To Geraldton

We headed to Northampton not knowing where we were going to stay. It is a small heritage town with some beautiful old buildings built by an architect priest Monsignor Hawes. He built many churches in the area and made an amazing contribution.


After a quick look around we decided to go to the Oakabella Homestead which was a beautiful old homestead that is supposedly haunted.
It is run by a lady who had dreamt of this old homestead since she was a little girl.
When she finally went to stay there she fell in love with the place and she convinced her friend to let her restore the house to its former glory and she has managed the place ever since and takes people on tours through the house. There was a lovely old barn and a shearing shed as well. The view from our campsite looked out over the green pastures and was very picturesque.
Luckily we didn’t encounter any ghosts!!
We arrived there fairly early and it was pretty windy and cold so decided to check out a place we heard that was close by and was a recommended place to stay. It was only ten kilometres to Coronation Beach and it was absolutely beautiful and no wind and warmer. We thought we would come back with the caravan in the morning.


The next morning we left very early in the morning as Coronation Beach was full the day before but we had talked to two people who were leaving so we wanted to be first cab( opps I mean caravan) off the rank. The wattle on the way road into the beach was magnificent and the paddocks were full of green crops so it was a very pretty drive. You come down a steep hill and all that is there is the campsite as it is a nature reserve. It was a lovely natural spot.
The next day really windy so we went into Geraldton for the day as it was only 28 kms away. It seems we get one good day and then the wind comes back and its gets cold. This is an excellent spot for wind and kite surfers as there is a reef out to sea and the bay is very calm. We were treated to a good display during our stay.

( our van is near the two yellow bins)

Hutt River Province:

We set off for the Hutt River Province with not very clear directions on how to get there and the GPS wasn’t much help so we stopped on the way and asked a farmer who set us straight.

We were on a delightful country road surrounded on both sides by green (wheat) and yellow (canola) crops.



Then we came on a wonderful area of wild flowers and after my trip to the Wild Flower Park in Kalbarri I was able to recognise lots of varieties. We stopped for a cup of coffee on the side of the road and I was able to have a good look at the flowers and
I even found some orchids hiding under some bushes.


Then we came to the Hutt River Province that has successfully seceded from Australia.
They have their own stamps and currency are not Australian citizens nor do they pay tax. You can even get your passport stamped. When you post a letter you have to put the stamps on the back of the envelope.there is a beautiful chapel there with a throne like chair.

It all started in 1969 when the Wheat Board introduced quotas in the middle of a season and the property had 30.000 acres of wheat planted and the quota was reduced to 300 acres. The now Prince Leonard objected and pursued the matter through all avenues without any success until he decided to secede from Australia and because of his intimate knowledge of the constitution he was successful.
He has been taken to court on all sorts of matters especially the tax department but has always managed to win. He has special regalia for important occasions. I think he is considered an eccentric but he certainly seems to know the law inside out. He is now 85 and is available to chat and answer questions.

This was a very interesting experience.

Denham to Kalbarri:

Leaving Denham we proceeded on the same road we came in on. We stopped at Eagle Bluff where the lookout gives you a vista of the coastline of one of the bays. The water is very shallow and this is often a point where you can see some marine life. Unfortunately the water is cold so not many fish around at the moment. You can see the darkness of the seagrass which is so important to this area.
Once we are on the highway and heading south there is lots of wattle
lining the roadside with little yellow and white flowers creating quite a display especially with on a background of red dirt. As we get further south there are some beautiful large graceful spreading gums that have red tips on the upper branches to give the trees a reddish tinge. I am so excited to see trees again. Then we come across a wildflower spectacle on the side of the road- purple daisies, red grevilleas, yellow wattle, another yellow flower and some purple heath like flower.

We spent the nightdat Murchison River free camp and we found a nice spot overlooking the river which has some water in it but was not flowing. A pelican was swimming and diving with great gusto so I guess there are some fish in there.
I walked up the river bed to find some wood for the fire and was delighted to come across masses of yellow flower scattered through the paddock. When I saw them in the distance I thought it was canola but they were wild flowers.

We went for a walk to see some ruins nearby and came across Dan the caretaker.
He is one of those characters you meet, who lives by himself with a very fat dog and lives in a little makeshift hut.He showed us where the ruins of a stone cottage with thick walls were and also pointed out some children’s graves which were outlined by a stones on the ground- no headstones or crosses. Makes you realise how tough it was in those early days. He commented on how poor the wild flowers were this year because of the lack of rain – I thought they were beautiful.
It was a beautiful day with no wind which was a pleasant change.


That night we had a warming fire and cooked our meal over the fire. It is getting much colder as we head south.
The next day we had a huge surprise as the countryside changed from scrub to open paddocks of green – probably a wheat crop. The roads are still lined with wattle some of which is quite stunning. It seems we are back to “normal” scenery. As we turned off to Kalbarri there are lots of banksias which have unfortunately finished flowering. We went into the national park to see Ross Graham Lookout. It looks out over the Murchison River which has carved out a stunning deep gorge in the red sandstone.
The track takes you down to the river and the colours in the sandstone are amazing. There are lots of river gums here and the area is dotted with wattle so it is very pretty. From there we went to Hawks Head lookout where you can see right down the gorge but the river is inaccessible here.This was very beautiful. We bumped into the friends that we met at Hamelin Station. It’s a small world when you are travelling.

Before long we were coming into Kalbarri. Unfortunately we only could get one night here as it is a very pretty place. Our CP overlooked the Murchison River which is wide and beautiful.

We had to vote and do some shopping. Then we went to the lookout at the mouth of the river. There is a very dangerous bar here with the waves crashing in all directions. We watched a boat coming in. You certainly need some skill to negotiate this one. From here you can also see the dangerous cliffs where many explorers’ ships have been wrecked. This is the first time we have seen larger waves on the shore.


Just south of Kalbarri you are back in the National park and there is another magnificent lookout where you can see right up the pretty coastline northwards and on the south you see the craggy red rock of the sandstone cliffs.

It was very windy and rather cold.
This is where Grey the explorer’s boat was wrecked and their lifeboat broke up on the rocks as they tried to land. They had to walk all the way back to Perth and nearly died in the effort.

The next morning I went to The Wildflower Centre. As I walked down the driveway I was amazed at the variety and colour. There were lots of birds everywhere. Unfortunately my camera battery was dead!! Out the back was over a kilometre of paths through natural bushland and it was ablaze with colourful flowers. All the plants were labelled so I was able to learn and recognise different variety which I was very keen to do. It will be so helpful when we see more flowers along the sides of the road. I was absolutely excited to see so many wildflowers and we will be seeing many more.


Once we left the national park we came to more open spaces of green pastures.We only had a short distance to go. Our next camp was in a nice position where you could see the ocean but the campsite wasn’t too good. It was also very very windy and cold and we arrived there fairly early so it was rather a confined day of reading.

We headed off the next day through the rolling countryside with lots of wattle lining the road until we came to the Pink Lake and Port Gregory. We decided to stay here and go to a day trip to Hutt River Province.

The Pink Lake is actually caused by beta–caratene in the water. Beta carotene is used in many health products and is harvested from here. The lake is very pink.

Just out of Port Gregory there were some interesting convict ruins. Some of the buildings had been restored but the prison was in its original state. You can see how small the cell were and inmage how tough it was for the convicts.
Unfortunately there are a lot of people who disregard our heritage and all the walls were full of graffiti.

Denham and Monkey Mia

Shark Bay consists of two long bays which have a peninsula in the middle and Denham is on one side and Monkey Mia is on the other. Check it out on Google Earth.

Shark Bay has been declared a world heritage area as it has a massive area of sea grasses which provides habitat and breeding ground for lots of fish as well as a feeding ground for Dugong and Turtles. There also has been a rehabilitation programme for the bilby and mallee fowl.

Denham is a small town with one main street that runs along the waterfront.We strolled along the grassy foreshore which looks out over the clear blue water and a few boats are moored offshore. Some of the buildings are made out of the bricks of compressed shells.

We had to get up early the next morning to be at Monkey Mia by 7.30 for the dolphin feeding. The dolphins have been feed here for over 30 years. It is now very controlled and only five dolphins are feed and they are only given a small amount so they don’t rely on it and still have to hunt. They are only fed 3 times a day which is the morning and it depends on what time they come in to when they are fed.
When we arrived they were quite a few dolphins swimming around and a couple of young pups playing.
The water is very shallow and clear so you can see them easily. We all had to wait off the sand till the rangers come along and then we can move down and stand in the water. No one is allowed to touch the dolphin and only a few people are chosen to feed the dolphins. They are so beautiful close up and of course they all have names and personalities. The ranger explains all about the dolphins as the follow here up and down the line. After they have been fed they all disappear. We were surprised that they came back again for the second feeding.
There is a resort at Monkey Mia and a caravan park and that is all. No houses. It is very pretty beach and peaceful.
We went and had a coffee while taking in the scenery.

There are two tourist catamarans that take you for a cruise on the bay. One called Shotover which used to be a very fast racing boat that one lots of races. The other one is Aristocat 2. I wanted to go on it but was informed that I was booked out. However I noticed a couple obtaining a seat at the boat and asked if they could squeeze another on in so right at the last minute I was able to go.

Our first stop was the Pearl Farm which produces black pearls. If anyone has been watching “The farmer wants a wife” farmer Jamie is on the pearl farm at Monkey Mia (we had watched the show the night before)
Of course everyone was asking him who he had chosen but he’s not allowed to tell. The pearl farm was very interesting and it was such an intricate process to seed the shells so you can understand why they are so expensive.


After leaving the pearl farm we had a chance to view some dugongs, some turtles and some dolphins. There are great restrictions on the tour boat. They are only allowed to track the animal for fifteen minutes and have to press a button to say they have sighted one so they are monitored all the way. The dolphins we saw carry a sponge in their mouth when hunting to protect their mouth
. After we had sighted some animals we set the sail and were sailing along in a good breeze. It was good to be on the water again. I really enjoyed the trip.

After that we went had lunch at the resort, watched done of the movies about the dolphins and then headed back after a very pleasant day.

To Denham and Shark Bay

Leaving Quobba in the rain we realised that it is going to get cooler as we head south. We picked up a some more delicious local fruit and veggie before we left Carnarvon. The countryside was flat with the familiar stunted shrubs (no trees) and not many changes so was quite monotonous and the rain didn’t help us but is much appreciated by the farmers as it has been extremely dry in WA. I didn’t realise that there is so much flat land in Australia.
After making good time we decided not to stay at the freebie we planned on and to get closer to Shark Bay so I booked into the Hamelin Pools CP just after the turn off to Denham. We came to a sign saying Hamelin Station and turned in.As we got closer I realised we had taken the wrong turn.
When we rounded the corner we saw a lovely new building and some sheds etc, lots of birds and there was a very relaxing feeling. We were in the wrong place but Jake showed us around anyway. He was a traveller himself but he and his wife have been here for over a year setting up and managing the new tourist operation. He was extremely enthusiastic about the property and loved to talk.
We were so impressed with him and the place that we decided to stay here instead. There was a new building which housed a huge kitchen, an open fire and a great outdoor sitting area as well as a huge brand new abolition block which is the best one I have seen on this trip. He also explained the size of the property which is a working sheep, goat and cattle station. It is 60 kms from one side to the other and the highway runs right through the place. He said it was quite an interesting task stopping the road trains to allow the sheep to cross. There are many paddocks, each about 30,000 acres in size!!
Just after we pulled up another QLD car pulled up and they also had taken the wrong turn and also decided to stay and they live at the Gold Coast at Worongary!! Small world. Jake took us all on a bird watching tour which he was passionate about. It is a bird watchers paradise with a large dam as well as lots of habitat for wrens. We saw some beautiful blue wrens as well as lots of other birds. The landscape consists of stunted twisted trees, red soil and there was lots of wattle out so it was very pretty. That evening we had a happy hour by the open fire as it was a cold night which was lots of fun.

The next day we headed to Hamelin Pools to see the Stromatolites which are a very ancient form of life that was the start of life on earth and very exciting for geologists.
They are layered limestone rocks built by single celled cynobacteria which trap and bind sediments. Some build craggy towers and others build flat spongy mats depending on the water level. Cynobacteria first appeared on earth when oxygen was scarce. As these colonies expanded they released more and more oxygen into the atmosphere eventually raising the oxygen levels to 20% which led the way for air breathing life forms to evolve.
The Stomatolites here are only about 3000 years old but is a very interesting study. They only appear where the water is very salty and this occurs at Hamelin Pools as a huge sand bar prevents the tide from flushing the out the water.
There is a large boardwalk over the sea so visitors can view this unusual phenomina.

Then we went on to Shell beach which is made up of millions of small white Coquina shells which only occur in very salty water. There are so many shells they have compacted to form Coquina limestone
which was cut into blocks to use for building. The shells appear around the area and are used for paths in the town (and on the station) and are also made into shell grit. It will never run out as new shells are always being deposited.

We arrived in Denham and checked into our CP. We could see the turquoise sea from our site. Denham is a very pretty, small fishing and tourist town in the World Heritage Shark Bay.
Shark Bay is where the first recorded white man, the Dutch trading ship's captain Dirk Hartog, landed in 1699 and Dirk Hartog Island is named after him.

Carnarvon and Quobba Again

We did experience the storm on Thursday night but was short lived and it was quite calm by the morning.

In Carnarvon you see avenues of trees all leaning over one way so it shows that the prevailing winds are very strong and constant. Note the trees in the CP.
Carnarvon is at the head of the Gascoyne River which is appears as dry river bed but the river is underground and only is visible for about six weeks of the year. Many plantations are on both sides of the river and because of the desert climate they can grow all year round so there is an amazing variety of fruit and veggies grown in the area.
We went on a plantation tour and found out all about the water allocation. Each property gets the same allocation each month no matter the size of the property or how many families it sustains. If you go over your allocation there are huge fines so you have to really plan what you grow and how much water you will need. All the water is fed to the plants by drip irrigation and is controlled by computer for maximum efficiency. There is very little rain in the area as it is really a desert climate and the catchment area for the river is a long way. At the end of the tour we sampled some of the delicious products made from their produce – jams, sauces and the famous fruits ice-cream some dipped in chocolate.
The next day we went for a walk on the One Mile Jetty which is the longest in WA and was used to ship wool, sheep and cattle to Fremantle. There was even a cattle race on it years ago. It was very windy on the walk out on the on the jetty but we made it to the end. Normally there is a little train that take you out but it was being repaired. We also saw the lighthouse cottage and a railway museum
The afternoon was spent cleaning the car and the van, very much needed. It was a lovely sunny day and the wind dropped.

We decided to go back to Quobba Point because we loved it there and also Brian wanted to try out his new underwater camera. When we got there the blow holes were blowing spouting with a massive spray and making a huge noise as the large spout of water was forced high into the air.
We were lucky enough to get the same campsite as last time.

It wasn’t long before we donned the snorkelling gear and walked down to the beach to see what we could spy. It was pretty cold in the water but once again we saw lots of fish and Brian took a lot of photos.

Later on that afternoon I went for a walk to the lighthouse over the sand hills. There seem to be more wild flowers out this time.

The next day was a beautiful sunny day and I was anxious to see the coral in the sunlight. My goodness it was so beautiful and colourful with blues, green, purple and yellow. The water was warmer and the tide was a bit higher so you could swim over the top of the coral. It was amazing.

That afternoon it was overcast and by night it was raining so we knew it was time to move on.

Cape Range National Park to Carnarvon:

The wind dropped completely the night before we left which was great. We had lots of chores to do in Exmouth – fill up with water, washing, shopping and catching up with phoning, posting the blog and emailing so that took a couple of hours..
Finally we headed south The countryside is flat with no trees and dotted with fat cone shaped anthills that look like small African huts.

We stayed the night at Bullara Station which is a working cattle and sheep station.
They were well set up with cabins and also an area for caravaners. The shower was under the tank stand with no roof and hot water provided by the “donkey” – a wood fire- so if you want a shower you have to put wood on the fire. There was a camp kitchen and a communal campfire area and lots of available wood. Of course we all gather round the fire for happy hour and we cooked our tea on the huge hotplate over the fire. There were a group of ladies who were riding pushbikes right around Australia. They were nurses who are midwifes and were raising money for home birthing and breast feeding awareness and were doing great community work in Darwin teaching the aborigines to be midwives.

Next morning we headed to Coral Bay for a day trip. Coral Bay is famous for its blue sea, coral and abundance of fish. It is only very small and touristy. There are two large caravan parks, a resort and a few houses so lots of people.

The water was turquoise blue and the coral is just off the beach. When we went for a snorkel, the tide was very high and it was quite windy so the sea was choppy. It was quite deep and we didn’t see very many fish – well not compared to the Oyster Stacks in the NP. I was a little disappointed.
I decided to try again later when the tide was lower as there was meant to be some large fish.
We had some lunch and caught up with some more emailing.

The tide at dropped considerably and so had the wind so I had another go at snorkelling. The coral was prolific with some very interesting shapes and varieties but I didn’t see the abundance of fish I expected. The water was a lot calmer and warmer than before and right at the end I saw some very large bream that I was able to follow right along the shoreline. I really enjoyed the experience.
We headed out to a free camp about 60 kms away. It was packed when we arrived as we didn’t get there at our usual early time.
The drive between our campsite and Quobba Point was quite drab with no trees and few stunted bushes.
Quobba Point is hidden treasure about 70 kms north of Carnarvon. You pass through some salty flats and as you near the coast there are sandy dunes and once again no trees. There are a few wildflowers out – the pigface and daises are starting to flower. There are a lot of old tin beach shacks owned by locals and lots of campsites right near the beach.
You have to bring all your water, there is no power and has pit toilets but it is a beautiful area.

There is a reef just off the beach and the fish life is amazing. I have never seen so many fish and because it is fairly shallow you are actually swimming with the fish –not looking down on them. It was like swimming in an Aquarium. Just magnificent!! People stay here for months.
The next day was very windy and overcast. We went to the Quobba blowholes which are just nearby. There are spectacular rugged limestone cliffs.
We waited for the blowhole to blow but it only obliged us once. However we were rewarded by spotting some large humpback whales breaching not far from the shore.
I went for another snorkel although conditions were not ideal as it was pretty cold and windy but it was great to see all the fish again. They seem to follow you and such variety.
There was a forecast of a 45 knot wind for Thursday arvo and we were due to leave on Friday so we decided to leave Thursday morning as we didn’t fancy travelling in a strong wind. We arrived in Carnarvon in the rain and managed to get an unpowered site for the night. We had a bit of look around the town but visibility wasn’t good so we did some shopping and went back to the CP. That night we had a few “big blows “but it wasn’t too bad. Hopefully it will clear up tomorrow and if it does we will go back to Quobba Point.
Carnarvon is the food bowl of the west and they grow heaps of fruit and veggies. It was a delight to have some fresh “real” veggies. I bought a big bag of tomatoes for $2 and three large zucchinis for $1.


Quobba beach