Cape Range - Coral Bay - Carnarvon

Our last blog took us from the hot and dusty Pilbara, Karijini NP and the mining areas of Tom Price and Paraburdoo, Northwest to Exmouth. We spent a couple of days in a caravan park at Exmouth to charge up the batteries and provisions, look at some of the local sights, and do a "recee" picnic run the 50-odd kms around to the Cape Range National Park to check out where we were going the next day. On 30 August we moved around to our campsite for 4 days at Tulki Beach.

We were in 1 of only 11 sites at Tulki, and with the open-ness and the wind blowing strongly at our backs, and the row of high sand dunes between us and the beach, we had some trepidations. But it turned out to be great.

After the 4 days there (that M will fill out some details of below), we left Cape Range and moved down to Coral Bay, towards the Southern end of Ningaloo Reef. This place had some highlights, not least the magic of snorkelling over the coral reef, fish and a turtle - I missed the turtle, but M and another lady who was swimming with us didn't!

And now we are further south at Carnarvon, for the past couple of days. Tomorrow after checking out the local Saturday morning Grower's Markets here, we are headed further south again to Shark Bay and Denham.

M will relate some of the details of these visits and I will assemble some photos below. We went to church in Exmouth on Fathers Day.  We were both  very moved by the way things were done, the music, and the involvement of the people - there was one scripture reading only. The church and rectory is 2 1/2 years old, built by voluntary labour and totally paid for  by the Australian church.  How exciting is that!

M has found some Sturt's Desert Pea, on the way into the Park.

 These ones did not have the black centre, but others nearer the town did. I loved the coastal heath with the rounded hills of the Cape Range bisecting the length of the cape. Low shrubs and treeeless, because of the winds blowing in from the Indian Ocean. We saw emus and  lots of kangaroos.  One camper sighted 175 kangaroos in about 15kms coming home at night.  It was very dry though and R woke to find a large male 'roo drinking the nappy san soak water that our washers were in (red dirt is hard to get out). He would have had a pain the next day!

For the kids - find the emu and the kangaroo

Lighthouse at the top of the cape at Exmouth

Across from the lighthouse - the joint US/Aust Communications Facility

A whale on the way past

M on our Tulki Beach

 We hoped to be able to snorkel at the next beach along, where there was coral closer to shore, but the winds were constant and the Ranger said it wasn't a good day for snorkelling as the current was so strong. So R caught up with some painting and I read (tried to do some Bp Cert.!!!).  Might leave it till I get home.

...and R (we didn't have a photographer!)

Tulki Beach camp (our van is further around left)

The start of the boat trip on Yardie Creek

 We learnt heaps on this short cruise in a creek at the end of the National Park.  Red mangroves are tropical and white mangroves are temperate.  Both varieties exist side by side here.  The white egret is tropical and the grey, temperate and they also exist together here and can reproduce.  We also saw two nests about 10 feet apart high up on a ledge. One was an Osprey nest - very neatly and methodically made and the other a White-bellied sea eagle whose nest was a little more higgly piggly and creative, though still functional and strong. I'll leave it to the readers to determine who is the Osprey and who is the Eagle in our van.

Find the 2 Black-Footed Rock Wallabies

...and 3 more - can you find them?

Sunset over Coral Bay (our tour boat nearest)

 To my delight I was able to snorkel in the clear shallow water here - we had had several hints from other grey nomads about how, when and where.  The next day we were to swim out to the reef - 20 metres, but it was too windy and cold.  After our glass bottom boat cruise in the morning of day 3, we had another go with a very helpful lady who has been coming there for years.  We hired flippers and noodles and off we went.  There was a mark to swim to and then you just relaxed as the current took you down the beach to the shallow water at the end. It was brilliant to be able to do it even though we had seen the coral in the morning. The coral was mostly shades of brown (there is a scientific reason for this - but here is not the space to explain- I need to google it again) We did see some lavender coral though and lots of fish both large and tiny of all colours.

It was too cold for the seagulls to fly!

Carnarvon news will be in the next blog.  At this point I can say that Black Sapotee with blue vein cheese and a gin and tonic have been discovered in Carnarvon.  The readers can guess who made that culinary discovery.