A Dream come True

Some of the places we camp are very cool, but every now and then we discover somewhere exceptional. After we left Karijini, we headed for the Exmouth Peninsula and Cape Range National park. The park has a limited number of camping spots, so if it is full, you have to wait for someone to leave, before the next camper can enter. We had heard stories of people waiting at the entrance gate from 4:30am, just trying to get into the campsites. We arrived at 5:30pm and the ranger was nowhere in sight, so we just drove straight in and began looking for somewhere to set up. We settled on Osprey Bay, about 36km south of the entry gates, where there were three empty places.

Osprey Bay was one of the best campsites available, a fact we confirmed as we explored the area for the next 6 days. Our campsite host was happy for us to set up and sort out the details the next day, as the light was fading fast, and it takes a while to get everything ready.

Early the next morning, we wandered down to the beach entrance and snorkelled out to see if there was anything interesting underwater. About 30m offshore we discovered a large, deep hole in the rocks that was home to several hundred fish, of all colours, sizes and shapes.

Unfortunately, it had been a while since a grocery shop had been available, so we had to run into Exmouth and pick up some much needed supplies, fuel, water, all the usual suspects. Further exploring would have to wait until the next day.

As became our custom, we started the next day snorkelling. This time we headed for Turquoise Bay, a renowned reef destination, where you walk to the south end of the beach and enter the water, and the current pulls you along the reef until you reach the sandy point where you walk back up the beach and do it all again. And again. And again. It was amazing. As soon as you put your mask on, you were surrounded by a large school of curious Dart fish schooling on the sand. A short swim to the reef and the underwater environment literally exploded into life all around.

Ningaloo Reef is Western Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It runs south for 300km from the tip of Exmouth Gulf and is accessible from the shoreline in many places. Snorkelling on the outer reef is not recommended, due to the Indian Ocean crashing huge breakers constantly from the continental shelf, which is at its closest point to the Australian mainland. Not very far from the shore, the ocean plunges over 1600m deep. But snorkelling from the beach is easy enough, and there are many choices, depending on your skill level and fitness.

A short walk around the point at Turquoise Bay brought us to a calmer, more protected beach, where the snorkelling was easier, but less rewarding. There were still plenty of fish around, but the reef lacked the colour and variety found in the faster flowing waters. Josie and I decided to complete one last trip around the reef, and on the way back to shore, we managed to spot a Green Turtle lying on the bottom watching us. He swam away slowly, so we followed him for a little while, before leaving him alone. Amazing! Never in my lifetime would I have ever considered that we might swim with turtles, and Josie is only 12.

Once we finished snorkelling, we began our daily pilgrimage to the closest water tap to fill our 20 litre shower bottle. A flock of Emu’s knew where to find water, so we arrived to find several large birds guarding 6 smaller chicks and the only water tap for 50km. Luckily, Daniel was willing to brave the large birds to fill the water bottles, so we could all have warm showers each night.

We returned to Turquoise Bay several times over the next few days, but a fellow camper told us we should check out a site called The Oyster Stacks. Due to Rosa’s recent unfortunate accident on the Oysters at 80 mile beach, we were reluctant to visit, but we were assured it was worth the risk. The other important detail is to enter the water at high tide, as the reef here is very shallow. We found out that tomorrow mornings high tide was at 8:20am.

We left on time for our snorkelling adventure, but Rosa was apprehensive, and Leisl flat out refused to enter the water. She read a book on the shore. We put Rosa on her inflatable boogie board, to keep her above the water, and fitted our own masks, snorkels and fins. As soon as I put my face in the water, I was transported into an enormous fish tank! It was like the set of ‘Finding Nemo’, and we hadn’t moved off shore yet. Once we all got going, we discovered that this was the BEST snorkelling on the coastline. (AND it was our last morning!!! Doh…). Huge fish were hiding under the rocks in their dozens, the reef was alive, colourful and vibrant, we saw a starfish that would have measured 50cm across, and much, much more. It was incredible. There were no incidents with the oysters, as we were all very careful. As we left the water, we decided we should go back to Turquoise Bay for one last float along the drift.

We also took a few walks along the beach, spotting turtles, or wetting a fishing line in a vain attempt to catch a fish, or watching the kids play at the waters edge. I also am learning more about our digital SLR camera, so have been experimenting with sunset shots. I still take way too many photos to get a good one, but every now and then, they come out all right.

Ningaloo Sunset VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

At the moment the beach and water are constantly filled with Green and Loggerhead turtles in the midst of their breeding, egg laying and hatchling cycle. There is plenty of evidence of these activities, and Karen took great delight in telling the children that they were Humpback Turtles. Until she overheard Rosa telling another child, who had just arrived at the campsite, “Oh those are Humpback Turtles! in the water” Try getting an explanation for that one from his parents…

Early on the last day, no-one wanted to get out of bed. No-one wanted to eat breakfast. No-one wanted to face the inevitable. It was time to leave. It was like pulling teeth, trying to get the kids to pack up clothes, beds and rubbish. Finally, we managed to pack up and head off to our next, as yet unknown, destination.

Wherever we are headed, it’s going to be very difficult to beat Ningaloo Reef.

A little R&R at Cape Levique

I know it probably seems like our lifestyle is one great big holiday…but there are definitely days when one or all of us is “over it!” Sometimes we need to set up for more than an overnighter, and just chill out! So, after working flat out for 5 weeks in Broome, we headed up to Cape Levique to do just that. It seemed a fitting reward for the early completion of school for 2011 and for all Daniel’s hard work too.

Cape Levique is absolutely beautiful. Rich red cliffs and rock faces, hemmed in with pure white sand and sparkling clear blue sea! This place is special. We had booked a Beach Shelter on the beach front at Kooljaman it wasn’t flash. Just a large thatched shelter, with a picnic table, fire pit, outdoor fresh water shower and a killer view! Literally our own little hut on the Beach front! Location, location, location! Our children quickly decided they wanted to “rough it” and sleep in the thatched hut….we figured it couldn’t hurt, so much to their delight they set their beds up on a tarp, in the best possible position to see the sea as they drifted off to sleep, and as they opened their eyes in the morning. We still set the camper trailer up parallel to the Beach Hut.

There is so much to do in this part of the world….yet we just wanted to stay in one place and rest, read, hang out together, swim, snorkel, walk on the beach, lie in the hammock, sit around the fire….you know….chill out! So that’s exactly what we did. We all went for early morning beach walks. We got to practice snorkelling. The children had an absolute blast playing in amongst the many rock pillars and sandstone caves that dotted the foreshore, creating their own secret places. I got to finish one of my novels and start the next one. We marvelled at Humpback Whales frolicking offshore. Enjoyed the blessing of watching wild Dolphins swim by. And trembled at the slide of a 2m saltwater crocodile that we encountered much further up the beach on one of our morning strolls! We were frustrated by the intermittent phone signal that allowed us to send out an sms or 2 then stopped working completely! But we were in paradise. And boy it was nice to catch our breath!

Next stop Anna Plains Cattle Station on 80 Mile Beach!

Gibb River Road – Part One – El Questro

We paid a short visit to Wyndham to see the Five Rivers Lookout that we learned about from fellow travellers, before taking a few shots beside the Big Croc. Then a quick drive to see the prison boab tree about 20km out of town before hitting the Gibb River Road and El Questro station.

Some things that surprised me:

The cheap diesel station in Kununurra was $1.75 per litre, in Wyndham it was $1.62.

We were warned that El Questro would be too expensive, by a few people. At $18.00 per night per adult (kids are free), it was about the same as any other campsite. BUT you also have to buy an El Questro Wilderness Park pass (also $18 per adult). So if two adults stay one night, it will cost $72, which is a bit expensive. Subsequent nights were still only $18 per person, and you had plenty of time to look around. One person told us to buy the El Questro pass, stay at Home Valley station just down the road, and then visit the El Questro sites at your leisure. The camping is about the same price, but you have to drive further every day, so I didn’t see the point. El Questro also has drinking water and fuel available (at $1.95 per litre) so we left with full tanks on both counts.

end of rant!

We asked for one of the private campsites along the Pentecost river (at no extra charge), and were rewarded with an excellent spot, with no-one around. At night you could vaguely make out the other campsites lights off in the distance, but we didn’t see another soul in our camp while we were there.

We were able to watch the kangaroos and cockatoos drinking in the river every day, and enjoyed the peaceful tranquillity of water running through the nearby rapids. But there is so much to explore, it was time to look around!

Zebedee Hot Springs

Knowing that the hot springs were very popular, and that they close at midday, we set out early to enjoy them for as long as possible. The water was very refreshing at 28 deg, and crystal clear. It emanates from holes in the fault line that runs along the bottom of a small gorge and finds its way down the hillside through several small pools that someone has done a little dam work to make deeper. Although the water is initially warm, once your body adjusts to the temperature, you feel like it would be nice if a bit warmer, so you find yourself progressing further and further up the hill in search of the warmest pools.

We enjoyed Zebedee so much, we returned even earlier the next morning to indulge again.

El Questro Gorge

There are a few gorges to explore in the park, but El Questro gorge is one of the best known and most visited. On the drive into the gorge we encountered a sign advising that only high clearance four wheel drives were to venture further. Around the corner we discovered the reason for the warning. “Moonshine Creek” is one of the major waterways in El Questro station, and this road crosses the creek in a very unglamorous fashion. The entry point has large weathered erosion holes to navigate, then over the sandy banks and into the deep water (about 500mm). The road underwater is navigated by bouncing from one rock to the next until you reach the opposite sandy bank with its well rutted exit and large mud protrusion in the centre to negotiate. It’s enough to stop most standard vehicles and makes visiting the gorge all the more rare.

We walked along the 2.5km walking track following the creekbed through the forest of palms until we reached the halfway pool. At this point the track continues past a large boulder that you access from within the waterhole itself. It was a tricky climb and signalled the end of the walk for us. Even though we never made the gorge itself, what we saw has become one of the highlights of our El Questro visit. The sheer rock wall on one side, while the other is covered in thick ferns and shrubs. The beautiful swimming hole that we had all to ourselves for about an hour.

As we left the gorge, the sun was getting low in the sky, and the resulting reflections from the rock made the forest walk all the more spectacular. It is difficult to describe how the sandstone rocks change with the afternoon sun. Its like they suddenly become reflective and bounce their red glow over everything below them. Simply stunning!

Amalia Gorge

The brochure states that there are some difficult and dangerous sections on the track to Amalia Gorge, and they are right! At one stage, we had to crawl along a narrow shelf 4 metres above the ground with sheer rock surfaces in both directions. It was the kind of walk where everyone helped everyone and the team spirit was evident within our family. At the end we were rewarded with a big swimming hole and a relaxing place to cool down, but also the feeling that we had conquered a difficult challenge.

Along the way, we also managed to see our first fresh water crocodile, up close and personal, who swam away at the mere thought of us approaching him. Fortunately, on the return journey, he posed nicely for some photographs.

Emma Gorge

Emma Gorge is one of the most visited places on the Gibb River Road, and it is not difficult to see why. We initially thought it would be an easy walk, because even the elderly tourists had told us they had been there. But the walk was no different from any other gorge walk, with some easy bits and some rock climbing at the end. There was even a hill climb towards the end, gaining some elderly tourists a little more respect from yours truly.

We had information about a hot spring that enters the gorge on the right hand side of the waterhole, but it seemed to make little difference to the water temperature. Josie and I attempted to swim across to the base of the waterfall, but turned back because the water seemed to get colder and colder. The benefit was that as we returned, the previously freezing water suddenly felt much warmer.

Chamberlain Gorge

The boat ramp is located at the beginning of Chamberlain Gorge, and the ‘high falutin’ resort is built on the edge of the cliffs nearby, so it looks an ideal spot for catching that elusive barramundi. We arrived just before dusk, with a bottle of wine, and some lures. With both camps happy, I began the task of locating a willing victim in the calm waters. All the while making sure I wasn’t being watched by anything nasty – swimming is not recommended here, due to the presence of salt water crocs…..

Karen was happy, she was enjoying the wine, and taking some excellent photos, while the kids played noisily on the nearby sand dunes.

Unfortunately, I managed to tangle the fishing line, and set about the arduous task of untangling it. In the water close to the boat ramp, I noticed something swimming around close to the surface and followed it for a while, still untangling the fishing line. It swam past the lure, which was waiting patiently to be cast again, and headed for deeper water, when suddenly it lurched, snapped and flashed its big round tail at me! Doh! Untangling the fishing line took on a whole new urgency as I noticed more and more barramundi swimming around in the waters nearby. As new adrenaline surged through me, I cut the line, retrieved the lure and retied it quickly.

Alas, there were no suicidal fish in the water, and they showed little interest in my popper. Despite me casting it in close range to them, I could see them swimming away whenever it hit the water. Never mind, they live another day, and I’ll have to keep trying.

Chamberlain Gorge was as nice a destination for fishing as you could ever dream of.

After four wonderful days, we are leaving El Questro to tackle the infamous Pentecost River crossing and venture further east….and north….