EXMOUTH TO CLEAVERVILLE 3OKM NORTH OF KARRATHA IN THE PILBARRA REGION

MONDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER   -   We left Exmouth at 9am for our next destination Cleaverville 30 kilometres north past Karratha and a distance of 579 kilometres from Exmouth.  Karratha is part of The Pilbarra Coast. It was a massive day of driving, which we normally don’t do or like to do very often.  We had a possible overnight stop at Robe River half way if we didn’t want to do the full planned trip.  It took us 2 hours driving from Exmouth to get back on to the main highway again.  We had 3 petrol stops along the way.  The price of petrol was the highest we’ve ever paid  -  $1.92 at one stop and $1.99 at another.  The total cost of petrol for this part of our trip from Exmouth to Cleaverville was a staggering $300!!!

We got to Robe River at 1pm and had a lunch stop.  The stopover was very close to the highway with trucks rushing past non-stop.  It was around 33 degrees and very hot there.  There was no water in the river and the place was pretty dusty.  There was a huge boulder preventing anyone driving under the bridge where you used to be able to drive under and camp along the riverside.  We weren’t overly impressed with the place, so decided to press on to Karratha.

We arrived at the Cleaverville turn off at 5pm, pretty tired and dusty and glad that our massive day of driving was almost over.  The red gravel road leading up to the camping area took about 10 minutes and was tarred in places, with vivid green undulating hills on either side which were very pretty.  At the end of the road, we came up to the beach and camping area.  There were lots of caravans parked along the beachside in the designated parking areas.  We found a nice flat spot right on the beachfront and set up in record time so that we could go for a walk along the beach before dinner.   The fees were $7 per night, $45 per week, or $150 per month.  Most of the people parked there had been staying  for 3-4 months.  Some of them had been coming to this spot for over 30 years.  There was a toilet and dump point close by and a resident caretaker.  It was a lovely place and we couldn’t believe our luck getting a spot so close to the water.  Behind us there were high, green hills, stretching from one end of the coastline to the other.  

A LARGE LIZARD ON THE ROADSIDE 

STUART DESERT PEA SPREAD ALL OVER THE BEACH

st

VIEW FROM TOP OF THE HILL LOOKING DOWN TO CAMPING AREA

ANOTHER HILL TOP VIEW 

Parts of the road in were tarred.  We were told this was because some of the movie “Red Dog” was filmed here and also further down the beach at a beautiful fishing lagoon.

THURSDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER    -   We went for a drive around some of the local towns and attractions heading north from Cleaverville.  Our first stop was Roebourne 39 kilometres from Karratha, on the Banks of the Harding River, where we found the quirkiest original stone building Visitor’s Centre.  Out the front, there was a self-serve water machine with gold coin donation.  The staff inside were really helpful and friendly and advised us we could use the washing machines right at the back of the centre and “please help yourself to a free tea or coffee whilst you’re waiting for your washing to do”.   The 3 washing machines were almost brand new and donated by The North West Shelf Mining Co.  It was $3 per wash.  Whilst waiting for the washing to be done, we visited the museum and learnt some of the history (good and bad) of the area.  We were disgusted to learn about “black birding” rife all along Western Australia, whereby aboriginal men were captured and forced to work for the diving and mining industry and kept with chains around their necks and feet. Their womenfolk were forced into prostitution.  We saw some really sickening photos of these helpless soles.

ROEBOURNE VISITORS CENTRE

BLACK BIRDED ABORIGINES

In 1969 William Dampier sailed into the Dampier Archipelago on his ship “The Roebuck”.  The township of Roebourne was first established in 1866 and named after Western Australia’s first Surveyor General John Septimus Roe.  The town quickly grew to become the administrative capital of the North West.  The nearby town of Cossack was the port that serviced this then very large town.  The early years of settlement were extraordinarily difficult with cyclones, sunken ships and a smallpox outbreak killing many aborigines and settlers in epidemic proportions.

We next went to Cossask a heritage town rich in history and a fascinating little place, with placards along the roadside for a self-guided tour of the town. In 1869, Cossack was the port for the pastoral industry and had over 30,000 sheep all over the Pilbarra.  It was also busy with gold prospectors when gold was discovered in the Pilbarra in the 1880’s.   Cossack was also a busy town for pearl divers with over 80 boats, with divers from Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and China stopping there. By 1900, the pearling industry moved up to Broome to take advantage of the pearl beds in that area.

THE OLD COURT HOUSE AT COSSACK

THE OLD STORE

From Cossack, we went to Wickham, established in 1970 by Cliffs Robe River Iron Associates as a processing plant for the iron ore mined in nearby Pannawonica.  It is now a prominent mining town with a population of 2,000.    There is a yacht club at the far end of  town.  Wickham is currently undergoing a $300,000,000 upgrade by Rio Tinto for accommodation and infrastructure to cope with its growing population.   Nearby Cape Lambert has a 2.7km open sea wharf, one of the highest and longest open ocean wharves in Australia, and is capable of loading three major iron ore carriers at the same time.

From Wickham we drove to Point Samson, a popular tourist and fishing spot, with 2 caravan parks and holiday accommodation.  At one time, Point Samson jetty handled the third largest annual port tonnage in WA.  Time and cyclones have all caused the deterioration of the jarrah jetty, which was finally removed in 1991.  Point Samson beach is bordered by a coral reef and has calm waters for safe swimming, snorkelling and game fishing.  Honeymoon Cove is nearby and another popular spot.   We had our picnic lunch here overlooking the calm turquoise waters.

The Pilbarra Region covers the towns of Karratha, Dampier, Wickham, Point Samson and Cossack.

SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER   -    We went for a drive to Dampier as I really wanted to see the Red Dog statue.  Dampier was a pretty little town with newly built parks and facilities overlooking the beach and 42 islands in the Dampier Archipelago.  The bronzed memorial to the infamous red dog is in the Information Bay as you enter town.   I just had to introduce our white dog Sally (growing redder by the day with the constant red dust from the Pilbarra) to red dog. She was suitably impressed.  It was a busy photo spot.

From Dampier, we drove along the coastline to beautiful Hearson Cove, a spectacular horseshoe bay with stunning green hills with huge red rocks scattered all over them.  It is a very popular picnic and swimming area.  We had our picnic lunch there and really enjoyed the stunning views of the ocean and surrounding landscape.

MONDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER   -   We went into Karratha to have a look around and restock food and water supplies.  Outside The Visitor Centre, we bought drinking water by putting in $1 for 50 litres of water.  It came out of a metred tank, similar to a petrol bowser. 

Karratha is 1,600 north of Perth and has a population of 24,000 and comes from the aboriginal word meaning “good country”.  It is a large mining area producing salt, iron ore, copper, fertilisers and natural gas.  Some of the world’s largest privately owned railways are located there.   The region generates about 25% of Australia’s national economy from exports, taxes and royalties.  Karratha is home to many of the FIFO workers (fly-in-fly-out) with “donger villages”  popping up all over the town.

Centro Karratha had Coles, Woolworths and many other shops and was 30 minutes from our camp at Cleaverville.

We have really enjoyed our stay at Cleaverville and would definitely come back here again.  We’ve had full internet and phone coverage,  a fantastic location,  stunning views and lovely companions for our  nightly 5pm happy hour (or 2 or 3) gatherings.  We couldn’t believe we even met a man that used to be a milkman in East Hills (our home for 23 years) until 1997.  His daughter and son-in-law still live around the corner from where we lived in Broe Avenue, East Hills.  It’s a small world!!!

I’m off to Sydney for 10 days to catch up with friends and family.  I get back on 4^th October when we’ll be heading further north to De Grey’s River for a few nights and on to Broome, which will be our last destination north before we turn around and start the long trip back down to Perth for Christmas with  Daniel and Min.  

WE'RE AT EXMOUTH

SUNDAY 25TH AUGUST   -   We left Quobba Blowholes at 9am for our next destination 300 kilometres further north to Exmouth.  We said goodbye to our friends Bob, Bev and their gorgeous Jack Russell dog Jacky and hope to catch up with them again somewhere in WA next year.  It was a beautiful day.  Daniel and Bob had left before us to get to the caravan park at Exmouth and be set up by the time we arrived.   Going past Coral Bay, we noticed lots of termite nests on either side of the road.  They were all different sizes and shape and looked liked monsters from a Dr. Who set or alien movie.  Just in case you didn’t by some chance notice them, there was a big sign further along the road advising you of “Termite Nests” with an arrow pointing to where you could see them!!!

As we came closer to Exmouth we had to stop the car for 3 scatty emus running across the road.  Apparently there are lots of emus here.

DADDY EMU AND HIS CUTE CHICKS - WE HAD TO WAIT FOR THEM TO CROSS THE ROAD

We arrived at Ningaloo Caravan Holiday Resort at 1pm and found Daniel and Bob had just finished setting up (good timing).   We were a day earlier than booked and they managed to fit us into the overflow dog area until our spot was vacant the following day which was ok by us.  We were just glad they could fit us in.  The caravan park had its own day spa/massage salon at the front and an Italian restaurant called Pinocchio’s which we were told was very good.  There was a huge resort pool that looked very inviting besides the restaurant.  It was quite a big park and the staff were very friendly and helpful.  There were gas bbqs and a covered eating area with wooden tables and chairs and 2 laundries and facilities blocks in the park.  It was a 5 minute walk to the local shops and was opposite the Tourist Information Centre and grassed ovals for dog exercising.  It was definitely in a good convenient location, but was pretty pricey at $48 a night – our most expensive stay yet gulp!!!  

Daniel and Bob were keen to get out on the boat the following day and spent time setting all the rods and equipment up as they wanted to be on the water by 7am.  We had bbq steak and vegetables for dinner and sat at the bbq tables.  Many people had been staying there for 3-4 months and were heading back down south.  All the people we met were very friendly and told us some good spots to visit on our way up.  95% of people we’ve met are heading south again now as they go north from May to September to escape Perth’s cold weather. We’re definitely in the minority heading north as it’s getting considerably hotter up north now.

Exmouth is known as the Gateway to the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area and is a very popular spot for fishing, diving with the whale sharks, snorkelling and scenic flights.  The Ningaloo Reef stretches for 260 kilometres south to Coral Bay.  It was a popular area with the pearl luggers from Broome at one time.  During WWII, a secret base was established called “Operation Potshot”.

In 1967 the Naval Communication Centre was built at Exmouth which was a radio relay station passing messages between Australia and US command centres, submarines and surface ships.  The township developed around the Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Centre.

Exmouth is 1,270 kilometres north from Perth and has a population of 2,500.  It has 350 days of sunshine every year. It was badly damaged by Cyclone Vance in March 1999.

MONDAY 26TH AUGUST  -  Richard didn’t go out on the boat today as we had to move our van onto our designated site when it was vacant and had been mowed.  We took Sally to the local beach for a run around which was really long and a popular 4WD beach.

Once we had set up we went for a drive to Bundegi Beach, 12 kilometres from town, and the start of the Ningaloo Reef Marine Park and boat ramp.  The glass bottom boat departs from there.  We went for a drive along Yardie Creek Road, past The Lighthouse Caravan Park and up to Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, which offered panoramic views of exquisite turquoise surfing beaches.  There are still some original sandbags from WWII at the top of the lighthouse and the anchor from the shipwreck SS Mildura in 1907.  The lighthouse celebrated its centenary on 10^th December 2012.

From the lighthouse, we drove further along the road to Jurabi Turtle Centre and learnt some amazing turtle facts – once the eggs are laid, the mothers go off and leave the eggs to hatch alone.  Of the 1,000 baby turtles hatched, only one or two will return to nest there as a 20 year old adult.  Most of them perish before they even reach the ocean.  Those that do make it to water are usually taken for food by either foxes or seagulls.  The odds are really stacked against them from the outset.  There are three threatened varieties of turtles along this coastline, the Green Turtle, the Loggerhead and the Hawksbill.  There are six varieties of turtles in Australia.

When we got back to the caravan park, Daniel and Bob couldn’t wait to tell us about their “catch of the day”  - two 20 kilo mackerel.  They were both tired but had had a fantastic day out on the water.  Naturally enough, we had fresh bbq fish for dinner that night and it was sensational.

TUESDAY 27TH AUGUST   -   Richard was up at 5.30 am ready for another big day on the ocean.  They set off from Tantabiddi Boat Ramp and out past the Reef.  They saw lots of turtles, dolphins and whales along the way, with one whale did a tail flip and rocked the boat badly.  They caught more mackerel but lost half of one to a shark that decided he wanted it for lunch as they were reeling it in. Bob’s fish freezer was filling up quicker than he expected.  He comes to Exmouth a few times each year and sometimes fishes for 4-5 days without catching anything.

ACTION SHOTS FROM DANIEL'S GO-PRO 

WEDNESDAY 28TH AUGUST  -   Another big fishing day , resulting in fresh tuna for dinner, yummy.

THURSDAY 29TH AUGUST   -    Bob dog sat Sally for the day as we went on Alek & Gina’s Glass Bottom Boat.    We met at Tantabiddi Boat Ramp at 9am for an hour long trip over the Coral Sanctuary   Zone.  It was a very good trip, with no minimum numbers, as Alek loves what he does so much that he will even go out with one person aboard.    He’s very passionate about what he does, but also made the trip very enjoyable and funny.  He’s been operating the tour for over 10 years and was full of knowledge.  He also does under-water photography and surfs every day after his trips have finished.   There was also a 2 ½ hour snorkelling trip.  The tide was very low the day we went out and we got a really good close up view of all the different corals and fish. We saw a few turtles and lots of Parrot Fish and the hour went so fast.  We really enjoyed the trip.

After the Glass Bottom Boat Trip, we went to Cape Range National Park.  It was $11 per car per day.  There were some spectacular limestone gorges and deep canyons and 50 kilometres of pristine beaches.  Cape Range National Park covers 50,581 hectares. We stopped off at most of the beaches along the way, Mangrove Bay, Needs Camp, T- Bone Bay and Turquoise Bay,  with superbly clear turquoise water, ideal for snorkelling.  We went to Yardie Creek which is as far as you can drive on sealed road without going through water in a 4WD.  We had a picnic lunch under a shady tree and went for a walk right along the top of the Creek, looking down into the gorge.  There was a boat trip up the gorge, but we decided to walk instead.   There are lots of camping spots available at each turnoff and most of them were quite full.  Unfortunately you can’t camp there with dogs, so we just had to enjoy the beauty of the place in a day trip.

YARDIE CREEK GORGE

TURQUOISE BAY (APTLY NAMED)

When we got back to the caravan, exhausted from our very enjoyable day out, Bob had a bbq steak dinner organised which was very welcome.

FRIDAY 30TH, SATURDAY 31ST AND SUNDAY 1^ST SEPTEMBER   -  Weather and wind conditions were good, so the eager anglers spent the three days out on the water.  They came back with their 20 kilo of fillets per person quota and were very happy.  They even got back in time for a Father’s Day bacon and egg brunchwhich I was very happy about.  The next few days were forecast to be quite windy out to sea and as everyone had their quota, Bob and Daniel decided to head back to Perth earlier than planned.  Daniel had lots of packing to do as he was moving into his own house the following week and was anxious to get back to sort everything out.   It had been really great seeing them again.  We’ll catch up with them when we head down to Perth for Christmas.

MONDAY 2ND SETEMBER   -   Daniel and Bob left at 4am for the very long drive back to Perth.  They got back at 8pm that night.

We met up with our neighbours Marion and Peter and their Sheepdog Bing (named after Bing Crosby).  They were lovely people and Bing brought back many happy memories of our Sheepdog Dougal that we had many years ago.  Oddly enough Marion and Peter had also had another Sheepdog called Dougal (from the Magic Roundabout programme in England – same as ours).  We got out our Dougal photos to show them and they said they were pretty much identical and the likeness was uncanny.  They were heading south the following day to Coral Bay.   We had a lovely happy hour with them and our neighbours Val and Barry.

I'M DOG SITTING SHEEPDOG BING

WEDNESDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER   -   We went for a drive with Val and Barry to Shothole Canyon and Charles Knife Canyon.  The scenery was breath-taking with deep gorges, high grassy cliffs and varied and colourful rock layers .  Shothole Canyon was 14 kilometres south from Exmouth.  It was named after the shot holes from seismographic explosions during oil searches in the 1950’s.  The gravel road into the canyon was pretty rugged and very slow and precarious at times, but well worth the trip.  It was recommended for only 4WD vehicles.  We did see some 2WD cars but they didn’t make it too far into the canyon.  At the end of the 12 kilometre drive through the canyon there were steps leading to a lookout over the entire gorge which was stunning.  There was a picnic table and toilet, so we had our morning cuppa there before carrying on further to Charles Knife Canyon.  Charles Knife Canyon was 21 kilometres south from Exmouth and was mainly gravel road which was much better to drive through.  It reminded me of the Prairies in Arizona – very bleak, colourful, deep and rugged.  We stopped at the many lookouts and couldn’t believe just how stunning each one was and were so glad we’d had the opportunity to visit these amazing gorges.  We had a picnic lunch at Thomas Carter Lookout and slowly came back onto the main road.  To finish a lovely day out we stopped at Pebbly Beach to give Sally and Anje (Val and Barry’s schnauzer) a run on the beach which they thoroughly enjoyed.

CHARLES KNIFE GORGE

SHOTHOLE CANYON

FRIDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER   -   Val and Barry left Exmouth going south to Coral Bay.  We said we’d drive down to see them and have lunch the next day as we didn’t stop at Coral Bay on our way up to Exmouth. 

We had dinner at Pinocchio’s Restaurant at the front of the caravan park.   It looked so beautiful at night with fairy lights underneath the balcony and around the verandah.  It was decorated with thick ropes wound through the balcony and lights in plastic tubes wrapped around the ropes.  There were ocean theme tables and chairs overlooking the pool which had an illuminated reef feature wall facing the restaurant. It was a very busy place and the service was terrific.  We had mozzarella/oregano pizza for entrée which was massive.  The mains were very large serves too.  All the pastas were home-made and the restaurant had won many awards.  I had spinach pasta with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and zucchini in a creamy garlic/chilli sauce.  It was divine.  Richard had chicken pasta in a rich tomato sauce.  We had to take half of our meals home in a doggy bag as the serves were huge.  Although we were so full and certainly didn’t need it, we had home –made tiramisu ice cream which was delicious also.   We were very impressed with the restaurant itself, the service and most of all the food.  Everyone’s servings were HUGE.

SATURDAY 7 TH SEPTEMBER   -   We drove south to Coral Bay which took us 1 hour and 50 minutes and met up with Val and Barry.  We had a drive around the harbour which was busy with glass bottom boat tours, fishing boats and scenic planes flying overhead.  The water was so clear and turquoise.  Coral Bay was a small area with two caravan parks – only one that takes dogs.  All the sites were taken and quite squashy.  It was a busy place with people swimming and snorkelling in the ocean in front of the caravan parks.  Parking was pretty hard as the streets were narrow and full of parked caravans and motor homes.  They really need some extra parking for day visitors.  We went for a drive to Mauds Landing with a beautiful fishing beach at the end of the road, then we came back to a park overlooking the main beach and had a picnic lunch with Val and Barry.  It was good to see them again.   They are now on their way back home to Victoria and hope to take off again early next year.  It was lovely to see them again as we’d had many happy hours with them in Exmouth and had all got on well, including our two dogs.

SUNDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER   -   We had a big clean up /sort out day, washing the car, caravan,  curtains and windows in the van, sorting out the back of the car and under the bed, doing all the washing and shopping as we were leaving Exmouth the next day.

We really enjoyed our stay in Exmouth and met some lovely people.  The fortnight flew by and was over too quickly.

NEXT WEEK:   We will be continuing our journey further north to cleaverville, a beach bush camping area 30 kilometres outside of Karratha.

QUOBBA BLOWHOLES

SATURDAY 17TH AUGUST   -   We got up early and went to the weekly markets at the Civic Centre in Carnarvon.  The fruit and vegetables there were so cheap and fresh, so we stocked up big, to keep us fed whilst we were at Quobba Blowholes, a bush camp right on the beach, 75 kilometres north from Carnarvon.  I bought a huge bag of really tasty grape tomatoes for $2 amongst many other bargains.  We also did a massive Woolworths shop, beer and wine as we were staying 8 days at Quobba and heading up to Exmouth for 2 weeks from there.  The fridge was bursting with food and all the cupboards and food storage areas choc-a-block.  I reckon we had enough supplies to survive for a month without ever visiting a shop again!!

It took ages to unpack the shopping and find a home for it all.  By 10 o’clock we were on the road for our next destination Quobba Blowholes.  It was a beautiful sunny day and took us an hour to get to Quobba.  On the road down to the camping area, we had to stop for 3 scatty emus dashing across the road.  They just don’t look but charge about wherever they want.  At least cattle, goats and sheep look at you and usually wait for you to pass or stop for them to cross the road.  Emus are really dumb.

At the end of the road there was a big wooden sign “King Waves Kill” (Quobba is well known for its king waves and many people have been swept off the rocks by a king wave whilst fishing).  Turning right from this sign you head towards Quobba Station where you can also camp, but it was quite expensive and there was also 1080 poison everywhere to kill foxes and feral cats, as it’s a working station.  I certainly didn’t want to take Sally there.

Turning left from the sign we came past the blowhole car park which was crowded with tourists. It was fairly windy and the blowhole was gushing quite high.  We stopped to have a look and a walk around before heading down to the camping area.  Another attraction of the car park is the “My Way Highway Food” truck that parks there from early morning until after lunch time each day.  He sold really good hamburgers, chicken burgers, hot drinks, squid and chips and was always busy.

We carried on along the road into the camping area and found a suitable spot at the end of where camping is permitted.  We quickly set up and went for a two minute stroll from our van over the dunes to the beach.  It was a beautiful beach spread out for miles and miles. The camp was fairly busy and was a popular fishing, snorkelling and tourist spot at weekends.  The only drawback was we didn’t have phone or internet access, unless we went back to the blowholes or drove up the steep (and full of deep pot holes) rough road to the Lighthouse. Late every afternoon, there were herds of wild goats and cattle scattered over the dunes and hills.  We sat on the beach with our wine and beer watching yet another fabulous sunset.  It was so dark and quiet at night.

The fees for staying at Quobba Blowholes were $5.50 per car (i.e. $2.75 each per night) – or the costly sum of $38.50 per week.  We were told if there were more than 28 days in a month, the Ranger didn’t charge you any extra.  The camp area officially closes end of September, which means you can still stay there but don’t get charged.  How good is that!!!!

We bumped into Bob and Bev and their gorgeous Jack Russell dog Jacky -  a couple we’d met in Whyalla in April.  They had been at Quobba almost 4 months and had come across from South Australia direct to Quobba.  They were heading home to Mildura in a few weeks.  It was great to catch up with them again.  Bob gave us some beautiful parrot fish fillets for tea one evening and we thoroughly enjoyed them.  Richard tried his hand at beach fishing a few times.  He got a few bites, but never anything substantial enough to bring home for dinner that night.   I think he was saving himself for a “fishing overload” at Exmouth the following 2 weeks with Daniel and Bob his Brother.

There were lots of lovely coastal walks and the scenery around was just beautiful.  We had to laugh as all the cans were collected in a sack with proceeds being donated to The Royal Flying Doctors.  Richard used to announce every night “I’m only drinking for The Flying Doctors”.  There was also “The Very Mobile Hairdresser” who also did massage in a caravan nearby.  It was quite a little community as many people were there long-term.  Everyone was really friendly.  We met an elderly couple travelling with their daughter whose Border Collie dog had 2 pups on the way up. 

SATURDAY 24TH AUGUST   -   Daniel and Bob left Perth with the boat at 7am and drove up to stay overnight with us at Quobba.   They arrived at 6pm, pretty tired and hungry.  I’d made butter chicken for dinner.  It was so good to see them both again.  Bob slept under our awning on his camp bed and swag and Daniel slept on an airbed on the floor inside the caravan.

We really enjoyed our stay at Quobba and will definitely add it to our “favourites” list.  We’ll also stay here on the way back to Perth later in the year.

Quobba is a fish habitat protection area so that future generations can also enjoy the beauty of the place, with special rules in place for fishing and water activities.   Spearfishing and fishing are both banned.  The coastline has 10 metre high rugged sandstone cliffs in places and the dunes stretch south from Point Quobba into Shark Bay.

NEXT WEEK:  We’ll be going to Exmouth with Daniel and Bob and his boat for 2 weeks of extreme fishing to look forward to.