Carnarvon is one of those neutral towns – you may not love it, but you also will not hate it. To some extent it draws a line between the wilder north, and a softer agricultural based landscape. It has some special features of its own, but is more well known as a great stop-off place between the Ningaloo reef of the north and Shark Bay to the south.
We stayed at Carnarvon on 28-31 August 2018
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
Coral Bay > Carnarvon ~ 238kms
Carnarvon
Carnarvon lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningaloo Reef and the popular tourist town of Exmouth lie to the north.
Carnarvon’s First Nations People are the Inggarda, Baiyunga, Thalanji, Malgana and Thudgarri people. They named this area long ago, Kuwinywardu (Kow-win-wordo), meaning ‘neck of water’. First Nations people associating with the Carnarvon area typically associate as being Yamatji. Yamatji is a name commonly used by First Nation people in the Murchison and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia to refer to themselves, and sometimes also to First Nation people generally, when speaking English. The word comes from the Wajarri language where it has the meaning ‘man’ or ‘human being’.
The first European pastoral station was established in 1876 and by 1881 there were several pastoral stations. This led to the region being declared a municipality. Following calls for an active port out of the region and better ways to ship local products, the Gascoyne Roads board was set up in 1882 and quickly began plans to develop the economy of the region. In 1883 the town site of Carnarvon was gazetted.
The town site continued to grow throughout the 1880’s adding additional services and landmarks such as the first postal/telegram service in 1884, the Port Hotel in 1885 and the first school in 1886. The town and its population really took off at the turn of the century with the completion of the Carnarvon Jetty in 1899 and then the gold rush in the early 1900’s. In 1904 after the construction of additional tramway bridges, connecting the town site to the jetty, Carnarvon’s “Mile Jetty” was opened making Carnarvon the port town of the area.
With the conclusion of World War 1, there was a shift of focus in the regions industries. With the incoming settlers of the soldier relocation scheme, came growth in horticultural produce on lands on the banks of the Gascoyne River. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century horticultural growers continuing to thrive and grow while the traditional pastoralist and whaling industries declined.
In 1941 Carnarvon was put onto the nation’s map with the sinking of the German raiding vessel “Kormoran” after an engagement with the HMAS Sydney off the coast of the Gascoyne. The Sydney was also sunk. Many German sailors managed to make it to the shoreline of Quobba Station and were rescued and taken to Carnarvon while they awaited transportation to Fremantle.
The 1960’s brought the Space Race to Carnarvon with the construction of the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) dish, which was used throughout the Apollo program to relay messages from space across the world back to mission control in Florida. This was the first of its kind for Australia. The station was eventually closed in 1976 and still serves today as a historical site and museum for the town.
Day 1 – 28 August – drive to Carnarvon
It was a cold day with blustery winds but not as bad as previously. We got away at around 8, driving south down the Minilya Exmouth Rd, then getting onto the North West Coastal Hwy. The roads are good all the way through. But the landscape is flat, covered in coastal ground cover – spiky grasses mostly. A barren-looking sandy environment.
We concentrated on the wildflowers, spotting and stopped a couple of times to get a closer look. Lots of beautiful flowers along the roadside, but also swarms of flies that would not leave us alone. We stopped at a rest area for a cuppa, and the flies made that a very short stop indeed. We see increasing patches of quite delicate flowers – pinks, whites, mauves and some blues and yellows in drifts. Very hard to stop suddenly with the van in tow though.
About 30km from Carnarvon, we saw what looked like a pink lake on our left hand side – maybe Yarrenbullia Waterhole. It has a definite pink tinge to it.
As we close on Carnarvon, we are surprised to see a dramatic change in the landscape. Jon had told us that there was a point where the coastal scrubby land suddenly became agricultural production with bananas, fruit trees and other crops in abundance. What a transformation.
The Wintersun Caravan Park is pretty good. Nice wide sites with lots of room and good facilities. It was pretty full, but there was no feeling totally cramped in. Maybe the only disadvantage is that it is a long way from town – but this is a town very well spread out. For a small population, everything seems to be a long way from everything else.
As we were setting up, I looked across and saw a familiar face. Wendy, the woman we had met at Yardies, was only a couple of sites over. We much admired her for doing this long haul north each year on her own, towing a small A-Van. It was good to catch up with her again.
In the afternoon we went into town to have a look around. There is a good blend of historic buildings, such as the old post office, with new developments. There are also many very traditional homes, some in pretty good condition and others needing a lot of work. There is a good shopping precinct so it is a good place to get supplies. Importantly, BWS still had the 25% off all wine special going.
We went out to get some seafood to the Crab Shack out at Pickles Point – Wendy had told me about this. We got half a kg of prawns and had a look at their fish, but not that much of a variety. We decided we would re-visit when we had more freezer space.
We had arrived on a Tuesday and as luck would have it Tuesday was the “big spud” night at the Park – joy, if you are Irish. So we got our tickets as we checked in. There was also entertainment. So at about 5:15 we went down to the camp kitchen/ entertainment area. The latter is a large barn like room with long tables and chairs in rows, and with a small stage at one end. On that, getting ready to go, were a NZ duo: he is a very large man and she a much more moderate woman, but they both had amazing voices. They did a number of songs before the spuds were served. They had a varied range, obviously trying pick the audience, which was indeed on the grey side of the elderly spectrum. The music ranged from Doris Day – Que Sera Sera – to Elvis, to many much more modern songs (which means many songs I can’t remember). In fact it was a good blend of music for the varied audience.
The spuds were served at 6:30 and we went up table by table. It was quite a large spud and there was a good selection of toppings – I went for chilli con cairn, with lots of little additions. Excellent value for $13. I had chopped bacon, cheese, chives and lots of sour cream…. YUMMY
Back at the music, the dancing started with plenty of people on the floor. We both really enjoy to dance, so were in our element. Got more exercise over the next couple of hours than we had for the last month. A really good night.
Day 2 – 29 August – Carnarvon
This was a horrible day. Overnight the wind increased as the temperature plunged. I got up at one stage to lower the awning which had been thrashing around like a loose sheet in the wind. I almost woke Kerry to help me put it away. We did that in the morning. It was a bitter and cloudy morning we awoke to, and pretty soon we had the start of the showers. We did little that day. I used the time to finish the post for Ningaloo which was a big one. Occasionally I need a day to catch up.
In the afternoon we met up with Wendy for nibbles and a drink. It was a good evening to have a good chat and solve most of the problems of the world. Wendy is leaving to go south tomorrow – safe driving Wendy, hope we can catch up down your way.
Day 3 – 30 August – Point Quobba
On wakening, the weather had calmed a good deal, but the wind was not friendly. It got less friendly through the day. So in the morning we packed some lunch things in the car fridge, and went north to see the wilds of Quobba, some 50km or so north west. About halfway along we started to see Lake Macleod on either side of the road. It is easy to see that there is a salt mining project here, and later we see that it is part of the Dampier salt mining group.
At Point Quobba, we went up to see the views from the lighthouse. It is amazing to see the force of the water hitting the cliff faces and sending tens of metres of water into the air. Wow!
We then went down to the blowholes and the force of the water is incredible – the seas are really pumping. Even the blowhole looked minor compared to the waves battering the coast. Let the pictures tell the story…look at the height of the water above the cliffs. The waves are just amazing – you can hear the thunder as they pound the cliffs, then hear the roar as the water comes up the blowhole. I couldn’t resist walking out closer to the waves, mindful of keeping a ways back from the edge though.
This looks even more spectacular in the video – click here
From there we went south to the caravan park which on an increasingly windy day, does not look inviting. But there is a lovely lagoon inside the reef, with sandy beaches and good looking hints of coral. A very pretty place. We walked around the lagoon to get to the coast and watch the sea pound the lagoon entrance. I think this is known as the Blue Pool.
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After that, we went north and found a great spot to watch the massive spray. Awesomely mesmerising.
The waves over the nearby headlands were also spectacular.
As were some of the breaking waves.
Then we went down to behind a rock outcrop to shelter from the wind, watch the waves and have lunch.
We went a bit further north to the cairn for the HMAS Sydney. I had totally forgotten that German ships came into our waters during WWII.
After that we turned back and headed home, stopping now and again to see more wildflowers.
That evening we did not go down to get some roast beef rolls at the bush kitchen, nor dance the night away. I have been struggling with some very sore ribs, which I think I got getting back on board the boat on the whale shark cruise. It had been quite painful so we had a quiet night.
Day 4 – 31 August – Point Quobba
It was a cold morning, we are missing the warmth of the north. After a lazy start, we first went to the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum. It is just a bit out of town and the large domes and dishes make it hard to miss. With a senior’s discount we got in for $8 each.
The museum is based on the role the Carnarvon Tracking Station played in the manned space program in the 1960s and 1970s, relaying the first steps of man on the moon to television stations in Australia, together with the Parkes Observatory. The museum focusses on two parts. The Carnarvon Tracking Station and the OTC Satellite Earth Station, each of which played separate roles in the early space industry.
On entry, we said we wanted to get into the space capsule – a full size replica – so they gave us a buzzer that would tell us we were next in the queue and should get back to the capsule to get ready. We had a good look around. There is heaps of stuff to look at, but I found the OTC section lacked a theme or story. It was difficult to see what all the equipment did. The other part of the museum clearly made much of the role the tracking station played in the first flight to the moon. The man getting people ready for the capsule, gave a good description of the rocket, how each section functioned and then the tiny capsule which fitted at the front.
Then our buzzer buzzed, so we went back to the capsule and got into a pretend spacesuits
We climbed into the capsule lying on our backs with our legs up over a step – that is how the astronauts were positioned for the blast off. There was not much room for 3 adults when it was empty, let alone when it was also fully equipped. Then there was a video on the launch on the rocket and its initial voyage. Pretty interesting stuff.
We watched the planetarium presentation in the 3-D room. This was quite interesting and went for about 20 minutes, describing back in history how ancient peoples viewed the stars and moving through modern times to todays theories.
Out the back is a new interactive section. This seemed to be a great palace for kids to try things out, but the information panels on what to do and why things happened was not all that helpful.
We drove around to what was labelled on the map as the Heritage Precinct – where the one mile jetty was. This is a drive way out to the sea over a causeway. The area seems little used. We went past the Precinct down to the boat ramp, where there are good beaches in the area. Back at the Precinct – where the signs to the railway museum are – we were surprised to see that this consisted of only 3 or 4 historic features. The One Mile Jetty is still standing but closed for safety reasons.
The Lighthouse keeper’s house is still standing and in good condition. The lighthouse was erected in 1896 on a timber stand 31m high. After battles with termites over the years, the tower was replaced by a steel one in 1961 and an automatic light was installed. The last keeper resided there until 1980. The old light had been placed at the bottom of the old stand.
As we walked in to look at the house a woman sitting on the verandas, called out to us to turn on a water pump in the front garden. “Can you work it out,” she called to us. What she was pointing out was that the pump, which took water out of a well and dropped it into a little channel did not have a bucket or other storage device to carry the water. Instead it was just a long chain, which when moving quickly actually drew the water up very efficiently. How can a chain collect water and drop it into a channel? Beats me. It was actually a spring which picks up the water, then drops it again as it bends at the top. Ingenious.
The house is decorated and furnished as it was a hundred years ago. Love the old washing boards in the laundry – I actually remember my mother using one. We went to the cafe – new and modern – for lunch. Not bad.
We had lunch at the cafe, and then looked around another building that contained a lot of interesting relics – such as a lovely old lugger. But there was nothing to tell us what it was.
After that, we had another drive around the historical parts of town. I’d just received an email from BWS that I had 30% off until Sunday – so off we headed to replenish. Then it was back to the van park to start getting ready to leave next morning.
To see photos from this post, click here
To see video from this post, especially the Quobba coast, click here