Tom Price to Carnarvon to Mt Augustus and back to Carnarvon

Sunday 21 July – Tom Price to Bullara Station (86 klm south of Exmouth)

Road from Tom Price

Leaving Tom Price at 8 am, we fueled up and took the longish drive (478 klm) going north out of town, away from Paraburdoo initially, on good dirt road then via Nanutarra/Wittenoom Road then the North West Coastal Highway 1 to a cattle station stay called “Bullara”, some 80 klm before Exmouth. As we came closer to Bullara we started to cross over 20-30 metre high sand dunes about a kilometre apart.

We arrived around 3.30 pm and topped up wash water with bore water before selecting a site with a bit of privacy but still near the communal fireplace.

The start of happy hour and the deteriorating dinner menu

At 5 pm the central campfire was lit and everyone gathered for drinks while some cooked steaks on the BBQ plate for dinner. A couple by the name of Ray and Brenda were talking to us and we discovered that they had sailed around the world a couple of times, the last time taking seven years. I was fascinated by their travel stories of sailing around Arnhem Land (Darwin to Broome), spending a year in Turkey, a month in Egypt, Tahiti, etc etc.

Julie's empties, Bullara Station

Now they are travelling Australia, for a second time, the first time in an A-Van and this year in a tent. As it turns out they know my sister’s yachty friends Mike and Sue – small world.

This station stay is very friendly with the nightly fire providing a great way to meet our fellow travellers. Due to the extended happy hour – 4.30 to 8 pm – Julie changed the dinner menu three times allowing for the time of night, the cold, the remaining level in the champagne bottle, her interest in cooking anything at all and my alleged declining appetite. Pasta it was!

Our plan is to leave around 8 am tomorrow morning, head into Exmouth, take on fuel and water, collect the mail from the Post Office and head into Cape Range NP for three nights of bush camping in the national park. I write this because we were told tonight that people queue to get into the national park from 3 am in the morning as there are limited pre-bookings and it is first in best dressed - it would be pajamas at that time of night! So we will see how reality matches plans tomorrow.

Monday 22 July – Bullara Station to Cape Range National Park via Exmouth

We certainly had a reality check today. The Cape Range NP sites were all very definitely fully booked. We ended up booking into a caravan park between Exmouth and the start of the National Park. Once settled, we drove into and along the length of the NP stopping in to look out at Ningaloo Reef offshore then headed back up to the Lighthouse for a more expansive view of the reef and to watch some whales at play.

The Park hasn't changed much at all in the 16 years since I was last here except that you can’t get in to camp there. The fellow we spoke to at Bullara Station a couple of nights ago had booked 6 months ago to be assured of a site and will stay a month. As an interstate traveler it is impossible to accurately predict when we might arrive at such a distant place so we were content enough to stay in the van park just a few kilometres out of the national park. 16 years ago I stayed at Pilgrimunna campground in the NP for five nights and we had the place to ourselves. Now it is fully booked all the time.

Pilgrimunna, Cape Range NP - old camp spot behind me.

Tuesday 23 July – Day 2 Cape Range NP

We returned to the Lighthouse this morning as we can get phone/internet reception here that we can’t get back at the van park. The weather has turned overcast and windy. On the way back we stopped in at one of the many beach access points and watched the waves pounding the foreshore, frolicking turtles, larger fish jumping out of the water chasing smaller fish and flying fish flying through the air - all this just in front of where we sat. Back at the van park we settled in for a quiet afternoon relaxing around camp and listening to the conversations around us. We realised most of our fellow campers are regulars and know each other quite well as they escape from the Perth winter for a long stay up north each year.

Life in the van park revolves around fishing and when they are not fishing they are talking about fishing after which they eat the fish then prepare for fishing the next day. If they can’t go fishing they talk about how bad the fishing is this year compared to the last 20 years they have been coming up here. The mean length of stay is 5 months each year to avoid the cold and rain down south. The most common career before retirement is farming. Farming is just the same as fishing – this year is the worst it’s ever been.

Wednesday 24 July – Day 3 Cape Range NP

One of the gorges near Exmouth

We woke to a shower of rain this morning – not heavy but just enough to encourage a sleep in and a lazy day. However we talked to our neighbour, who comes here every year for 5 or 6 months to fish and get away from the Perth cold. She suggested a few places to visit so off we headed into Exmouth then further out along bitumen then dirt road to a 360 degree lookout over beautiful deep gorges and across to the ocean and distant Cape Range National Park. Had we known, we would have prepared for a long walk in the area.

Thursday 25 July – Cape Range NP to Carnarvon

We broke camp early and took off for our four and a half hour drive to our three day stay in Carnarvon. On the way, we re-planned our week and changed to a two night stay in Carnarvon followed by a five night trip to remote Mt Augustus and Kennedy Range NP then back again for 3 nights in Carnarvon. So that’s how our week is shaping up however in the meantime we spent the afternoon cleaning dirt/dust/soil from every hard surface in and out of the van and car. The washing machine worked overtime so that we are ready for the next stage of our trip. Sometimes a day of two just cleaning up is required as the red dust gets into everything.

Friday 26 July – Day 2 Carnarvon

We woke to a cloudy and a bit of a windy day. We did the supermarket shuffle and the rounds of the Tourist Information Centre. It was here we were told that the dirt roads to Kennedy Range and Mt Augustus are closed. The cloud in Carnarvon is rain out west. We remain hopeful that the roads will dry tomorrow and reopen in the afternoon or the next day. Based on this hope we will head off early tomorrow for Gascoyne Junction some 170 klm east and see how we go.

Carnarvon has a 1 Mile Jetty built in 1910 that is a mile long and juts out to sea. We visited the jetty and noticed it jutting into the sea for about a mile. We walked its length dodging the little train that ferries sensible people who decide to catch it to the end. The jetty is held together by the hard work of local volunteers and funding from State and Federal grants. It is no longer commercially used and remains a great tourist attraction for the town.

Carnarvon's 1 Mile Jetty

Saturday 27 July – Leaving Carnarvon to Kennedy Range NP via Gascoyne Junction

We filled everything we had with diesel then headed off towards Mt Augustus 440 klm away. Arriving in Gascoyne Junction we discovered that the roads to Mt Augustus and Kennedy National Parks were still closed.

We decided to use up some time by fueling up but the 24 hour garage due to open in May 2013 was yet to be finished so there was no fuel to be bought because it was not a weekday during business hours. We did see a little cardboard sign near a closed community centre that gave a mobile phone number and for an extra $10 on the total of your fuel bill someone might come and open the bowser if they are around. We decided to wait and see what we ended up doing by when.

Gascoyne Junction - looks good but not open

We then found that the new caravan park with new facilities, 12 powered sites and numerous unpowered sites, a playground for kids and boasting a new shop as well had also not yet opened. We saw a few vans parked in a paddock near the local AFL footy field and a community hall so down we went to find out that there was no fuel until Monday, the van park has never opened, the roads were closed but we could camp in the paddock with them all for a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Donations were to be made at the closed community centre where the fuel was but it wasn’t because it was not a week day during working hours.

Our temporary camp in Gascoyne Junction

We set up everything and sat back to relax and after talking to the other campers we found out that a quiz night was to be held in the hall right next to us - $30 per head, all food and drinks included. This sounded good initially but then the more I thought about it the idea of having the whole of Gascoyne Junction full of fine foods and drink in a hall just 50 metres away from us, the more attractive the closed roads and the $22,000 fine for driving on them became.

At 3.10 pm I saw the semi-trailer waiting for the road to open drive off towards Mt Augustus – the roads were open! Julie and I reassessed our plans, packed the van up from a standing start in 12 minutes and headed off to Kennedy Range NP some 60 klm away. The dirt roads had received 40 mm of rain just two days before and they were still wet and greasy in patches underneath a thin layer of dust. After several creek crossings and a number of washouts we arrived safely in Temple Gorge Campground. The car and van travelled the roads well although I wouldn't want to have tried the roads any earlier.

First creek crossing where backpackers were washed off.

An old 4WD with two Irish backpackers left to go to Mt Augustus, along a different road, just before us. We later heard that at the first creek crossing they were washed off and had to be rescued by the local council fellow who had declared the road open. Off they went and hit another creek crossing 20 or so kilometres further on only to be washed off again. With one wheel sticking up in the air and on an angle they spent the whole night in the creek only to be rescued the next day. After arriving late that day at Mt Augustus Station where they had mustering work, the next morning the couple were straight into mustering cattle on the 1 million hectare property. The girl had been in Australia 4 days – what an introduction!

Kennedy Range campsite

We were set up by 5.30 pm and went to meet the other campers around the communal campfire controlled by the Camp Hosts. The others we spoke to had been in camp before the rains and had been stuck for 3 days. Apparently the campground was awash and they were stuck due to the flooded creek crossing just as you enter the place so are all ready to leave tomorrow. So a day that started with us planning to stay in Mt Augustus, then setting up to stay at Gascoyne Junction ended with us set up to stay in Temple Gorge campground, Kennedy Range NP with beautiful sunlit craggy mountains in the background.

Sunday 28 July – Day 2 Kennedy Range NP

Entrance to Honeycomb Gorge

Honeycomb Gorge

Kennedy Range NP is beautiful – when it’s dry, which it is now for us. We are camped below a red escarpment with sheer walls in places and crumbly sides in others. Our first morning here we were up early and headed off to Honeycomb Gorge and Sunrise View walks. These are short walks to interesting destinations.

Sunrise View

Returning back to camp we then did the hour-or-so Temple Gorge Walk before returning for morning tea. After this we headed off to do the tougher Escarpment Walk for three hours. This one took us high up above the campground and floodplains below. We spent a bit of time on the top of the escarpment with an old bloke on his week off from the mines and we ended up walking down together, all of us enjoying the company and safety from teaming up. We said our goodbyes at the bottom of the track and headed home for lunch.

Temple Gorge

With only one designated walk left we set off after lunch and completed the Drapers Gorge Walk where we again ran into the old bloke. Again we walked back together and shared our many walking stories. Again saying our farewells we headed back to camp for a well-earned rest.

Kennedy Range NP should be added to any itinerary if travelling this way. It is ruggedly beautiful with spectacular sunsets and sunrises. The rock formations are striking and the escarpments fill our view from camp.

Top of the Escarpment

The campground is basic with a single drop toilet and no water or shade. We were lucky to even get in due to the rains but they have kept the dust down and stimulated the surge in wildflowers that occurs after them. The temperatures are mild and the clear skies at night are brightly lit up by the Milky Way due to the total absence of light pollution.

Drapers Gorge

Each night we’ve sat by the communal campfire and talked to small groups of travellers all of whom have interesting stories to tell.

Monday 29 July – Kennedy Range NP to Mt Augustus via Cobra

Up at daybreak (6.30 am) we had breakfast and broke camp. Overnight the dew was very heavy wetting the chairs, ground mat and everything left outside. Fortunately I had rolled up the awning but everything outside had to be packed away damp. First thing on arrival at Mt Augustus everything was unpacked and they quickly dried.

Being with Telstra we found we had reception even in the middle of nowhere - Mangaroon Station

A good bit of road on the way to Mt Augusta

The 275 klm trip north-east to Mt Augustus was all dirt, dust and dips in the road. Washouts and creek crossings were regular providing some good breaking practice with a caravan on the back. Initially we travelled at around 55-60 klm/hour but later the road got better, straighter and less affected by the recent rains and we were cruising along at 70-80 klm/hour. Dust billowed out behind us and managed to find its way into the van a little more than usual so it looks like I will be getting the sealant out again and climbing under the van. Both car and van performed extremely well, coping with the rough roads admirably.

Mt Augustus from 15 klm away

Around 30 klm from our destination, Mt Augustus started to loom out of the flat gibber plains in front of us. This mountain is often compared to Uluru with claims it’s twice the size and three times the age. Uluru is a monolith – formed of a single block of stone. Mt Augustus is made up of different types of rock layer with its outer layer made up of sandstone and conglomerate and a core of granite and schist. It is three times older than Uluru but is not a monolith and to be honest I don’t even know if it is a rock. It’s all a bit confusing but either way we are here, it’s big (50 klm around its base), its high (650 meters to the top) and we are going to climb it. Lonely Planet describes it as a huge monocline.

View from camp with fire lit

This afternoon a couple (Bernie and Sue) we had met a few days ago in Gascoyne Junction spotted us and came over to say hello. He was having trouble with his camper brakes so we both fiddled around with them not knowing why they were doing what they were doing but figured if all the mud and dirt were hosed off everything, all moving parts were greased and oiled and if you stand over it all frowning and rubbing your chin they should work perfectly next day. All that effort earned me a beer from Bernie so we invited them both over to our half a 44 gallon drum fire pit for drinks looking at Mt Augustus while the sun set again in the west – wood and drum provided by the camp manager.

Mt Augustus at sunrise

Tuesday 30 July – Day 2 Mt Augustus

It did take 6 hours too.

One third the way up - spot our shadows

Nearing the top of Mt Augustus after almost 3 hours walking

The walk has three phases to it – the start, the middle and the end. When you come back down you do them in reverse order making sure the start is at the end. The 12 klm return walk climbs a total of 650 metres over varying and diverse terrain of rocky boulders, scree, sand, smooth creek bed stone and shale-like pealing sandstone. Standing on top of the summit cairn provides 360 degree views of the floodplains and mountains of this region. We signed the visitor book and ate our morning tea/lunch. Only eight of us climbed to the top today – two couples, including us, and a family of four. Having left early, we were first up and had the summit to ourselves for half an hour and met the others as we scrambled down. Interestingly the mountains in the distance are formed from the eroded marine seabed topcoat once on Mt Augustus.

The Summit Cairn

Mr Hat came along to Mt Augustus too

Arriving back at camp we signed ourselves back in to the Summit Walk register. After 6 pm the local national park camp hosts check the book and start a search for anyone not back. At 5 pm we lit the campfire and invited Bernie and Sue over for a drink as well a couple camped next to us in a renovated bread delivery truck. This second couple, Keith and Erica, run their truck on old cooking oil that smells of fish and chips (true story) when he first starts it up. He tells a funny story of starting it up near a flock of seagulls being fed by tourists. The seagulls all left the tourists and flocked behind the van looking for the fish and chips.

Wednesday 31 July – Day 3 Mt Augustus

Today was all about the base of Mt Augustus. The Aborigines lived around Mt Augustus for 1000’s of years leaving petroglyphs (stone etchings) in a number of sites. We first visited a permanent water hole called the Cattle Pool and walked for a kilometre or so along its banks. The billabong is lined with enormous river gums with one in particular located in a seasonal stream with its enormous tentacle like branches resting on the high banks of the stream and growing still further out. It is the biggest river gum I have ever seen. Speaking to a couple later on we found out that 30 years ago it was a popular free camp for travellers in these parts and that they had stayed here. Today it is a day use area only in the National Park but what a great bush camp it would make. Pelicans, cranes, diver birds and numerous other birds make this idyllic place their home.

Cattle Pool

Next stop was The Pound, a natural basin in the side of Mt Augustus where in the late 1800’s cattle were held here before being driven on hoof to Meekatharra some 10 to 12 days away. Combined with the Cattle Pool nearby the region was a great staging point for droving.

Flintstone Rock located at the start of yesterday’s Summit Walk is located in a gully of highly polished stone from years and years of flood waters coming down from Mt Augustus.

Flintstone Rock

A large capstone wedged securely in the gully bed contains numerous petroglyphs on the rocks underneath. Lying on our backs we slithered along the smooth, well-worn rocks to see the aboriginal carvings on the walls around us.

Under Flintstone Rock

Some of the petroglyphs under the rock

This was really special for us seeing such an unusual location for such carvings. Making like seals we slithered out from under the capstone and noticed some bones in a cave along the gully banks. I ventured down and discovered the cave had 1000’s of bones in it. I figured it had to be a dingo’s lair but I was very dubious about venturing too far into the cave for fear of disturbing whatever might be calling it home. I could not see the back of the cave and there were reasonable recent wallaby carcasses near the entrance. Peering in, all I could see were layers and layers of white bones stretching into the darkness of the cave for more than 10 metres before the light faded away.

Dingo's lair???

The remaining walks were much the same with some more petroglyphs and large river gums. We finished all the walks around lunch time and headed home for lunch as it was lunch time. The afternoon was spent chatting to people in the van park, reading to ourselves for the journey in to Carnarvon tomorrow and sitting around the campfire until the sun set again in the west. Clear skies, an orange sunset and the progressive unveiling of millions of stars in the nights sky ended a wonderful three nights at Mt Augustus.

Huge Red River Gum at Stockman's Camp - Mt Augustus

Thursday 1 August – Mt Augustus to Carnarvon

Today was a long drive on mostly unsealed road back to Carnarvon.

River crossing on the way back to Carnarvon

We left Mt Augustus at 7.15 am, stopped briefly for morning tea in the middle of nowhere and lunch at Gascoyne Junction, and arrived at our caravan park at Carnarvon at 2.15 pm. All was uneventful thank heavens. On arrival we started the now regular activity of ridding car, caravan and ourselves of various layers of dust. The car is completely dust proof but carries its share of dust on the outside, particularly in the wheels. The caravan lets a little in cupboards around the wheel arches but is excellent in comparison to what others are experiencing with their vans.

Friday 2 August - Day 2 Carnarvon

We took things relatively easy today just waiting around the caravan for the car to be serviced and catching up on "book work" and cleaning.

Saturday 3 August - Day 3 Carnarvon

A perfect day. After shopping at the local Farmer's Markets and Woollies followed by morning tea, we headed off to Point Quobba and Cape Cuvier about 60klm north of us along the coast.

The Blowholes

The weather was sunny and warm, the skies were cloudless. At the Blowholes we were mesmerized by the sheer force of nature sending columns of water 30 metres in the air.

After taking many photos of the water spurting skywards from many pressure points, we headed further north hugging the coastline on the dirt road, stopping frequently to watch numerous whales travelling north often quite close to the shore while they breached and fin flapped and generally cruised along.

Further north still at Point Cuvier down a difficult 4WD track to the waters edge, we saw the rusty remnants of the wreck of the Korean Star on fossilized coral rocks. Heading back we came across a huge goanna which charged into the bush before we could photograph it then more whales, including mothers with their calves, continuing on their annual journey north.

Tomorrow we head south to Denham and Shark Bay so this was a wonderful day to finish this part of the trip.