Why camping in WA is easy

I've spent quite a number of nights of my life under canvas and a large proportion of those have been 'in Europe'. The first camping trip was to France in 1978 and most recent was last year, 2012.

Ever since those early days, we had a list of items that had to be packed so that nothing was forgotten. The assumption was always that there was no way a forgotten item could be replaced whilst on holiday.

When camping in the UK and Europe, you always have to be on the lookout for the weather, no matter what season or location. I suppose Greece and Turkey might be more predictable but in the areas in which Dawn and I have camped, extending to Poland, and former Yugoslavia, there's always the expectation of a thunderstorm and the hailstones and winds to go with it.

The weather in WA is different, as once Spring turns into Summer, even as far south west at Margaret River, the temperature rises and the rain stops. The temperature in early summer in Perth is in the high 20s and it rises to be reliably over 30 deg for a good part of the next few months. Up the coast it is hotter and Exmouth, our furthest destination, reaches the mid 40s by the December solstice.

So it was with some trepidation that we loaded as much gear as possible into our Emirates 60kg joint  luggage allowance. We brought with us the Trangia stove (from ~1973) and the tent, a Khyam Igloo, bought in 1994 to take on the first trip to Australia when we all went camping in far North Queensland. Rock tent pegs are the only ones we use (once we discovered them). We even packed a salad bowl, cutlery, two Lakeland flexible chopping 'boards' but we knew that we had no source of cooling except a cool bag and two freezer packs.

As soon as we arrived in Perth we bought a bag of charcoal, six Coleman style screw-on gas canisters and a parasol, together with a table, two chairs and a large plastic box.

The tent has been a feature of many camping trips and as it is easily erected and packed away, it's especially suited to camping when there are frequent moves.

The hire car was perfect, with loads of room and a great tailgate that dropped down to provide a handy platform.

The SW of WA

w/c 4th November 2013

Moving south of Perth and Fremantle, you encounter a wholly different country to that of the arid coast of mid WA. That area could be refered to as north west Western Australia; this new area is most definitely the south west.
On a map of this huge country, it's an insignificant area, but it is of course quite big. It's over 300km from Freo to Cape Leeuwin, the point at which the Indian and Southern oceans meet. To get there it's a beautiful drive through rolling countryside of bush, woods and vineyards. At this time of year it is most definitely Spring and the weather reflected this. During the next few days the maximum temperature varied between 20 and 16 deg C, which feels very cold when you have been wearing shorts for nearly a month.
The beaches of the south west continue to be stunning and nearly empty of course, but in places there are gneiss outcrops which have created a spectacular coastline.



It did rain a little, but really only right on the coast at Cape Leeuwin and we had a picnic in the car with the wipers on. Just like being in the UK.


We camped at Yallingup, a popular surf centre and the campsite barbie was well positioned...

It's been a great relaxing holiday and by now we are four weeks into it and looking good...( my cooking and a bit of warm sun?).

Expecting to see an ageing rocker with her? Well I'm afraid I'm just aging.

Margaret River is a major service centre of the area and is a lovely town with a few great cafés and coffee shops. We were there on Melbourne Cup day and many people were dressed up for the occasion and attending functions in the pubs and hotels. It's been a bit of a hippie centre over the years too and this just adds to its appeal.
Touring a little inland from there, we happened upon Gnomesville. Now I have never taken much interest in these mysterious beings and I saw enough in The Full Monty. However, they are full of surprises and close to the area of bush containing King Jarrah, the oldest tree of its kind in the area (at over 400 years), we found Gnomesville and there, carefully placed amongst the undergrowth and bushes, is the largest 'gathering' of gnomes that we have ever seen. We are still no clearer understanding how or why they have chosen to gather here.

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After a few few days under canvas, we decided that in the cool of the SW, we should splash out on a nice bit of BnB so we turned up at Nannup and stayed overnight at Holberry House, a beautiful place in a very small village that acts as a local service centre. I'm now remembering my Human Geography and the hexagons of the service centre catchment areas.

As with many here in Australia, the owners had traced their roots to those early 'settlers' from late 19th century and they had an amazing story to tell of their own family and the fortitude with which they approached the challenges of establishing themselves in a new land.

You might call it 'wimping out' but with some very cold nights forecast and more rain, we opted to return to Perth / Freo for the last days of the trip. So we haven't visited the south coast and Albany or Esperance. That will have to wait for a much later time...

Fremantle - it's not south Perth

Saturday 2nd November 2013
I wasn't particularly excited about going to 'Freo'. I hadn't done much reading homework in advance and I just thought it is a fairly busy port. I wasn't expecting the mix of culture and architecture that we found on our first walk around. There are many Victorian and Edwardian buildings, many a legacy of the gold rush. We headed straight for the visitor centre and a nice guy called Alan (ex Pom) gave us the most detailed descriptions of what to do and where to go, that the open air stalls just outside had all packed up whilst we were in there. He did direct us to quite a number of sights and it was nice to wander around in the afternoon sun.
There were of course a fair few distractions along the way...
Coffee is taken on Cappuccino Strip...


...and beer is drunk at Little Creatures, a very cool brewery that forces you to sample seven beers before you are allowed to buy any!


In a corner bar within the market (The Market Tavern), there was a little more beer and we listened to some great music. This is a nice way to spend a late Saturday afternoon and I'm thinking of trying this at home.

(Sorry about snapping the drinker in the foreground - as I said, it's a mix of types in Freo!?)

There are a series of wonderful bronze sculptures fixed around the city. I will name the one below as 'The Unknown Figure', for obvious reasons. It depicts a passenger disembarking at the quay and walking into a new life in Australia.


There are remarkable acknowledgements to those immigrants who came to Australia during the 20th century. There are quotations from some, inscribed on plaques near the quay, describing how they had eventually settled, after leaving loved ones back in the UK and enduring hardships as they established a new life.
A reference book is available, listing all those who arrived, with date and name of ship. I think they were refered to as ten pound poms.


Another shows children, who were sent away on a new life in the 40s, 50s and 60s - an altogether less palatable story.

There are also many tributes in Freo to the convicts whose labour who not only constructed Fremantle prison, in which they were then housed, but also because it was convict labour that created the 19th century infrastructure. It couldn't have been done without them.

The Batavia Coast, Geraldton and the Pinnacles

Geraldton is known as 'sun City' and it's very obvious why. I've never seen such a beautiful sea surrounding a built-up area. Perth and Fremantle clearly get votes, but the beach just south of Geraldton where we stopped for a picnic lunch, really is spectacular. It is several miles of pristine white sand, open to the ocean rollers and with spring temperatures in the mid to high twenties, it was lovely.
The objective was to visit the Pinnacles at Cervantes, to arrive mid afternoon. Most of this coastline is formed of massive sand dunes. They stretch for mile after mile, pushing up from the bush at the side of the road and occasionally forming really high mounds. From a distance they look like a glaciated area of mountain.
The Cervantes Pinnacles are a vast area of limestone pillars that have been exposed from within the sand. Origins are unclear but they are thought to have been formed in the Cater Quaturn Quaternary period which is apparently 1.8 million years ago and if you disregard this as being too young in geological terms, you are a time-snob.
Access is on foot from a visitor centre and also there is a car circuit. We did the walk first and then the car circuit twice and the second time was when the sun was dropping and we were able to stop and soak up the scene.
What can I say?
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There was a fantastic moment at twilight when Dawn spotted four Emus running across the sand about 300m away from us. One was clearly an adult and the rest Emu kids. It was amazing to see, but too far away for our little camera to focus on.

Earlier, in the car park, we had an up-close view of a 'roo with Joey.

After that we headed for Fremantle to arrive on Friday 1st Nov.

The mid-west coast

Sunday 27 October 2013
Continuing south on the North West Coastal Highway we passed east of Kalbarri National Park and just before 28deg south, took a right to go northwest through the park for 65km, to hit the coast at Kalbarri. This is a "popular holiday destination" according to the notes on the map, which conjures-up images of hoards of people all crammed into a seafront strip.
Well this Western Australia and things don't work like that. The photographs say it all really...
 

This is the mouth of the Murchison River, the first we've seen with any visible water. The Indian Ocean is to the left of the left picture and the town is on the south side (to the right) and the river mouth is a lovely place to enjoy the water. There's a great beach, water craft to hire and the pub is just across the road. Pelicans come onto the verge at the edge of the beach for an extra feed each morning.

Intrepid explorers once walked from here to Perth, about 500 km away, after being shipwrecked just off the coast.
We hired a motorboat and went up-river, only to hit a sandbank. As that brought back fairly recent memories of Grasmere and submerged logs, the skipper decided enough was enough and we turned back.


Just inland, a reasonably serious bit of unsealed road, takes you 25km or so into the Murchison river gorges. There are two particular look-outs which are quite dramatic and presumably spectacular after rain in the catchment area. The geology of the area is all about sandstone fractures and intersections, but I'm afraid that our memories are more of the flies, which for the first time in three weeks became unbearable. Thank goodness that we actually had our nets with us, rather than in the car; instant relief.


It's scary in places like this. The temperature was nearly 10 deg higher than at the coast and it's even hotter in the gorges themselves. Not a place to go walking during the main part of the day. It would have been over 40 degrees down there and that doesn't mix well with flies either, so it as back to the hustle and bustle of Kalbarri town.

Earth's initial oxygen source, Morse Code and dolphins

Continuing south from Coral Bay, we re-joined the North West Coastal Highway at the Minilya Roadhouse and then it's a mere 139 km to Carnarvon. Here we bought fresh fruit from one of the many plantations that line the river (which looks dry but there is water in there somewhere). One of the items we purchased was prepared mango, frozen for convenience and our later delight. Have you ever eaten anything better than defrosting mango when the temperature is in the mid thirties?? It was delicious.
Just another 206 km south is Overlander Roadhouse and that was our turnoff to Shark Bay Marine Park.

Our first stop was at Hamelin Station, another ranch but in complete contrast to Bullara in the north, this is an ultra modern campground in an utterly arid ranch. I honestly don't understand how any livestock can be raised here. There is nothing on the ground just a load of stumpy bushes.
The facilities are perfect and maintained by a farm employed husband and wife team; similar to others we have seen, they have quit their normal life and are doing something different.

Hamelin station is at the southern end of Hamelin Pool, a huge area of highly saline sea, part of the even bigger Shark Bay. It is famous for Stromatolites, as they still live in this area. Why are they so important? I hear you ask. Well many years ago, 3.5 billion to be precise, there was little alive on Earth and Stromatolites, some sort of special bacteria, started to form at the edge of the seas. These produce oxygen, just as plants generate it through photosynthesis now, and little by little, over the following billions of years, the oxygen generated by these things built up to a concentration that supports life as we know it.
At Hamelin Pool you can see these organisms; they look like rocks but bubbles are visible when the tide comes in. It's amazing really.




Also at Hamelin Pool is a little museum housed in the old morse telegraph building and housing a nice Stromatolite exhibition and also memorabilia of the Telegraph Office - a morse code repeater station that was established there in 1884, for the purpose of relaying telegraphs sent using morse code, up the wire to north west Australia. They even had a morse key like mine. (di dah  di dah di  dah di dah).

From Hamelin we continued west and then northwest to Denham, by now 128 km from the Overlander turnoff. This is a lovely village on a peninsular or cape, jutting north and splitting Shark bay into two.
There was an amazing stop-off at Eagle Bluff, a vantage point high above a shallow bay, that turned out to afford great views of sharks ( it's not called Shark Bay for nothing). We saw a Lemon Shark and a few Nervous Sharks, something that we would have been had we not been up on Eagle Bluff.
Close to Denham is the Monkey Mia 'resort' where each day, wild dolphins arrive for a feed on the beach. They have done so for tens of years and provide a great spectacle early in the morning. It's a no touch experience but nevertheless quite exhilarating.

Coral Bay: snorkelling with turtles and manta rays

21 October 2013

We left Exmouth for the second time, bound for Coral Bay, a much recommended location south of the North West Cape and Ningaloo Marine Park. Coral Bay is very remote as it is 152km south of Exmouth and 247 km north of Carnarvon. So you take your pick when you need to go shopping.
At Coral Bay there are two campsites, a smal hotel and a backpacker hostel, plus some accommodation for seasonal workers. That's it!


It's a two minute walk to the beach...and it's stunning. The lighter colour water shows where the shallow water is covering soft sand and the slightly darker area is over coral.
After our snorkelling experience the previous week, it was a little strange to go back into the water and we had several sessions before we felt relaxed. I have also found myself watching and listening to other swimmers far more than I should!
We signed-up for an outer reef snorkelling trip of six hours. The attraction was the possibility of swimming with manta rays and seeing the bigger coral. We were a little hesitant until the nice lady in the office told us that the little aeroplane that we had seen over the bay that morning, was in fact a manta ray spotter. This convinced us that it might be money well spent and so we committed.
The next morning we joined about twenty others on a small boat and were only a few minutes out when we spotted a Lepoard Shark, possibly a metre long.

There were several opportunities to snorkel over the coral near the edge of the reef and well within earshot of the deafening sounds of the ocean breakers on the other side. No wonder ancient mariners struggled to sail through barrier reefs.
We were briefed about snorkelling with manta rays (they don't sting and they can swim quickly) and split into two groups. The basic idea was that the leader (powerful swimming Italian young lady) got into the water close to the rays and swam with very long fins, keeping her arm stretched out above the water to signal that she was staying with them. It was our task to enter the water very quickly and then follow in a rough V formation. If we got left behind, then we regrouped and the boat picked up and repositioned.
Now snorkelling on your own, pottering around a bit of coral is one thing, but trying to keep up with a pair of manta rays is something else! However, it's FANTASTIC to see them and both Dawn and I did have a couple of sessions, over quite quickly as the rays were swimming quickly.
There were two rays which the leader managed to follow for about an hour. My view was of both rays swimming below and almost towards me, one behind the other. As I hooked in behind, the first one performed a full roll, showing about half a dozen keeper fish on the white underside. These rays had a wingspan of about 2 metres, so you can imagine just what a sight they are.
Photos will have to be added at a later date as although we have a full set, they are on a USB stick which I can't load onto the iPad. It might be possible to edit this blog post online at an Internet cafe where I can maybe add the pics.
After the rays, we had some food and then a free snorkel during which we had a sustained view of a turtle, in quite deep water. These are slow swimmers that need to surface to breathe every 30 minutes or so. There are countless other sights to see such as giant clams, myriad colourful fish and beautiful coral. The stars of the show though were the manta rays.


A further wildlife sighting was at the campsite early one morning. Dawn was leaving the toilet block and right there in front of her was a kangaroo complete with joey in her pouch. Both parties stood and stared but as it was an unplanned meeting, neither had brought their camera and so it has gone un-recorded but they each have their memories.

A taste of The Outback

The first stop on the slow journey south from Exmouth was to a homestead - Bullara Station, www.bullara-station.com.au
This is a large ranch which offers a variety of options to stay: Shearer's quarters, places for caravans, trailers and they also accept the occasional odd mad English campers. We keep telling people that were are camping-with-a-tent and not a camper-van. The place was almost deserted, as the holiday season this far north is almost over. Temperatures are now rising and will exceed 40 C frequently through the next few months. It provided our first dark nights with the Milky Way easily visible and a waxing moon (doing it from the opposite side too).
Bullara is about 95km south of Exmouth - a mere 60 minutes at a steady pace. It's a mixed cattle and sheep farm employing a couple working as farm hands and temporary Backpackers otherwise known as WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms), who are working for board and lodging in order to get some sort of credit towards a working visa application. The most recent were from the UK and apparently not familiar with country life, let alone the 40+ km rides out into the bush on trials bikes in order to round-up livestock!
This stay is best described as rustic, on account of the way in which they have established the necessary services such as showers and other ablution facilities, as the Australians refer to toilet blocks. All water is from bore holes. They lift bore hole water with those familiar windmills that operate a piston pump (think Southfork Ranch). What we didn't know is that the water is then pumped vast distances across the ranch to supply local tanks for livestock.
The showers are outdoor and heated by intriguing methods loosely based on old boilers now burning dead wood. It's a great experience to shower under the stars.

We met a couple of grey nomads, with Pommie roots. Tom was happy to show me the solar panels and control equipment on his caravan that allows them to be off the power grid for most of the time. Kate cooked a pineapple cake which we all enjoyed as we sat around the open-air camp kitchen. Tom was bothered by flies and killed as many as possible with a fly swatter but this was purely therapy, as for each dead one, a replacement alive and irritating one began to pester him.
As with a lot of Aussie on the road, these are retired people who have embarked on a long tour around the country, towing a caravan, trailer or in one case, a roof tent. We met one couple who have been away for over four years. They have a return ticket however in that they have held onto a pice of land on which they will build a house. Most have left houses with house-sitters; quite a nice idea I think.
On a wander around the ground near the homestead we saw many snake tracks, plenty of bird life and one kangaroo. Of greater interest for me was the contents of the sheds and various bits of equipment only very slowly decaying in the dry climate.


All-in-all this was a very pleasant stay, marred only by a bit of a medical issue for Dawn which she thought she had overcome a couple of days earlier. Rather than continue further south and thus further from Exmouth, we decided on Sunday morning, to return there in search of a doctor. This was at the hospital and Dawn was given a prescription which we couldn't present until Monday morning at the pharmacy. So for her comfort we checked into a holiday lodge for an overnight stay and sleep catch-up.
On Monday 21st Oct '13 we then travelled to Coral Bay, a very remote 'resort' further south on Ningaloo Reef.

The Ningaloo Reef, wildlife and a new friend from Tiawan

Exmouth (pronounced as in eyes, nose and mouth), is on the eastern side of a peninsula which forms the Gulf of Exmouth to the east and the Ningaloo Reef to the west. It's a major centre for watching whale-sharks, humpback whales and turtles, as well as for exploring the coral reef itself.

The first wildlife we saw were emus, at the side of the road outside the town. Later we saw one walking up the main street. We finally saw kangaroos near the visitor centre at the reef. We haven't been driving at night so that probably explains why we've only seen dead ones at the side of the road. Kangaroo dung is similar to that of rabbits - just bigger.


It would be wrong not to mention flies. It's not that there are lots; there aren't. It's just that they have very specific behaviour and that is, they fly straight onto your face. They don't fly around, they go straight for your nostrils, eyes or ears. That's why we are perfecting the Ozzie wave. They are much easier to deal with than midges. So far, anyway.

Exmouth is very quiet and there's lots of space at the campgrounds. The temperature steadily increases now as the summer develops further south, peak season is finished and most holiday makers have gone south. In Exmouth it is in the mid thirties now and will increase so that it can be forty degrees frequently.
There are plenty of young Europeans here, all seem to be on extended trips around the country. Also there are "Grey Nomads". These are Ozzies who are on major touring trips around the continent. They all seem to have a house somewhere but are away for many months. Almost all are driving Toyota Landcruisers and pulling caravans or trailers. Landcruisers are the vehicle of choice here, old and new, there are hundreds. We have spotted just a few Land Rovers (and none of these are Series).
At the north of the Cape is a lighthouse lookout. From there we got first glimpses of the Humpback whales making their way very slowly south. They are distinctive as they exhale and blow through the water creating a distinctive plume. 
These are huge creatures and it was a privilege to watch them playing and tending their calves. They move gracefully through the water but spend a lot of time almost stationary as they sleep in the afternoon. We went on a late afternoon whale-watching boat trip. Only ten minutes out of Exmouth we saw the first whale and over the next couple of hours we saw many more mothers and calves. A few put on a show of "pec (pectoral fin) slapping" which is quite a sight to see from a beast that is several metres long and weighing many tonnes.

Later, using binoculars from the shore, we saw a whale jumping almost clear of the water.

At Ningaloo Reef on the Indian Ocean side of the Cape Peninsular, we went into the National Park and to Turquoise Bay specifically. It's a magnificent place, easily the most beautiful beach we've ever been on.



Turquiose Bay was recommended for our first snorkelling (having first practised at the beach nearer Exmouth). We were careful to go into the easy bit of the bay with no drifting in the current. All went well for the first twenty minutes and we were getting used to the technique and started to watch the beautiful coloured fish. We were 20-30 metres from the shore when there was a cry and I realised that someone was in trouble.
A guy on shore was looking out to sea and that helped me to locate a person not too far away. By the time I reached him he was below the water and as I tried to remember my Altrincham Baths STA lifesaver badge technique he grabbed my mask and ripped it from my face. I pulled him towards the beach but with fins on it was hard and I was trying to get his snorkel out of his mouth but his jaws were tightly closed. The other guy came into the water and as soon as we got within our depth I gave him mouth to mouth, not much but enough, as he appeared to have stopped breathing and was a horrible colour. He made a few gurgling sounds and we put him into the recovery position and he slowly came round on the beach.


It all ended well, as he was taken to hospital got checked over for 24 hours and then given the OK. We met the next day and exchanged details. He's a young guy from Tiawan, on a slow tour around Oz who has assumed I saved his life and promised me that he will never to go snorkelling alone again!

The reef stretches for mile and miles along this coast. There are some campsites but it is a little extreme for tents as there is no shade and no facilities. During these days the temperature reached 37-39 C and we were happy to be at a site in Exmouth with camp kitchen facilities ( more on these in a later post).

Sleeping is easy as the temperature falls always rapidly once the sun goes down (18:30) and so cool nights contrast with hot days. Maybe it's the time of year coupled with the abundance of sandy soils that create the rapid heat loss.