Coral Bay, WA

Jonathan spent a day fishing with Mahi Mahi Fishing Charter.  The sea was pretty choppy and they almost cancelled the trip.  I think Jonathan wished they had as he had a terrible bout of sea sickness but managed an impressive catch anyway.  The Red Emperor sells for $80 a kilo so I think you get your money’s worth.  Any fish recipes gratefully received.

My boat trip was much calmer as I went out in a glass bottom boat for an hour’s bob over Ningaloo Reef.

Happy 20th Anniversary to us

Coral Bay, WA.  What a beautiful place to spend our anniversary.

Twenty Years is ‘China’ so we were hoping for a Chinese takeaway but it’s either pizza or fish and chips.  State of Origin decider tonight too at Suncorp!!  Go the Maroons!!

 

Exmouth WA

On the way into Exmouth we came across Learmonth Solar Observatory which is a joint operation between the Australian and US governments.  Exmouth has a dry climate, with approximately 320 days of sunshine a year, hot summers and mild winters so makes an ideal location.  The observatory isn’t open to the public however.  In April 2023 there will be a total solar eclipse visible from Exmouth so Jonathan was keen to check out some viewing sites on the path of totality.

Exmouth is at the Northern end of the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef.  There are lots of campsites along the Cape Range National Park but of course we couldn’t go there because of The Winst.  We stayed at the Lighthouse Caravan Park at the North West Cape which suited us very well, as a dog friendly beach is directly across from the campsite.  We walked up to the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse where there are sweeping views along the coast and we also spotted  humpback whales which are migrating.   We could see loggerhead turtles close to shore, feeding on the reef.  Emus also came wandering into the campsite.

Jonathan was surprised to find that the sandflats of the Ningaloo Reef Lagoon are famous in fly fishing circles as a place to catch bonefish, trevally, queenfish and permit and he spent a couple of afternoons out with his fly rod.

Onslow, WA

It was the start of the two week WA school holidays and we were prepared for the coastal towns being busy and the campsites bringing in their ‘super peak’ holiday prices.  We’re still in the tropics here so people are also escaping the cold of the south west winter.  Onslow is a small coastal town about 80km off the main highway.  We stopped at Ocean View Caravan Park for two nights but could have stopped longer as we were right on the beach and all the beaches were dog friendly.

There were also some good fishing spots.

Jonathan worked out that Onslow is the furthest place in Australia from Samford by road, at 5598km.  It has taken us 135 days to get here but of course we didn’t take the shortest route!

Dampier

Red Dog statue at the entrance to town.

We’d had a lovely week at Point Samson but it was time to move on, and next we spent a couple of days in Dampier.  It might not seem an obvious place for tourists with its huge oil and gas plant, salt works and 24/7 port operations but it had some hidden treasures.  The town overlooks the islands of the Dampier Archipelago and is particularly popular with boaties and fishermen.  Humpback whales can also be seen off the coast as they migrate north between June and September (haven’t seen any yet though).

Everywhere is dog friendly: the caravan park, the beachside markets, and the Mermaid Tavern even allows dogs on its courtesy bus.  All the beaches are dog friendly, including the beautiful Hearson’s Cove where the beach is made entirely of sea shells and will eventually form limestone (see I do listen to geology facts Jonathan).

Dampier’s most famous resident was Red Dog, a kelpie/cattle cross who travelled round the Pilbara region during the 1970s.  His story has been made into a film (have plenty of tissues handy if you watch it).

Just outside of Dampier, is Deep Gorge which is recognised as one of the most prolific Aboriginal rock art sites in Australia with over 10,000 images.  The images are called petroglyphs which are those made by removing the outer surface of the rock.

Deep Gorge rock art site.