Carnarvon to Broome

Hi to all ,       Leaving Carnarvon (Carnarvon is the only town in Australia where the central desert reaches out to the sea) on the 8th June we have taken 2 weeks to reach Broome arriving today....We have taken it very easy and just cruising along ,stopping for a night or two here and there checking out the local spots along the way...We are still travelling with our new travel mates and enjoying there company, we pick up and drop off  depending who wants to go where and who wants to see what....

  Next stop was Point Quabba blow holes located about 70kls north of Carnarvon.We went in there on our own and we were happy that we made the effort.   The blow holes form a natural spectacle as waves are forced through sea caves before exploding out through the rock..  We stayed the night near the blow holes in the camp ground behind the large sand dunes listening to the waves crashing and once again the wind blowing...  Not sure if the wind ever stops on the coast of W.A.        
 
    Coral Bay was out next port of call and we all loved this place... Coral Bay is the southern gateway to the world renowned Ningaloo Reef.......Up there with the best spots so far, i think.
Very busy with tourists everywhere and the atmosphere was great...Little Gold Coast i thought ,with people sunbaking  on lazy boys all over  the beach...People swimming right on the reef that you could snorkle to within a close area to the beach....Water the colour of tourist brochures, wait till you see the photos......(Ningaloo Reef is one of the few reef systems worldwide that has formed on the western side of the continent)  Then onto Exmouth where we stayed out at the Ningaloo Lighthouse Van Park, overcast and bleak we moved on to the tropics.     Crossed the Tropic of Capricorn back south of Coral Bay...
                                                                                                                                                                   Karratha was a stopover where the Bag -man had to tell some white lies to get into a particular van park that we wanted to be, to catch up with our friends...Told the girl in the booking office that he needed to go out to this area called the overflow as our mates were there.Her comment was, while the parks in town had vacancies she had to go by the rules and send us to the town parks. After a quick phone call to our friends Baggy came back with a story that we had a dog...So the story goes we got where we needed to be but acquired a dog to be there...      Even went as far as a water bowl and a leash to keep the story looking real in case the ranger did a check, but worse still- he even checked where a vet was in the town in case the ranger asked where his dog was......I think the heat is getting to him...
  Went for a day trip to Dampier the home of the big iron ore trains and we were lucky enough to see one going by loaded up...Saw the Dampier salt mines too...Also saw the statue of Red Dog, to all you movie buffs the story of Red Dog is being made into a movie right at this moment, he's a local  dog that befriended the whole community.....

  Bush camping is really a second home to us folks now and when you see the photos of the sunsets and sunrises you will all understand what its all about...Nature at its best....Sometimes we pull up at a river bank and stay 2 nights if the mood takes us all.  One of these stops everyone (but me) showered in the water straight out of the river..One man set the shower up and invited all to try... Pump into the river and a generator.  I opted out for my hot water shower in the van...

  Port Hedland is such a place that i can't  say too  much about except red bull dust and more red bull dust and 2 streets that you can call a town......I think.....Oh i almost forgot, the home of big salt mines too....    Not sure how to explain this  ever changing landscape of Western Australia.....W.A. is miles and miles of  territory that has a changing terrain from dry barren  treeless landscape to hugh high sand dunes and Banskia scrub to the mountains of the Pilbera and ant hills and more ant hills  and red dirt... All this change can happen just like you draw a line and the fauna does a complete turn around....Really wierd. 
       After the disapointment  of Port  Hedland  our next thrill was Eighty Mile Beach....Nothing there but  a van park that is owned by the property owner and hundreds of vans and Eighty miles of beautiful beach loaded with big shells..Fishing for Baggy was successful  with a couple of small salmon but once again everyone around him were catching the big ones...We managed to have a feed anyway, all 10 of us...
  Fishing for these big fish happen on the in coming tide so all the fishermen come onto the beach for about 2 hours or so and then go, it was a amazing sight.. .The whole beach is a buzz with surf rods....No boats either as the fish are in the shallow  water...I spent my time collecting shells...There is some serious shell collectors there and they go out on the 4 wheelers so there is  a bit of competing going on.....
Loved this place too but after putting the swim wear on for the first day and heading to the water i noticed that no one was swimming, so asked a lady why there wasn't anyone in the water swimming her answer was ........ 3 reasons-- sea snakes,rogue crocks,and sharks...That did me,shell collecting was for me instead....                Have now arrived   in Beautiful, Beautiful,  Broome.....                      Will leave that story for another time.....
                                                        Love to all The Baggy's

Point Quobba blow holes

There she blows

Hamelin Bay blocks cut from shells

Beautiful Coral Bay  

Ningaloo Reef                   water supply for campers

Ningaloo Beach sand dunes

The changing terrain

Red Dog  at Dampier

Front of the iron ore train at Dampier

The end is out there somewhere

Beautiful Sunset

One of our bush camps

Our bush camp sunrise

another beautiful sunrise for another beautiful day

Port Hedland

Salt at Port Hedland

Bush camp

Our new friends

Beach fishing for thread fin salmon

The one that never got away

80 mile beach

Thread fin Salmon

enough to feed 10 of us

Bull dust and more Bull dust

Try passing this one