Shark Bay to Carnarvon & Point Quobba
Sunday, April 10th
The view was just as beautiful in the morning light but there weren’t any sharks or fish visible in the shallows this morning, so we were truly lucky yesterday.
As this was to be a day of 350km travel, we headed off to Shell Beach early. The informative signs were excellent and gave an overview of the present-day use of shell grit and the cutting of shell blocks to maintain the public buildings in Denham. It is a beautiful building material, with great insulation qualities, but the mining is not sustainable in a large scale.
The rest of the morning was spent on the road and our occasional stops saw us limit our time outside in the heat with the flies.
As soon as we opened the door at Carnarvon we were aware of the tropics. Gone was the dry heat, here was the humidity of the north-west coast. The banana plantations and rich red/brown soil of the vegetable farms and the water laying on the roadside indicated why this area produces 1/3 of WA’s winter fruit and vegies. The locusts in the air also indicated that the crops were there for the taking!
We ventured out to look at the 1-mile jetty, saw the catamarans racing on the inlet and the boats at the Yacht Club, then had lunch on the nicely established estuary in the company of 3 lovely French girls who were travelling around the country at a great rate of knots and having a ball. We swapped travel destination ideas and they told us that the snorkelling at Point Quobba was better than at Coral bay as the reef was only a few steps off shore. As Doug Simpson had recommended Point Quobba as a fishing spot, it seemed that we had all things covered for a few days.
The road to the point was undergoing major remaking as the recent cyclone had certainly done some major damage. There was plenty of water along the roadside .... and the storm clouds were building ahead of us.
What more can I say about WA fishermen’s shacks? Decrepit, rusty, an accumulation of the old and decaying, they line the point in their numbered disorder. 
There were plenty of people about, snorkelling the reef which is just a step off shore, or waiting for the change in tide to go fishing. A number of large caravans also lined the road/camping area. I quickly put on the gear and headed into the warm water. It was beautiful! There were white brain corals, branch corals and others in vivid purple, blue and green; clams that closed over when they detected movement above them; , amazing reef fish of all sizes, particularly the vivid blue ones about 3cm long, that knew that they didn’t have any predators in this marine park, swam around me. There was a lot of dead coral as well but the whole area was superb.
Later in the afternoon Graeme went fishing along the beach with lots of hopeful fisher-people and within the first 10 mins had landed a beautiful trevally. Others along the shore were catching small ones as they were closer to the reef. GVS was going to stop then as we could not store or eat any more but he kept the line in for another 15mins without another fish anyway.
The storm clouds were all around us but it didn’t rain until the middle of the night, when the heavy tropical clouds opened up and GVS had to close the door and move the shoes, chairs etc that we’d left outside.
Point Quobba
Mon. April 11th
Happy Birthday, Glenda. Enjoy that new camper trailer.
We woke to a sultry, cloudy day and the flies were busy even at first light. We could hear the swell breaking on the outer reef and watched as the spectacular waves hit the rock ledges and cliffs, sending giant sprays of water up over the reef. There was little wind and the skies all around were threatening but overhead it seemed fine. Many of the weekend campers had gone, leaving only the relatively few caravans.
We walked up to The Blowholes to see and hear and see the water rush up through holes in the ledges with each large wave that came in. It was spectacular and the colours changed dramatically when the sun came out momentarily.
We decided that we wanted to stay for a few days and not rush up to Coral Bay, although our time frame is governed by the Easter crowds that will invade Exmouth and force us to move on towards the end of next week.
Snorkelling, fishing, reading, watching the terns and sea eagles on the off-shore and relaxing were the order of the day and when the sun came out after lunch we took shelter under one of the beach shade structures and spent the day in and out of the water. The fishing was not successful but rather than wait and return to try again at dusk, we settled for baked trevally. The good life!
Tues. April 12th
A strong wind shook the van all night, so there were many opportunities to look at the beautiful stars as sleep was fitful. The sky was a mass of luminous dots, the Milky Way was clearly visible and in the pre-dawn time one of the planets glowed brightly in the east. By morning the wind had eased to a strong coastal breeze and the clouds had been blown away so another beautiful day began.
I snorkelled along the reef again but the wind had stirred up the sand and it was only clear over the shallow parts. However, the range of coral, clams and fish was amazing and I saw more of the larger fish this time. My favourite though was swimming among the iridescent blue small fish that swam in large schools around the sandy parts of this bay.
By lunch time the heat was strong and the wind was up again, so we decided to pull up camp and head up towards Coral Bay, going via Carnarvon to restock and check everything. In the end we set off from Carnarvon after 3:30 and although I was not keen, we pushed on to Wannaroo Station, which meant that we had a 20+km trip on dirt roads after 5pm, the last 6km heading westwards into the setting sun. Not a good idea as the ‘good gravel road’ was a corrugated track, not much better than the ‘sandy track’ noted in our Camps 5 book.
We set up camp on the cliff above the beach and looked out at the reef and the rocks of the inner reef below. A nice place to spend the night.
Wannaroo to Coral Bay
Wed. April 13th
Another glorious morning and I went for a walk to find the caretaker and pay our camp fees. A long walk along the 4wd track led back to the beach where I discovered that the caretaker was not there and would check our campsite later. We decided that this was not a good 2wd camp and should head off, so I walked back towards the caretaker’s van, stopping to talk to some people nearby who had been there for a few days but not enjoyed the experience. Our discussion led to a conversation about the Canning Stock Route and it transpired that they had volunteered to work on the water holes and fuel drops along the track and were most interested to hear about James Canning and his trip there in 2010 as part of the centenary celebrations.
Coral Bay was established as a village in the 1980s as the Americans had set up a naval base at Exmouth and some roads were graded but it still exists only for tourists. The arid and harsh climate restricted any form of settlement until the influx of marines, surfers etc prompted the sinking of a bore some 3000+ metres down to supply hot (65 degrees) and saline water for a small tourist industry. The cooling plant, sewage works, wind farm etc are all situated out of sight from the main area, behind a small rise. The one main road runs between the foreshore and most of the limited accommodation. We had not seen so many tourists in one place for a long while and it was not what we expected, however we booked in for 3 nights as it gave us a chance to snorkel the Ningaloo Reef and consider an outer reef tour. Great decision for me and GVS was happy with strong internet and phone connection.
Thurs. 14th & Fri. 15th
Coral Bay was a great place to see fish, coral and just chill out! Each day was hot and sunny and perfect for the beach or pool. I snorkelled along the inner reef, which was much further out than the Point Quobba reef and not as diverse in its coral or fish; we went to the daily fish feeding where large snapper that could tell the time arrived just before 3:30 each day and waited for their fish oil pellets; we walked along the beach and up through the dunes to the boat harbour and dozed in the afternoons when it was too hot to be in the sun.
Our trip out to see green turtles and snorkel on the outer reef was wonderful, made more so with the sighting of dugongs, swimming with turtles and reef sharks and the myriad of fish species out there.
The couple volunteering at the information kiosk were interesting to talk to and from them we learned about the road from Tom Price up to Karratha, via the Millstream NP, and we decided to change our plans and go through Karrijini but then up to Pt. Headland. Some considerable time was spent trying to establish the likelihood of hiring a 4wd camper in Broome and again in Kununurra to see Cape Levique and the Bungle Bungles, both essential things to do according to many recommendations, and the Easter break was causing some logistics issues, so tensions were mounting again until we agreed to see if we could change our options and stay on in the Cape Range NP over most of the Easter break and then head out to Karijini. So much time spent on the computer, planning, calling etc. but our time line for Darwin has put us back on a schedule. And the cost of vehicle hire in Broome is outrageous!
After a large caravan park, albeit with all facilities, we are anticipating a quiet time again in the NP, as each of our booked sites had limited places – 8 or 9 at each camp ground – and the lack of any facilities and water would keep many of the travellers away. Turquoise Bay is calling J
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