Day 87 Coral Bay, WA

We woke to a windy day, as predicted, so we donned our jackets and went for a long walk around the headlands of Coral Bay to Snapper Headland that took us past the brand new Coral Bay Jetty.  The walk was mostly through sand but not enough to get in our shoes as it was a well worn path.  There were some rocky outcrops but they were easy enough to navigate.  Although it was windy the day was magnificent.  There were many boats bobbing about in the water and I love the differing blues of the ocean leading out to where the waves are breaking over the outer reef.  Coral Bay is such a beautiful place.

On our return walk we went via the village to pick up a few grocery items at the local supermarket.  It is a very well stocked shop and we were quite surprised at how cheap everything was, including the fruit and vegetable.  We think that most of the fresh fruit and vegetable is coming out of Carnarvon that produces eighty percent of Western Australia's produce. I can't wait to get there and explore the area.

We didn't get back to our camp until almost ten o'clock so we had a light breakfast and after we cleaned up we got in the car to check out our next stop - Bruboodjoo Campsite, that is around twenty kilometres from Coral Bay.  As I mentioned in an earlier post we couldn't get accomodation for the 2nd July as that is the first day of the school holidays here in Western Australia, so we have to find somewhere to free camp.

The drive into Bruboodjoo is a sandy track and only just the width of a single vehicle.  If you met another vehicle coming towards you.......well.....I don't know what you would do.  Admittedly, there are a couple of places where you might pull over but you would have to be lucky to be in the right spot at the right time.  We continued the nine kilometre journey into the campsite and when we drove over the last sand dune and looked down on the campsite we were totally gobsmacked.  There were dozens and dozens of caravans parked from one end of the campsite to the other!  I totally forgot to get a photo but the camping area is large and sits on a headland overlooking the ocean.  It really is quite lovely but the wind was blowing strongly and we could see the annexes really struggling to cope in the wind.  By unanimous decision we decided that this was not the place for us.  Ummmm.  What is our other option? We are going to have to wing it at Exmouth.  There is a Council run "overflow" at Exmouth so maybe we will fit in there.  We will have to wait and see.

By the time we got back to Coral Bay after our drive, it was almost two o'clock so for lunch I whipped up a very quick Puttenesca Pasta.  For a very fast meal it was actually very tasty. Spicy, but not too spicy.

Sunset yesterday was a fail.  Neither of us had the energy to walk the distance to watch the sunset, let alone go for sundowners at the local pub. As our days here at Coral Bay are drawing to a close it had to be now or never for sunset so we packed our esky, grabbed our chairs, donned jackets and headed to the beach.  Once we had found the perfect spot we poured ourselves a drink and waited for the sun to go down.  I was lucky, from a photographers point of view, that just in front of us there were some kids practicing to skim across the water on their skim boards.  It was fun to watch them as the sun slowly set in the west.  

Tomorrow should be a much nicer day weather wise so we are going to spend it snorkelling and soaking up the sun.  Sadly, it is also our last day at Coral Bay so we will find a nice place to have a seafood banquet that I see advertised at one of the local restaurants.  

Day 86 Coral Bay, WA

Is there anything more relaxing than being near water?  If there is I would love to know about it.  Yesterday we decided to launch the kayak today but the wind was so strong at nine o'clock that we almost decided against it but by ten o'clock the wind had dropped to a more pleasurable pace.  We walked down to the waters edge just to make sure that we were doing the right thing as there is nothing worse than trying to paddle in strong wind and currents.  The water looked pretty good so back to the van to pull the kayak out of storage and inflate it.  Philip did all the hard work while I was inside prepping lunch.  I knew we would be ravenous by the time we arrived home.  Vegetarian meal for us today.  Homemade Curried Tomato Soup and a Pumpkin & Feta Pastry.

Once we had loaded the inflated kayak on to the back of the Toyota it was just a short drive to where we could launch it.  We found the perfect spot just metres from the beach and as it was high tide we could launch the kayak in shallow water.  The kayak is not really heavy to carry, just awkward. 

There were lots of people with the same idea as us and there is a kayak hire place at Coral Bay that seems to do a roaring trade.  Most people were content to stay in the bay vicinity as were we, although we decided to paddle to the southern most point of the bay that was probably four or five kilometres from our starting point.  We paddled leisurely as we wanted to explore what was in the water below us.  We paddled through the Shark Nursery area but didn't see any of the reef sharks that frequent this area.  Crocodile's are certainly behind us now, thank goodness. Coral Bay is situated just below the Tropic of Capricorn. 

 We didn't quite make it to the very end point of the bay and had to turn back around 100 metres from it because the current, as it surged around the point, was very strong and neither of us felt like the struggle.  Once we had turned around the current pushed us quite rapidly back the way we had come.  It was leisurely for a short while before the wind (that was at our back heading south) was now a head wind as we paddled north.  We kept as close to the shoreline as possible where the sand dunes gave us a small degree of protection from the wind.

It was a terrific paddle and I'm so pleased we decided to push ahead with it this morning.  I'm writing this blog a little earlier today because this evening we want to head down to the beach for sunset and then maybe check out the tavern after the sun sets.  Tomorrows weather forecast has a warning for strong winds so we are going to go for a drive to check out what is in the vicinity and maybe head to the bush camp area that we intend staying at on Saturday.

This is a very short GoPro video of our morning on the water.

Day 85 Coral Bay, WA

Coral Bay continues to give.  Today it was a trip to the outer coral reef aboard the Nhunya-Ku, our glass bottom boat.  Our lady skipper and her off-sider got us seated on the boat just after 9am for our three hour tour.  The tide was almost at peak height so our captain decided that it would be best to head to the "Canyon" and "Bommie" coral beds for snorkelling before heading to the turtle feeding grounds and in between the two snorkelling area we would be able to have a hot drink and biscuits.  Perfect.

This is the first time I have ever snorkelled in open ocean and I was apprehensive but I was also seeing this as a pre-cursor to when we swim with the whale sharks next week.  I had to overcome my fear of the deep water.  I was grateful to see that there were pool noodles available and also a long "mermaid line" attached to the boat so that I could hold that while I snorkelled.  So, I donned my wetsuit and was very grateful for it as the weather has turned windy and cooler.  But once I put my feet in the water I was very surprised because the water was actually a lot warmer than it was in the bay.  We were given a half hour to snorkel the "Canyon" but I think I only stayed in the water fifteen minutes.  The water was a bit choppy and it was making me feel a little queasy.  Once I was back on board the boat though I wished I was back in the water.  The wind had picked up and started gusting across the boat so it was making it very cold. Everyone was trying to sit on the sunny side of the boat to keep warm.  However, the hot drinks (I chose milo) we were served went down an absolute treat and it really did warm us up.  

The Bommie coral was our next snorkelling stop.  Bommies are corals that just keep growing on top of each other and can be many metres across.  Sometimes they even grow to such an extent that they can be exposed at low tide.  I didn't snorkel here but the footage that Philip brought back on the GoPro makes me wish I had braved the water.  There was just so many schools of fish and I shouldn't be surprised as there are over 500 species of fish in the Ningaloo Reef.  Of the 80 species of Parrot Fish worldwide, Coral Bay has 64 of them.  Amazing. We spent another half hour in this section of the reef before moving on to the Turtle feeding ground.  While we were anchored here the crewman went underneath the glass bottom boat to clean the glass!  We marvelled at how long he could hold his breath. Now that's real dedication to the job.

The Turtles were harder to find than you might imagine, or rather, it was harder for the captain to manoeuvre the glass bottom boat so that we could see them when we did spot them.  All up we saw half a dozen of the green turtles and one in particular was huge.  No swimming with these beautiful creatures as they are very much a protected species.

Three three hours on board our little boat went very fast and I would have to say it was another one of our top tours.  Tomorrow it is a leisurely day of kayaking.  High tide is not until 10am so we can relax in the morning before heading out.  We are just hoping that it is not too windy.

Day 84 Coral Bay, WA

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I could do what I did today and that was to snorkel through coral reef and see the most beautifully coloured fish imaginable, but I did it!  The reason I could do it is because the coral reef here at Coral Bay is just meters from the shoreline at low tide.   

Low tide at the moment is around 4.30 pm but we ate an early lunch and were down at the waters edge by 2.00pm.  The sun still had enough heat in it to make the water bearable but I donned my new wetsuit and was very comfortable gliding through the water.  I really like the full face snorkel mask but I had to ditch the fins and opted to use the pool noodle.  I've never swum with fins and I just could not get the hang of them and I think it was because I was content to stay in almost one spot and just let the fish swim around me.  The fish were all different sizes ranging from tiny little fish about as long as my little finger to fish around arms length long and all sporting every colour in the rainbow with spots, stripes and plain vibrant colours.  There was an electric blue fish around two inches long that I was particularly enthralled with.  They swam in schools of around thirty to forty. The coral has very little colour but what it lacks in colour it makes up for in size.  The coral here at Coral Bay are every shape and size. 

Tomorrow we are booked on a Turtle Spotting tour and it is something else I am excited about.  Turtles are one of my very favourite things and I hope we get to snorkel with them.  The tour is only three hours so we will get back in plenty of time to have another snorkel in the bay tomorrow afternoon.  We also intend to kayak these calm waters of Coral Bay at high tide on another day. I can see how our time here is going to pass all too quickly.

The bread maker still gets a good workout on this trip and I made an apple bun loaf for a bit of a sweet treat.  The bun loaf itself is not too sweet so the addition of the icing was the perfect topping.

Day 83 Coral Bay, WA

 ANNDDD.......we have struck gold again......

This is Coral Bay.  Our friends Lynn and Graham gave us the "heads up" to visit this beautiful seaside village at the bottom of Exmouth Peninsular and we were ever so lucky to be able to get a caravan site at this very popular place.  It is well named because just where the water changes colour in the photo above, is where the coral begins.  As far as we could see there were people snorkelling, kayaking, paddle boarding and just floating in the turquoise blue water.  We dipped our toes in the water and it is rather chilly, but I can't give up the opportunity of snorkelling in this lovely area.

We walked downtown that is literally just one street.  You enter on this street and you exit this same street.  There are a few houses scattered around the township and we will go for a walk tomorrow morning to explore the area a little more.  I think there may even be a tourist walk but I will have to ask. Our first stop was the supermarket and in a big basket at the front door were beach umbrellas for sale at $29.99 so we grabbed one of them.  I love lying on the beach but only if I can have some shade, so this is perfect.  Right next door to the supermarket was a surf clothing shop that I just had to snoop around.  You never know what you might find 😉.  As it turns out it was providence that made me enter this shop because there was a rack of wetsuits for sale and one that had my name all over it! Sold!  I will now be able to swim in these chilly waters just that little more comfortably.

The drive today from our overnight free camp to Coral Bay was just under 200km.  We didn't leave our camping spot until after 10am and arrived at Coral Bay around 1pm so it was another easy drive.  Along the way we checked out what was available as a free camp for one night on the 2nd July when we don't have anything booked.  We found a spot about 20km north from Coral Bay that will be perfect as it is on our way to Exmouth, our next stop. It is called Bruboodjoo Point.  I kid you not.  If you can pronounce that you are way better than me 😂😂.  It's State of Origin tonight so we will be watching. We somehow missed the first one with the two hour time difference, but we are more organised tonight.

The scenery for much of todays drive.  Flat, flat, flat.

Day 82 Barradale Rest Area, WA

There was no hurry to leave Onslow today as we are only travelling 180km to a free camp area named Barradale.  Our next booked caravan park is at Coral Bay and from Onslow it was almost 500km so we decided to break the journey in two.  As time was on our side this morning we decided to do the walk around Onslow that includes the scenic boardwalk along the oceans edge.  We stopped numerous times to read the interpretive signage along the way and also to photograph some of the lovely wildflowers that have started to make their appearance.  Onslow had more than 400mm of rain during the month of May so it is very green.

We stopped at the Community Garden where we were invited to take whatever we needed.  I picked some basil, rosemary, lemongrass and oregano.  It is a very large area that is well utilised by the local community.  There is even a pizza oven sitting beside a covered picnic area that I can imagine would be the perfect spot to be on a cooler night.

The walk is only three kilometres but it is the perfect length for us before we once again pack down the caravan and head further south.  The mountains are becoming rarer as the country flattens out and we are now officially in the Gascoyne area of Western Australia. Nanutarra Roadhouse on the Ashburton River was our fuel stop as there was no more fuel for 260km (or so the sign said).  We hit the jackpot for fuel prices at this roadhouse paying a whopping $2.70 per litre for diesel.  And we thought that $2.52 at Onslow was expensive......

We are still heading south along the North West Coastal Highway and it is just off this highway that we are camped for the night at the Barradale Rest Area.  Philip went for a walk and at 4.00pm there were 30 caravans pulled up for the night.  It is a large area with plenty of room to spread out.  Apart from making our journey shorter tomorrow, we also needed to let the batteries in our caravan run down and to make that solar panel do its thing.  This is the first time since Adels Grove that we have used battery power.  

Funny story.  Ever since we have started this journey Philip has continued to regret letting our solar blanket go with the sale of our slide-on camper.  He has been on the look out for a replacement at everyplace we have been to on this journey.  When we were in Onslow we walked into a shop that was almost from another era, like the old haberdashery store. It sold bits and bods of everything imaginable.  I was looking for an extra lead for my phone (that I found) but Philip made the biggest find of his life when he picked up the exact solar blanket that he wanted AANNNDDD, it was reduced to half price! It could only happen at Onslow.

Day 81 Onslow, WA

 No getting out of bed early this morning.  It was quite cool with strong winds so I snuggled down and was happy for Philip to bring me coffee in bed while I caught up on the news.

We decided to do a bit of a drive around the area today.  We were given a decent map of the local area when we checked into the caravan park so that would be our guide for today. First of all I wanted to photograph some of the termite mounds and we knew there was a viewing area along the highway.  We drove, and drove a bit more, but do you think we could find the place.  Not on your nelly, but it was a fortuitous drive because we saw the sign pointing towards Old Onslow Townsite with the "road closed" sign now saying "road open", so we turned down that road.

It's around 30km from the main road into the Old Town and the road went quickly from bitumen to gravel and then to the red sandy soil that we have seen so much of.  We stopped for a comfort stop and a little two wheel drive vehicle drove past us at a great speed.  That was a good thing, we thought.  At least we know the road is indeed open.  But the road started to deteriorate with lots of wet boggy areas.  We navigated them quite easily in our four wheel drive but the little two wheel car, not so well.  They, for god only knows what reason, came to a wet patch and decided to head into the table drain!!  Stupid!!  They were well and truly bogged.  Beside me I could hear Philip sigh.  He mumbled that he thought his mud sloshing days were behind him.  The gentleman in the bogged car was very relieved to see us and our 'snatchum strap". It was a bit more of an effort to pull them out of the table drain than anyone anticipated and at one stage I thought we might also become a victim of the mud, but my husband is a bushy through and through and managed to get them out of their predicament.  They thanked us profusely and even wound up our (by this stage) very muddy strap.  They then turned back the way they came, but we proceeded.

There is not much left of the Old Onslow Town, really just the Police Station and Lock-Up.  Although we had a map of the township, all that is left of the buildings is a few stumps.  We tried to get out to the old jetty but that road was really, really boggy so we turned around. Was the drive worth it?  Probably not and considering that Philip spent a good hour washing the vehicle when we returned to Onslow, definitely not.  

Just in case a prisoner decided to climb the wall to escape, the glass at the top would certainly have stopped him.

Our journey then took us to the Wheatstone and Macedon LNG plants.  There are locked gates into both plants so you cannot get too close to the projects but they really are large plants, particularly Wheatstone.

This photo is to show you just how green the country is at the moment.  Normally the grass would be brown and dry.  How lucky we are to see it like this.

The last part of our drive took us along Seaview Drive towards Four Mile Creek.  The road follows the coastline and from here you get a very good look at the Salt Mine and at the end of the road you get quite close to the Wheatstone LNG project that is across the river.  

We drove for around four hours so the pot roast that I had left to cook in the little slow cooker while we were away was perfect by the time we arrived home.  A quick chop of some vegetables went into the oven and a few steamed greens on the side and we had a very tasty lunch. It is our last night in Onslow so we are going to walk down to the Beach Club for sundowners this evening.  The Beach Club sits right on the beach so it will be a perfect way to say goodbye to Onslow.

ps

I have been trying to get us on this really great Safari Tour from Exmouth that takes us to the tip of the Cape Range National Park to North West Cape.  It is fully booked until the end of August.  I asked to go on a wait list in case there were any cancellations and lo and behold, when we arrived back from our drive today there was an email to say that they have had a cancellation and we are on! Just to make the story a little more interesting, the man that we pulled out of the bog today was a priest. As we went our separate ways he "blessed us".  Philip seems to think his blessing got us that booking 😂

Day 80 Onslow, WA

I was up at the crack of dawn (well.... 6.30am) to get the perfect sunrise photo from beneath the large arch situated in the town park that has been placed strategically for just that reason.  No need to get dressed as I will probably be the only person there, I thought, so I pulled on my Ugg boots, donned a cap and threw a jacket over my pj's and walked the very short distance to the arch.  As I rounded the corner, there in front of me were about 20 people, all eyes looking in my direction, and all there for the same reason.  Too late to turn around, I just put me head down and walked over to where everybody was waiting for the sun to rise.  I buried my head in my phone and just hoped no-one would start a conversation with me.  Lesson learnt. Always get dressed......

"Hidden Treasures Onslow Tour" was on the agenda this morning and we were asked to meet outside the Information Centre at 9.00am.  Our tour guide greeted us all and showed us to the little mini bus that would take us for a tour around Onslow.  The first stop was at the harbour where a great deal of construction was underway to build a new, state of the art, boat ramp and jetty as Stage 1 and Stage 11 will  include a small marina.  It is being funded by both Local and State Governments as well as a large amount of funding from the  Wheatstone Gas Project.  One thing we do know, after having BHP in our shire when we were living in Julia Creek, is that if you have any major industry, mining or otherwise, in your Local Shire they will always support the community ventures.

Next stop was Neil and Judy Baker's Shell Collection.  Sadly Neil Baker passed away earlier this year but he has left a legacy of his magnificent seashell collection for the general public to enjoy. He collected shells for more than 60 years and his collection includes thousands of specimens.  The most valuable shell is a pure white shell that is worth many tens of thousands of dollars. They are very rare.  

Back on the bus and our tour guide drove us out to the lookout where we had a birds eye view of the Onslow Salt production facility. After seeing salt mines at Port Hedland, Karratha and now Onslow we have a handle on how the salt is produced but it is a bit too detailed to try and explain.  You may recall me saying yesterday that we passed what looked like a large lake at the entrance to Onslow.  Now we know that it does indeed form part of the Onslow Salt Plant.  The salt field at Onslow encompasses an area of 220 sq kilometres of which 87 sq kilometres are occupied by operational ponds. The majority of the salt from here is shipped to South East Asia where it is predominantly used in the chemical industry. We could see the giant Wheatstone Gas Project in the distance but our tour today did not take us to this area.  You cannot get too close to Wheatstone but tomorrow we will see how close we can get.  

Our driver turned the bus back towards Onslow and we pulled up outside the quaint Little Church of Saint Nicholas. The church was built in 1928 at a cost of six hundred and five pounds.  It started its life as an Anglican Church but has now become multi denominational.  Sadly the building fell into disrepair and with every step forward there was a step backward.  Enter Cape-Australia who were working at Wheatstones Chevron plant, who came onboard and renewed all the verandahs and installed a ramp.  It was an amazing feat carried out by these workers and it was considered by the townsfolk as somewhat of a miracle!

The last stop on our tour was at the Cartoon Tank. During 1942/43 four concrete tanks were constructed by an army Corps knows as the Allied Works Council. Their purpose was to hold oil for the bunkering of light warships during the war.  After the war the tanks were sold to Shell Australia who used the tanks for Aviation Spirit. By the late 1970's the tanks were abandoned and Hayden Stein and his partner Robyn along with their three small children lived in one of the tanks.  Yes.....I know.....whyyyy????  The echo inside this tank is so loud and even a whisper sounds like a shout. The family would have to have almost lived in silence!

Anyway, whilst living in the tank Robyn covered the walls with cartoon characters for the children.  The special crayon was from Germany with Robyn had imported through one of the local shops.  The family have now left the area by Robyns remarkable drawings live on.  

The tour was excellent value  for money ($20/person) and we once again learnt a lot of things about Onslow that we would not have known if we hadn't taken the tour.  Tomorrow we are going driving.  I really want to get some photographs of those incredible termite mounds and I also want to see the mile long salt jetty that is under floodlight at night.  Stay tuned.