Carnarvon to Tom Price 8/7 to 13/7

Beach at Point Quobba

Campsite at Quobba

After leaving Carnarvon we headed to Point Quobba.  There is a bitumen road all the way to this coastal stop.  In this area are the Quobba Blowholes and Quobba Station which is a pretty dilapidated sheep station.  We decided to stay at the Blowholes Campsite rather than camp at Quobba Station.  The campsite at Point Quobba costs $5.50 a day all up, whereas the fees at Quobba Station were $22 for an unpowered site that would have been further away from the sea than our Point Quobba campsite.  Our other option at Quobba Station was to pay $25 for a powered site, however you aren’t permitted to use any plug in appliances on threat of eviction!  Luckily with our solar panels, power hasn’t been an issue for us throughout this trip.  The beaches at Point Quobba are much nicer than those at Quobba Station, so it was a no brainer for us today! 

Quobba Blowhole

We first ventured to the blowhole. When you arrive at the blowholes you are greeted by a large sign proclaiming “King Waves Kill” – a cautionary reminder that this picturesque coastline has claimed the lives of over thirty people in freak waves.  North of the blowhole there’s a cairn commemorating the loss of the HMAS Sydney in 1941.  It was also in this area that the survivors of the Kormoran came ashore.  The blowholes shoot water up to 20 metres in the air after being forced through holes in the coastal rock.

The landscape here is pretty amazing.  Out to sea there is a reef ensuring a protected snorkelling area in one little bay.  There is also a pretty wild surf beach.  Near the blowholes the coastal rock looks like a lunar landscape that drops to a wide ledge below that is a haven for birdlife.   On the roadway there is the limestone reminder that this whole area used to be a coral reef, with fossilised coral branches everywhere.

Ledge on Coastline

Coastline at Quobba

Barradale River Rest Stop

After leaving Quobba we headed northwards once again.  For those interested in fuel prices, diesel at the Manilya Bridge Roadhouse was $1.735.  We chose to stop for the night at Barradale River Rest Stop, which is a very large stop with very clean toilets and fireplaces.  Here we met a wonderful group of people.  Travelling in three caravans were two brothers and a sister and their partners.  Wonderful to see such a close family group with a great sense of humour.  We shared a campfire last night, exchanged some DVD’s and all decided to stay another night.  The river is a haven for local birdlife.  I enjoyed watching at least ten eagles in flight over the river.  To the east there is quite a lot of water however on the western side of the bridge there are only a few small waterholes, so hopefully they’ll receive rain here soon or the birdlife will have to move on.

East Side of Barradale Bridge

West Side of Barradale Bridge

We then started to head east towards Tom Price, stopping for the night at Beasley River Rest Stop.  The roads here have a lot of floodways, however even though there has been rain recently, most of these floodways are dry rivers.  Some however have water flowing beneath the dry riverbeds.

Beasley River

 Travelling through the Pilbara region has been wonderful.  The colours of this region have to be seen to be believed - deep reds of many different hues contrasted with the green of the shrubs and the straw colour of the spinifex which covers a lot of the countryside.  An interesting aside - spinifex is quite inedible - even camels will not eat it.  It also causes a lot of damage to animals that have to walk through it causing cuts and grazes on their legs.  The aborigines however found it very useful.  They made a dark bitumen-like glue known as 'kiti' that they used to secure blades to wooden tools - an ancient version of today's araldite!     Many wildflowers are also just starting to flower helping to make this drive one of the best so far!

Flowers Struggling Through Rock

Plants of Pilbara

Mt Nameless (Tom Price)

Spinifex in Pilbara

Pilbara Landscape

We arrived in Tom Price on a beautiful 29 degree day and spent the day preparing for our stay in Karajini National Park.  It was great to have telephone and internet reception once again as over the last 580 km there has been nil reception – roll on the Australia-wide broadband network.