Tuesday 11 October 2011

Australia October 2011 Katherine NT - Carnarvon WA

Australia October 2011
Travelogue 12
Stage 2 Katherine, NT- Carnarvon,WA
from Bryan and Raewyn
Web: austadventures.blogspot.com


Katherine
Our last tales were from Katherine, some 300 kms south of Darwin. We spent seven weeks in the Northern Territory, exploring Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks, Katherine Gorge, Alice Springs and many other towns, each an oasis in the vast dry landscape. By mid-September, “the Build-Up” was due, with the barometer slowly climbing as each day's humidity and temperature increased. This annual event culminates in “The Wet” in summer, when much of Northern Australia suffers a barrage of high temperatures and monsoons. Darwin's houses have no gutters, as they cannot cope with these downpours. “The Dry,” in winter, is the most comfortable time to be this far north. September 16th, with the onset of spring and “The Build-Up,” we headed west, wanting to get below the Tropic of Capricorn.

Kununurra
Two days later, we reached Kununarra, a town some 400 kms west of Katherine and 40kms inside the Western Australia border. At the border, every vehicle is inspected for fruit and vegetables, and any found is confiscated. We had been told of the border restrictions, so had eaten up before reaching there. We settled into the Kimberleyland Caravan Park in Kununurra, bordering Lake Argyle. At over 1000 square kilometres, this is the largest freshwater lake in Australia, and home to a third of Australia's bird species. With good fishing, it's also a popular spot for many keen anglers. Kayaking on the lake was a relaxing pastime, and after dark the red eyes of freshwater crocodiles, up to 1.2 metres long, glowed in our torch lights as they hunted fish. These crocodiles are for the most part harmless, and often rested at night on the lake edge, near caravans and tents.

We opted to fish one afternoon at Ivanhoe Crossing, ten minutes north of Kununurra. Here, the road causeway crosses the Ord River, but was closed as a metre of flood water ran across it. Signs warned of estuarine crocodiles (the dangerous ones) so we stayed on the safe riverbank. A few locals did venture onto the causeway to fish, but with its slippery moss, fast flowing water and crocodiles, it could have been disastrous. We found a spot a little downstream, and Raewyn pulled out several abandoned nylon fishing lines which had one end tied to scrubby trees, the other end flapping about mid-air or in the water. One line was particularly tight and on pulling it up, we found it had hooked a very large barramundi, a prime eating fish found throughout Australia. At seventy centimetres, it was near the maximum legal catch size. Though tired from being hooked for possibly several days, it still put up a remarkable fight. We'd thought of leaving it, but obviously the line had been abandoned, and this fish would have only become crocodile tucker, so that night we ate well.

Broome
After four days in Kununurra, it was time to head farther west across this great state to the coast. It took three days to reach Broome, the northernmost coastal town in Western Australia. We overnighted at rest areas with quaint names like Mary Pool, and Nillibubicca (how I remember that name, I don't know) and passed through the isolated frontier-like towns of Halls Creek, Timber Creek and Fitzroy Crossing.

Sunrise, Roebuck Bay, Broome
There was also another route to Broome, a little shorter than our 900 kilometre route. This is the renowned Gibb River Road, a 680 kms 4WD unsealed and corrugated road through the picturesque Kimberley Plateau. Allow up to seven days, the brochures read. Carry plenty of supplies, as water and fuel was limited. We met several who'd driven the road, including one who'd taken his caravan along this road. Never again, he vowed as he assessed the damage to his caravan. You can understand why we stuck to the main highway.

Camels await riders,Cable Beach, Broome
Our caravan site overlooking Roebuck Bay, Broome
At Broome, it was nice to see the blue sea again, the sparkling Indian Ocean. Broome, famous for it's pearling industry, is also renowned for glorious sunrises and sunsets. Our caravan site overlooking Roebuck Bay was perfectly placed. Each morning, the sun rose in deep scarlet hues reflected in the harbour, before melting into a blue sky. Cable Bay, on the ocean side of Broome, is home to popular camel trekking along the beach. Most camels, roped together in chains of twelve and each carrying up to two people complained bitterly as they stood up. Going by the size of some of those aboard, I couldn't blame the camel. One more straw, and it could have been fun. Sunsets at Cable Bay were to die for, cameras clicking furiously along the beach front each night.

Broome's small Chinatown area in the town centre is made up of upmarket pearl stores almost end to end, punctuated by the odd cafe or pub. You can buy pearls here in almost any colour or price. Perhaps the oddest attraction in Broome is the airport. The runway is just at the end of the main street, and when walking this street, you instinctively duck as planes fly over, their wheels seemingly only a few metres above your head.


Emu and chicks on path, Cape Range NP
 Cape Range National Park / Ningaloo Marine Park
After four nights in Broome, we travelled south while the fine weather was still with us. In the next three days, we drove over 1000 kms to reach Exmouth, gateway to the Cape Range National Park and adjoining Ningaloo Reef Marine Park. This coral reef, some 260 kms long is for the most part perhaps one kilometre offshore and home to many varieties of fish, turtles, rays, dugongs, sharks, whales and dolphins. Cape Range National Park adjoins the Ningaloo reef for some 60 kms. With only 112 non-powered sites available within that park, camp sites are almost always occupied. Exmouth Visitor Centre staff suggested we try turning up at the park entrance gates very early the next morning and chance somebody was leaving. We got there at 7.30am. Already three hopeful groups were in front of us, and by 8am, when the park office opened, another ten or so were behind us. Fortunately six sites became available that day,. I think we got the best site at Ned's Camp, only 8 kms into the park. Some campers had to go 50 kms into the park to reach their site.
Sunset, Cape Range National Park

We spent four relaxing nights in the park, overlooking a white sandy beach with the ocean swells breaking over the Ningaloo Reef about a kilometre offshore. Within the park, one could go snorkelling, canyon walking, or swimming in the warm waters. Behind us, low dry scrub covered the ground up to the Cape Range summits and park border. Red kangaroos (the big ones) and emus with chicks were common park visitors. We telephoned our daughters from a phone booth situated near the park information centre. It was rather odd, a phone booth in the middle of a scrub-covered plain, kangaroos hopping around beside us.

October the 6th we left Cape Range National Park to continue our journey south. We were told to not miss seeing Coral Bay, some 150 kms farther. A short detour took us off the main highway to this most beautiful bay, where the coral reef was barely ten metres offshore from a sheltered sandy bay. Both Raewyn and I went snorkelling, and seconds from the sand, you were over the coral reef and a multitude of fish. If we'd had more time, we could venture a little further out to see larger fish and corals. Captivated families played around the beach, and those inclined could go on a glass bottomed boat to see the main reef further out.

Beside this bay, the two caravan parks were a boisterous jam of wall to wall vans, camping trailers and tents vying with each other for space to put their cars,boats, water toys, bicycles and clotheslines. It was school holiday time, and the parks were packed with families and groups making the best of the glorious weather. Fresh water was available to campers at $10 per ten litres. We could easily understand the popularity of Coral Bay, but an afternoon there was enough for us. We spent that night farther south at another roadside reserve, Lyndon River, where another fifteen travellers pulled in for the night.

Carnarvon
Next day, October 5th, we moved on to Carnarvon. Carnarvon is a small and quiet town 900 kms north of Perth. It's West Australia's fruit and vegetable growing area, not really a tourist spot, though there are several caravan parks. With this competition, overnight rates are reasonable so we spent a week there to relax. We don't want to reach Perth too early, as it's still cold there.

Quobba Blowholes
Though Carnarvon itself is a country town servicing the local market gardens, some 70 kms north are the Quobba Blowholes, a spectacular event on the half tides, where great ocean swells smash into rock shelves, and blast through a series of blowholes reaching about 15 metres into the air. Barely a kilometre south, a safe sandy Point Quobba Beach overlooks a calm sea water lagoon, protected from the Indian Ocean swells by the huge coral reef. At the edge of this huge lagoon, perhaps in only 30 cm of water, a crumbled biscuit or bread dropped into the water immediately brought hundreds of fish into a feeding frenzy around your feet. We went snorkelling in this lagoon, the coral more colourful and fish more plentiful than that of Coral Bay – and with a lot less people Once used to our presence, fish surrounded and accompanied us as we drifted over the corals in the warm clear water.

It seems little noted, even by the local tourist centre, that Quobba is the westernmost point of any sealed road in Australia. But it was another tick in our list of Australian achievements.











No comments:

Post a Comment