WA Road Trip

Western Australia - Australia's largest state - is huge! It encompasses the western third of Australia (kind of how it got its name) and it has a land area of 2,529,875 square kilometers. However, most of its 2.6 million inhabitants live in the southwest corner of the state - Perth and beyond to the south. This year our journey took us north from Perth to the small village of Exmouth, a town on the tip of the North West Cape (and formerly home to a US military station). It was an amazing and epic journey! Often we were alone on the highway with keen eyes looking out for wandering kangaroo and/or emu. Other times we were in small, welcoming towns. All and all a great adventure! If you're familiar with towns in Western Australia and want to skip ahead, just click on one of the links that follows: Geraldton Exmouth Denham Kalbarri

Our first stop was in the town of Cervantes, about three hours northwest of Perth. Highlights of our explorations here include:

Pinnacles in Nambung National Park: Pinnacles are towers – some tall and some not so tall – some fat and some skinny – made from ancient limestone originally formed from sea shells. These Pinnacles are found scattered throughout a desert landscape. Some are jagged while others are smoothly rounded. As we wandered on foot and by car through the Park, we were amazed at the varying sizes, shapes and locations of the Pinnacles. They were truly stunning! There are a few theories on how they were formed but no one is certain.

A view of The Pinnacles

We've driven up a hill and you can see where The Pinnacles
end and the beach begins. Beyond on the horizon is the Indian Ocean.

We're now in and among The Pinnacles

It's a pretty amazing place!

The Pinnacles truly do come in unique shapes and sizes

A pair of Galah each atop of a Pinnacle

A closer look at this colorful (and noisy) bird

Lake Thetis & Thirsty Point: Lake Thetis is an isolated lake filled with salt water (it’s 1.5 times saltier than the Indian Ocean). It is home to living organisms known as stromatolites. Stromatolites are some of the earth's oldest living creatures. We walked around the small lake and took photographs of the stromatolites which grow in colonies and appear to look like wet rocks. Afterwards we drove to Thirsty Point to enjoy beautiful views of the lovely Indian Ocean.

These are the stromatolites

Here's a closer look at two of the stromatolites; they
are believed to be over 3,500 years old in Lake Thetis

A view across Lake Thetis

Due to the wind, salt is found all along this shore; remember,
this lake is 1.5 times saltier than the Indian Ocean

The view from Thirsty Point looking out over the Indian Ocean
(you can definitely see where the calm coastal waters end)

In this direction you can see Cervantes Islands, a small
collection of islands that provide breeding grounds for many birds

A flowering succulent survives in the sand

Our next stop was in Geraldton, a major city on the West Coast. Highlights of our time there included:

Abrolhos Islands: The Abrolhos Islands are located about 80km off the coast opposite Geraldton. We arranged to visit them via a flight with Geraldton Charter Air. We arrived at the Geraldton Air Offices at 8:30AM. As we left the Geraldton air field, Pilot Ned began with an ongoing, informative commentary both about Geraldton and then about the collection of islands known as the Abrolhos Islands. They are absolutely stunning dots of land surrounded by beautiful hues of the ocean – green, blue and azure. We landed on Wallaby Island where we enjoyed a lovely morning & afternoon. There was a hiking boardwalk, a covered picnic area and a great beach for snorkeling and/or beachcombing. When we left at 2:00PM, we once again enjoyed great views of the Abrolhos Islands as well as Geraldton. Wow, what a wonderful excursion! If you want to enjoy this unique experience, check out the Geraldton Air Charter website and start planning your adventure (www.geraldtonaircharter.com.au OR www.augac.com (the latter is their Chinese language site)).

A view of Geraldton as we leave for the Abrolhos Islands

The beautiful colors begin

The views are so amazing!

Wow!!

It just keeps coming....

A cray fish or angling camp

A close-up view of the camp; what an amazing place to live!

The views are so stunning!!

Again, and again... amazing views!

We landed on Wallaby Island where we enjoyed a lovely morning & afternoon. There was a hiking boardwalk, a covered picnic area and a great beach for snorkeling and/or beachcombing. When we left at 2:00PM, we once again enjoyed great views of the Abrolhos Islands as well as Geraldton. Wow, what a wonderful excursion!

The landing strip at Wallaby Island

Our plane

Our beautiful and private beach

A ridge on the other side of the covered picnic area

We're definitely enjoying this lovely place!

The views continue on our way back to Geraldton

The views continue to be spectacular

This area is so beautiful!

More amazing, amazing views

Our final snap. We will never forget the Abrolhos Islands!!

St. Francis Xavier Cathedral: This beautiful Cathedral, designed by a Catholic priest, was begun in 1916 and finished in 1936. It’s absolutely stunning!

HMAS Sydney Memorial: This Memorial was constructed to honor the brave soldiers who died in November 1941 fighting the German cruiser Kormoran. None of the 645 Australian soldiers survived the battle. The highlight of the Memorial (at least for us) was the bronze statute of a woman looking out to sea waiting for the men of the Sydney to return.

Memorial to the HMAS Sydney - The Dome of Souls

This Pool of Remembrance is dedicated to the
finding of the HMAS Sydney on March 16, 2008

The "Waiting Woman" looking out to sea

A view of the "Waiting Woman" with the Dome of Souls behind her

Western Australia Museum: Geraldton is home to this excellent museum. It contains a great deal of information about the area dating back to and including Aboriginal artifacts. It also highlights the mining and crayfish industries near Geraldton. The museum contains artifacts from the East Indies ship, Batavia. The Batavia struck a reef in the Abrolhos Islands in 1629. The Museum features the portico recovered from this wreck. All and all, it is a very informative Museum.

A loading cog for ore (definitely a lot of different ores are mined in WA

We definitely saw a lot of these guys, especially as we drove farther north

Pearling is a major industry in Western Australia

Another major industry is fishing for Rock Lobster or Crayfish

The reconstructed hold of the Batavia which contained
bricks, building stones, food and water

The outside of the Batavia hull was covered with
copper discs to prevent worms

This was supposed to be the lavish entry to The
East Indies Spice Company in Jakarta (obviously, it never arrived)

Our next destination was Exmouth, a town located near the tip of the North West Cape in Western Australia. We had to spend a night en route to/from at the seaside town of Carnarvon. Exmouth is small (~2,500 people) but it once was booming when the US Navy established a submarine refueling base here under the code name “Operation Potshot” during World War II. Following the war, most US based personnel left. But in 1963, the Australian government permitted the US to establish a VLF communications station during the Cold War as a way to communicate with US submarines. The facility, the Harold E. Holt Communication Station was established. In 1992, both the US and Australians withdrew their military personnel leaving the VLF in the hands of civilian contractors. Today, tourism sustains Exmouth due to its proximity to the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area which encompasses Ningaloo Marine Park and Cape Range National Park (along with several other parks and reserves and interestingly the RAAF’s Learmonth Air Weapons Range). Our hotel, the Best Western Sea Breeze, is a renovated block house that was used to house single US servicemen. The rooms still have some original features like North American electrical outlets.

A snap of some of those 13 antenna

Our Best Western with a block house behind that is not renovated

An Emu family we came across during our travels near Exmouth

A photo of one of the chicks

Vlamingh Head Lighthouse: This lighthouse is over 100 years old. We also saw the remnants of a WWII radar station also located on this sight. From the Lighthouse there are great views of the Indian Ocean as well as Ningaloo Reef.

Vlamingh Head Lighthouse

A photograph of the WWII radar station

The sandbag base of the WWII radar station is still intact
with many of the original sandbags.

A view from the Lighthouse

Cape Range National Park: This is an extensive park which surrounds Exmouth. We chose to take a tour so we could access areas requiring a 4WD vehicle. Our tour began in Charles Knife Gorge Road. We enjoyed amazing views of the gorge and the sea since as we drove along on the ridge.

A limestone cave en route to Charles Knife Gorge

We continue farther into the Gorge

You can now see the ocean in the distance

A view from the top of the Gorge

Next, we drove Shot Hole Canyon Road, another 4WD route within the Park. Here we drove into the canyon. It is named after the shot holes left by the explosive charges detonated for seismographic studies during oil searches in the 1950’s.

Next, a bit of a repeat for us… we stopped at Vlamingh Head Lighthouse. Then we drove to the formal entrance of Cape Range National Park. We were able to stop and get some great animal shots. We proceeded to the Milyering Discovery Centre some 52kms from Exmouth. We looked through the exhibits and changed into swimming gear as this spot has the best facilities for doing so.

After this break, we took the sealed road to Osprey Bay, a beautiful swimming area in the Ningaloo Reef waters. We next went to the end of the park’s sealed road at Yardie Creek. Yardie Creek is the only gorge in the area with permanent water but it is salt-fed and thus has lots of mangroves. Here we boarded a boat and had the great treat in seeing two groups of Black-Footed Rock Wallabies. We also got a photograph of an Osprey and its nearby nest.

Lindy at the beach at Osprey Bay

It's definitely a beautiful beach!

We're now on Yardie Creek; see the mangroves

Water fowl along Yardie Creek

A photograph of the elusive Black-Footed Rock Wallaby; wow!

This Black-Footed Wallaby is up on the top of the rock wall

Another treat - an Osprey

The Osprey's nearby nest

Our final stop for the day was Turquoise Bay, named as one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia. It was stunning and has excellent snorkeling in a protected area where the reef almost reaches the beach. The water truly is turquoise!

After enjoying Exmouth, we began our return trek back south. We once again spent a night in Carnarvon. Then, we drove to Denham, Australia’s western-most town and our home for two nights, via the Shark’s Bay World Heritage area. Highlights of our time in this area included:

Hamelin Pool: Hamelin Pool is a place of living microbial mats containing a diversity of bacteria and microbes with thousands of different species living in just a few millimeters of mat. These mats are one of the Earth's earliest ecosystems. They have been around over three billion years, more than 75% of the Earth's geologic history.

A view of Hamelin Pool - an interesting slice of biology

The microbial mats live in an environment two times saltier than the sea

Shell Bay: Shell Bay is a stunning white bay comprised of shells and not sand. It was so beautiful!

Eagle Bluff: Eagle Bluff sits high above the water. The area was once mined for guano. While we were there we didn’t see any eagles but we were able to spot sharks in the water – pretty amazing.

We were able to see this small island from Eagle Bluff

This is a view looking down the bluff

A photograph of one of the sharks we saw from the bluff

Monkey Mia: Monkey Mia is a private reserve where dolphins have been visiting for over 40 years. The dolphins arrive in small groups in the morning. Each will receive only a single fish so obviously it’s not the food they are hoping for but also the interaction with humans. No touching of the dolphins is allowed; just observation. We were very lucky during our time at Monkey Mia because two different groups of dolphins came into the beach area. We learned that photography of the dolphins was much better from the nearby wharf looking down. From this position, we also saw some lots of crab as well as a sea turtle. It was an amazing experience! And, then, icing on the cake as we came across a pair of Emu with seven chicks as we were returning to Denham. Wow!!

This is one of the Dolphin that arrived at about 7:00AM

It sure seems to be a smiling face!

We watched these busy crabs; the crabs were all over the beach

The second group of Dolphin arriving at about 9:00AM

Two individuals start coming much closer to the shore

This Dolphin appears to be checking everything out

A Green Sea Turtle near the wharf

An unexpected treat - a male Emu and seven chicks
(and the Indian Ocean in the background)!! Males raise the chicks.

After enjoying the Denham/Sharks Bay World Heritage Area, we drove south to Kalbarri for two nights. We selected this spot to enjoy two key places:

Kalbarri National Park: This national park features geological formations in an amazing setting. The Murchison River has formed a beautiful gorge through the surrounding sandstone. We walked to Nature’s Window for some great views (and a great photograph of us).

The Murchison River from the Nature's Window Loop trail

An interesting rock formation

We're in the middle of Nature's Window!

A Hawk or Kestrel - beautiful bird of prey!

Then, we also traveled an additional 24km to next Park entry where we visited Hawks Head Outlook and Ross Graham Outlook. Both offered more amazing views!

A view of Hawks Head - the formation in the middle
of The Murchison River

A closer view of Hawks Head

This lovely Black Swan was behind Hawks Head
in the picture above; a good zoom lens is definitely necessary!

Ross Graham Outlook provides a view at the level of the Murchison River

Across the river, we could see the canyon wall falling down

This lizard was cooling off in the shade

Pink Lake: It truly is amazing to see a lake that’s pink and this one certainly is! We understand that the lake’s pink color comes from to the presence of the carotenoid producing algae, Dunaliella Salina, a source of beta-carotene, a food coloring agent and source of Vitamin A.

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, READ THE DAILY DIARY BELOW (TEXT ONLY) OR CONTINUE ON TO MELBOURNE (just click on the link)

Sunday, 15 November: We arrived in Perth at 10:35PM after routing from Johannesburg to Hong Kong. We arrived at our hotel just before 12:00AM ready for sleep in a bed for the first time in 48 hours.

Monday, 16 November: We picked up a rental car at the Perth Airport at 11:00AM. Ed drove us out of town and we arrived in Cervantes at 2:30PM. We then settled into our room and found the local grocer and bottle shop to set up for our three night stay.

Tuesday, 17 November: We first drove first to Kangaroo Point to see what was there. Although the setting was beautiful, there were no Kangaroos to be found. Afterwards, we drove to Pinnacles in Namburg National Park. Pinnacles are limestone towers originally formed from sea shells. These Pinnacles are found scattered throughout a desert landscape. As we wandered on foot and by car through the Park, we were amazed at the varying sizes, shapes and locations of the Pinnacles. While at Pinnacles, we also saw a pair of colorful birds called Galah. Wonderful!

Wednesday, 18 November: Today we took a short drive (Lindy actually driving for the first time in Australia in a very long time) to Lake Thetis, also in Namburg National Park. Lake Thetis is an isolated lake filled with salt water. It is home to living organisms known as stromatolites. We walked around the small lake and took photographs of these creatures which grow in colonies and appear to look like wet rocks. Afterwards we drove to Thirsty Point. There we enjoyed beautiful views of the lovely Indian Ocean.

Thursday, 19 November: Today we took turns driving north on Indian Ocean Drive and then ultimately on Highway 1 to reach the town of Geraldton, our home for the next three nights. Once we arrived in town, we first went to Visitor Center to get information regarding local sites to visit. After checking into our hotel, we found a local “Woolie’s” (Woolworths Grocery market and bottle shop) to pick up supplies for our stay.

Friday, 20 November: Our entire day was spent flying to and enjoying the amazing Abrolhos Islands while on tour with Geraldton Air Charter. We arrived at the Geraldton Air Offices at 8:30AM. We enjoyed a great send-off from owner/pilot, Wendy and other staff members. Then, we were ready for our flight. As we left the Geraldton air field, Pilot Ned began an ongoing commentary about Geraldton and the collection of islands known as the Abrolhos Islands. Interestingly, Ned originally was from the Abrolhos Islands where his family members are cray fishermen.

After landing on Wallaby Island, we enjoyed a 15 minute walk to secluded beach with covered picnic area for tea/coffee. We took a few moments to relax before going for a bush walk. There we actually saw some of the elusive wallabies (unfortunately, we weren’t able to photograph them; they were too quick). We also viewed from a very safe distance an osprey nest that has been in use for 40 plus years. According to Pilot Ned, there were chicks inside.

When we returned to the beach area, it was time for some great snorkeling and beachcombing till lunch. Lunch was a great picnic lunch provided by Geraldton Air. Yummy! After lunch we enjoyed more time at the beach – this time choosing to walk the beach rather than snorkel. At 2:00PM it was time to make the return walk back to the plane. We once again enjoyed great views of the Abrolhos Islands before landing in Geraldton. It was a great outing that we highly recommend to others!

Saturday, 21 November: We spent the entire day in Geraldton visiting various spots. We began at the majestic St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. The Cathedral was designed by a Catholic priest. Construction was begun in 1916 and ended in 1936.

We next visited the HMAS Sydney Memorial. The memorial was constructed to honor the brave soldiers who died in November 1941 fighting the German cruiser Kormoran. None of the 645 Australian soldiers survived the battle. The highlight of the Memorial (at least for us) was the bronze statute of a woman looking out to sea waiting for the men of the Sydney to return.

Our final touring for the day was a visit to the Western Australia Museum. It’s an excellent museum and it contains a great deal of information about the area dating back to Aboriginal artifacts. It also highlights the mining and crayfish industries near Geraldton. The museum also contains artifacts from the East Indies ship, Batavia. The Batavia struck a reef in the Abrolhos Islands in 1629. Most of the ships passengers and crew survived but their story involves is a long tale of mutiny and intrigue until their ultimate rescue. The Western Australia Museum features the portico recovered from this wreck. It has been reconstructed to form the centre of the Museum's shipwreck gallery.

Sunday, 22 November: Today we drove to the seaside town of Carnarvon for a one-night stop. It was a good stopping point en route to Exmouth, a small town located at the tip of the peninsula on the North West Cape.

Monday, 23 November: We shared the driving from Carnarvon to Exmouth. Both of us had to be alert due to the wildlife in the area. Unfortunately, there were lots of dead Kangaroo along side the road. We did see a pair of Emu by the road and then another pair with two large chicks. However, we weren’t able to photograph them since they ran as soon as we slowed the car to a stop. We arrived at Exmouth about 2:00PM and stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up information. We next found the local IGA to stock-up for groceries during our four-night stay. Afterwards we drove outside town to the Best Western Exmouth Sea Breeze, a former USA military barracks. After settling in, we enjoyed a delicious pasta & ceci meal prepared by Chef Ed.

Tuesday, 24 November: After a leisurely breakfast, we drove further north to Vlamingh Lighthouse, a lighthouse that is over 100 years old. We also saw the remnants of a WWII radar station. Although the day was a bit cloudy, we still had great views of the Indian Ocean. We next drove down to the beach to get a closer look at the wreck of SS Mildura, a cattle transport ship that was destroyed when it clipped the reef during a cyclone in 1907. It lay on the reef until it was moved closer to shore when allied planes used it for bombing practice. We also drove to Bundegi Beach, the beginning of the Ningaloo Marine Park.

Wednesday, 25 November: We booked a full day tour with Ningalo Safari tours. Owner/operator Dave took eight of us in his airconditioned 4WD “OKA” to see the areas north and south of Exmouth. We began by driving south to the Charles Knife Gorge Road, part of Cape Range National Park. This 4WD road provided access to amazing views of the gorge and the sea since we were driving on the ridge. Charles Knife was one of the early geologists exploring the area for oil (unfortunately, despite its promising appearance, no oil was found).

Then we were off again back through town but then on another 4WD track en route to Vlamingh Head Lighthouse. We were hoping to see Kangaroo but none came out of the bush. It was a beautiful day so the views from the Lighthouse were even better than our visit the prior day.

Next we drove to the formal entrance of Cape Range National Park where Dave attended to our admission. Then we drove to the Milyering Discovery Centre some 52kms from Exmouth. We looked through the exhibits and changed into swimming gear as this spot has the best facilities for doing so.

After this break, we took the sealed road to Osprey Bay, a beautiful swimming area in the Ningaloo Reef waters. The water is really beautiful and so very clear. Afterwards, we all enjoyed a picnic lunch under a covered facility enjoying the cool breeze off the water.

Dave then drove us to the end of the park’s sealed road to Yardie Creek, an area where erosion has formed a multi-colored gorge that cuts into the limestone. Yardie Creek is the only gorge in the area with permanent water but it is salt-fed and thus has lots of mangroves. Here Dave is one of two operators with a boat on the Yardie. So we boarded it for a ride despite it being low tide which made for some difficult maneuvering. We had a great treat in seeing two groups of Black-Footed Rock Wallabies. Photography was difficult from a moving boat and especially with the creatures being shy and running off but we did manage a snap. We also got a photograph of an Osprey and its nearby nest.

Our final stop for the day was Turquoise Bay, named as the second most beautiful beach in Australia. It was stunning and has excellent snorkeling in a very protected area where the reef almost reaches the beach. The water truly is turquoise! About 5:00PM, we enjoyed another break for coffee/tea and carrot cake (very tasty) before heading back to Exmouth. As it was now cool, there were lots of Kangaroo dashing across the road and Emu grazing in the fields. Dave did a great job of dodging these animals so we didn’t have any accidents with them. We returned to Exmouth at 6:00PM after a very full day.

Thursday, 26 November: Happy Thanksgiving! We took the day off (as one should do on any holiday) to review photographs, work on our diary and begin packing for our move tomorrow. Of course, Ed prepared a delicious holiday feast while not working on other projects.

Friday, 27 November: This day was spent in transit back today to Carnarvon for night. It was a long drive but it gave us time to savor all we had seen and done in Exmouth.

Saturday, 28 November: After leaving Carnarvon, we traveled to the World Heritage Shark’s Bay Drive. Once on the World Heritage Drive, we stopped at Hamelin Pool to view its stromatolites. Our next stop was Shell Beach, a beach made entirely of shells and not sand. Afterwards we went to Eagle Bluff where guano was once mined; now it’s a bird sanctuary. From the cliffs, we saw sharks swimming below and we were even able to photograph them. We arrived in Denham at 2:00PM and settled into our seaside bungalow.

Sunday, 29 November: Today we visited the Monkey Mia Conservation Park and Reserve. We were able to enjoy two different interactions with dolphins. Certain female dolphins come up to the beach during the morning hours to receive a single fish. So, obviously not all the food a dolphin needs so it is believed they are curious. This phenomenon – the interaction with humans and dolphins – has happened for the last 40 years.

On our visit the first dolphin arrived at 7:00AM but all guests were kept on a boardwalk area until 7:45AM. Then we were allowed to enter into a few inches of the water. In total, there were eight dolphins during this encounter. The second group of female dolphin arrived at 8:55AM and were accompanied by three male dolphin that did not approach the beach. This time four dolphins were each given a fish. Instead of being in the water, we chose to watch this interaction from a nearby jetty. While on the jetty, we also saw crabs digging nests and a green sea turtle in the swimming in the water beneath the jetty.

Monday, 30 November: We spent today in transit to Kalbarri, our home for two nights while we visit Kalbarri National Park. The direct route on the Ajana Kalbarri Road was closed due to an accident, so we had to drive south to Northampton and then take coast road back to Kalbarri. However, it turned out to be a very pleasant drive and we especially enjoyed seeing Pink Lake The pink color of the lake is due to the presence of the carotenoid producing algae.

Tuesday, 1 December: We spent the day visiting Kalbarri National Park. We began in the first area of the park by driving on a 20km paved road. We then had to drive on a very rough road (it was almost a 4WD road) for 7km to reach the cutoff to Nature’s Window. It was a quick walk to Nature’s Window and it was absolutely stunning! Afterwards we reversed our route to reach Park entrance. Then we traveled an additional 24km to next Park entry. Here we visited Hawks Head Outlook and Ross Graham Outlook. From both we could see the Murchison River. It was quite low but it wasn’t a surprise given it was the height of the dry season.

Wednesday, 2 December: After a leisurely morning, we drove back to Cervantes – the town where we began this journey – to spend our final night on this road trip.

Thursday, 3 December: This morning we were up early but didn’t begin our drive back to Perth until 7:00AM due to the fear of having a Kangaroo jump in front of the car. We arrived at the Perth Airport at 9:45AM and returned our rental car. We were able to get an early check-in for our night in Perth. It worked out great as we had to consolidate and repack for tomorrow’s flight to Melbourne.