It has been a very long day. Our tour guide from Ningaloo Reef to Range Tours, Kevin, picked us up promptly at 9am and we didn't return from our 200km round trip until 5pm. It was pretty much go go go all day but it was worth every bit of our time to explore this diverse region. The tour took us through the World Heritage Listed Cape Range National Park that covers an area of 506 square kms on the Western side of the Exmouth Peninsular. To the west of the National Park are the turquoise waters of Ningaloo Reef and to the east are the rugged gorges.
Our first stop was Vlamingh Head Lighthouse that gave us a 360 degree view from the tip of Cape Range. The view really was spectacular even though the wind nearly blew us off our feet. The Vlamingh Head Lighthouse was built after the sinking of the Mildura in 1907. The Mildura was carrying cattle from the Kimberleys when it hit the reef. The ship was not in deep water and the crew were rescued. Unfortunately the same thing could not be said of the cattle that were left to fend for themselves.
Pilgonoman Gorge was our next stop where we were looking for the rare Black Flanked Rock Wallaby. Fortunately for us the Cape Range National Park has the highest population of these little wallabies in Western Australia. They weigh just 3-5kg and live high in the craggy rocks of the gorge. There is estimated to be around 250 of these little wallabies in the Cape Range National Park. They are very difficult to see, but in the photo below there are five. Can you spot them?
Next stop was the Milyering Discovery Centre where our tour guide set up a morning tea of banana bread and refreshments. We wandered around inside the centre and looked at the Ningaloo Reef displays that were very informative, and outside there were activities set up for the kids during the school holidays. We didn't stay here very long because it really was a busy place.
Our last stop heading south and also the end of the National Park is Yardie Creek Gorge. Yardie Creek is the only fresh water creek in the Cape Range National Park and it is quite spectacular. There are boat cruises that take you along the creek that winds through the gorges and our tour guide said that it is a very popular tour. There are two walks along Yardie Creek Gorge and we decided on the longer walk that took us to the top of the Gorge for views along the length of the gorge. The walk was over an uneven rocky surface but not the worse we have walked. There were people in kayaks, stand up paddle boards and canoes paddling along the still waters of Yardie Creek and at the mouth of the river vehicles were waiting for low tide to cross the river to head south. If you followed the beach all the way along you would end up at Coral Bay, but it would be a tricky beach drive.
Snorkelling at Turquoise Bay was the next adventure but when we reached the bay we decided against it. All day we had been battling windy conditions and the waters in the bay looked cloudy and not great for snorkelling. I can imagine Turquoise Bay on a less windy day would be absolutely beautiful.
Our very last stop at Cape Range National Park was Oyster Stacks Bay. Out of all the places we stopped I liked this one best of all. It looked so very inviting and the coral is so close to the shore that you have to actually walk over it. As it was still high tide the three large oyster stacks, that the bay is named after were submerged. There were many people snorkelling here and in fact it was difficult to get a parking spot at any of the places we visited. So many people!
Cape Range has many camping areas that require a permit and all camping spots are full for the duration of the school holidays. It costs just $11/night to stay here and if we had realised just how easy it was to get there I would probably have tried to book into one of the camping areas. But, you don't unfortunately know these things unless you are a local. Our tour guide said that even if we tried we would probably not have got in as the majority of the sites are repeat bookings.
The road through the National Park is dual lane bitumen with a speed limit of 80kmh but we were being continually overtaken so no-one takes much notice of that. Yardie Creek Caravan Park is also another option in this area and I did try to get us a site here but it was also fully booked. Up until a few years ago there was a second caravan park just below the lighthouse but it has been purchased by Twiggy Forest and he has great plans for this area. I have no doubt it will be amazing when it's completed.
Just outside Exmouth we passed the Harold E Holt Communications Base and it's towers. There is also the remnants of a USA Naval Base that was set up at Exmouth in the 1960's to support the Harold E Holt Communications Base. The base was used by the Americans to communicate with their submarines and because of the isolated area it was the perfect place.
The Americans built a whole town complete with bowling alleys, baseball fields, ten pin bowling alleys, hotels and restaurants. The houses were also distinctive with large concrete pillars laying across the roof to make then cyclone proof. US dollars were accepted in the town and vehicles were also driven on the left hand side. It really was a little slice of America sitting in the Pilbara. Eventually the base was closed in 1992 and handed back to the Australian Navy. The communication towers are no longer in use - or so they say.......
It's not a great photo as we couldn't get close to the towers but our guide told us that the white building in the centre is four stories high and the centre tower is taller than the Empire State Building. Impressive.
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