EXMOUTH (AND CORAL BAY)

We arrived in Exmouth around 5 pm and checked into the caravan park.

There was plenty of space due to it being out of season but we were advised that the place becomes packed out from Easter onwards.

Julie was happy; the park had a fabulous swimming pool. It was great going for a swim after driving most of the day.

The park itself has its’ own ‘resident population’ of Emu’s; they just stroll around the park at their leisure.

We weren’t able to actually get close enough to stroke them but they were pretty tame none the less.

On the first day we took a tour of the area. It’s a very pretty area with a charming marina.

The beach is beautiful white sand and the swimming is fabulous in the warm, clear water.

We took a ride out to the Vlamingh Lighthouse and spent some time just chilling out.

There was an interesting anti-aircraft post left over from the war. The protective sand-bags have solidified and are still clearly evident around the placement.

Nearby was the Turtle Cove; a well-known breeding ground for the turtles. Unfortunately the breeding period had just passed so we didn’t get to see the mass migration of the turtles as they dash for the beach.

We did meet a friendly little crab though!

Our third night in the area was spent at Coral Bay. It was only 160 kms from Exmouth.

Like Exmouth, Coral Bay is simply gorgeous. It is so peaceful and tranquil here.

Hey, the whole Ningaloo Coast area is ‘out of this world’.

The water is crystal clear and the fish seem so tame and unafraid.

There is a fish-feeding session here at 3.30 pm every day. The fish appear to know the time and turn up almost bang on time!

The water was so clear we were able to photograph the fish under water, (an advantage of having the water-proof camera).

We’re leaving early in the morning, heading for Kalbarri. This will be our last stop before eventually arriving home; holiday over!

JUST BEING SILLY

We all live in a yellow caravan ……….

MOTORHOME TO EXMOUTH

This run to Exmouth was a long one covering 1400 klms and taking 2 days. Knowing we had a long run we set off early and took our time.

Fuel prices are hitting us hard; harder than anticipated.

The motorhome is not giving good mileage; only around 18 to 20 ltrs/100 klms. We do get some slight improvement by keeping our speed down to 90 kph. Such is life!

Our first stop on the way was Roebourne where we quickly decided NOT to stop for very long.

It was just a quick fill up and then on our merry way. The Old Roebourne Gaol was an interesting set of buildings but closed when we were there so we only got a look see outside.

The scenery changes significantly as we move through the Kimberley and into the Pilbara regions. The ground got redder and drier as we progressed.

The evidence of mining activities increases as one enters the Pilbara with numerous mines and gas plants becoming prominent.

There was also evidence of the recent cyclone activity in the North West with some minor cases of water over the roads and some residual flooding present.

We briefly called into and passed through Karratha. Again an underwhelming experience. There was certainly nothing there that made us want to stay so we pressed on after stopping off at the shopping center.

As evening approached we headed for Fortescue River planning to stay the night if there was a campsite available.

There was but we remembered a previous experience once we saw what ‘facilities’ (or lack of) were available. Thus we pressed on and as evening turned to night we pulled off the road and camped for the night; in the middle of nowhere!

This probably wasn’t the best decision since the night time temperature didn’t drop below 29 degrees and we were not able to use our air-conditioning unit. As such we had an awful night with the only good point being a pretty good storm during the night. Unfortunately this storm only provided temporary relief from the heat. In fact once the storm passed the humidity increased even further.

I guess we are getting very soft in our old age!

We were ‘up and off’ at dawn the next morning. It was great to get going and to get the air-con running again. By 7.00 am the temperature gauge was showing 33 degrees.

At 8.30 we called into Point Sampson and made breakfast. This is the ‘other side of the coin’ to running around in a motorhome; being able to stop where and when we want.

We stayed at Point Sampson for about an hour and the pressed on to Exmouth.

Again the scenery continued to change as we neared our destination. The heat became increasingly stupid though with the temperature gauge showing 44.5 degrees.

Later it peaked at 47.5 but we never took a photo of that! However we did manage to take a shot of 46 degrees! Bloody hot!

The land out here is very dry and at times barren. There is no way I could live and work in this place.

Like the Nullarbor, the North West Coastal Highway has RFDS landing strips situated along the roadway.

We have never seen them used however despite the number of miles we travel by road.

The miles clicked by and we both took turns driving and eventually the turn-off for Exmouth was reached.

Again the scenery changed and we pulled into Exmouth at 5.20 pm. There we checked into a caravan park and set up our camp for a couple of nights.