Our West Australian travel news

Karratha, Carnarvon, Nanga Bay Resort, Geraldton

Leaving 80 mile we decided to skip Port Hedland and head straight for Karratha. Crossing the De Grey river we notice a very nice camping area on the northern side, lots of shade, still some water in the river, a few vans still there, a very pretty area. Crossing the Yule River another very pleasant looking stopping area, in fact some vans looked as if they were set up for a few days there. Stopping for fuel in Hedland I telephoned ahead to try and book at Karratha, the park we normally stay in was full but we managed to get at place at Balmoral Road park which is identical to Rosemary Road. Balmoral Road park is run by one of the large national caravan park groups and is very clean with great facilities.
As usual on this road we stopped at the Whim Creek Pub for a drink. It was a lot busier than any other time we have been there but still hasn’t lost its appeal. About 20 kms. north of Whim Creek you cross the West Peiwa river which had a stopping area with toilets, tables and shade, crossing the Sherlock river to the south of Whim Creek there is another rest area, the wagons hadn’t started circling but it was only 1.30, we didn’t feel it was as pretty as some of the others we’d seen but would be quite adequate for an overnighter.
We like Karratha, now we’ve managed to work out how to get around it and had a couple of days there shopping, having hair cuts etc. We visited Cleaverville beach which is about halfway between Roebourne and Karratha, we had read quite a bit about this camping area and were keen to find out for ourselves. The road in is quite rocky but the views from the cliffs when you get there are wonderful. There is a resident caretaker there and lots of ‘dump points’ for the porta potties, but other than that you have to be self sufficient. There were a lot of people camped there, some seemed to be on top of each other, but maybe they were family groups, others were spread about a bit more. We parked ourselves down near the beach to have our lunch and just soaked up the beauty of the place, one couple obviously felt it was very much back to nature, if you understand my meaning. At (I think) $9.00 a night not a bad place to stay a while, you’re only a few kilometres away from Karratha to restock the supplies and an absolutely fantastic view from most areas, you can only stay there for three months at a time, but for most people that would be ample time to be in one place. Camping is only allowed for a few months a year and a friendly resident ranger manages the whole area
Heading further south we pass Nanutara on the Ashburton River, there used to be very nice camping on both sides of the bridge here but one side has been fenced off and the other says no camping but there are several rivers to cross and camping areas at most of them, quite attractive ones at that, in my opinion all of them better than staying at the camp ground at Nanutara roadhouse. We had planned on bush camping this night but it was only 2 p.m. when we got to Minilya which had its own caravan park and also nice looking camping both sides of the river, so we rang Carnarvon and managed to get a site at one of the parks in town. BIG mistake. The park, even though it belonged to one of the national caravan park groups was cramped and not at all inviting. In fact the whole of Carnarvon was a disappointment, it appears to have been quite neglected since we were last here three years ago. Trying to get a meal on the Sunday night was an art form in itself, we eventually managed to find a motel with a restaurant that was open and had a reasonable meal for $15.00. The only takeaway places that were open were chicken treat and pizza from the garage next door to the van park. Considering that this is supposed to be the height of the tourist season the town was not putting on a very good face. Carnarvon has been one of our favourite stop overs in the past we hope it improves and some vitality is injected into the town.
Someone had told us that Gladstone was a good place to stop on the road south but we couldn’t see it marked on the map, when we saw the turnoff (about 60 kms. north of Overlander) we were past it before we realised. We had rung Nanga Bay resort for a site and had been told there were no powered sites available for Monday night, but we would be top of the list when one became available.
Nanga Bay is a lovely place, but it hasn’t changed or been upgraded in any way since we were there in 1996. The booking people seem to be completely disorganised, because even on the Tuesday when we could see there were powered sites available no-one came and asked if we would like to move, perhaps we were supposed to go and ask – mind you we heard that people who had been allocated sites went to them and found the people who were supposed to have left were still on them and hadn’t informed the office, nor had the office bothered to check and the people who had booked had to accept unpowered sites. The Facilities were totally inadequate for the numbers of people there, in fact the ones nearest to us (about a 400 metre return walk) were directly in front of the Bull Pit, the gathering area for drinks and barbeques etc. not very nice if you’ve gone for a shower and have to come out and be confronted by all these people. Despite these problems it is a nice place to stop. The fisher people were going out in their boats and catching the most enormous fish, it was quite an education to be on the beach just before sunset to see all these boats come in and watch them scaling and cleaning the fish. Part of the reason the park was so full was it was school holidays and a lot of family groups had come for the holidays. There were camps with several tents grouped round a central cooking/eating area and these camps had everything in them, freezers, fridges, microwaves, even bread makers, and we couldn’t even get a power point!! Story has it that every school holidays until 2004 (at present) they are totally booked. The place is really nice and our site (despite being unpowered) was at the top of the hill and you could just sit outside and look at the ocean, over the tops of the palm trees, but the organisational part of it really needs to get its act together and an upgrade in the facilities I would say is long overdue.
We didn’t venture away from Nanga, but it is a good base for visiting Denham, Monkey Mia and Hamelin Pool. There is a lovely natural spa on the site which has been landscaped and is delightful, the water is warm and very relaxing but getting out was a problem, whilst the day was warm there was the wind chill factor and that made exiting the spa a very chilly prospect.
Heading now to Geraldton for our last stop, tried to book into the Sunset Caravan Park on Monday and the lady said no need to book (where has everybody gone), so hopefully she was right and there will be a decent site for us tonight. Crossing the Murchison River about 60 kms. north of Northampton there are quite a few people camped. There are a few overnighter places on this road, just have to be a bit choosy with what you take. Spent two nights in Geraldton, the lady wasn’t lying when she said there was no need to book, they were very quiet, everyone must be further north. It was nice not to be so crowded, but then again the weather wasn’t as good as it had been, in fact we were getting back to the drizzle and cold. We visited the Sydney memorial which is stunning. We were last in Geraldton late 2001 and whilst the memorial had been started there wasn’t much to see, now it is wonderful. A huge ‘filigree’ dome made up of seagulls, one for each crew member that lost their life, over a reflection pond, a statue of a woman looking out to sea and a huge keel flag post, all surrounded by polished marble walls with the story of the loss of the Sydney and the names of those on board. The memorial is located on top of a hill and you can see for miles in all directions, it is simply awesome. A credit to all those concerned in the planning, designing and building of the memorial. We also visited the new museum. It is a very expensive looking building, but to our minds had very little in it. Perhaps as time goes on they will start to fill it up.
Finally on the last few hundred kilometres to Perth after a wonderful ten weeks. Always in hindsight things look better than they sometimes did on the trip but there are very few down things I could say about this one. We did expect the weather to be better than it was on the coast in Queensland, but it didn’t stop us enjoying ourselves. The worst bits were the crowded parks from Katherine onwards, it is wonderful that so many people are getting out to see the country, but it does detract somewhat from your enjoyment when places are so busy, perhaps we should consider bush camping more often, we are set up for it and love it when we do, but unless necessity makes us we don’t do it that often. Then again, a lot of the bush camps we saw were also busy which really leads one to ponder what is the best option. Highlights of the trip for me were Winton and Longreach, and most of outback Queensland. The Daintree was beautiful but damp and the waterfalls we saw were great, and I am surprised knowing I’m not a lover of hot and dusty that outback Queensland was my main highlight, but the friendliness and the atmosphere of these places really appealed.

Reset Nov 2001