Day 55 – Thu, 2 Sep to Cape Range NP & Back

I am staying at the Potshot Hotel backpackers again tonight. This was a good decision as the camping in the Cape Range NP was full. Also the wind was blowing and camping in rough-it style campsites on sand in the wind would not have been pleasant.

So I decided to do a little sightseeing. First I headed back into town and out to the port where there is a new canal style housing development. Novotel has a new complex and there are lots of sold vacant (small) blocks with some new housing being built.

The peninsula basically runs N-S with Exmouth about 35km from the tip on the E side, on the Exmouth Gulf. To the W is the Indian Ocean, but along the W coast is the Ningaloo Reef. The Reef runs for hundreds of km from the S up the W coast. It is a protected area and is home to a host of marine animals.

Running up almost like a backbone (more to the W) is the Cape Range which has the Cape Range NP. So I rode N out of Exmouth, then headed around the tip and rode S down the W side of the Cape Range.

Oh, yeah, I managed to get around the Naval Communications Station; a road runs around it and then up the W side.  Therefore, I was able to get right to the tip of the peninsula where the SS Mildura wreck is located right on the reef at the tip. This 1390 tonne wreck ran aground in 1907 with no loss of life, but 400 bullocks perished.

After that I headed S down the W side of the peninsula, up to the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse for spectacular views N to the tip, S across the NP and out over the Reef and Indian Ocean.

I proceeded further S for about another 80km driving along the bitumen running down the coastal plain covered in spinifex and termite mounds (spinifex termites). To the left was the Cape Range (rising generally to around 200-300m as a guess) and to the right the sand dunes and beyond that the Reef and Ocean. Just magnificent. The coastal plain varied from 800-900m wide, to only 200+m wide.

I stopped at the odd beach and the visitor centre. I spotted a couple of Osprey nests, a real thrill. There were pure white and grass covered dunes, with a backdrop of turquoise coloured water inside the reef, with the deeper blues of the ocean beyond the waves breaking on the reef.

I had lunch overlooking Turquoise Bay, where I endeavoured to take a time delayed picture of myself, but the wind blew the camera off the bench and yep another damaged camera. I’ll have to buy another one; bugger.

At Turquoise Bay the reef was about 150-200m off shore with a lagoon of you guessed it turquoise coloured water. A small point extended out from shore, so you could enter to the S of the point and whilst snorkelling just drift with the current around the point and finish to the N in the Bay in front of where I was sitting.

I decided that I would not snorkel up here just because it was a sightseeing day. I’ll be going a little further S over the next few days and I’ll base myself closer to the beach and the Reef where it will be more convenient to snorkel rather than travelling in the bike gear.

I finished the trip S at the end of the road at Yardie Creek, where a deep blue creek cuts E through the Range creating a gorge. At this point I turned and headed back to Exmouth.

Today I passed quite a few emus, but on the way home I had to stop for an echidna to cross. I spotted him ahead and as I slowed he curled on the road with all spikes pointing out.  On passing he continued his saunter across the road where I was just able to get a photo before he headed into the grass.

Overall, quite magnificent scenery, it would have been a pleasure to have swam and camped, but this will have to wait. The day achieved what I set out to do, to get a good feel for the landscape, the coast and the reef. Glorious!

PS. This is the start of my 3rd month on the road. To date I have travelled through QLD, NT and now about half way down the W coast. I guess you could say I am about half way and I have travelled about 13,250km.