Pilbara (Part II)

After leaving Karijini National Park we set off towards the coast. Our first stop was at Tom Price which is another mining town established to service a huge open cut iron ore mine there. Its a modern little town. Just the bare necessities of life really but very neat and tidy and with nice gardens in the public areas.

There was only one caravan park so we stayed there, welcoming the power and water. We had a bit of washing to do. That red dust gets into every nook and cranny. The van floor was covered in red smudges and all the surfaces had a fine coating of red.

Anyway, we got all our housework sorted out then headed off for some 4WDing up to the top of Mount Nameless which overlooked the caravan park.

Mt Nameless from Kings Lake, just opposite our van park.

It is a very high peak and the track up was very steep indeed. Definitely 4WD only and low range second gear on the way back down.

The view was spectacular, the town on one side and the huge mine on the other.

After we left Tom Price it was onward toward the coast but still too far to drive in one go. So we decided to stop by the side of the road at Home Creek 24 Hour Camping Area. We pulled in at about 3pm and there was already one other van there.

It had been windy all day but soon after we set up the wind really picked up and all the red dirt around us soon became dust swirling around in huge gusts. We had to retreat inside which wasn't ideal because it was really hot.

Anyway, after about an hour or so the wind died down a bit and then eventually it cooled down too and we ended up having a nice place to sit outside.

After dinner we went for a little walk with our torches and checked out the amazing stars again. They look so good when you are in an isolated place.

It was a pleasant night and we woke to a calm cool morning, however this did not last and it soon warmed up and the wind picked up again.

The next part of the trip is not really Pilbara any more but I will continue on anyway. We headed up to Exmouth which was a pretty boring drive. Lots of straight long stretches of road one of which was so long and straight that it was used as an RFDS emergency landing strip!!



Exmouth is also a new town only established in the 1960's to service huge communication towers set up to assist the US during the cold war years. There are all these huge radio towers there and also a naval base named after Harold Holt, the prime minister who went missing when he went swimming near Portsea in Victoria in 1967.

We decided to stay at the Lighthouse Caravan Park about 12 kms out of Exmouth. It was quite nice but due to its isolated location, it had salty water for showering and washing. Not very nice for teeth brushing! It was incredibly windy here. The snorkeling tours of Ningaloo Reef and other tours were cancelled due to the high winds. It was very unpleasant on the beach as the sand was picked up by the wind and blown along, sandblasting anything in its path.

We visited many of the beaches on the eastern side of the cape all the way down to Yardie Creek which has cut a huge gorge in the nearby ranges.

View from the top of a sand dune near Exmouth

This was like a sand fall instead of a waterfall.

Yardie Creek looking towards the gorge.

The lighthouse of course had an amazing view over the area, as you would expect. The reef is about 1km off the coast and creates breakers which roll in all sudsy and rough. It was particularly rough when we were there. We were told by one of the rangers that the day before, a boat had capsized near Budegi Beach, which is closer to Exmouth town, and one person had died and three others were injured which was awful. It was incredibly rough.

There were so many beautiful beaches all down the western coast of the cape. This was the first cloudy day we have had on our trip. Not really cloudy in the rain sense. It didn't turn into anything.

You can almost see the breakers out on the reef in this photo.

We also saw some great wildflowers including a Sturt Desert Pea which I have never seen before. They actually have pea pods attached to the plant as you can see below.

They grow on a vine along the ground.

Taking advantage of the wind was a group of para-surfers who made a great display with their coloured sails. They were taking full advantage of the high winds, skimming over the tops of the waves and coming all the way into the beach then changing direction and soaring off out into the waves again. It was amazing. They looked like they were having a ball. So colourful too. Glad to see someone enjoying the extreme conditions.

We went into town in the afternoon, and as we were driving along about 100 metres in front of us an emu strolled out onto the road. He was just walking slowly and then must have realised there was a car coming in both directions and then high tailed it off into the bush. It was quite funny!

These are just some random shots we took around Exmouth.

We spent two nights in Exmouth then set off south for Coral Bay, which is basically a little settlement comprised of two large caravan parks, a few shops and a pub, but the water is spectacular. The colours are so bright and the sand so white.  It was very busy as it was still school holidays in WA when we arrived so we were very lucky to get an unpowered site. It turned out to be a great spot. We could see the beautiful water from just outside the van. The showers were fresh water here, oh what heaven. Being without little things like fresh water for a shower really make you appreciate them when you get them back again.

Its such a pretty place. The water is a range of beautiful colours and oh so clear.

It was very windy in Coral Bay. We had planned to go on a snorkeling tour but it was cancelled due to the high winds. We put the caravan awning away because of the wind as it makes a lot of noise at night time when it flaps around.

On Saturday morning the park just emptied out. All these vans left really early and we thought they all knew something that we didn't!! But within two hours the spots had all filled up again. It was change over day apparently. Some of the spots near us stayed empty so we had an even better view and lots of space around us which was lovely.

The only disadvantage of having an unpowered spot was that we couldn't charge up the phones, tablet, computer etc. So Mike plugged the computer into the power pole of an unoccupied powered site. It looked funny sitting on top of the power pole and even funnier when a seagull sat on top of it!! Thankfully he didn't leave his calling card on the computer.

We did a bit or snorkeling, Mike more so than me. I'm really not good at it and find the mask and mouthpiece quite claustrophobic. The coral was really amazing, although not very colourful, but there were lots of beautiful fish of all shapes, sizes and colours. As as added bonus, the fish get fed on the beach every afternoon at 3.30 pm so we were able to see a whole bunch of beautiful speckled emperor fish (about 18" long) swimming around in a small area between everyone's legs having some food. They are so pretty, and have beautiful blue colours shimmering on their sides as they move. It was really fun to see.

So even though it was windy and our tour was cancelled we had a lovely time in Coral Bay. Lots of relaxing and hanging out at the beach. We tried two of the local restaurants as well which were very good. It was a great spot.

Time to move on to a new post and give you all a rest!!