We travelled from Kalbarri through Northampton, Dongari next to Port Denison, Mingenew, Three Springs and stayed overnight in Carnamah. From Carnamah we travelled on to Perth through Coorow, Watheroo, Moora and stopping at New Norcia for lunch. I love nothing better than wandering around the streets of these little towns and taking simple snapshots. You find some gems of people to chat with and a sense of the place.
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Loved Kalbarri it has everything going for it. It has a river, national park, surfing, great beaches, great cafes and the best bike path. I had a fabulous bike ride all along the coastline to Kalbarri's version of Red Bluff (top shot).
Point Quobba blowhole Above - Greg in action at Red Bluff, Top pic with two girls and this one. While at Carnarvon we drove about 140 km on part bitumen, part sandy dirt track, up to Quobba station to visit some epic surf spots. I felt like I was in a 1970's classic surf movie like 'Endless Summer'. Wrecked boards were left discarded up on the point and there were good looking tanned surfers and old gnarly weathered surfers too, who appeared out of humpies and dusty set-ups....very cool. They were all awsome surfers, including Greg, who conquered his nerves of big waves breaking on coral and the endless stories of sharks we have heard over and over from fellow travellers. WOOT! We stopped in Carnarvon for three days. It is a really nice town with some beautiful old houses with big wide verandahs that have been turned into backpacker accommodation. It is the centre for the Gascoine fruit and veg industry. I went for a long bike ride around the town and the harbour and then Greg and I went out to one mile jetty. It was good to get some exercise after sitting in the car. We celebrated Greg's birthday at the Old Post Office pizza joint with some friends Glenys and Jamie that we met at Mesa camp at Ningaloo. Sea turtle Pristine and isolated Greg contemplating the lack of surf. Ningaloo Reef is heaven. Turquoise waters, white sand and rich marine life on a coral shelf. In some ways it is better than the Great Barrier Reef because the reef is only 3-10 metres off shore, as opposed to kilometres off shore. We thought we would only stay for 3 nights initially, but this has stretched to 5. We are staying in the national park where you have to rock up to the ranger’s station by 7 in the morning and queue, because the limited sites are so highly sought after. We were lucky to score a site at 7.30 because we didn’t fully know the drill. The other people who had queued since 4.30am were most pissed off. The sites are right behind the dunes and are only $7 per person per night. There are camp hosts who look after 10 or so campsites. In ours (Mesa Camp) we all gather for drinks at 5 each night. We have met some really fantastic people. Great fun. It is so beautiful and I feel so lucky. Travelling through the Pilbara Roebourne...where it takes an hour to get a hamburger in the only shop in town. Port Hedland
Broome is quite a resort driven town, but I liked it. I even lashed out and bought the most beautiful skirt in the world at “Betty’s Frock Shop”, because I think I needed a bit of retail therapy after all that red dust and desert. I think Betty is on to a sure thing with a frock shop because I overheard several ladies expressing the same sentiment as me. Broome is blue, tropical and chilled out. I really loved the town with its mix of ethnic backgrounds. I visited the local markets and then watched the annual Festival of the Pearl where there was a great vibe and sense of community (see the previous 2 posts). Greg and I headed off up Cape Leveque road to the aboriginal community (Nyul Nyul people) of Beagle Bay (about 95 km of sandy dirt road). It was the middle of the day and everyone was at school or work or home because we didn’t see many people about. The information centre was closed for renovations and the local shop chained up until it opened later in the day maybe. We did, however, go into the Sacred Heart Church of Beagle Bay that was so so beautiful, crazy and amazing with its decorations of Mother of Pearl (see above). The church was nothing like I have seen in Australia before. It took two years to build out of mud bricks by missionaries and the local people. It took about a year to decorate. |
Jenny ShawCanberra based. Archives
December 2011
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