WA Travel Destinations

1
Western
Australia
2014
Dave Treanor
2
Dave & Pam at lake Thetis near Cervantes
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Photographs by Dave and Pam Treanor
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3
Our itinerary
Thur 2nd Woke up in luxury of Scarborough
Rendezvous hotel, went out for breakfast, and
spent the morning sorting out Pam’s bank card
before collecting the camper. Drove to Ledge End
and camped for the night.
Thur 9th Dentist repaired Dave’s tooth. Stayed a
second night at Canarvon
Fri 10th Drove to Coral Bay and camped at
People’s Park Caravan Park. Snorkelling off the
beach. Booked snorkel trip for the next day.
Fri 3rd Drove to the Pinnacles near Cervantes, Sat 11th
Boat to the outer reef to swim with
and had lunch at Lake Thetis, looking at the manta rays. Another night at People’s Park.
stromatolites. Drove to S-Bend just south of
Sun 12th Drove to Exmouth and stayed at Yardie
Greenough and camped for the night.
Creek Homestead Caravan Park. Night walk to
Sat 4th Visited Ellendale Pool, skipped past look for turtles, but only found kangaroos.
Geraldton and visited Port Gregory with the Pink
Mon 13th Bird hide, Mandu Mandu Gorge,
Lake. Camped outside Kalibarri at the Muchison
and stayed at the Yardie Creek campsite (by the
Homestead Campsite beside the river, cooking
beach).
steak on a campfire.
Tues 14th Early morning snorkelling at Turquoise
Sun 5th
Explored Kalibarri National Park.
Bay, followed by a second visit to the bird hide
Drove to Denham, stopping to see stromatolites
and back to Exmouth. Pam finally got her bank
at Hammelin Pool. Supper at a pub.
card and eventually her PIN. Stayed at Ningaloo
Mon 6th Early start to see dolphins being fed at Caravan and Holiday Resort.
Monkey Mia, and booked a boat trip for the next
Wed 15th Drove up Charles Knife Road into the
day. Walked on a trail around Monkey Mia. Then
Cape National Park. Then a long drive to Tom
a tough 100 km 4WD through the Francoise
Price, with a puncture on the way. Stayed in the
Peron National Park, and back to the campsite at
caravan park at Tom Price.
Denham.
Thur 16th Hammersly Gorge, followed by lunch
Tues 7th Trip on the Aristocat to view Dugongs.
at Weano Gorge, Junction lookout and Oxer
Then drove to Wooramel River Retreat and
lookout. Camped at the Eco Retreat.
camped beside the dried up river bed with
another campfire.
Fri 17th Walk up Kalamina Gorge, visitor centre,
Fortescue Falls, Circular Pool and Dales Gorge,
Wed 8th To Carnarvon. Visited the blowholes
then back to Tom Price for the night.
and stayed at Coral Tourist Park close to the centre, eating out for lunch and supper.
Sat 18th Visit to the Tom Price mine. Long drive
to camp at Manilya Roadhouse.
4
Sun 19th Another marathon drive to Kalbarri,
with lunch at the Ross Graham lookout, and
camped at Port Gregory.
Mon 20th Drove to Lesueur National Park, and
visited Stockman’s Gully, searched for Drover’s
cave, and then camped at Cervantes with an
evening trip to the Pinnacles and Kangeroo
Point.
Tues 21st
Drove to Yanchep National Park,
walked around the lake and visited caves and
Koalas. Camped in Yanchep.
Wed 22nd
Drove south of Perth to Serpentine
National Park, and camped at Bunbury after an
evening stroll around the old town.
Thur 23rd
Wellington dam and area around
Collie, then down to Dunsborough, and camped
at Yallingup.
Fri 24th
Visited Ngilgi Cave, then drove to
Margaret River, with lunch at a winery restaurant. Stayed at Big Valley Campground.
Sat 25th Walk in the Karri Forest, then drove to
Augusta for lunch overlooking a beach. Camped
at Donnybrook.
Sun 26th Explored the forests around Harvey and
Collie, and camped near the beach at Billingup.
Mon 27th Visited the Thrombolites at Clifton
Lake and took a walk. Camped at Freemantle
after a walk around the older parts of the city.
Cleaned the van at Mandurah.
Tues 28th Walked around the John Fraser
National Park east of Perth, and camped nearby.
Wed 29th Dropped our bags at a hotel in Perth
and took the campervan back. Then explored
Perth.
Perth to Geraldton
5
Perth to Geraldton
Executive
luxury at the
Scarborough
Rendezvous
hotel
Ledge End
beach near
our first
campsite
Desert flowers
in Nambung
National Park
Our home for
the next four
weeks parked at
the Pinnacles
We walked right
around the
Pinnacles. They
are of limestone,
formed at the
bottom of a sea
Black winged
stilts in Hutt
lagoon near
Port Gregory
6
Pinnacles near Cervantes
Greenough & Port Gregory
Ellendale pool south of Geraldton, near our second
campsite at S bend, found on Wikicamp
Pink lake near Port Gregory. The colour is beta-carotene produced by
Daniella Salina algae in the salty water, and farmed as a food dye.
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8
Lake Thetis
Hamelin Pool
We saw Stromatolites first at Lake Thetis south of
Cervantes and later at Hamelin Pool near Shaark
Bay. They date back 3.5 billion years and put the
first oxygen into the air, on which most later life
depended. The rock-like structures are built by
blue-green algae (single celled Cyanobacteria).
They are only found in extremely salty water.
Both Thetis and Hamelin contain sea water
filtered through sandbanks and then concentrated when evaporated by the sun. Nearby are
salt pans. The water gets veery warm (45oC in
summer), and this combined with the saltiness
means they have little competition.
They grow very slowly at 0.3 mm a year, so some
of these specimens are at least 5,000 years old.
To the right is a Skink.
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10
Kalbarri
Kalbarri
Murchison River
Campsite, a wild
and wonderful
spot
Cormorant? in
a tree not far
from our camp
A beetle
Murchison
Homestead
had lots of
derelict tracked
vehicles
Llamas at the
Murchison
Homestead
The
Murchison
river
Kalbarri National Park 11
Murchison River campsite: no power but a campfire beside the
river with lots of bird life and interesting vegetation.
Murchison river gorge in Kalbarri national park
12
Nature’s Window & Kalbarri Coast
Shark Bay & Monkey Mia 13
Shark Bay &
Monkey Mia
Pam walking
round Peron
point
A shark
waiting to be
fed at Monkey
Mia
Desert flowers
on our walk
around Monkey
Mia
A floating pearl
farm we visited
during the boat
trip
Relaxing with a
coffee at Monkey
Mia
Emus have
become the
scavengers at
Monkey Mia
campsites
14
Dolphin feeding at Monkey Mia
Drive through Francois Peron National Park 15
16
Beach at Cape Peron
The beach at Peron Point after a 50 km 4WD through soft sand,
and then another 50 km back to Denham: more pictures overleaf.
Pied cormorants gather in their thousands.
On our second morning we took a trip on the Aristocat to see the
Dugong, some pearl farming and other local marine life
Cape Peron and The Aristocat 17
18
Around Monkey Mia & Francois Peron National Park
Pelicans get fed
from a yellow
bucket to keep
them away from
the shark feeding
Pelicans are
remarkably
graceful in flight
for such an
inelegant bird
Kids having
fun in the
boom net as
the Aristocat
sailed back
towards the
shore
This guy caught
a couple of
very large pink
snappers, and
I watched him
bringing his
boat in.
Pam walked
around Peron
Point while I
sat in a shady
cave watching
the world go by,
relaxing after a
rather arduous
drive.
Wildlife on the Aristocat cruise 19
Dugongs graze
on seagrass on
the bottom of
Shark Bay in
3 to 6 metres
of water. They
come to the
surface to
breathe every
five minutes or
so then glide
back down with
a little flick of
their tail fin
A mantra ray
basking near
the surface
A pied
cormorant,
locally known
as a ‘shag’.
20
Wooramel River Campsite and the Blowholes
Carnavon
Galah at
Wooramel River.
The river gums
photo opposite
was taken by
moonlight with a
45 second shot
Pam in the
dried up river
bed. WA is
in the middle
of a four year
drought
Colourful bird
Our Land
Cruiser at the
Blowholes
A salty puddle at
the Blowholes
Pam at the
Blowholes
Wooramel River campsite 21
22
The Blowholes north of Carnavon
Snorkelling cruise from Coral Bay 23
Coral Bay
Pam after
snorkelling in
Coral Bay
Dave after
swimming
with the
manta rays
A reef shark
about 1.5 metres
Parrot fish
Pink snappers
and a variety
of smaller fish
hanging around
the boat
Brain coral
24
Snorkelling cruise from Coral Bay
Snorkelling cruise from Coral Bay 25
26
Exmouth peninsular
Exmouth
Pam snorkeling
in Turquoise
Bay, which
was certainly
our best beach
snorkel
Early morning
was the best
time to see
wildlife. This
was on our way
to Turquoise
Bay
Emus also
sighted on our
way to Turqhoise
Bay
Eastern
Ospreys beside
the information
centre for Cape
National Park.
A sea eagle
viewed from
the bird hide
near Mangrove
beach, where
we also saw
Striated Herons
White Egrets,
a Kestrel,
Pelicans and
Whimbrel
Exmouth peninsular 27
The Exmouth
peninsular
is covered in
termite mounds,
stretching over
more than 100
km
A couple of
Busteds on the
road south to
Yardie Creek
28
Exmouth peninsular
This looks like a
Striated Heron,
coming in to
land. The photo
below shows it
standing.
White Egret
at the inlet
viewed from the
bird hide near
Mangrove Beach
Exmouth peninsular 29
These crabs
hide in their
holes beneath
the mangroves,
all waving their
yellow pincers
in unison before
emerging. Any
movement
causes them to
withdraw into
their holes,
moving like a
single organism
A couple of
fledglings at
Yardie Creek
waiting for their
mother (above)
to return with
some food.
30
Mandu Gorge and Turquoise Bay
Pam walked
through Mandu
Mandu Gorge
while Dave sat
in the shade of a
tree, nursing his
sore knee
For one moment
I thought that
the red-faced
fish was a turtle
hiding behind
a lump of coral.
But on closer
examination it is
clearly a fish
Snorkelling from Turquoise Bay 31
32
Snorkelling from Turquoise Bay
This cuttlefish
looks just like the
rocky coral it was
sitting on, and I
would not have
seen it if it hadn’t
moved.
Turquoise Bay
was teaming with
colourful fish.
We were first in
at around 9.00
am and followed
three reef
sharks, as well
as vast variety of
colourful fish.
This shark was
about five foot
long
Karijini 33
Karijini
The rocks at Karijini include some of the best deposited on top of them over hundreds of milpreserved fragments of the world’s original con- lions of years. The extraordinarily flat layering
tinental crust.
shows that the central part of the Hamersley
Basin has been stable for billions of years..
They were laid down when life was restricted to
simple algae and cyanobacteria, the oldest liv- At some point molten rock was extruded from the
ing descendants of which are the stromatolites earth’s mantle. The iron filtered through the layformed by microbes that put the first oxygen into ers creating the banded iron formations, weaththe atmosphere. A fossil of early stromatolites ered to the rusty red that covers the landscape.
was found nearby in the northern Pilbara dating
Rich iron ore deposits were discovered in the sixback 3.5 billion years
ties, and the Tom Price mine was developed soon
A mix of volcanic and sedimentary rocks were after.
Layers of
different
coloured rock
at Hamersley
Gorge
Circular pool at
Dales Gorge
Pam at the
Eco Campsite
in Karijini
34
35
Top left
(opposite page)
was a quiet rest
area we visited
on the road to
Tom Price.
Below it is
a view from
the road into
Karijini.
Above is the pool
in Hamersley
Gorge.
Below that is
Kalamina Falls
36
Four gorges meet
at The Junction.
This is one of
them as viewed
from Oxer’s
Lookout.
37
Kalamina gorge
has what looks
almost like a
pavement of flat
sedimentary
rock at the
bottom,
We walked
some way down
Kalamina
Gorge in the
early morning,
avoiding the
midday sun
38
A lizard whose
colours perfectly
mimic the red
earth of the
Karijini gorges
A spinafex pigeon
Red dragonfly
and grey one
both at Kalamina
Gorge
The geologists say
the rocks here are
too old to contain
fossils. So what
are these? Or are
they in a layer of
rock laid down
much later?
39
The Tom Price
mines producei
13% of the
world’s iron ore,
more than 200
million tons
a year. It was
opened in the
early 1970s.
A whole
mountain has
been removed
and the hole in
the ground now
plunges down
almost as far
again.
The operation is
mind bogglingly
immense. They
built a railway
nearly 400 km
to the coast at
Dampier, and
a port to carry
the ore all over
the world, with
China being the
biggest buyer.
This one mine
complex drives
the economy
of Western
Australia. Much
of the machinery
is controlled
from offices
in Perth. It is
gradually being
automated.
Soon they will
no longer need
drivers for the
huge ore trucks.
Each costs AUD
3 million, and
has wheels
almost 3 metres
high.
40
Travelling south
The Murchison
River gorge
near the Ross
Graham lookout
in Kalibarri
A rock worn
by regular
drips of
water, at Ross
Graham
Sunset from Port
Gregory, where
we camped after
Kalbarri
Dirt track
driving to the
Stockyard
Gully
Flowers at
Lesueur
National Park
A second visit
to Pinnacles
Park at dusk
on our way
south
41
Looking across
the desert
towards Hamelin
Pool from the
main road
The entrance to
Stockyard Gully
Tunnel with wild
bees nesting on
the cliff wall
42
The exit from
Stockyard Gully
Tunnel, which
is about 250
metres long and
completely dark
in the middle. It
is at the end of a
very sandy 4WD
track. We drove
an even worse
one searching for
Drover’s Cave
without finding
it.
A grass tree,
sometimes known
as a ‘blackboy’, in
Lesueur National
Park
43
Native Violet
in Lesueur
National Park
Kangaroo at
Kangaroo
Point on our
way back to
Cervantes
Caravan Park
Banksia in
Lesueur NP
This brave
little western
wattlebird was
dive bombing
a large crow
too near its
nest
Purple backed
wader at
Yanchep
National Park
Kookaburra at
Yanchep
Koala at
Yanchep
National Park
Wellington
dam
44
Crystal cave in
Yanchep National
Park - Pam and
I were the only
people on a
tour with a very
chatty guide who
was a mine of
information
Serpentine
Falls has an
almost perfect
swimming pool,
very popular with
local teenagers
45
An historic hotel
in Bunbury.
We had a most
enjoyable stroll
around the old
town in the
evening
Bunbury
lighthouse
46
Margaret River
The beach at
Yallingup
Gnomesville
Ngilgi cave very extensive
with wonderful
stalagmites
It was cold and
wet when we
walked through
the Carri forest
Lunch at the
Laurence
Winery
47
The shoreline at
Yallingup was
partly rocky,
with broad
beaches and
plenty of surfing
The Karri forests
had very tall and
straight trees
48
The ‘Torpedo
walk’ from
Ngilgi Cave
through beautiful
parkland
associated with
the Cave Hotel
The banksia
flower and the
seed cone it
turns into once
fertilised
49
A red tailed
black cockatoo,
one of the rarest
birds we saw in
the Karri forest
A beach
atAugusta
50
Last few days
Holfman’s Mill
was closed in the
sixties. It was a
timber mill, fed
by old rail lines.
Aloes at
Holfman’s
Mill
These green
parrots were
everywhere,
making a noise
like a creaky
stapler
An old hotel in
Freemantle
Our graphic
design office
in Western
Australia
51
Dave on the
remains of an
old railway
bridge near
Holfamn’s Mill
The Harvey and
Stirling dams
created a huge
lake used to
supply drinking
water to Perth
52
Ant hill and large
grass trees on our
walk around Lake
Preston
53
A thicket by Lake
Preston on our
walk
Red banksia
The broken
trunk of a grass
tree, showing its
structure
A dead snake on
our path
Dave on the
Preston Lake
walk
54
Thrombolites
at Clifton Lake
about 130
km south of
Perth. They are
similar to the
strombolites
we saw further
north, formed
by primitive
microbes
extracting
calcium
carbonate from
salty water to
create mushroom
shaped
structures, 2000
years old
Walking through
the John Fraser
National Park
east of Perth on
our last day with
the campervan
55
We spent out last
day at the John
Fraser National
Park east of
Perth. This is one
of the larger and
more complex
waterfalls that
prompted its
creation.
Lake and a rock
pool in the John
Fraser National
Park
A couple of the
flowers in the
park
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58
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