Western Australia adventures

As I mentioned last month, Bremer Bay on the southern coast of Western Australia seriously impressed us with its all-round beauty.

Unfortunately, we had to move on after a few days – there were still many more miles to cover and places to explore.

Now, on to the southwest of the state!

This magazine is about both the bush and the beach, so I’m going to pass on our travels through the more populated part of Western Australia.

Suffice to say that we enjoyed all the well-known attractions and destinations, such as Albany and the Margaret River region.

However, places further north beckoned.

 

At Geraldton – a very nice town with the usual spectacular coastline – we had our Land Rover Discovery serviced because it had now about 12,000km.

Then we headed out to the famous Quobba Blowholes – they did not disappoint!

They were so much more than we had expected – every now and then an extra-large swell would come in and those blowholes blew!

We also came very close to seeing an example of Darwin’s theory of natural selection in action – a man decided to climb down the rocks close to the main wave action, completely ignoring the ‘king waves’ danger sign.

Armed with an umbrella to ward off any spray, he sat out there for a few waves and returned just in time to the top.

 

I say just in time because an almighty wave then smashed into the craggy overhang that he had just been in.

It would have absolutely broken him, and it was only by good fortune – and not good planning – that he left when he did.

It is possible to free camp along the magnificent coast here, however every available place was taken by various vehicles and vans.

So we headed north for about 6km to camp at the actual Quobba Station.

This was great – people could spread out across the flat or slightly behind the sand dunes.

The only downside was that the amenities seemed a bit limited for the number of people.

Otherwise Quobba Station is a fabulous place!

 

The roads in Western Australia seriously impressed – likely due to mining royalties, we thought.

It was around Karratha that the quantity of mining trucks increased, so it was just as well the roads were good.

We were then looking for a nice bush camp and WikiCamps suggested a place roughly 30km southwest of Karratha called Miaree Pool on the Nullagine River.

This was one of a few places where our 12’ off road caravan really came into its own, as we were able to crawl down a rough track to a stunning grassy campsite right beside the waterhole.

Here, the scenery and birdlife were truly fabulous!

Western Australia is big on gorges, so our next destination was Carawine Gorge – a solid 160km from Marble Bar, which is another 204km from Port Hedland.

The gorge is along a truly spectacular section of the Oakover River, where you can camp among shady trees in the first section or along a long gravelly bank further upstream – you’ll need to air down if towing in to this area.

 

We were amazed to find the first part packed with four-wheel drives and vans, but we managed to find a spot.

Then the next day, we moved a little to a truly premium campsite after someone had moved out.

Apparently, barramundi are caught here frequently, however I had no luck – most likely because it was August and the water was cold.

We spent a very relaxed few days at Carawine Gorge, which was a nice change after all the driving.

Walking upstream and up the craggy hills was also very worthwhile for the unforgettable views.

And as always in Western Australia, the sunsets rarely disappoint!

To be continued.