After a quiet night at the freecamp / gravel pit , we wake to a cooler morning and get organised . We have a 240 klm day - about 30klms bitumen , the rest gravel in various states of repair . Some needed repair , other sections were fine , the ones that needed a grader going over them really needed it . Then there was the 4wd section - about 40 klms of it , some of which was just crawling over rocks , then sandy corrugations , then tight sandy sections , uphills , downhills .
We drove down a straight road for 40 klms , then saw the bottom of Henri Freycinet Harbour , before starting our turn to the north .
The destination for today was toward Steep Point - the most westerly point of Australia !! After duelling with the corrugations on the road in , we finally got to the 4wd section . The first turn to the left took us 11 klms down to Zuytdorp Point and some blowholes , as well as an impressive cliff line.
The cliffs here are limestone - jagged potholed cliffs - about 50 m high , and are very porous . The ground approaching the cliffs is sand and rock with little vegetation - it’s like a moonscape !!
There are holes at sea level that stretch upwards through the cliff , creating blowholes , some of which appear half way up the cliff , there are 2 that bypass the cliff face and appear 20m from the cliff edge !! They do spurt sea spray and water up into the air , and make a loud woosh as they do it !!
From here we head north towards Zuytdorp Point , which is on the south side of False Entrance Bay . There are tracks taking you all directions , and you cant see where they are taking you . Some go over the sand dunes , others along and round them . The ute handled everything we through at it today and handled it well . We found our way down to the beach and parked - time for lunch after we picked up some plastic bottles , old ropes from nets , and other bit’s & pieces - they will go in a bin when we leave tomorrow .
The cliffs around the southern end of the bay were quite remarkable as well .
We then headed off further north , the track cutting up pretty badly and corrugations you could lose yourself in . The signs say allow 3 hours for the trip to the tip from the start of Useless Loop Rd , and they are pretty close - it may even take longer .
After going about 8klms , we turned and headed for home , the road was getting worse and if we had of continued on , we wouldn’t be getting out till after dark - not something we wish to do on this road !!
Stopping at the inlets to 2 of the salt works pens , I glimpsed over the side and spotted some fish . They were swimming near the pipe that goes under the road ( like a culvert ) , it must have been good for feeding as they didn’t move , even when we approached on foot . The fish were just under a metre long , and there was about 15 of them .
After reinflating tyres to 35psi , we headed off again , anywhere between 40 and 75 klms/hr due to the changing road surfaces .
We commented on the way in , wondering what would entice people to live out here ? There are 3 stations - Tamala , Nanga and Carrarang , then there’s the saltworks and an indigenous community. The land you pass through is covered in low scrub , some of which is very rocky , other parts are just long sand dunes . We did see goats , but nothing else - doubt anything else would survive .
Here’s a map to look at :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QL6xKWVsq8u_BmbnrTOFeurN_uE&usp=sharing
19/5/16
We had the camp spot to ourselves overnight - us and the rain - it sounds louder than it actually is in the van and it didn’t amount to much . With time to spare before we have to be in Exmouth , we decided to head in to Denham for a few days .
On the way in is Shell Beach , so we stopped for another look , plus there is a toilet there . It’s a bit ironic here , there is a sign saying “ Do not take shells from the beach “ when next door is a shell collecting business - they use it for road base , landscaping and all sorts of things , and they harvest it with scrapers !!
The skies were overcast , making the horizon hard to see , there was no wind and the water was reflecting the sky .
Arriving in town we headed along the water front and found so many cars and boat trailers. Car parks were full , they were parked beside the road , the boat trailer parking beside the boat ramp was full , the side streets had cars & trailers everywhere - we thought we’d be lucky to get somewhere to stay , there must be a fishing competition on .
Parking away from the caravan park , we then wandered up to the office - there was already 3 vans booking in ! Into the office and all was good , they’d fit us in no worries - we were in the overflow section up the top - not the one we had last year with water views , but at least we were in .
Watching all these other vehicles come in for the afternoon was entertaining , we had a couple of buses with trailers carrying a car & boat , a bus towing a boat on a tri axle trailer , and more and more cars & boats - we think there are more boats than caravans here at the moment !!
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