A big day again is waiting for us... before plunging in the Ningaloo Reef we got to hire our snorkeling gear.... We get some inside information where the best snorkeling spots are located...so first snorkeling stop at beautiful Turqoise Bay ... Imagine a big Aquarium and you're swimming in the middle of it...awesome!!!! Once back in the car we drive to the end of the road , at Yardie Creek and Gorges where we do a 2hours walk through the Gorges...all sweaty ...time for some other snorkeling sessions in Sandy Bay and South Mandu and we save the best spot for the end of the day , Oyster Stacks...Wooooooow.... It was a though job to get me out of the water...lol...driving back to our campground , we stop at Jurabi Turtle Beach, well known to observe turtles during their hatching season, and the most North West point of Australia where the SS Mildura shipwreck lay's. Back at the caravan park, some time left for a little tennis match revenge and aero @Vlaming Head Lighthouse to watch sunset....
Early in the morning we leave Onslow for what it is and drive to Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef, a well protected reef known for it's whalesharks, and coral fishes in all colours and sizes...After lunch we arrive at the Vlaming Head Lighthouse, gateway ti Cape Range National Park and the Ningaloo Reef. We camp there an will spend all day tomorrow exploring the Ningaloo Reef... Martin and me play a game of tennis while Luc goes for a run...have to keep ourselves in shape... We now crossed 20000km of traveling in Australia...
I ,d say for anyone that's considering a trip in Western Australia, avoid this piece....unless you love mines and industry... Dampier and Karratha are 2 towns that live and survive on the mining business...once the machines stop, they'll change into ghost towns. Arriving in Onslow (Salt Mines) we find a caravan park where all the employees of a Belgium dredging company Jan De Nul stayed while they operated there....a little village for them alone and all they can desire...bar,diner,fitness, ...as the contract is finished the village is a good as empty and they changed it into a caravan park, trying to make some money...
A last swim and ready to go at Port Hedland, used to be a very important cattle harbour, nowadays iron ore shipments. Nothing much to see so we continue after lunch on the Marlu way to Roebourne, one of the oldest settlements in the area with the Old Gaol (prison) as the attraction....Another stop at Cossack lookout and it's museum of Oyster Culture...and Wickam a typical miners village. The day ends at Point Samson...after some live music at the local coffee shop in Roebourne....one man,one guitar, one song and 3 people...yeah right ....us with a lemon tea...sometimes life can be though...
A boring ride today from Broome direction Port Hedland via the Warlu Way or Great Northern HGW, no other roads accessible with "Coco II"... but we read 19000 km on the dashboard ,see map below...Temperatures rise till 43 degrees and around 14h00 enough is enough , so we get off the road and drive to Wallow Downs on a gravel road...Wallow Downs lays at the 80 miles beach...compare it with twice Belgium's Coastline without wave breakers or so what...just sand, dunes ,heaps of shells and Ocean as far you can see left and right and you've got it all for yourself...wonderfull !!!! We walk for 2 hours , Dorine collects shells, we men plunge in the Ocean, nice... This evening we'll have another walk on the beach as the place is known for turtles and it is the end of the hatching season, so maybe we get to spot some baby turtles having their run for life at the sea...
The day started with a 16 km walk along Cable Beach to Gantheaume Point ...lucky for us we had the Indian Ocean on our side to cool down from time to time... After lunch we split up...Martin,Dorine and Luc want to visit a pearl farm...I've seen enough pearl farms in French Polynesia...so I get into town, do some shopping...but beside the Old Town and Chinatown , Broome is as good as dead. Another stop at Roebuck Bay and the Broome Jetty with a lovely coffee at the Wharf Cafe...hurry back to Cable Beach for sunset and camels on the beach...where we get all together again.
This morning Martin and Luc played a early morning set of tennis....I enjoyed an hour more in bed. Today the road leads us to Derby, located on King Sound and it has the highest tides in Australia with peak differential between low and high tide up to 11,8 m. We see along the road a bushfire,not sure if the fire started by accident or not....quite scary. Arriving in Derby we get a message from Luc and Dorine, after having a coffee at a parking they drove back to Fitzroy Crossing instead of driving to Derby...it took them a while to see their mistake and than they had to go all the way back to Fitzroy,because they would run out of diesel...no more beers for Luc!!! Meanwhile me and Martin had a ride around Derby, and besides the Baob Prison Tree and the Derby Jetty, nothing else to see or do...it is a dead town...so we call Luc and Martin to meet each other this evening in Broome. We have Lunch at a Roadhouse and in the late afternoon we arrive at Cable Beach in Broome, it is nice to see the Ocean again after days and days of desert...we look for a caravan park and have a ride to the Gantheaume Point. Around 17h30 the two lost one's are back in town and we meet them at the caravan park, just in time for a lovely sunset at Cable Beach... Night fall's over Broome and we play our daily game of cards outside with a nice cool breeze...
Turquoise Beach
Two men down
Snorkling Turquoise Beach
Yardie Creek
South Mandu Beach
Oyster Stacks
Shipwreck SS Mildura
Sunset Mauritius Beach
Ashburton River
Exmouth Beach
Ningaloo Coast
Exhausted after tennis
The tennis players
Dampier Beach
Train with Iron Ore
Onslow Beach
Sunset
Bar and dining Onslow village
Rooms for the employees
Welcome Port Hedland
Salt mining industry
Settlers Beach Cossach
Lookout Cossach
Nice little truck
Local music
and public....
Progress Map 19000 km
Sandfire Roadhouse
80 miles Beach
At the Beach
Who is who
1000 shells
Wallow Downs Caravanpark
Gantheaume Point
Three boy's on a row
It feel's good
Ready to take off
and down in the Indian Ocean
Looking for Belgium!!!!
Broome Jetty
Camels on Cable Beach
Camels and ????? on Cable Beach
Bushfire along the Savannah Way
The Baob Prison Tree Derby
Look who say's hello
Derby Wharf Jetty
Lunch at the Roadhouse
Cable Beach Broome
Gantheaume Point Broome
Sunset Cable Beach Broome
