We left Carnarvon and travelled a short 70klms north to the coast to the Blowholes where a powerful jet of water is forced with terrific pressure through a hole in the rock, sometimes to a height of 20 metres. One kilometre south of the Blowholes lies an absolutely beautiful beach, protected by a coral reef; contains tropical fish and shells. This region is Quobba Point. We camped along the ridge of the beach for three days enjoying the peace, swimming, snorkelling, bush walking and thinking life is terrific. Yes, I got my swimmers on and geared up with my goggles, snorkel and flippers and ventured into the water. Wow! What a magnificent environment lies under the surface of the water..........abundant fish and coral, all amazing colours. The water was warmer here (and it is winter), than the water is in Newcastle in the middle of summer. Next stop Coral Bay.
WELCOME
Welcome to our blogspot
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Quobba Point Blowholes and Camping Reserve
Monday, June 11, 2012
CARNARVON WA
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.
CARNARVON WA
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Denham and Monkey Mia - Western Australia
We arrived in Denham around lunchtime so parked along the beautiful Denham foreshore found a bakery and bought a couple of grain bread rolls and had lunch (double smoked ham, tomatoes and jalapeno peppers on the rolls). While eating lunch an emu strolled past along the footpath, truly an amazing sight. I just love the diversity of nature in our fabulous country. As we left Denham it had become very windy and by the time we travelled the short 26klms onto Monkey Mia the weather had turned a bit nasty and the waters very rough. Due to the full moon and king tides the resort beachfront was awash.
Next day the weather was still bleak and showery until lunchtime but cleared mid afternoon, temperature around 26 degrees (very comfortable, after all it is winter). Late in the day strolled along the waterfront of the resort and caught sight of dolphins swimming around the jetty area.
Monkey Mia is within the dolphin's natural feeding area. Monkey Mia is world-renowned for the bottlenose dolphins that visit daily and interact with humans. They have visited the shores of Monkey Mia daily for more than forty years. Feeding times are between 8 am and 12 noon. The dolphins are wild, so the numbers and the exact times of their visits vary; however they may visit the shore as little as two or as many as fifty times a day.
What a difference a day makes.........next morning (Friday 8th June 2012) we woke to a glorious sunny day, temperature around 20 degrees.
We got the exhilaration of Monkey Mia as we ventured early, down to the water's edge, and had the dolphins swim into the shore for their morning feed. It was something else to be standing in the water and have these magnificent and beautiful animals swim around just a metre in front of you.
That afternoon we left Monkey Mia and went back into Denham, where we visited the Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery and Visitor Centre......... an interesting and informative centre about the history, marine life and the many aspects of this area over the last 400 years. Shark Bay became World Heritage listed in 1991, after meeting all four natural criteria.
Criteria 1......Earth's History
Criteria 2......Ongoing Evolution
Criteria 3......Natural Beauty
Criteria 4......Threatened Species
Travelling back along The World Heritage Drive to the North West Coastal Highway we ventured out to the many coastal vistas such as Eagle Bluff, Whalebone Road Vista, Shell Beach and Hamelin Pool Stromatolites.
Shell Beach .......this unique beach is made up of countless tiny cockle shells layered up to ten metres deep and stretching for over 120 kilometres.
Hamelin Pool Stromatolites.......these rocky looking lumps in the water resemble the oldest and simplest forms of life on earth dating back 3.5 billion years! The water at Hamelin Pool is twice as saline as usual sea water.
We settled for the evening at the Gladstone Scenic Lookout about 150klms south of Carnarvon. A great free camp site perched on the rocky hill top looking over floodplains to the eastern side of Shark Bay.
Tonight we are in Carnarvon, again it is wet.
DENHAM and MONKEY MIA
DENHAM..............
As we were parked and enjoying lunch a emu wandered past........
The sixteen World Heritage Sites in Australia
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SHELL BEACH....................
I'm sure you wouldn't be able to walk to far on the beach without your shoes, however to sink your feet into the shells they felt quiet soft
HAMLIN POOL STROMATOLITES...............
