We left Port Hedland and only had a short trip of one and a half to our next stop at Point Samson. We originally wanted to stay at Karratha or Dampier but we had no luck whatsoever getting into any of the caravan parks there, so I searched all the towns within a reasonable distance of both towns until I could find somewhere where we could get two nights accommodation, hence our destination of Point Samson where I could only get two nights in an ensuite site which would cost a bit more but we weren't in a position to worry about the cost. We arrived at this tiny coastal and found our way around to the caravan park. I went in to book in and paid one night's fee of $69 I questioned this saying we had booked two nights but was told we had already paid one night, I wasn't too sure about this but thought I could check later on. We drove around to our site and backed in and started setting up. We were nearly finished when I received a call from Jayde at reception to say there had been a problem with the booking and they only had us for one night. I explained it was my birthday tomorrow and it would not be a good day to have to mess around finding somewhere to stay. She said they were prepared to offer us a night in one of their chalets free of charge and we could leave the van on one of their grass areas overnight. This sounded like a bit of a bonus for my birthday so we accepted and said we would call into the office on our way out in the afternoon to finalise details. We set up, had lunch and then went to explore the local area, we called into the office on the way to sort out the details. We had a lovely chat with Jayde and the other lady on duty, they seemed relieved we weren't annoyed about the hick up. I told them the story about when we were given our site number 40 how pleased I was, I have a bit of an infinity with the number 4 and I immediately thought how good is that and nothing can go wrong now, and then I received the call. They were lovely enough then to move us from chalet number two to chalet number 4 and gave me a gift for my birthday. We made all the necessary arrangements and then went on our way to explore the local area. We drove down to the Jetty lookout, the original jetty was destroyed by a cyclone and this one was just a viewing platform to look out over the point. We drove around to see as much as we could in the short time we had here. It is a very pretty coastal area, the beach has an extensive sand area and it looks like it would be a good beach for families with young children. Driving back to camp we noticed a couple of well maintained parks which looked to be popular with young families. There isn't a great amount of infrastructure here, there are the two caravan parks, a resort, a general store with fuel out the front, a community centre and The Tavern. On our way back we called into the Tavern for a beer, there weren't a lot of people here but the bar was on the second level and you could sit here and look out over the water, very pleasant. I get the impression the caravan parks here are a place where people come to stay for a extended time, there seemed to be quite a few people here who knew each other and some of the camps are set up for long term staying. I can only imagine that our site was where a repeat client comes and why would you upset them, it makes sense because it would not have been cheap to move us and take up a space with our stored caravan. It worked out well for us so we can't complain.
My birthday today and I had just sat up in bed and Daniel called to wish me Happy Birthday, we had a long chat to him and then sat around for a little while before getting up and getting ready for the day. We had to move our van to the spot on the grass that had been allocated to us so I packed up the van and grabbed a few shopping bags from the car to pack the items we wanted to take with us for our overnight stay in the chalet and then packed these few things into the car, there wasn’t much just toiletries and electronic devices we can’t do without. I made our coffees and put them in the car for our trip around today, we planned to have lunch out for my birthday and then pick up cheese and bits and pieces to make a cheese platter for dinner that night, it saved us packing up food to take with us. We parked the van and then drove around to the chalet to drop everything off, once that was sorted, we headed to our first destination, the ghost town of Cossack that was only 14 minutes down the road from Point Samson, on the way out of town I noticed a bar and grill on the outskirts of Point Samson, I thought if we can’t find anywhere else for dinner then we would come back here. We arrived in Cossack and drove to the Tien Tsin Lookout that has extensive views over Cossack and the waterways surrounding, we then drove down to town to start exploring the buildings. Eight of the buildings have been restored and are really quite beautiful with their bluestone exteriors and wooden beams inside and the design is of course of that era but each one a little different to the others. The courthouse was my favourite although I did like the arches at the café. We drove up to Reader Head Lookout, from here where we looked out over the waters from a very different direction than the other lookout, we were at the closest point to the lighthouse here but we could not see it really well so Robb went back to the car for the binoculars, the lighthouse was on a small island and the only other building there is a very large house. We stopped off at the European and Asian cemetery on the way back to town for a quick look and then continued our way driving to Karratha and Dampier which was only 50 minutes away. We ducked in quickly to Wickham to the supermarket on the way out to pick up the cheeses we wanted for dinner. You arrive firstly at Karratha but thought we would visit Dampier first and then come back to Karratha where we thought we might find somewhere for lunch. Between Karratha and Dampier there are quite a few salt pans and the water is the most gorgeous blue colour because of the amount of salt in the water and the salt sits on top in places and looks very much like foam on top. We arrived in Dampier and drove to the water precinct which is really quite pretty, there are a few parks around here and a couple of sporting clubs. We tried to drive to the port but we could only go so far, I took a few photos and then we drove back to Karratha. We drove around here for awhile and then went in search of a restaurant for lunch but we really couldn’t find anywhere that took our fancy so we drove out to the golf club to see if they did meals. We couldn’t see any indication that they did so we decided to drive back to Point Samson to see if the Bar and Grill was open. We called into Wickham on the way back and had a look around here for a restaurant and we found one at the sports club so I went in here to enquire but this didn’t look terribly inviting either. We were starting to get pressed for time as it was 1.40pm by now and most hotels close the kitchen at 2.00pm. We stopped at the Resort in Samson where the bar and grill is but they don’t open on Wednesday but they said the Tavern at Point Samson should be open today, we didn’t think the Tavern were doing meals as we had seen a sign up there to say they weren’t doing meals because of staff shortages but apparently that is specific days. We arrived at the Tavern with 10 minutes to spare, we weren’t sure they would be prepared to take our order but they were very friendly and agreed to if we were quick so we both put in an order for fish and chips and a beer, not quite the feast I imagined having for my birthday but the fish was snapper and the meal was very nice. After lunch we had one more mission to complete and that was to visit Sam’s creek as a friend of ours had spent a lot of time there fishing and had a few stories to tell us, he was interested to see what it looks like now, there wasn’t much there but it looks like it is good fishing as the inlet is covered in mangroves, there were people fishing at the time, we didn’t ask how they were going but they looked like they had been there for a while. Heading back to our chalet we noticed a sign to Honeymoon Cove and thought while we were in the area, we should look. It is a fantastic beach and once again would be perfect for children, there were a few families there at the time. We drove back home from here to set up for the afternoon and night, we had to unpack our items and put the champagne on ice. We had a very pleasant afternoon and felt it was a great treat to be in the chalet, it made celebrating my birthday a little bit more special. I had also had a few calls for my birthday through the day and I appreciated everyone taking the trouble to call me, we sat outside on the deck for most of the night as it was very pleasant out there. The next morning, we were up and packed up and we drove to the general store for a coffee as I didn’t have our coffee machine with us and we must have a traveler for our trip. I called into the office on our way to pick up the van to return the key for the chalet and I really wanted to thank the girls in the office for the use of the chalet for the night, it was very good of them to find this solution to the error they made in the number of nights we needed, they could have just said bad luck, it was wonderful customer service.
We hooked up the van and then drove out to continue our journey, our next stop was to be Nanutarra Roadhouse which was 340kms down the road, Fortescue Roadhouse is 168kms from Nanutarra so we knew we would be ok for fuel and we had quite a comfortable drive, the roads were good and the scenery beautiful. We arrived at Nanutarra about 1.00pm we didn’t worry about filling up with fuel, we had stopped off at Fortescue and filled up there and we had two nights here so we could fill up tomorrow ready to move on the next day. I walked into the shop to check in and get our site number, we were happy to see we had a drive through site which is always our preference, it is a small park with only a few powered spots so I was glad I had booked ahead of coming. The roadhouse was very busy at each fuel pump there was a line up of at lease 6 vehicles and when I went in to book in there were six people ahead of me in line. We drove around and easily found our site and drove in and set up, we parked to have the sun behind us in the afternoon so both days we had plenty of shade to sit under and with the bit of a breeze that comes through it was very pleasant. We didn't do much for the afternoon, we had a pork belly that had been ready to be cooked for the past four nights but for one reason or another we hadn't got around to it so we planned on having that tonight. Dinner was excellent, we don't have good internet service here and no TV reception so it was a fairly quiet night and as always when we travel we were both tired and early to bed.
We planned to have a home day the next day, we don't do this often but every now and again we need one just to have a good rest and revitalise the body. There wasn't that much to do around here so thought it was the perfect opportunity. I had great plans on catching up with my blog and editing photos which I did end up doing, however, the internet service is really slow here so I have had to be really patient with uploading photos etc. We woke up this morning to find our toilet was full, Robb walked up to the office and found out they did not have a dump point and the only one was 60-70kms down the road towards Perth, we made an executive decision to drive down there as we felt it was worth it in the long run. I prepared our coffees first and then we were on our way and of course as you would expect the point was closer to 70 than 60 kms away at Emu Point. There was plenty of stunning scenery on the way which made it worthwhile even though we will be going the same way tomorrow. We were back to camp before lunch so I started on my photos. We usually have a salad for lunch but I didn't have everything I needed to make that up so we walked over to the roadhouse and ended up having eggs benny and a cup of tea for lunch and it was surprisingly good. After lunch we walked back to the van and apart from having a lovely chat with our new next door neighbours I have been trying to catch up on my blog ever since. About 5.00pm we had people pull up to us with an amazing boat on the back of their car, I gather they stay in the boat overnight and I think everyone in the park had boat envy when they saw it, I know Robb did.
We had a good drive from Nanutarra to Exmouth leaving the Pilbara and entering the Gascoyne region of WA. We were both a bit sad about leaving the Pilbara as we enjoyed our time there and both loved the dramatic scenery and the colours all around. We drove for a long time through open country and appreciated the many colours of wildflowers that were every where. Neither of us had any thoughts of what to expect from Exmouth but we were only here a couple of hours when we decided we regretted the fact we could only get two nights here, we will have to put it on the list for next time we are up this way. We settled in and then drove to the Visitor Information Centre to see what we could do tomorrow to maximise our time here. We have booked a short tour of the reef and we will take a drive around the National Park.
We had a tour booked in a glass bottom boat around the coral reef along the Ningaloo Coast. Our tour was scheduled for 9.30am which suited us and then after that we thought we would drive further along the coastal road to the National park, we would drive as far as we could go on the sealed roads and then turn around and return to camp. We received a call from the company we were booked with in the afternoon asking if we would be able to reschedule our tour to later in the afternoon, apparently the morning tour was booked out and they were hoping to spread the load a bit which would be better for us anyway because there would be more room to move around the boat to get a view of both sides, we agreed and then we were told our tour would commence at 1.30pm. We turned our plans around and decided to tour the Ningaloo Coast and the national park before going on the boat tour. We started with a tour of the new Exmouth Marina a building development with some beautiful homes all along the marina and we gather they all have somewhere to tie up their boats. We then visited Town Beach which seems to be very popular with lots of groups, those wanting to excercise, swim or snorkel, we also visited the boat ramp where there were quite a few trailers lined up. We drove from here to the site of the wreck of the SS Mildura, unlike a lot of wrecks along our coast this one is clearly visible from the lookout. Our next stop was at Vlamingh Lighthouse, we love a good lighthouse and this was particularly pleasing, there are interpretive signs around so that you can get an impression of the life here in earlier days, there is a very good reading of comments from the lighthouse keepers wife and the struggles they went through in their day to day life being so isolated from everywhere. We proceeded on to Jurabi Turtle Centre which is an educational site with information on the migration, mating and birthing of turtles in the area. At the right time of year you can see the turtles resting in the shallows on this bay. We drove on to have a look at Tantabiddi boat ramp where we were to meet with the tour in the afternoon, we just wanted to see where we were to come back to. From here we visited Milyering Discovery Centre and Turquoise Bay before turning around to return to Tantabiddi boat ramp. We arrived back and we were as always a bit early so we sat on the rocks and watched the comings and going of the ramp, it is obviously very popular with the tours and private boat owners. I phoned the company we were booked in with to check that we were in the right place, we were told we were and when the boat pulled into the jetty the current passengers would alight, the crew would clean the boat and then come looking for us, there were only six of us for this tour so we had plenty of room to stretch out below. The boat is considered a glass bottom submarine, we all climbed down to the interior and found our seats, there were windows right along both sides of the boat. This was a great opportunity to view the coral reef in the bay and the various, fish that live here. Alex our guide who sat with us right through the experience was well educated in all things marine, she named all the corals in the area and most of the fish we saw on our trip, she also knew the back stories with the coral and fish. I felt like we learned quite a bit on this trip and we both enjoyed the experience, although I would have loved to see a shark or turtle that swam past the other side of the boat. We arrived back to the boat ramp and then drove back to camp stopping off at the supermarket and the liquor store to pick up supplies. We are both so sorry to be moving on tomorrow and we can't wait until we return one day.
Our next stop is at Minilya Bridge Roadhouse, we don't have high expectations of our accommodation and as it turned out we were glad we didn't but it is cheap and we are able to access Coral Bay from here which was the intention we had with finding accommodation in the area. Coral Bay is 98kms back the way we came but when I was looking around for somewhere to stay this was the closest we could get. We are used to driving long distances so this won't be any problems for us. We will drive there tomorrow to have a look around and if we need we will go back again the next day as we have booked three nights here.
I had a few things to do in the morning before we drove back to Coral Bay, when I turned the water on first thing in the morning to have a shower we didn't have any, Robb dressed and went out to check what was going on and we discovered there wasn't any water coming into the taps, we thought we would call into the office on our way out to see what time the water would be back on and in the meantime I used the water in our tanks. By the time we were ready to leave the water was back on we will have to fill our tanks tomorrow before moving on to our next stop. We had a 98km drive back to Coral Bay, we don't mind these distances because we are used to them now, there isn't much to look at on this drive but we were listening to a book from audible and the time went quickly. Matthew and Lyndal had recommended we come to Coral Bay so we were interested to see what they were both raving about. When you enter the town there are caravan parks and accommodation on the left hand side of the road and on the right there is a shopping complex with a variety of establishments all suitable to this area. As you drive down past the shops you come onto the beach and the parking for access. We found a park near the walkway and then walked down to take a look. I am going to put myself out there now and say this has to be one of, if not, the best beach in Australia. You arrive at the sand and there are four or five shelters around for people to sit under, there is access for wheelchairs down to one of these shelters which is wide enough to allow four people to sit side by side. The sand area to the water is ample and then looking out to the water you can see a reasonably shallow span of water and then a deeper area and then an even deeper one. This beach is part of the Ningaloo Coast so there were quite a few people out snorkelling in the deeper waters, or paddling on kayaks. I had a paddle out here I didn't quite get to the deeper waters but if we go back tomorrow I might. When I came in from the water we took a drive around town to see what was here and then we drove out to the boat ramp. There is a lovely little cove next to the boat ramp that we think we might return to tomorrow. There were people up fishing off the breakwater next to the boat ramp and Robb thought he might give this a try as they seemed to be having some success, I am happy to sit and read on the beach while he has a fish. Today there was a shark spotted in this cove, I missed seeing him but hopefully he will be back tomorrow and I will get a few shots of him swimming about. While we were there a Mantra Ray came into the same spot the shark had been seen at, I managed a glimpse at him but not good enough to get a photo. We drove home from here intending to make an earlier start tomorrow.
We returned to Coral Bay today just to sit on the beach, maybe wander into the water but just a relaxing day, it is that type of place. We returned to the little cove we were at yesterday, I think deep down I was hoping the shark or mantra ray that was there yesterday would return but I had my eyes peeled for the whole time and there wasn't anything to report. We had taken our iPads with us to have a read but the sun was so bright it was quite difficult. There was a gentleman down from us with two little dogs enjoying the sunshine, dogs gravitate to Robb so before we knew it both dogs had joined us for a bit of attention. Their owner came over to collect them and that resulted in us having quite a lengthy conversation with him, well it really wasn't a conversation he spent the whole time talking about himself. Anyway after he disclosed he had quite a temper, not that it showed itself very often but when it did someone ended up in hospital, and also he was travelling around with a semi automatic rifle we decided maybe it was lunch time and we should move on. We always travel around with a slab of water in the back of the car within reach when we are on the road and we had taken the last bottle out this morning so before going to lunch we walked to the supermarket in town to buy another slab, once we had that we walked over to Bill's Bar to see what they had to offer for lunch. We went to pick up a menu but we were told there was a problem with the ordering process and they couldn't take any food orders, now I don't know about you but I wouldn't be turning customers away and I would probably think outside the square and find a piece of paper and a biro and write the orders down but that didn't occur to anyone. We ordered a beer and sat and had that in their very pleasant alfresco area and before long the system was up and running again and we could order lunch. We ordered share plates again of a bucket of chips and a bucket of prawns, the chips came with a very garlicky aioli and the prawns with a spicy seafood sauce. The food was good and there was plenty in these two dishes for the two of us, we left quite satisfied, it wasn't an overly expensive lunch and probably the only complaint I would make would be about the service. We drove back to Minilya Roadhouse after lunch, this is our last night here and tomorrow we will be moving onto Carnarvon.
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