Coral Bay - Hamelin Pool - Stromatolite-y goodness :-)

At last at last!  Stromatolites!  Sure, I'd made two trips down south of Perth to visit the thrombolites in their lake colony, hoping against hope to see a bubble of oxygen emerge from the watery depths, but those are sort of wanna be stromatolites.  I was thrilled to finally get to see the real thing and determined to test my theory about their nocturnal nature (it's a long story involving an extremely high nerd factor).

As much as we'd enjoyed our overnight and delicious meal in Coral Bay we were ready to go the next day.  I think once we'd pointed the van back south again, and since it's essentially the same road up and back, there wasn't much sense of excitement about covering another 450-500kms of road we'd already seen.  The thought of stromatolites kept my spirits high though!  I think this photo taken at the Overlander Roadhouse about 30 km from Hamelin Pool gives some idea of the distances involved:

Still there were sights to see along the way - the Big Banana at Carnarvon and a chance to stop for one more delicious chocolate covered frozen banana:

And the ubiquitous road side signs - though I think this one was enhanced a bit by some weary traveler.

And then at last we were there.  We pulled into the Hamelin Pool Caravan Park and at first glance pretty much wondered just what the heck we had gotten ourselves in for.  Unprepossessing is the word that springs to the lips.  Mike gave me the gimlet eyeball but we pressed on, parked at the office and wandered in to check the lay of the land.  Inside was a veritable universe of stromatolite and Hamelin Pool history and kitsch. You need your glossy stromatolite poster?  Postcards?  Shirts?  You got 'em.  The proprietor was very friendly and welcoming and soon arranged for us to be ushered to our caravan site by the caretaker who looked as if he'd just emerged from 3 months hard going in the outback.   He handed us a key to the shower/toilet block and told us to head up the shell dune for sunset.

We got organized and then decided to take a walk down to greet the stromatolites in person.  Squee!  But, we quickly discovered we were back in the land of the flies.  Our walk became necessarily a bit rushed as we moved along as fast as possible to keep the flies off our heads, out of our ears, and away from our noses and mouths.  Not fun.  The stromatolites, once we got to the lovely wooden boardwalk fulfilled all my wildest expectations.  In other words, they pretty much sat there :-)  Because the water was rough due to wind I didn't even get to see the slightest air bubble make it's way to the surface, but regardless I felt as if somehow I had accomplished a long term personal goal.  So yay.

Walking back to camp we saw kangaroos and a mother emu with two babies.  She was down on her knees having a drink of water...when she stood up I pretty much instinctively backed away.  Those are LARGE birds.  We made a quick foray back to the gift shop to purchase post cards and a pink stromatolite polo shirt for my daughter - the proprietor was extra lovely and when he found out about her geology studies he generously threw in a few extra stromatolite glitter stickers for us to send to her.  We retreated to the camper to escape the flies and play cribbage until it was time to watch the sun set.

Sunset over Hamelin Pool was as pretty as billed and the flies disappeared the moment the sun went down and a cool breeze sprang up.  We met a couple from the UK who had been touring for nearly two weeks without seeing a single wild kangaroo...they wandered off for a couple of minutes and by the time they returned I was able to point and say "shhh...there's a kangaroo right over there".   It hopped off as soon as they made a move towards it and I sure hope it wasn't the last kangaroo they saw on their trip...probably not because I heard them thumping around in the darkness when I had to make a 2AM excursion to the shower block - which in an act of real consideration was wired with speakers so you had soothing music all night long.  It would have been totally scary and creepy in there otherwise I guarantee.  Hard to feel scared when you've got the Monkees on the Last Train to Clarksville in the potties.

Looking back over Hamelin Pool Caravan Park from the dune on the foreshore

Parrots begging from the old telegraph tower while we enjoyed our sundowner

 A lovely sunset needs a good rose to go with it

And sunset itself

And finally, Stumpy Stromatolite and all his pals!!  The commentary certainly added to the fun :-)

Vista of vast colonies of stromatolites quietly doing their work.
Hamelin Pool is very saline which allows the colony to grow and also discourages other sea creatures.  While we were told that they do see all kinds of fish and marine mammals in the area the impression is that they don't stay long.

Even so, I spotted these guys lurking in the shallows. 

All in all I'm vastly pleased that we finally got up to see the area but unless you're a total geoscience and natural history nerd it may not make the top of your list of must see destinations in Western Australia :-)

Exmouth - Coral Bay

Wednesday morning was Mike's birthday, the whole point of our excursion.  I'd insisted months earlier that he take some real time off and finally pestered him into submission.

We got up early and Mike told me about his adventure in the night.  Heading out in the dark hours around 2AM to the gents there were three kangaroos lurking on the path. They followed him there and back - who knows for what purpose?  The weirdest part of the experience was hearing their "thump thump thump" as they move.  It's a little un-nerving when you hear it for the first time in the pitch dark.

We went back out to Cape Range National Park for a little more cozy beach time.  Liberally slathered in sunscreen we wandered a bit on Mauritius Beach and took one more dip in the blue water.  On the way back we stopped in Exmouth to visit the shopping center and buy the one souvenir of our trip then hit the road again to Coral Bay.

On the road to Coral Bay we stopped at the information stand about the termite nests and saw one of the coolest things I've seen in Australia so far - a red dust devil (aka: willy-willy).  I guess they are pretty common but coming from tornado country in the states I found it both beautiful and alarming!  We saw it forming from way off and watched it grow and then finally dissipate.  I loved it!

Coral Bay is a pretty yet remote place. Driving in off the main road one can be forgiven for thinking it's not a garden spot - all low arid scrub land. The town sort of springs up on you out of no where. It seems like the entire center of town is made up of a couple of big caravan parks, some little shops, and a few cafes all hugging the shoreline.  It's extremely family friendly as the beach slopes very gently out from a protected crescent beach.  Perfect for the little kiddies to paddle around in and close enough to Ningaloo Reef that you can snorkel right off shore.  The campground was very busy and it appeared folks had pretty much settled there for the duration of winter. 

We got set up in camp then went out to explore.  Found a restaurant billed as the best in town so we made a booking (it indeed did prove to be an excellent dinner - the freshest of fish and one of Mike's favorite desserts as a birthday treat - sticky date pudding).  A wedding reception tent was setting up in a beach side park - we got to enjoy the music as we dined later that evening.   We made it down to the beach for the 3PM fish feeding which was fun, and watched the wedding ceremony taking place in the distance.  With no particular agenda we took a swim and then hung out to watch the sunset.

 Fish Feeding at 3PM daily

Sunset - Coral Bay

Delicious treats sent to us by my lovely cousin Beth :-)  We had saved this box of fudge for several months and finally broke it out on this trip, mostly so we wouldn't have to share with anyone else!

Exmouth

I loved Exmouth.  There isn't a whole lot to recommend it on the surface.  It's remote and arid.  But I liked the town, liked the very laid back atmosphere, and loved the National park and reef and beaches.   We spent a lot of time in the park visiting all the beaches.  Some were rocky, some had fantastic sea shells, some had perfect white sand - Turquoise Bay was glorious for a leisurely soak in the warm clear blue water. 

We joined a glass bottom boat tour out to the reef the morning of our first full day.  It was great fun with a knowledgeable guide who'd been conducting the tour for about 6 years so he knew where to take us.  We ooohed and ahhhed appropriately over the colorful fishies including clown fish, Moorish idols, angel fish, and a largish leopard shark.   We had a very nice snorkel experience and I loved finally getting a nice long swim in the Indian Ocean without freezing.  It was only after we were back in the boat that he told us about the 15 ft tiger shark that patrols the area.  But not to worry "she's harmless".  He hadn't seen her for about a month but told us a great story about loading up a tourist trip and seeing her right up near shore eating a turtle.  Apparently the tourists were a bit reluctant to go in the water that day.

The first hint that you're arriving in Exmouth is this:

Who doesn't love a giant prawn?

Carnarvon - Blowholes - Exmouth

Had a lovely night in Carnarvon, including a delicious chocolate covered frozen banana.  I have taken to making frozen half bananas on a stick now at home - banana has always been my favorite ice cream.  Frozen banana on a stick just eliminates all those pesky added ingredients.

We hit the road and about 50km outside of Carnarvon passed the turn off to The Blowholes.  It's a 100km detour off the main road....we blew past the turn off, discussed it, and then found a good spot to hang a u-turn and made our way back.  The road seemed interminable because you knew the coast was directly ahead but you couldn't see it until you actually finally arrived.  Interestingly I noticed all these fruits on the side and even in the middle of the road.  Finally pulled off to look and turns out it was watermelons. Tiny round watermelons...each about the size of a golf ball up to about softball size.  Creatures obviously eat them as they were gnawed on and scattered all over the place.  Did someone just eat a watermelon and spit the seeds out as they drove along?  Inexplicable!

The Blow Holes were SO totally worth the detour.

It is a magnificent coastline.  That shelf that you can see below Mike was full of holes and pools and when the waves rolled out we saw fish and crabs and other creatures that were trapped...though one speculates that their stay could easily be cut short by an extra large wave washing across. 

Back on the main road continuing north there wasn't a whole lot going on.  We had, including our detour, about 470km to cover so we got to it.  To get to Exmouth you turn off the main Brand Highway on to an even smaller 2 lane road with little in the way of a shoulder - thankfully there isn't much traffic because it could be a little hairy.  But - we had our rewards in the form of crossing the Tropic of Capricorn and sighting our first fields of termite nests.  They are remarkably attractive at sunset glowing red in the fading light.

We made it to Exmouth in the afternoon, found our campsite, and walked over to the Visitors Centre to book our glass bottom boat tour for the next morning.  The campground had a lovely little byo Italian restaurant attached so we dined alfresco next to a fountain decorated with fairy lights.  The night was cool, perfectly moonless and clear and the stars were just incredible.

Geraldton - Carnarvon

We awoke to the sqwaks of cockatoos and galahs in the trees on day two.  I'd planned the trip specifically as a dash north to Exmouth and a leisurely trip back so we had 480km to get through.   Basically 300 miles, which really doesn't seem like much...unless you're driving a giant camper in strong cross winds on narrow roads filled with warning signs about animals in the road (including feral goats - I imagined them with dripping fangs and bloodshot goat eyes).  Rather than the zippy 110km/70mph that is the legal speed limit we quickly realized we averaged more like 80km/50mph.   And any speed over 100kph seemed to border on the verge of foolhardy.

North of Geraldton/Northhampton the landscape starts to change from mostly farm and pasture land to the scrub land that seems to be the theme of much of Western Australia.  We noticed the trees got smaller and smaller...and smaller the further north we went.  And the landscape opened up so you could see just how shockingly huge it is.  We're from Texas so used to vast expanses of unfriendly land but we were both impressed.

This photo above is at a scenic overlook.  See that tiny white spec on top of the mesa to the left?  That's a camper the same size as ours lost in the landscape.

Once past Northhampton the map shows 3 named spots before Carnarvon - Billabong Roadhouse, Overlander Roadhouse, and Wooramel Roadhouse.  And the map meant it.  There isn't anything else out there on the main road.





We took the advisories on taking plenty of water and keeping the gas tank full seriously.  I'm sure we'd have been fine as there were plenty of cars of the road, but something about the landscape made you want to be careful.

The Wooramel Roadhouse - last stop for gas before Carnarvon.






So we're driving in to Carnarvon and pondering what we'd heard.  The town is famous for it's banana plantations.  But how?  Seriously, there is no water to be seen anywhere around here. Turns out that even though the Gascoyne river is a long red dust ribbon when you're looking at it they can  still pump water out of it  - the water flows underground.

In Carnarvon we found this guy - a dusky frogmouth - perched snoozing in the tree next to us. He was slightly pissed off - probably because of that loud back up beeper on the camper but managed to ignore us and go back to sleep.

We toddled off into town to find restorative beverages and dinner.  It was Mother's Day so the one somewhat swanky establishment on the waterfront was booked solid but they cheerfully sold us a couple of drinks.  We were bemused by the live entertainment - a guy with a drum set and a sound track playing songs like "Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys".  Interesting selection.  A nice long stroll along the esplanade at sunset and we headed back to sack out so we could get up early and head to Exmouth.

Downtown Carnarvon.   

Carnarvon foreshore 

Adventures in the outback - Perth to Geraldton

It is an utterly glorious autumn day in Perth. Blue sky, light breeze, perfect temperature. I'm sitting on the balcony looking across the river towards downtown and have the English Antiques Roadshow on the TV in the background for company. Got the fish organized for dinner, have my delicious Carnarvon bananas freezing for treats, and just let a clever wine merchant talk me into ordering a case of wine I've never heard of. I am perfectly content. Time to share the story of our great adventures north.

After discussing various possible options Mike and I decided that for his birthday week celebration a road trip was just the ticket. This kept me busy organizing for a couple of weeks between research, booking the camper, planning our route, booking the caravan parks, etc. Not to mention the packing list making and shopping. Finally preparation was complete.

We picked up our camper and immediately headed out of town to drive to Geraldton for our first night adventure. And got lost. Before we even made it out of town.

My bad.

Turns out none of the maps we actually had in our possession were precise in exactly which highway to take out of town to go north. Turns out its the Brand Highway. Never heard of it before. Regardless we eventually made it to the right freeway...glancing warily at each other to see if we could manage this first hurdle without harsh language. We did.

Free of the shackles of city traffic at last we hit the open road. Which is a two lane rural highway. Driving a big old panel camper on these narrow roads required the utmost concentration and two hands on the wheel at all times. Except then there were these horrible rattles and clunks coming from everywhere...under the camper, inside the camper, from our bags of unstowed stuff. It was like driving from inside a child's rattle.

After about 5 hours we made it safely to Geraldton and found our camping site. Mike was ready to set up camp, I on the other hand headed immediately to a bottle of nice rose and poured myself a full glass of restorative liquid before getting down to the business of stowing our gear and identifying the worst of the rattles. We found that two paper plates folded over twice and jammed around the edges, plus a tea towel inside on the glass tray were sufficient for silencing the microwave. And two large pillows crammed in the closet stifled the worst of the rattling there. Duct tape on a spot or two outside silenced a bit more noise. :-)

Still and all, we were on our way and the stars over head were worth all the 'adventure' of the day.

Camped in Geraldton

 

The interior of our glamorous nest. Note the pillows shoved behind the back headrests over our bed. More noise abatement in action.

I'm famous!

If you look REALLY closely at the photo below you can see my back and rear end immortalized in the name of science at the Grey Fossil Museum in Grey TN. This photo is in a display in the entry way. And this is Laura and Alex equally immortalized. Before the Navy for Alex. Thus the hair. Same photo in the larger scheme of things - with an actual jacketed fossil. I feel all special! :-)