WIND…WIND…WIND…WIND!!!!!

Hi to all,

After two great windy days in Coral Bay we left & headed north west to the small town of Exmouth. Exmouth is situated 1270 kilometres north of Perth. The town of Exmouth has a population of 2,250 & has an interesting history. Captain Phillip King visited in February 1818 while surveying the northern Australian coastline & named Exmouth Gulf in honour of his hero, Viscount Exmouth, formerly Sir Edward Pellew. The same man that the author C. S. Forrester would later base his Horatio Hornblower series of novels around. I do not know about you but I loved the books & the television series.

Apart from pearling lugger visitations & pastoral activity very little changed until 1942. During World War II the USA established a submarine base. The base was later used as a refuelling facility by the Australian navy & airforce. In 1963, an agreement was reached between the Australian & US governments to establish a VLF communications station on the tip of North West Cape because of the rapidly developing Cold War & the need to establish a communications system with US submarines equipped with nuclear warheads. The town of Exmouth was created to support this facility.

American & Australian defence forces withdrew their personnel from Exmouth in 1992 which altered the towns major reason for being & largely triggered the rapid development of Exmouth & the Ningaloo region as an eco-tourism destination. Situated west from Exmouth is the 50,581-hectare Cape Range National Park which has many natural attractions that we plan to explore over the next 5 days.

Upon arrival in Exmouth we purchased groceries at the local supermarket & headed 15 kilometres out of town to our caravan park where we caught up with our friends Deb & Paul Vince. Deb & Paul are from Richmond in Tasmania & have been travelling through Western Australia in the opposite direction to us i.e. north to south.  That night we enjoyed a nice meal & a few drinks at the café in the caravan park.

The next day we Packed up & headed to Cape Range National Park some 50 kilometres from Exmouth. Cape Range NP is a rugged limestone range which descends to sea level where you find sand dunes & arid coastal plains. There is no freshwater anywhere in the park so you must be self-sufficient although there are non-flushing toilets. It is a diverse landscape with plenty of kangaroos & emus, insects, birds & other mammals. Ningaloo reef is just off the coast so fishing, swimming & snorkelling are popular & there are quite a few walks & 4wd tracks.

 

 

ALL THE TIME WE WERE AT CAPE RANGE IT BLEW HARD. It would have blown a dog off a chain!

We did a great boat trip with Deb & Paul Vince up Yardie Creek Gorge & enjoyed great drift snorkelling at Turquoise Bay. We enjoyed great sunset drinks with fellow campers & managed to catch a few squid (Calamari). Of course, Cheryl caught the biggest………but let me use the “Michael Granger” ……. “WINTON LONG WATERHOLE” precedent. I chose the lure, tied it on, took the squids off………. & cleaned them.

 

After 4 nights at Cape Range NP we left with the wind having dropped to a gusty light breeze & headed into Exmouth to refuel, refill our depleted water tanks & obtain groceries. We then called to

the local caravan dealer for some repairs. Readers of an earlier post would be aware that we had an altercation with a bush chook (emu) on our way to Gascoyne Junction & the plumbing on Wally took a big hit! Whilst checking out Wally’s underparts in the NP I discovered 3 broken wires from the axle to the brake drum on the driver’s side.  So, we had no trailer brakes on one wheel! We also had our awning replaced as it had been damaged.

 

We headed off & checked out a WW II Memorial to the Krait raid. The Krait raid on Singapore was a fantastic feat of seamanship, deception & bravery. Do yourself a favour & look it up! We had lunch at the memorial then travelled onto a great free camp at Barradale.

The next day we travelled on to Fortescue River Roadhouse for “the best coffee in the Pilbara” & then into Karratha where we shall be for two nights.

We used our time in Karratha to do washing, refuel & provisions as well as taking in what the area must offer. Being that the existence of the town is because of mining there is considerable port infrastructure & always many ships taking on iron ore or waiting their turn to dock & load. We visited nearby Dampier & naturally went to see the Red Dog Memorial. What a great true story & the film was good as well. We went into the Murujuga National Park to check out some amazing scenery.

 

Next, we visited the small coastal town of Point Samson which appears to be a delightful little seaside hamlet where I feel I could spend a bit of time fishing. After lunch, we headed to another old township named Cossack. I reckon I could spend a month fishing in Cossack. The estuarine outlook & numerous pristine mangroves are compelling. No one lives at Cossack now but several old buildings have been restored & we spent a bit of time looking at them before backing to Karratha.

 

 

Tomorrow we are on the road again. Can you guess where we are heading?