Coral Coast Part 2

Arriving in Denham saw us hit the net first thing (it had been a couple of days) followed by a visit to the information centre once it had opened (early mornings and W.A. towns don’t exactly go hand in hand). Finding out that Francois Peron National Park had been closed due to the rain was not exactly what we wanted to hear, however seeing and hearing the distaste of the German backpackers next to us that there is NO free camping anywhere on the peninsula made us feel like we could be doing a lot worse. Also turns out that the previous nights rain was the most rain this year. Our fate chosen, we continued on to Monkey Mia where we chose to book into the caravan park early to avoid disappointment. Relieved to hear that it was normally quiet this time of year, we settled in early to do some washing, sorting and chilling out. By the evening however, the unpowered campsites had turned into more of a caravan park with all the backpacker vans piling in with no other options (and the odd troopy and 4wd in the same boat as us having been denied access to the N.P.).

Randy the resident Green Sea Turtle

Turns out Monkey Mia is not just about feeding some dolphins for the tourists, but instead a major hub for scientific research on all marine animals in the region, including turtles, dugongs, tiger sharks and of course the bottlenose dolphin. That night one of the researchers put on a talk about the current research on the local turtles, including Randy who we had seen earlier in the day chilling out by the jetty. It was really cool to learn about these chilled out creatures of the sea and how they behave, with an interesting analogy to the wolves and elk of Yellowstone National Park in the USA (farfetched but actually relevant, trust an American to make it all about themselves). It was also awesome having access to “turtle cam” – a go-pro camera temporarily glued to a turtle’s back. I cannot remember laughing so hard at something so simple. Oh as a result of our new found love of turtles we now have a new travelling companion – Mia the green sea turtle – Russell and Hubert weren’t fussed at first about another girl, but they’ve come around after a few happy hours and now fight over who gets to stay in the cabin with her.

Resident Emu at Monkey Mia Caravan Park - obsessed with The Hulk, and a Border Collie pup (not in a friendly way)

The famed dolphin feeding of Monkey Mia was first thing the next morning and saw us getting up bright and early to make sure we didn’t miss a thing – another good reason to stay in the caravan park. After a slow start with the dolphins having a scratch on the nearby moorings they eventually decided they would grace us with their presence. Up to three times a day dolphins are fed from the shorelines and visitors are allowed to walk into the shallows of the ocean and watch as the dolphins playfully swim by and bid for viewers’ affections. Three out of the six dolphins that are fed appeared and came right up to the shore, presenting a great opportunity for some photos. A few other dolphins showed up but didn’t get a feed, just some much wanted attention. Eventually it was time to pry ourselves away from the water and pack up with no idea about where we were heading, except away from our expensive $30 accommodation.

Dolphin feeding at Monkey Mia

We first stopped in at little lagoon and followed a track to the mouth, the water was crystal clear and you could understand why people loved swimming here. We then started toward Denham, however noticed a car slowing down in front on the N.P. entrance. Suddenly there was a small ray of hope, we slowed down and discovered that the park was open – Huzzah! We went in and were eager to start the sand driving before the dream would end and rangers would close the park again. We let the tyres down low (best facilities around – the park supplied deflating and inflating equipment for free) and chatted to some people leaving the park to find out the best spots and to surprise them with the fact that the park had been closed. They laughed and were on their way, soon we were too. We drove for quite some time through soft sand, corrugated sand and small patches of clay pans, great stuff. We checked out the camp grounds along the way and then headed to the Tip, Cape Peron. Although this was a beautiful place, the highlight was around the corner at Skipjack Point where there was a boardwalk and platforms on the edge of the cliff face above the ocean. We spotted fish, a small tiger shark and a pod of manta rays, which was awesome. Fast fact – manta rays like to leap from the water and dive back in again, kind of like dolphin but with less grace. Eventually we tore our eyes off the water and headed to South Gregories, after a quick chat with Shannon and Angie who we met on the cape and had previously spotted at Cape Le Grand N.P. and Pemberton.

South Gregories was a nice camp, right next to the water. The contrasting red sand/rocks with the blue of the ocean was surreal but oddly beautiful. The one thing that wasn’t so lovely however, was the sand-flies lurking in that red sand. By the end of the night we were covered in bright red splotches. Being the master chef that I am I occasionally get a bit distracted and drop a few scraps here and there (sometimes on purpose to see what’s around). On our way to the bathroom (surrounding scrub) to brush our teeth, we noticed our scraps being clawed at by a rather large and funky looking crab. We harassed him for a while with the camera, however the rain set in and we quickly went inside. Another wet and windy night ensued. In the morning we said our goodbyes to our neighbours and set off towards civilisation. Once again we had to skirt around a road closed sign to exit the park. We felt very privileged to be able to get into the national park in the first place, and although we only had a brief visit it was stunning and removed that “what if/if only” factor. 

At least he's eating his vegetables?! Crab at South Gregories Camp.

We did miss out on a last look over the crystal clear water, however the weather once again had other plans and that mill pool we were looking for was choppy, hiding the animals and beauty below its churning waves.  We stopped in at the info centre to confirm our suspicions that the wet weather had once again closed several roads and activities, and as a result we decided it was time to leave Shark Bay in search of sunnier pastures up north.  A long drive followed and we found ourselves in need of a place to sleep, we first stopped in at a rest area with an impressive vista, being the only hill in the region, but feeling a little exposed we chose to move on. However we first took a look at the couple of random piles/sculptures previous travellers had left, including a newly formed gnomesville.  We ended up at a rest area roughly 80 kms out of Carnarvon, not too shabby for a free camp.

Gnomesville lookout!

The next day we headed into Carnarvon. We stocked up and then caught up with an Alice mate – Kerri/Kez. Kerri, true to form, was drinking a beer when we arrived, pondering over her new noise abatement order given to her by the police the night before. Kez gave us a leisurely tour of Carnarvon taking in the jetty, a quaint café, the small big banana, a giant satellite dish (supposedly used to supply Carnarvon with porn) and to Bumbaks a seriously wicked plantation with the best smoothies in Australia, potentially the best ice-cream too.  We headed back for a couple of drinks, talked about the good old days of Alice (even though they aren’t that old) and wished we had mmore time in town, however with the silly season up north we had to prebook our campsites in Cape Range N.P. and as a result had no time to linger. We said our goodbyes and left for another long journey with a late night stopover in a rest area. Credit goes to W.A for supplying great rest areas along their highways.

Michael, Kez and I. 

The next morning we were in Coral Bay, anticipating a 4x4 track we had read about and had been warned about “the dreaded Yardie Creek Crossing” at the end, a soft sand tidal crossing. We let our tyres down and prepared for the worst, knowing there had been a lot of rain recently in the area that would make the track tricky. Turns out our fears were unjustly brought upon us, 4 hours of corrugations later (bit monotonous eventually) we found a bit of mud and then crossed the river mouth, little more than a dry sandy track. We were gobsmacked for the next couple of hours over how easy it was.  We did enjoy seeing the ocean and the goats along the way, some camp sites also looked stunning and will be a must do next time. We had a brief look at the creek then settled in for the night at Yardie Creek Camp Ground in Cape Range National Park. The camp host encouraged us to attend a camp happy hour at 5 and we chatted merrily as the sun slowly dropped into the ocean.

Our Setup at Yardie.

A Whip Snake found at camp.

Next door to us was a Dutch couple who were seeing Australia the real way, in a kitted out troopy, not a backpacker van that sleeps 12. It was great talking to some likeminded people with similar plans, shame they were on a tight time schedule or we would have had some tour buddies.  I also spoke with a family who had been out on Ningaloo Reef with the Whale Sharks who had booked with the same company we would soon be going out with. I’m glad we had already booked because the swim was the talk of the camp for the next few days. I found it hard to keep my excitement at bay. Turned out this family also lived on the Central Coast – Peach Orchard Road Fountaindale – currently the closest yet that we have met on the road.

Yardie Creek Gorge

The next morning we strolled along Yardie Creek and followed the gorge to find rare rock wallabies and osprey. We then headed to Kurrajong Camp to spend the night, we tried our hand at fishing (no luck, but at least no one else was catching either), walked along the beach and had another lovely happy hour with the neighbours. We spent the next day meandering along the coastline of Cape Range. We looked at the picture perfect waters off Turquoise Bay and eventually stopped at Mesa Camp for the night. Another beautiful spot, with the beach beside us and the ranges in the background. We wandered the beach and Michael practised casting whilst I tried to catch glimpses of the brightly coloured green crabs on the rocks. We absolutely loved our time at Cape Range and found it impossible not to relax with the beautiful beaches, stunning gorges and surrounding rocks, however all good things must come to an end. We needed to get to Exmouth for The Hulk to have yet another “doctor” visit and more importantly to go swimming on Ningaloo Reef with Whale Sharks and who knows what else! Can not wait!

Crabs near Mesa Camp.

Lesson of the week: Don’t take people’s word on everything – experience it for yourself, even if corrugations aren’t your thing