AROUND AUSTRALIA 2008
Saturday 18 October – Friday 31 October
Tom Price to Denham
Blog 12
Our fascination with mining towns hasn’t diminished and we were really looking forward to the Pilbara Iron Open Cut Mine at Mt Tom Price.
The town was named after the American, Tom Price, who picked this mountain as rich in iron ore in the 1950s. It was his push that got the operation approved and he died back in America just after he found out that the operation would go ahead. It was wonderful to be able to drive along the same roads as the big TONKAS.
The man made lake, King Lake, has lovely grassed areas but the lake is contaminated with amoeba as it comes up from the bore. The water was very green but there were still plenty of fish and ducks. We then took the 4WD track to Mt Nameless which presented spectacular views of the area.
We headed west from Tom Price to Paraburdoo, a very small mining town, and as it was Sunday in WA, everything was shut.
We continued on to Nanutarra Roadhouse and left our van there while we explored the boat ramp, the war memorial and the boardwalk to the bottom of the 1.3km pier of new Onslow town.
We drove to the lookouts in town and then to 4 mile creek which is a favourite local fishing spot. We stopped for lunch at the local pub which was a hub of activity with the locals enjoying a beer and lunch.We did the same.
After lunch we drove the 25km of dirt road, some of it along the Ashburton River. Old Onslow located on the river, was proclaimed in 1883 and named after Sir Alexander Onslow, the chief Justice of WA. It supported the nearby stations that had been established along the Ashburton River and the gold mines that had developed in the hinterland. Originally the stations had mainly sheep with a few cattle but today they are mainly cattle properties. In the early days good pearls were found in Exmouth Gulf and the town became homeport to a fleet of pearling luggers. The luggers stayed in the local waters until WW2. By 1925 the silt that built up at the mouth of the river was the reason that the town was moved to the deep waters of Beadon Point, its present place. The old town has only 2 ruins left; the police station and gaol and the police quarters. There was not that much to see but we were still glad to have made the trip.
On the way home we stopped to look at Bobby’s Tree which is a beautiful snappy gum that was planted and cared for by Bobby who was one of the graders working on the road and there is a plaque by this beautiful tree acknowledging his dedication. It really is the only tree in the whole area.
We made buzzing Exmouth our base for a few days to explore the area.
We had to head north on the peninsula from Exmouth before heading south into Cape Range National Park, stopping at the most spectacular visitor centre to gather all the information we needed. We took the boat cruise on Yardie Creek which flowed through Yardie Gorge. It was not a spectacular gorge relative to Karijini but there certainly were a lot of birds, sacred kingfisher, egrets, herons, white crane, swallows and of course corellas and also some rock wallabies and walleroos.
As we came into Cape Range National Park the colour of the water was a spectacular turquoise. The waves were crashing on the reef and the water was beautiful, clear and calm between Ningaloo Reef and the beach.
On the back from Yardie Creek we stopped at all the beaches and campsites on the west side of the peninsula of Cape Range National Park. Each little spot was different from the previous one even though they were physically quite close to each other. The most beautiful spot was Osprey Bay camping area and Sandy Bay was the most beautiful beach.
We couldn’t resist stopping at the bird hide where we saw lots of pelicans. We then stopped to look at the information at the Jurabi Turtle centre which describes the life cycle and process of the turtle reproduction. There are 3 different types of turtle that breed on that particular part of the beach but on 1 in every 1000 eggs that are laid actually reach adult maturity and come back to breed. Our last stop for the day was the Vlaming Head Lighthouse which was built in 1912 and the WW2 Radar tower on the top of the hill was blown down by a cyclone in 1945. We could see the Ningaloo Reef and both sides of the peninsula. It was very windy on the top of the hill.
We drove south of Exmouth to the Charles Knife Road. The road took us along the ridge of Charles Knife Gorge and provided us with breathtaking downward views of the stark multicoloured gorges. They were very barren but the drive was beautiful as we drove to Thomas Carter Lookout.
Our next stop was Pebble Beach which was totally composed pebbles about the size of golf balls or smaller with a variety of colours from soft mauves to whites. The rocks in the area which were either limestone or a conglomerate and made up of the pebbles found on the beach came from the surrounding gorges.
We indulged ourselves for lunch beside the beautiful pond filled with water lilies and gold fish at the Novotel Ningaloo Resort.
We saw the SS Mildura Ship Wreck which was sunk in 1907 without loss of life. The beach was again beautiful but different from the others.
The commonwealth owns and controls the tip of the east side of the peninsula and has a Naval Communication facility there. The facility is amazing. There is so much about the protection of our enormous coastline and communications that we really don’t know or even think about!!!
The weather is cooler and VERY windy. Strong wind is the norm for this time of year on the west coast.
We left Exmouth and headed south to Coral Bay stopping off at the Krait Memorial which commemorates the Z Force exercise that sank many Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour in 1943 during WW2.
The countryside in the area is stark, barren with no tall trees but lots of Spinifex and low shrubs. We are still seeing some wild flowers particularly Mulla Mulla. As we drove into Coral Bay we were presented with the beautiful turquoise of Bills Bay in Ningaloo Reef.
From Coral Bay we travelled north along the dirt coast road stopping at the beautiful beaches on the way. Our furthest stop for the day was Ningaloo Station and we arrived back at Coral Bay in time to see the feeding of the fish.
We continued our journey south to Carnarvon. We stopped at Pelican Point to look at the mouth to the Gascoyne River. We didn’t see any Pelicans but we did see a large turtle on the beach that was injured which was very upsetting.
We drove onto the Heritage Precinct and took the Coffee Pot Train out onto the 1 mile Jetty and then explored the Railway Station Museum and the Shearing Shed Museum. The area originally farmed mainly sheep. Sir Kingsford Smith actually picked up wool by trucks from the various stations in the area delivering it to Carnarvon for shipping. Later on Sir Kingsford Smith had also taken a mail run in the area.
Carnarvon has an HMAS Sydney 11 memorial which is an avenue of 645 trees planted; one for each of the Australian sailors that died when the HMAS Sydney 11 was sunk by the German Ship the Kormoran.
Chinamans Pool which is a permanent pool in the Gascoyne River, used to be a water source for the town. We were told that even though the Gascoyne River looks very low and partly sandy that the town get its water from the river and also the aquifer beneath the river which has its origins at Mt Augusta and the Meekatharra region.
Carnarvon has many plantations and we decided to take the Bumbak family tour. The plantation is only 33 hectares which is the 2nd largest plantation in the area. They grow table grapes, melons, mangoes, pumpkin and bananas but the bananas are only for their own consumption.
All the plantations are strictly controlled in terms of their water allocation.
We then headed off along the dirt road to Point Quobba and drove up to the light house for a great panoramic view including the blow holes. We then stopped at the blow holes and were mesmerised by the huge ocean waves being forced through the sea caves causing jets of water 20m into the air. We drove a little further north to Quobba Station but only stopped to have lunch in the shade of the tree. Before heading home we stopped at the beautiful little lagoon just 1km south of the blow holes which is protected by the coral reef.
On our way to Denham we stopped at Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay to view the Stromatolites which are a build up of cyanobacteria that were around at the beginning of life as they produce oxygen and gradually changed to the atmosphere to 20% oxygen.
We packed our lunches for our day to Francois Peron National Park and Cape Peron.
Francois Peron National Park lies within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area and adjacent to Shark Bay Marine Park. The park has arid shrub lands, rolling sand plains and spectacular coastal scenery at the northern tip of the Peron Peninsula. The peninsula contains important and significant habitats. We drove over many gypsum claypans known as birridas. Thousands of years ago the sea levels were much higher than at present and most birridas were landlocked saline lakes. More recently the sea has invaded some birridas such as the big Lagoon to form shallow inland bays. We drove to the very tip at Cape Peron. The sand dunes were bright red, the sand was white and the water turquoise. It was truly beautiful.
There was a lot to see; The lookouts at Skipjack Point, Gregories campsite on the west coast of the peninsula and then onto Herald Bight on the east coast.
Peron National Park is involved in Project Eden which removes feral animals like the rabbits, foxes, goats and cats and gradually reintroduces species like the bilby and the mallee fowl that have become extinct in many areas. Our final stop was the Big Lagoon. It was another beautiful spot.
Saturday 18 October – Friday 31 October
Tom Price to Denham
Blog 12
Our fascination with mining towns hasn’t diminished and we were really looking forward to the Pilbara Iron Open Cut Mine at Mt Tom Price.
The town was named after the American, Tom Price, who picked this mountain as rich in iron ore in the 1950s. It was his push that got the operation approved and he died back in America just after he found out that the operation would go ahead. It was wonderful to be able to drive along the same roads as the big TONKAS.
The man made lake, King Lake, has lovely grassed areas but the lake is contaminated with amoeba as it comes up from the bore. The water was very green but there were still plenty of fish and ducks. We then took the 4WD track to Mt Nameless which presented spectacular views of the area.
We headed west from Tom Price to Paraburdoo, a very small mining town, and as it was Sunday in WA, everything was shut.
We continued on to Nanutarra Roadhouse and left our van there while we explored the boat ramp, the war memorial and the boardwalk to the bottom of the 1.3km pier of new Onslow town.
We drove to the lookouts in town and then to 4 mile creek which is a favourite local fishing spot. We stopped for lunch at the local pub which was a hub of activity with the locals enjoying a beer and lunch.We did the same.
After lunch we drove the 25km of dirt road, some of it along the Ashburton River. Old Onslow located on the river, was proclaimed in 1883 and named after Sir Alexander Onslow, the chief Justice of WA. It supported the nearby stations that had been established along the Ashburton River and the gold mines that had developed in the hinterland. Originally the stations had mainly sheep with a few cattle but today they are mainly cattle properties. In the early days good pearls were found in Exmouth Gulf and the town became homeport to a fleet of pearling luggers. The luggers stayed in the local waters until WW2. By 1925 the silt that built up at the mouth of the river was the reason that the town was moved to the deep waters of Beadon Point, its present place. The old town has only 2 ruins left; the police station and gaol and the police quarters. There was not that much to see but we were still glad to have made the trip.
On the way home we stopped to look at Bobby’s Tree which is a beautiful snappy gum that was planted and cared for by Bobby who was one of the graders working on the road and there is a plaque by this beautiful tree acknowledging his dedication. It really is the only tree in the whole area.
We made buzzing Exmouth our base for a few days to explore the area.
We had to head north on the peninsula from Exmouth before heading south into Cape Range National Park, stopping at the most spectacular visitor centre to gather all the information we needed. We took the boat cruise on Yardie Creek which flowed through Yardie Gorge. It was not a spectacular gorge relative to Karijini but there certainly were a lot of birds, sacred kingfisher, egrets, herons, white crane, swallows and of course corellas and also some rock wallabies and walleroos.
As we came into Cape Range National Park the colour of the water was a spectacular turquoise. The waves were crashing on the reef and the water was beautiful, clear and calm between Ningaloo Reef and the beach.
On the back from Yardie Creek we stopped at all the beaches and campsites on the west side of the peninsula of Cape Range National Park. Each little spot was different from the previous one even though they were physically quite close to each other. The most beautiful spot was Osprey Bay camping area and Sandy Bay was the most beautiful beach.
We couldn’t resist stopping at the bird hide where we saw lots of pelicans. We then stopped to look at the information at the Jurabi Turtle centre which describes the life cycle and process of the turtle reproduction. There are 3 different types of turtle that breed on that particular part of the beach but on 1 in every 1000 eggs that are laid actually reach adult maturity and come back to breed. Our last stop for the day was the Vlaming Head Lighthouse which was built in 1912 and the WW2 Radar tower on the top of the hill was blown down by a cyclone in 1945. We could see the Ningaloo Reef and both sides of the peninsula. It was very windy on the top of the hill.
We drove south of Exmouth to the Charles Knife Road. The road took us along the ridge of Charles Knife Gorge and provided us with breathtaking downward views of the stark multicoloured gorges. They were very barren but the drive was beautiful as we drove to Thomas Carter Lookout.
Our next stop was Pebble Beach which was totally composed pebbles about the size of golf balls or smaller with a variety of colours from soft mauves to whites. The rocks in the area which were either limestone or a conglomerate and made up of the pebbles found on the beach came from the surrounding gorges.
We indulged ourselves for lunch beside the beautiful pond filled with water lilies and gold fish at the Novotel Ningaloo Resort.
We saw the SS Mildura Ship Wreck which was sunk in 1907 without loss of life. The beach was again beautiful but different from the others.
The commonwealth owns and controls the tip of the east side of the peninsula and has a Naval Communication facility there. The facility is amazing. There is so much about the protection of our enormous coastline and communications that we really don’t know or even think about!!!
The weather is cooler and VERY windy. Strong wind is the norm for this time of year on the west coast.
We left Exmouth and headed south to Coral Bay stopping off at the Krait Memorial which commemorates the Z Force exercise that sank many Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour in 1943 during WW2.
The countryside in the area is stark, barren with no tall trees but lots of Spinifex and low shrubs. We are still seeing some wild flowers particularly Mulla Mulla. As we drove into Coral Bay we were presented with the beautiful turquoise of Bills Bay in Ningaloo Reef.
From Coral Bay we travelled north along the dirt coast road stopping at the beautiful beaches on the way. Our furthest stop for the day was Ningaloo Station and we arrived back at Coral Bay in time to see the feeding of the fish.
We continued our journey south to Carnarvon. We stopped at Pelican Point to look at the mouth to the Gascoyne River. We didn’t see any Pelicans but we did see a large turtle on the beach that was injured which was very upsetting.
We drove onto the Heritage Precinct and took the Coffee Pot Train out onto the 1 mile Jetty and then explored the Railway Station Museum and the Shearing Shed Museum. The area originally farmed mainly sheep. Sir Kingsford Smith actually picked up wool by trucks from the various stations in the area delivering it to Carnarvon for shipping. Later on Sir Kingsford Smith had also taken a mail run in the area.
Carnarvon has an HMAS Sydney 11 memorial which is an avenue of 645 trees planted; one for each of the Australian sailors that died when the HMAS Sydney 11 was sunk by the German Ship the Kormoran.
Chinamans Pool which is a permanent pool in the Gascoyne River, used to be a water source for the town. We were told that even though the Gascoyne River looks very low and partly sandy that the town get its water from the river and also the aquifer beneath the river which has its origins at Mt Augusta and the Meekatharra region.
Carnarvon has many plantations and we decided to take the Bumbak family tour. The plantation is only 33 hectares which is the 2nd largest plantation in the area. They grow table grapes, melons, mangoes, pumpkin and bananas but the bananas are only for their own consumption.
All the plantations are strictly controlled in terms of their water allocation.
We then headed off along the dirt road to Point Quobba and drove up to the light house for a great panoramic view including the blow holes. We then stopped at the blow holes and were mesmerised by the huge ocean waves being forced through the sea caves causing jets of water 20m into the air. We drove a little further north to Quobba Station but only stopped to have lunch in the shade of the tree. Before heading home we stopped at the beautiful little lagoon just 1km south of the blow holes which is protected by the coral reef.
On our way to Denham we stopped at Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay to view the Stromatolites which are a build up of cyanobacteria that were around at the beginning of life as they produce oxygen and gradually changed to the atmosphere to 20% oxygen.
We packed our lunches for our day to Francois Peron National Park and Cape Peron.
Francois Peron National Park lies within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area and adjacent to Shark Bay Marine Park. The park has arid shrub lands, rolling sand plains and spectacular coastal scenery at the northern tip of the Peron Peninsula. The peninsula contains important and significant habitats. We drove over many gypsum claypans known as birridas. Thousands of years ago the sea levels were much higher than at present and most birridas were landlocked saline lakes. More recently the sea has invaded some birridas such as the big Lagoon to form shallow inland bays. We drove to the very tip at Cape Peron. The sand dunes were bright red, the sand was white and the water turquoise. It was truly beautiful.
There was a lot to see; The lookouts at Skipjack Point, Gregories campsite on the west coast of the peninsula and then onto Herald Bight on the east coast.
Peron National Park is involved in Project Eden which removes feral animals like the rabbits, foxes, goats and cats and gradually reintroduces species like the bilby and the mallee fowl that have become extinct in many areas. Our final stop was the Big Lagoon. It was another beautiful spot.
