facilities you get is a couple of old toilets. Even after been told that we really didn’t think there would be that many there because the C.P’s haven’t been that full and we were told we are at least 2-3 weeks ahead of the nomads, how wrong we were! The place was packed! There were vans, camper trailers, buses, trucks; every sort of camping vehicle you could think of and all packed in like sardines, and you would want to get along with your neighbours. There is no shade, it is all open and bare and you are just up off the beach.  People were well set up with the generators, solar, shower/ toilet tents and shading but what they do all day apart from fish and swim is beyond me. We drove down along the camping area which stretched along the beach for about 2km and even at the end where the sign said “no camping beyond this point” there was three caravans set up!



A sample of some of the fish huts. All made out of corrugated iron with a
good old out house made out of the same. Quite a few toilet blocks
had chains over them to stop them from being blown away!!




This gives you an idea of what the camping is like. This is at the very start of the camping so things aren't
too squashy here but there is no privacy, shade or protection from the elements or neighbours!



We went back to the start where there are little fishing shacks scattered everywhere and went and had a look at the water. There was a lovely looking lagoon with a reef in it so we decided to stay and have a swim and it was unbelievable.  It was like a mini Coral Bay or Barrier Reef with coloured fish of different sizes everywhere. We were so excited; the boys were yelling and pointing at all the fish and a turtle with the biggest “wow” look on their faces, awesome. So needless to say we stayed there for lunch and did lots of snorkeling. We actually realised if you just went and stood in the water and put your finger tips in the water and twitched them the fish would come up and have a nibble at them, cool. I so wish I had an underwater camera!! Our timing was just right because the tide was going out and slowly the reef started becoming exposed and you couldn’t snorkel over it.

Looking to the right of the little lagoon we snorkeled in.  This is when we got there and the tide was up, you can just make out the dark patches of the reef.



Looking to the left out to sea as we left ,now you can see the reef clearly through the water.



Again at low tide. That is an Island in front and is home to 100's of seagulls which you can kind of make out around the water line. It was funny to watch them when the sea eagles flew in and interrupted them; there were gulls flying everywhere!




After our wonderful day we left and headed back out past the blowholes to go back to Carnarvon and we got a great surprise to see them blowing, low tide is when you see them! “Wow” was a very used word as we watched the huge amount of water being shot up into the air. So after many photos (you’ve just gotta love digital camera’s) and getting wet we headed back to camp. We didn’t get up to the Quobba homestead but I am sure it would have been just as busy. I would definitely come back here again to snorkel. It wouldn’t surprise us if soon there is a proper C.P. or resort here  charging you just to enjoy this beautiful place. You can only hope the owners of the fishing shacks hold their ground and don’t allow anything to change it.



Here it comes........




Getting higher.....




Time to get you wet.......





This was the source of the blow holes one big hole and two smaller yet powerful holes.





This is the rock shelf from earlier now at low tide,WOW!





Down the road from the C.P. was a fruit shop which sells fresh fruit, dried fruit leather and frozen chocolate coated bananas, yum!  We treated the boys as we left town.



Chocolate coated frozen bananas, yum!



Yes they are still yellow inside, I would like to know how they do it and why they dont turn brown!

Hamelin Pool

Hamelin POOL old telegraph station

2^ND-4^TH May

Hamelin sits at the southern end of Shark Bay; it is not a town or a road house. We called into the sheep station thinking that was the only place you could stay,  but there are two places to stay in Hamelin; one is at the sheep station and the other is down the road at the Old Telegraph Station. The sheep station had a new fully equipped camp kitchen which looked great and the old shearer’s quarters had been refurbished into new toilet blocks. There was no power, no grass, no pets and no trees for shade which didn’t bother us but we were looking for our friends Trish and Mike (who had Jackie the dog) and they said they were staying at Hamelin. After a long discussion with the man who ran the accommodation side of things we found out that  5km down the road was the Old Telegraph Station; we think he wasn’t too happy when we said we would go down and have a look, oh well. We drove on down and were very surprised to see this quaint little C.P. There was a couple of grassed areas with thatched roof covered picnic tables, trees, older buildings scattered here and there including the toilet block, campers kitchen and the original Postmasters Residents from the late 1800’s. There were signs up everywhere from old post offices and the noise of a large generator humming in the background and yes here we found Trish and Mike. The office for the park was a general store, clothes shop, gift shop and restaurant!! Had to be seen to be believed!

This area was called the Flagpole Landing, up on the hill behind the general store is a large pole with a flag on it and this would indicate to the passing ships where they were and let them know this was the wool trading port in the area.

    



This is the office, shop, general store, take away shop and diner. 

 



The toilet block is on the left and the white building is
the camp kitchen but was also part of the original
buildings here from when this area was a thriving wool trading town.

 



This is the Postmasters quarters from back in the 1800's.
Unfortunately we didn't get to go in because Trish the owner
had to go back to Perth for a few days so we missed out on the opportunity.

 



This is a view of the C.P. from the hill at the back that leads to the beach
 the shell quarry and the Stomatolites. 

 


From the same spot as above but looking back over the beach at the sunset!

  

 We had to laugh because Mike had teed up for Pete to do a small job for the owner of the C.P. and for this we got a free night! The owner Trish has had quite a few years of bad luck including losing her husband and their house at the C.P which burnt down. She had 4 back packers helping her around the C.P. Trish would give the back packers food, accommodation and sign off on their visa’s for their work done around the place.  

This area is a  very unique part of Australia and a short walk from behind the C.P called the Boolagoorda track, shows you why. Just over a hill is the shell beach/ quarry which is called a Coquinite Quarry. All these small shells are stuck together and are able to be used for building which they did years ago. The toilet block is one of those buildings! One of the  photo explains how they are stuck together.



This is only part of the quarry it is quite a large area. 




With the boys there you get an idea of how deep and large the area is. 




A close up of the shell bricks.
They used to cut these bricks called coquina, with a cross cut saw.
Apparently many homesteads around the area are built of them. 




This explains how they stick together.



 The other important feature is the Stromatolites which are apparently millions of years old and there are only two places in the world they are found, here and at the Bahamas. So the beaches around here are not for swimming in because it is all a Marine Nature Reserve and protected.



The Stromatolites





The board walk over the Stromatolites



  

But before this area was declared “important” the first white settlers used this area as a loading point for their wool. The bay here is very shallow so the whole process of getting their wool out into the bay took three different kinds of boats.  




This explains how.





These marks at the base of  the Stromatolites are from the drays
going out to the dinghies back in the wool trade days of the 1800 and 1900's.





From this C.P. we did two long day trips one out to Steep Point the other up to the Francois Peron N.P.

Steep Point is the most westerly point of the Australian mainland. We came out here 12 years ago and camped right on the beach with no one else around. There was a ranger’s residence and you didn’t have to book. Now if you want to camp out here you have to book a month or so in advance and there are designated areas which are still right on the beach with a few drop toilets here and there, but the ranger’s house looks the same! It is about a 150km drive out to the point with all but the first 12 km of that being on gravel or sand. The first part of the road is well maintained because Useless Loop is a salt mine which operates on one of the peninsulas out this way. Actually they were just upgrading the first 7km of the dirt road to bitumen so who knows what it will be like in another 12 years! After the turn off to Useless Loop the road turns more into a track but with the area being so busy most of the track was very corrugated, this became annoying more than anything. The landscape is full of surprises, one minute you think you are in the middle of a dessert then a few km’s up the track you are right beside the ocean.



Turn right to Steep Point or left to False Entrance, we did come back and go
to False Entrance for a look.




Bring it on!!!!



You can just see the bar/ break across this stretch of water has been man made by Useless Loop
salt mine to increase the salinity of the bay to help with creating more salt. It is a huge area that they have
done this to. 





From feeling like you are in the middle of the desert to below
being right on the water.




You can just make out Dirk Hartog Island on the right which is just off Steep Point.
You can now get a barge at a low cost of $700 per vechile each way to go and camp on Dirk Hartog ,
if you want to take a trailer or boat that would be another $700!! That's what it costs for remoteness!!




These Osprey Eagles are nesting in the Rangers radio towers.



We finally got to the point itself and to our surprise there was a very ingenious invention sitting there that we have never seen before; a photo pole! What a great idea!





What a great idea!!

 



We made it!!!

 


Mike, Trish and us, boy we loved that "fotopol".








The cliffs at Steep Point.














After our photos and signing the book we went back to a lovely beach and had our lunch and a swim in the pristine water that was hard to take!!






Lunch stop

 



Tom enjoying this spot.

 



So pretty.

 

The dots in the water are us snorkeling ! What a lovely spot, yes we are just rubbing it in!!!!.

On the return trip from Steep Point we decided to go in and have a look at False Entrance, it was a very soft and windy beach.

 False Entrance beach. 



A bit further on from False Entrance beach is these blow holes. You can see them down on the rock shelf
unfortunately there wasn't enough swell to make them blow! We put the car in it so you could get an idea of how high
up the cliffs are.



 We had decided not to go the famous Monkey Mia where you can feed the dolphins.  We had been told that out of the 100 plus people that turn up only a few get to feed them so we discussed it with the boys and we all decided it wasn’t worth the disappointment. Trish and Mike went and they had a lovely time even though they weren’t picked to feed the dolphins. They said the area in and around the resort was very nice. Maybe next time when we don't have kids and we can enjoy a glass of champagne like Trish did!

So instead we went up to Denham and into the Francois Peron N.P. where we have never been. This was a good drive on a sandy track up to some popular beach camping and fishing spots.

The sand track up to Francios Peron.



Point Peron and its striking red cliffs at the top of the N.P.




The red sand dunes  at Skipjack   Point.





The view from Skipjack Point.

 


Our lunch stop at Bottle Bay, Tom jumped in and got wet.





Another part of the track where you come out of red sand onto
a very large open flat clay pan. 




On our return off the Cape we called into Big Lagoon, a lovely large inlet 10km's off the main  track but near the start.
. A popular camping spot..
We went for a quick snorkel but didn't see alot except clear blue water and a few very small fish, it
was just nice to get wet. 



On the way back we stopped in at the Peron heritage precinct which was a large sheep station. They had a great little interpretive centre telling the story of the land from indigenous inhabitants to the arrival of the Europeans and then how the area used to be a huge sheep station. The area around and near Denham is now a very large fishing depot. They also had a small room with stuffed animals behind glass and in a very well done setting. One group was showing the feral and introduced species and the other was the native. A good eye opener to the problems they have to deal with. Out the back of all this was a large “hot tub” filled with hot artesian water. This is water straight from the ground at a constant temperature of 40 degrees C, and yes it was hot!!!  




Information about the bore.



They were so excited to get in but that didn't last long when they felt
how hot it was. It took the boys quite some time to get all the way in.



I loved it do you think Pete did????


On the road to and from Denham you go past a beach called Shell Beach and that is exactly what it is. A lovely calm clear water beach with instead of having sand it was all shells. They do have a quarry at the end of the beach which is still in operation for shell grit I think.




This is Shell Beach, it is quite a distance to the water and that is all shells!




Tom and Charlie had a swim Pete and I didnt have our bathers on.




My feet in the shells which makes up the beach. These are just like the shells at the quarry
back at the station except they haven't glued together.




Some people had way to much time on their hands!!
Looks great how they used the different coloured shells which you found in
different layers.



This whole pennensuila is a must see if ever over here. We thouroughly enjoyed all the different types of landscapes you see in a just a few 100km's.