Phimsipasom Oz Trip: Stops #42 to 47

After leaving Karijini, we drive most of the day to the coral coast of WA, first stopping at a station stay called Warroora, pronounced Warra. We'd tried to stay at Coral Bay itself, however all the caravan parks were booked out, and any unpowered sites were only allocated on the morning of checking in; a downside of last minute planning. So we took the opportunity to further spend some time off the grid, and get intimate with nature.

We were lucky to make it to Warra in one piece, having experienced a collision with a cow on the way there. Just before the collision, I decided to complete the remainder of the maths schooling whilst we were on the road, meaning Jackie would be driving for only the second time this trip.

The problem with our big country is that it is so big, you can't fence in all the stock that roams this great land of ours. So when driving, we are essentially driving through people's paddocks, with no fence between us and whatever livestock is being raised in the region.

With the usual signage warning drivers of cattle, horses, kangaroos, deer etc, we are normally aware and vigilant. On this occasion, we are driving along a road with foliage close to the bitumen, meaning any animals springing from the bushes are likely to become a statistic, unless they are spotted earlier or the travelling speed is slight.

As we drive along the road, it is around 4pm, Jackie spots a cow several hundred metres ahead on the left hand side, and so she is on alert. I spot the cow, but return to the schooling with the kids, with my back to the front of the vehicle. Mid-way through talking with the kids, I hear "Oh shit" as Jackie hits the brakes. I turn around and see a cow running alongside the right hand side of the vehicle, it then veers left straight into the path of the car, which by now is travelling approximately 80klms/hr. We brace ourselves, as the cow is hit, a loud though and jolt is felt by all. The cow is pushed forward, somehow gets back on it's feet and scampers to the other side of the road, I look in the side mirror and see it hobble into the bushes, it's fate unknown. After the cow is hit, Jackie turns the car to the right slightly, to avoid running over the cow, I looked in the rear vision mirror to see the caravan swaying side to side. All this happening in slow motion, just like in the movies.

As we come to a stop in the middle of the road, and the realisation if what just happened hit Jackie, she starts hyperventilating and engages in some deep breathing. The shock of the collision and reality of what may have happened to the car, caravan and kids hit home. We'd talked about what to do if an animal jumps out in front of us, but until it happens, one never knows how we will react and how things will pan out. In this occasion, we were very lucky to escape (somehow) with just a bent bumper (and cow poo all over the bonnet !!), the result could have been much worse, but for the great driving skills of Jackie.

The road into Warra is dirt and rugged, the travelling speed reduced to minimise any damage to the car and caravan. We eventually reach the ocean, and what a view we are met with. The turquoise water and white sandy beaches leaving us breathless, the untouched beauty of this place apparent with the basic hut used by the caretakers of the station.

Luckily for us, there is a spare spot right on the water, where we will be camped for the next 3 days. The water at our doorstep, neighbours at a distance, no noise other than the crashing waves and blowing wind.

Unfortunately for us, the forecast was for strong winds over the next couple of weeks, so we brace ourselves for some rough nights in the caravan. With the wind blowing, it was a perfect opportunity for us to bring out the kite. The kids had flown the kite with my assistance previously, however they'd not flown solo before. Surprisingly Jai picked it up pretty quickly, mastering the take off and controlling the kite in-flight with ease.

There is a reef approximately 400 metres out, where the waves from the Indian Ocean crash on the coral. Reports from people near our site confirm there are plenty of reef fish, and pelagics around the reef, and our neighbour had caught plenty of squid the previous day on his boat. Unfortunately the lagoon at Warra is flat and made up of shallow reefs, not suitable for the type of fishing that I prefer. I did try throwing a soft plastic at Turtle Rock for a couple of small Barred cod, but that was the extent of the fish caught at Warra.

The rest of the time at Warra was spent relaxing, swimming, exploring the other beaches and wildlife spotting. It's a great spot to get away from civilisation for a while, and would be fantastic for fishing if you have a boat or kayak.

After Warroora, we briefly stop at Coral Bay for lunch, before heading to the Osprey camp site at Cape Grand National Park, Exmouth. Coral Bay is very much a tourist town, with manicured grass and gardens, the shops brimming with advertisements from local businesses spruiking dives with Whale Sharks, Quad Bike tours, Reef and fishing charters; the atmosphere similar to that of Cairns.

It was a further 3 hours north west to Exmouth from Coral Bay, where we stopped briefly at Learmonth Jetty, which is a renowned squid spot. It was mid-afternoon, the tide low and visibility over 5 metres. There were some local boys fishing the jetty, upon striking up conversation, they show me the 2 squid they had caught previously. They were huge, one of the biggest squid I have seen, the hood well over 45cm. Buoyed by the revelation, I bookmark the jetty, hoping to return for a crack at the squid one day.

We drive past Exmouth on our way to Osprey. Stopping briefly at the local IGA for groceries. We note the new facilities and parks around town, clear signs the town is on the up and the council has grand plans. Again, the town is geared up for the tourist dollar, similar to Coral Bay, but it's bigger brother. With light fading, we hastily make our way to Osprey, wary of the kamikaze kangaroos who's unsuccessful predecessors litter the road into Osprey.

After being greeted by the caretaker at Osprey, we set up our site in the newly created camping grounds. The facilities new and modern, featuring tables by the water, new enviro toilets and bike paths along the water. It is another off the grid camp, extending our stay without water or power over a couple of weeks, pushing Jac's to the limit.

After setting up site, we explore the beaches and surrounds, the setting similar to that of Warra, but with more facilities and civilisation. We swam and snorkelled at Osprey, for the 2 nights, as well as riding our bikes. On the first night of our stay, the winds picked up to gale force proportions, the caravan rocking from side to side throughout the night. Little sleep was had that night, the worst winds we'd experienced on our trip to date.

On our way out of Osprey, we stop at Turquoise Bay, a beautiful beach, postcard perfect. I wish we'd spent a few days at the beach, but we were on a mission to head further south.

We spend the rest of the day at Exmouth town centre, exploring the shops , parks and attractions.

We then spend a night at Learmonth Jetty free camping, where Jai and I try our luck at catching the local giant squid. Try as we may, night and morning, we came up short. Jai by now has developed an interest in fishing and squidding, and his determination and persistence has further surprised me. Hopefully his persistence will pay off and he is rewarded with a squid soon.

After the disappointment of Learmonth, we are off to Carnarvon, a stop Jac recommended due to the town's reputation as being a food town, and there was a food festival happening at the time we were to be in town. Unfortunately when we arrived in town, we discover the majority of the food festival events had been completed, and there were none left in town during the time we were there.

After setting up in the small caravan park, we head to the One Mile jetty that Carnarvon is renowned for. There is a train track that leads out to the end of the jetty, supported by the café at the entrance. Apparently you can order a meal at the café, and have it delivered to you via the train. As we start our trek down the jetty, we run into the Franke family again, who'd already been on the jetty and viewed the memorabilia within the café. They were also staying at Carnarvon, so we teed up a couple of dates to visit the Space and Technology museum and have dinner down by the water.

During our travels we'd consumed all of the asian food that we'd brought along with us, our favourite asian noodles, rice, pork floss and other delicacies. We'd been on the lookout for asian food stores and restaurants to replenish our stocks, and satisfy our craving for good asian food. So it was to our surprise that we find an asian shop on the corner of a street in Carnarvon, which stocked Asian products, and made Pork Rolls, Rice Paper rolls, and other delicious meals on the menu.

When walking into a shop, you can generally pick up whether the food is genuine and tasty by the presentation of the ingredients, how they are cut, freshness and the look of the person behind the counter. And so after speaking with the lovely Vietnamese lady, and discovering all the condiments, sauces, bread and meats are made by the lady (as there is no place to locally source them), I was confident that the food and especially the Banh Mi would be delicious.

For lunch that day we had chicken stir fry with fried rice, pork buns and coconut juice, which were all delicious and had that homemade taste about it. This quelled our craving for asian food, but left us wanting more. We left for the Space and Technology museum with some takeaway pork floss, tamarind sweets and some rice crackers.

We spent an afternoon at the Space and Technology museum, which the whole family found very interesting and entertaining, as well as educational. We learnt of the role that Carnarvon played in the first manned landing of the moon, as well as recent trips by Buzz Aldrin and company to Carnarvon, to commemorate the anniversary of the landing of the moon.

Whilst at Carnarvon, we also visited a few of the many fruit farms that prop up the town, sampling the choc coated mango ice cream, fruits, jams and relish made by the farm owners. The kids had a ball, and it was a further educational experience, providing them with insight on how fruit is grown, picked and sold to the public or supermarkets.

Carnarvon was the first time the weather became cool enough to warrant wearing a jumper and long pants. And so from here onwards, the summer clothes we'd been wearing for the best part of 4 months, would be worn less and the long sleeves and pants would make more of an appearance.

On the morning of our departure, we stop by Asiana Delights for one last time, sampling the delicious Banh Mi and Rice Paper rolls. Absolutely delicious.

2 hours south, we head into Hamelin Homestead, a Bush Heritage listed station stay. Jackie had looked into the Homestead stay as part of her research, and the Franke family had mentioned they were staying there too, so we decided to stay at the homestead and drive the hour into Denham, as there is supposedly not much to do there, other than squid fishing. We'd also made the conscious decision not to visit Monkey Mia, as we thought it would be too commercial and the thought of having to pay to feed "wild" dolphins did not appeal to us.

Being Bush Heritage listed, the station has received a lot of funding to restore and maintain the station homestead, sheering sheds and gardens. The facilities of the station are first class, with the caretakers doing an exceptional job cleaning and maintaining the station.

There is a large lake at the front of the station, a haven for bird life, a bird watcher's paradise. Needless to say, Grace could care less and Jai stayed for hours watching birds with binoculars.

The kitchen was large and open to all guests, the first time we'd had access to a full sized oven and kitchen for a very long time. There was also a large wooden dining table in the dining room, as well as a rustic fireplace.

We made use of the kitchen during our second night, cooking up oven baked fries and battered Threadfin Salmon.

Our caravan site was nestled amongst the blooming wildflowers, again we were camping off the grid. At least there was power in the homestead for charging electronic devices, and there was power and hot showers in the sheds.

Unfortunately the weather had turned from this point onwards, with the temperatures dropping consistently at night, and the wind and rain persistent.

We visited the Stramatolites nearby the station, one of a few places in Australia to have these bacteria sediments/fossils. Apparently these guys have been around for millions of years, and was one of the primary producers of oxygen in the early years of our planet, before trees and plants took over as the main producers. Unfortunately the cold, wind and rain conspired against us, and we were not able to spend much time educating ourselves on the Stramatolites.

We took a day trip up to Cape Peron whilst at Hamelin, stopping at Eagle Bluff and Denham on the way.

I'd been told by my brother Tim that Denham held a lot of squid, and he'd caught a few during his trip around Oz many years earlier. After research, I'd found that to be correct, with the local jetty proving to be a squid attractant. Unfortunately when we got there, there was some major development work happening on the foreshore, in readiness for the 400 year anniversary of the Dirk Hartog landing. The development work had churned up the water, with diggers making new pontoons and rock walls. The water was murky, no visibility at all, and with squid being a clear water creature, I surmised that the squid had gone elsewhere, and squidding would not be worth our while. There was plenty of squid ink all over the jetty, tell tail signs of squid grounds, however with the murkiness of the water and wind blowing a gale, plus the low temperatures, we decided not to fish.

We then moved onto Francois Peron National Park, driving the challenging road up to the cape. We decided to only drive up to Bottle Bay, where I had a brief fish with the squid I'd caught in Exmouth. With no luck, we headed back to Denham in the fading light, sighting Kangaroos and rabbits along the dirt track.

We reached Denham after dark and had the local pizza, which was not bad, except for the burnt crust!! We were so hungry and desperate to get home, we did not bother to return it, eating only the main parts of the pizza in the car.

The hour drive back to the station from Denham was precarious, with many kangaroos in the middle of the road, and much roadkill alongside. We managed to make it back to the station without incident, with kangaroos sitting in the middle of the road just outside the station, to test us one last time.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Hamelin Homestead, and would recommend people stay there, we certainly would if we returned to these parts.

After a 4 hour drive, we reach the town of Kalbarri. By now the wild flowers are blooming, and the Canola fields lining the road into Kalbarri provide a picturesque view of the countryside.

Kalbarri itself is a lovely town. Green and clean, much of the town relying on tourism and the fishing industry; evident by the armada of fishing boats docked by the marina, as well as the canola being grown around the region.

Our first impressions of Kalbarri was of the park down by the head of the Murchison River, after grabbing the usual pies, sausage rolls and custard tarts from the local bakery, we ate down the lovely park, baked in warm sunshine. The kids played in the sufficient playground, birds and seagulls aplenty, people walking along the foreshore. Very peaceful, and sleepy beach town type of feel.

Kalbarri is another well known fishing town, again if you have a boat or go on a charter. But there is a lot to offer the shore based fisherman, by the way of big Tailor and Mulloway.

I did try my luck one morning, dragging myself out of the caravan at 5am, the temperatures have completely dropped by now and it was increasingly getting difficult to get out of bed for a morning fish. But the lure of a big Tailor or Mulloway enticed me out of bed.

Having spoken to the local tackle shop guy (arrogant git he was) and looking on Google maps, I decided to try the point at the entrance to the Murchison river, as it was not too far out of the way and looked somewhat safe, as far as rock fishing goes. Without local knowledge, and having properly scouted the area, I was not willing to risk fishing in the more remote or secluded spots. This was one of the first times we'd come across proper surf beaches, as the reef had previously reduced the waves to ripples on the beaches further up north.

Having reached the fishing spot, I rig up and find a spot at the point, noting the beauty of the place. Boats are heading offshore, having to negotiate the bar crossing in front of me. The crossing is certainly not for the faint hearted or inexperienced, and this provided entertainment for the time I was there.

There is one other fisherman at the spot, either a good or bad thing. Good that it is not crowded, bad meaning that the spot is not firing; my theory is that the locals would be crowding the spot if the fish were around, but I'm hoping it's because they are spoilt for choice and would rather be fishing offshore or wait for the summer months to get stuck into the bigger fish.

I find a spot on a rock ledge, far enough away from the islander fisherman next to me. He reminded me of Jake the Muss from Once Were Warriors, and I was sure to cast my line away from his, otherwise he might request I make him and his mates some eggs for breakfast. After a while of fishing, and both sussing each other out, we start chatting. I find out he's just sold his house, and is on a trip with his family to find out what life has install for them next. A common story told and heard on our travels, many people disillusioned with life and work, or not knowing what they want in life, hoping to clear their heads with travel and remoteness.

After a few hours of casting our arms off, with neither having any luck, we both decide to call it quits and head back to our families. Unfortunately there was no fish this morning, but I did witness some spectacular bar crossings and gave it a crack.

During our stay at Kalbarri, we visit the national park for a walk to Nature's Window. Again we need to drag the kids along to the walk, understandably they are over the walks and site seeing. It's a short drive to the national park, and the walk to the window is short, but colourful for the blooming wild flowers.

The window itself is a rock formation that has been eroded away by presumably wind and rain, to the extent where there is a large hole that points to the picturesque canyon and water below. Another tourist attraction, but certainly one worth visiting.

Whilst at the window, we decide to make it worth our while and do the hike around the window. Unfortunately with the mozzies and midges, we did not make the whole trek, but we walked sufficiently to take in the views from different angles. Again, the kids tried hard and without much whinging, the midges were out in force.