Quick stop in Carnarvon, then of to the Kennedy Ranges, Mt Augustas and Minnie Creek Station

Saturday saw us heading to the Carnarvon Races, oh what a day, we made new friends and placed some bets.

 

We had a wonderful time at the races, we put a $3 bet on and won $133 back. That paid for the drinks for the rest of the day and into the evening at the Gascoyne music festival at the local yacht club. We danced all night till we turned into pumpkins.

Jane had to work for 7 days straight before we could hit the road again.

20^th May 2013, we are on the road again, this time to the Kennedy Ranges, Mt Augustus and Minnie Creek Station.

We made a decision not to take the camper trailer as this was just a short 4 night trip, so that meant I had to bring out the swag, well it’s a bit better than your everyday regular swag. Its name is the Bunker and I love it. This will make the trip easier and hopefully less fuel.

 

First stop Rocky point pools 40km out of Carnarvon, time for a swim NOT, to cold. Rocky pools is a beautiful place 4km off the main road to the Gascoyne junction. It is where the inland streams meet the Gascoyne River.

We headed off from here to the Gascoyne Junction, we did not stop at the junction as there is not a great deal to see or do there. It had been raining during the weekend and we hoped that this would not hinder our trip. The photo below is of the crossing between the Gascoyne Junction and the road to the Kennedy ranges.

We only had 40km left to travel to the Kennedy ranges where we will stay for the night.

The road into The Kennedy ranges, such a spectacular site. We set up camp and headed of to look around the campsite.

 

We checked out the Ranges map and planned to walk to the Honeycomb Gorge, the second walk on the right of the map below.

 

To follow the treks around this area you have to follow the coloured discs. To reach the gorge we had to follow the yellow discs this one was definitely placed in the incorrect place our only hope now was to transform into mountain goats. 

We made it before the sun set and we were very amazed at the wondrous site to see. The Honeycomb effect is from the strong winds slamming the sand against the stone wall.

We headed back to camp and witnessed the start of the sun setting. We have to share with you a little bit of our luxury bathroom facilities.

We made dinner then watched a movie before climbing into bed to get a good night sleep.

Morning bought another beautiful day and after breakfast we would pack up and head to Mt Augustus.

 

Not sure if this sign is correct but sure made for a good laugh along the way.

We made a quick pit stop at Minnie Creek Station to say hello and let them know we would be back tomorrow to stay for nights.

Along the way we stopped at a strange station called Cobra station. There we obtained a key to a gate that would allow us to find a magical water hole called the Edithanna Falls. Jane talked me into getting my gear off and feeling free and one with nature. Oh my goodness, so cold and this is all you are going to see.

 

 

This is one of the numerous funny signs on the road, this one was in the middle of nothing for 30 kms. We also had a unique experience of seeing camels in the middle of the road.

 

 

Please enjoy a video of the camels, you will be able to hear Jane explaining the movement of the camels.

We arrived in Mt Augustus in time to see the sunset on the mountain, this mountain is whacking 1105mts above sea level. The Wajarri people lived here many years ago.

We were lucky enough to meet some other travellers that invited us to happy hour in the camp kitchen. We enjoyed getting to know everyone and before we knew it, it was time for dinner, movie and bed.

When morning broke, we packed up and headed to the mountain to climb to Edney’s Trail (Ooramboo), 6kms return trip and takes approximately 3hrs. We completed the climb in 2hrs 20 min. It was an amazing site from the top.

 

 

 

 

We made our way back down the trail and we were both hungry. We set up the cooker and made ourselves the most delicious breakfast. Janes is on the left, mine on the right. Oh so yummy.

We left Edney’s trail and travelled to a few magical spots that had hidden treasures of Aboriginal engravings.

First stop was Mundee, after a short trek we discovered some amazing engravings.

 

 

Next stop was The Pound, we found more amazing engravings in the middle of some caves.

 

We headed back to the campsite to fuel up and make our way to Minnie Creek Station for 2 nights.

We made Minnie Creek Station in time for afternoon tea. We unpacked our sleeping gear and set up camp near Luke’s quarters.

The morning bought a beautiful sunrise and Jane was too comfortable to get out of bed.

 

Below are a few photos of the wildlife on the station.

 

Friday came around quick and we had to leave to head back to Carnarvon for work and play.

I was to work at the Carnarvon races for Ladies Day and Jane is attending with friends.

We arrived back safe and had a good night sleep.

 Carnarvon



 

My day started at 11:45 am and didn’t finish until 8pm. I had a great time at the races and met lots of new friends, my job was to sell drink tickets. Jane enjoyed herself, unfortunately she did not win any of her bets.

Exmouth and Coral Bay

Our adventures are not over as we head to Exmouth to take Pete and Ben to the airport for their return to Perth. This would leave Jane and me with a week to explore Exmouth and Coral bay.

First stop Exmouth Caravan Park. 6^th May 2013

We set up camp next to the parks camp kitchen and I made friends with the local bird life, much to Jane’s horror.

7^th May, We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning and made plans to head to the Cape Range National Park. Our first stop was the Light house and the Thirteen Towers.

Next stop was the Cape Range National Park and a 3 Km trek to Mandu Mandu Gorge. The trek tool almost 1 hour 45 minutes and was worth every step. Below are photos of the view from the start to the top of the gorge.

If you look to the left of the above photo you will see the track we have to climb.

Time to head back to the camp for afternoon drinks and swim.

 

Tuesday night 7^th May brought a thunderstorm with a lot of rain and winds that seemed to blow sideways.

The morning saw the end of the storm and time to mop up and dry everything out.

Wednesday 8^th May, we head off to see more of the Cape Range. First stop was Yardie Gorge Trail. We trekked further then markings on the map.

View from the top of Yardie Gorge

The drive back to Exmouth bought lots to see including an up close look at an Echidna.

We also stopped at a beach called Turquoise Bay, it is a beautiful place to swim and snorkel.

As night was falling we headed back to Exmouth for our last night before travelling to Coral Bay.

9^th May 2013, we packed up camp and said goodbye to Exmouth and headed to Coral Bay.

From the moment my eyes focused on this place I fell in love. I could quite easily live my life out here. The beautiful clear Blue Ocean and pristine white sands begged you to stay. We set up camp and went for a drive to the harbour, the further we drove the more beautiful this place became.

The harbour is surrounded by a reef, they run snorkelling and diving tours right up to the reef wall. There are some beautiful sea creatures that can be seen from the shore and the harbour docks.

As we drove from the harbour we noticed a sand track leading into the sand dunes. What could we do but follow, the sign at the beginning of the track advised the drives to deflate their tyres to 18psi. Well not everyone does what is advised so neither did we. We soon found out that the advice was GOOD advice, we found ourselves stuck. After a few minutes the tyres were to their correct pressure and we were off again on our new adventure.

The view from one of the sand dunes.

We made the most of this lovely day, we swam, snorkelled and went for a walk along the beach. At 3:30 every day a local tour guide feeds the fish in the bay and tourist are welcome to stand in the water and experience the large fish swimming around them. Jane was able to take a few photos of the fish around our legs.

After that amazing experience we headed back to the camp site to clean up and head out for dinner and drinks.

 

 

Cheers everyone, this is the view from out table, a perfect place to watch the sunset.

We had a delicious meal and an early night, we headed back to camp to relax and watch a movie on the computer. Tomorrow would see us heading back to civilisation. We arrived in Carnarvon on Friday as Jane needed to make contact with her work for her start on Monday. Our fun was not over yet as Saturday was race day in Carnarvon and we were ready to party.