Carnarvon in Western Australia is on the edge of Western Australia's Coral Coast. It's the only town in Australia where the central desert reaches out to the sea. It has an average temperature of 26 degrees and an average annual rainfall of 229mm.
We arrived in Carnarvon around noon on Saturday 9th June 2012 to a drizzly afternoon. We stocked up on food and were going to head out and camp at Quobba (near the blowholes) for a few days and then return to Carnarvon and see the town before heading further north to Coral Bay. However, after visiting the Tourist Centre where we were advised that the camp sites at Quobba were being evacuated due to predicted gale force wind warnings over the next 24 to 48 hours, we booked a caravan site in town and decided what tomorrow brings.
Saturday night was wild with winds and heavy rain.....the motorhome shook as and the strong wind prevailed and the rain literally bucketed down and we woke to a very miserable looking morning so we rang reception and booked our site for another day. Apparently the area received ¼ of its annual rainfall in the 24 hours!
By 9.00am the sun was shining and the sky clearing and it was a warm 24 degrees, so we took a drive around Carnarvon visiting the OTC Dish........a huge communications satellite dish which opened in 1966. Although no longer used the dish still stands as a reminder of days when Carnarvon participated in the space race and helped put man on the moon in 1969. It was from here that Australia also received its first satellite television broadcast. The station closed after assisting in the tracking of Halley's Comet in 1987.
We drove out to 1 mile jetty and walked the length of the jetty (3.2klms return). The jetty was built in 1897 to aid in the exportation of wool and livestock to Fremantle and essential goods for the town were imported using state shipping. We visited the Carnarvon Heritage Precinct.......The Railway Museum, Lighthouse Keepers Cottage and Shearing Shed of Fame. From the top of an old water tower you look over where ther Gascoyne River flows out to the Indian Ocean.
We continued on around Carnarvon's Central Waterway, known as the Fascine and out to Pelican Point.......today the beachfront was very different.......due to the heavy rain and turbulent weather the water was brown!
Today the plantations surrounding Carnarvon utilise hectares of cultivated land on fertile river delta flats. The diversity of the produce includes tropical fruits such as bananas, mangoes and paw paws, citrus and stone fruit, grapes, avocadoes, and star fruit as well as various melons. They also grow vegetables such as tomatoes, beans, capsicum, asparagus, sweet corn and pumpkin. Many plantation operators also produce a range of sauces, jams, pickled fruits, ice cream and dried fruits. Carnarvon supplies 70% of WA's winter vegetable requirements.
Well....you have certainly hit some adverse weather. Sorry to hear about the terrible rain & wind lashing WA. But, no doubt about you the blogging continues - I particularly enjoyed your post about Denham & Monkey Mia and your account of the area's history. Loved the photos!
ReplyDeleteStay safe & dry! Kathy