So what have I been up to the last few days? Well I spent the past 2 nights in Coral Bay, doing a bit of swimming, snorkeling and alot of partying at the backpackers. I took a snorkeling tour on a glass bottom boat, which provided excellent views of the fish and other marine life. We were taken to a site of a baby whale carcass, which had been picked clean by the reef sharks. The whale bones were massive, with ribs longer than the boat. Aparaently it had been used as training practice by the killer whales a few weeks earlier.
From Coral Bay I headed to Exmouth, unfortuantly I couldn’t take the Cordibia Ningaloo Rd as it was shut due to road works and storm damage. I visited the George Knife Canyon and spent some time walking a circuit to a lookout. The views from the eastern side of the Cape Range were supurb. I spent the night in the caravan park in Exmouth and caught up with some friends from Coral Bay for dinner. The morning of the 30th was spent touring Cape Range National Park as far as Turquoise Bay. Snorkel gear (which I was lacking) and a few days is a must for visiting Exmouth, something to keep in mind for next time.
The Exmouth Lighthouse
After lunch in Exmouth I headed towards Robe River, slightly South-West of Panawanica Rd, where I spent the night. All up I did over 300km yesterday. I picked Robe River to camp at as it was free and I was deciding if I should visit Millstream-Chichester National Park. Just outside of Panawanica there was a tree covered in old boots, I’m guessing the miners put them up there once they have finished.
The Boot Tree (treeus booteous)
Today I decided that visiting Millstream-Chichester National Park would be better spent than driving through Dampier, Karratha and Roebourne. The national park contain heaps of pools and gorges, situated on the Fortescue River and it would be an ideal place to camp for a few days at Crossing Pool.
Crossing Pool, Millstream-Chichester National Park
There was plenty of water around and the green of the trees was a stunning contrast to the red of the rocks that surround them. The visitors centre was worth the trip as it described the old homestead, the history of the park and the surrounding lands. Taking the homestead walk provided a view of the area through the eyes of a 12 year old and I found the sight of date palms next to ghost gums and paperbarks rather amusing. I couldn’t complete the homestead walk as it was flodded out in parts.
Paperbarks and Palm Trees
Python Pool, also in the National Park on the Roebourne Wittenoom Rd was also a good spot to visit but the water level was rather low and it was suffering from algal bloom. Snake River, 300m up the road, would be a good spot to camp for a night.
The Yule River at this point is empty and it would be a sight to see it flowing as it is rather wide. There are meant to be a few pools along the river near here but as I am on Munda Station I’m not going looking for them. Currently I’m trying to see if I can fit a visit to Marble Bar in on the way through, however as the Troopy is 1000km overdue for a service I think I’ll have to give it a miss.

