Day 46 (5 Jun) – Onslow to Exmouth

We left Onslow about 8.00am just as the caravan park was awakening.  There were a few families there with very small kids as it is a long weekend and they probably decided to have a weekend away.  We thought it might be a noisy night but not so.  It was very quiet.

The road to Exmouth like earlier stretches of this road, was boring.  Nothing to write about.  We got to Exmouth about 1.00pm and Helen put on the washing machine before we headed out to the Visitors’ Centre.  This is also the Ningaloo Research Centre and there is an excellent display that we toured.

Helen found a game where you can make your own fish and release it electronically.  I made one too.

There are live sea creatures in displays.

There is also a huge aquarium full of the fish that inhabit the Ningaloo Reef.

We then went for a drive to the tip of the North West Cape.  The Harold E Holt Naval Communications Facility is there and is an impressive sight.  This location was used by the United States and Australian military during WWII but became a reality as a communications facility when the United States was allowed to build a submarine communications facility in 1963.  It was opened in 1967, and after the untimely death of Prime Minister Harold Holt was named in his honour.  There are 12 antennae and a 13^th, known as Tower Zero, with the transmitter at its base.  There is also a Space Surveillance Telescope Project underway.

We found a plaque with some statistics about the facility.

There is also a shipwreck that occurred in 1907 and the wreck is still there.  The SS Mildura loaded with freight and cattle veered off course and foundered on a reef.

We walked along the ocean beach on the west side of the Cape and Helen “stole” some shells from the beach.

Exmouth boasts a “Big Prawn”, obviously to compete with other “Big Things” in the Eastern States.  But this Big Prawn is miniature compared to the one at Ballina in northern New South Wales.  Any way. It warranted a picture despite its measly size.  “Nigel No Friends” had finally met a friend he could relate to.

Tomorrow we will do a drive along the coast on the other side of the peninsula.  We thought about a whale watching tour but that isn’t happening until August.  The other popular activity is whale shark swimming, but Helen can’t swim and with all the metal in me I’ll probably sink.  So that’s a no-go activity.

Helen’s Highlights / Minnie’s Musings

Today we crossed from the Pilbara region of W.A to the Gascoyne Region. After the amazing roads in the Pilbara I was interested to see if they would be very different as the Gascoyne is not involved in the iron ore industry. (I know the roads are often paid for by the iron ore industry to cater for the large trucks they need to transport their ore) Well, the roads were indeed different. As soon as we got into the Gascoyne the roads became narrower and the shoulders of the roads went from wide and bitumen to gravel and dirt. Coincidence…I think not!!!

Day 47 (6 Jun) – Exmouth

It’s slightly rain drizzle today and overcast skies and a bit rough on the water.  So, we decided not to do the glass bottom boat tour but to look around the area of Cape Range National Park.  We drove up to the tip of the Cape and went up the Lighthouse.  Stunning view from up there.

The headland where the lighthouse was, had a radar station in WWII and the radar support is still there together with the sandbags that were laid at that time.  Unfortunately, people have been walking on them over the years so they are now fenced off with a notice not to climb.  But to be here in the desolate place in WWII mist have been an exercise in survival.

The beaches on the Ningaloo Reef side of the Cape are gorgeous but it was not displaying all its glory because of the overcast skies.  The aqua water would be stunning on a sunny day.

Helen didn’t want her photo taken so waved her hands incessantly.  Didn’t faze me though.

But we did find “Nigel No Friends” on the beach alone kicking the sand to see if there were any friends hiding there.

We then went back to the caravan for lunch before heading south of Exmouth to see the canyons of Cape Range National Park.  The first one was Charles Knife Gorge.  It was a steep climb but a sealed road for the first part and then became 4WD as we approached the top.  Magnificent views.  You could see RAAF Base Learmonth in the distance but zooming in with the haze and showers distorted the view.

The canyons are just unbelievable.  There is no sign of this spectacular scenery at the bottom of the range.

The last bit of the climb to the top was a rugged road and 4WD is definitely needed here.

But then at the top there is more stunning gorge scenery.

And coming down was just as exciting.

We then drove back towards Exmouth and turned off on the Shothole Canyon Road.  This is 13km of track and is signposted 4WD only.  Trouble is we came across people driving 2WD cars – a Toyota Corolla and a Hyundai i30.  I don’t know if they made it to the end as it got worse as we drove further in.  The Landcruiser had no trouble but needed the centre differential locked and traction control off.  The range in the gorge is just as magnificent as the other one.

The drive in took about 30 minutes and was definitely worth the effort to see the blind canyon at the end.  Tonight, we’re going to have fish and chips at the Exmouth Game Fishing Club.  It sells itself as the best fish and chips in town.

Helen’s Highlights / Minnie’s Musings

A great day of exploring today. Michael indulged my request by driving up the gorge and canyon of the Cape Range National Park. This range is like a spine down the middle of the peninsula. Just stunning.

I often despair about the many spelling mistakes that I see in the public arena of menus, shop signs and tourist brochures and booklets. I do not want ‘avacado’ smash or ‘mustered’ with my sandwiches. Come on editors – check your spelling and other areas of grammar and punctuation please. I can’t keep the teacher in me from surfacing.

 And I am very concerned about the poor apostrophe; used when it should not be used and then not used when it should be used. Poor little apostrophe!

Complaint of the Day

Michael – We can’t have fish and chips because the restaurants are either closed or booked out.

Helen - Another problem I had today was in a section of the Ningaloo Tourist Booklet. I was interested in finding out about the turtles here and the article said, ‘It is important not to handle, touch or interfere with turtle hatchlings as this can both reduce their chances of survival and negate the important imprinting that allows a hatchling to navigate its way back to the beach where it was born.’  Just above the article is this picture…………. That really shows what to do doesn’t it.  Surely that should have been picked up.