Cue
From Fremantle we drove approx 670km to Cue for our first night. In 2006 its population was 328 so I would imagine it has dropped even more since then. It has the feel of a ghost town about it but still an interesting place to stay for one night and soak up the atmosphere of an old outback town. We stayed at the Queen of Murchison Hotel, which is now a B&B and had dinner at the pub across the road.
Cue was established in 1893 when gold was discovered – the roads are wide to accommodate the camel trains that were used in those days. A couple of the photos below show ‘pensioner huts’ which were moved from the Big Bell mine sight in 1958 to provide accommodation for pensioners. Until a few years ago, they appear to have still been in use but are now currently unoccupied and in need of repair.
Old Gaol – Cue, Western Australia
Pensioner Cottages at Cue, Western Australia
Pensioner Cottage at Cue, Western Australia
Cue, Western Australia
Cue, Western Australia
Cue, Western Australia
Cue, West Australia
Queen of Murchison Hotel – Cue, West Australia
Karijini National Park
Our second night was actually spent in Newman but the less said about that place the better! (Mind you I did have the best meal of the whole trip at the Seasons Hotel so it wasn’t all bad).
We spend three nights at the Karijini Eco Retreat. With hindsight two nights probably would have been enough but it was a wonderful place to stay.Wildlife does include red kangaroos, euros, wallaroos, echidnas, geckos, goannas, bats, legless lizards and a large variety of birds and snakes including pythons but unfortunately for us we hardly saw anything apart from bats at Fern Pool and the odd lizard.It may have been something to do with the time of year we visited which was at the tail end of Spring so coming into the hot weather.  It was great to hear dingoes howling on our last night but unfortunately didn’t see them.
Karijini is the second largest national park in Western Australia and covers 1,550,390 acres.
Fortescue Falls, Karijini, Western Australia
Bat at Fern Pool, Karijini, Western Australia
Fern Pool, Karijini, Western Australia
Fern Pool, Karijini, Western Australia
Karijini, Western Australia
Karijini Eco Retreat, Western Australia
The view from our tent at Karijini Eco Retreat, Western Australia
Karijini Eco Retreat, Western Australia
Karijini, Western Australia
A huge termite nest at Karijini, Western Australia
Karijini, Western Australia
Karijini, Western Australia
Lizard at Karijini, Western Australia
Lizard at Karijini, Western Australia
My first attempt at a night sky long exposure – Karijini, Western Australia
Karijini, Western Australia
Fern Pool – Karijini, Western Australia
Fern Pool – Karijini, Western Australia
Karijini, Western Australia
Fortescue Falls – Karijini, Western Australia
Dragonfly at Fern Pool – Karijini, Western Australia
Fly at Fern Pool – Karijini, Western Australia
Exmouth
Nights 6 – 8 were spent at Yardie Homestead outside Exmouth, close to the Cape Range National Park. The area relies heavily on tourism. Exmouth was established in 1967 and in the 2011 census it had a population of 2,207 which swells during the tourist season to over 6,000. Temperatures often reach over 40 degrees Celsius in summer.
Cape Range has spectacular gorges and covers an area of 506 square kilometres. We had hoped to see turtles nesting whilst we were there, but although we saw tracks and large dips in the sand where eggs had been laid we didn’t see any turtles come up onto the shore. We did see plenty of heads bobbing about in the ocean though!
Kangaroos at Exmouth, Western Australia
Galah sourcing water at Yardie Creek Homestead nr Exmouth, Western Australia
I think this may be a Sea Eagle at Mangrove Bay nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Mangrove Bay, nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Mangrove Bay nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Golden Ghost Crab nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Nr Exmouth, Western Australia
White Cockatoos – Yardie Creek Nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Yardie Creek Nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Lighthouse Nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Emu Nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Fishing at idyllic Sandy Bay, nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Sandy Bay nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Paradise Bay nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Paradise Bay nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Drift snorkelling at Oyster Stacks nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Drift snorkelling at Oyster Stacks, nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Drift snorkelling at Oyster Stacks, nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Drift snorkelling at Oyster Stacks, nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Drift snorkelling at Oyster Stacks, nr Exmouth, Western Australia
We stayed for three nights at Yardie Homestead nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Yardie Homestead nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Crested Pigeon at Yardie Homestead nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Galahs pretending to be bats at Yardie Homestead nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Galah pretending to be a bat at Yardie Homestead nr Exmouth, Western Australia
Coral Bay
We spent two nights at Coral Bay which is a small town approx 1,200 kilometres north of Perth. It relies mainly on tourism and fishing. The Ningaloo Reef is a popular diving and snorkelling site with a large variety of coral and fish life and is one of the best places to see whale sharks and manta rays. We did go out on a manta ray cruise but only saw one of these giants (which measured approx three and a half metres in width – some get up to eight metres in size!) and visibility unfortunately was not very good due to weather conditions which had stirred up the sand in the water.
Pelican at Coral Bay, Western Australia
Coral Bay, Western Australia
Snorkelling at Coral Bay, Western Australia
Snorkelling at Coral Bay, Western Australia
Snorkelling at Coral Bay, Western Australia
Our ride to swim with Manta Rays – Coral Bay, Western Australia
Shark Bay – Monkey Mia
Regrettably we had only booked two nights and one full day at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay but we loved it so much that we are going back for a four night stay next year – it is a place to truly relax.
Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site covering an area of 5,438,550 acres, approximately 800km from Perth. In the 2011 Census there was a population of less than 1,000 people with none permanently living at Monkey Mia as there is only one resort there.
Shark Bay is home to about 10,000 dugongs (sea cows) which equates to 12.5% of the world’s population. They feed on the seagrass meadows which cover over 1,200,000 acres of the bay.
Dolphins have been visiting Monkey Mia since the 1960s and Rex saw them in his youth before the resort was built and before it turned into a tourist attraction. Their feeding is strictly monitored and managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife which is a good thing as interaction with humans is kept to a minimum and their health and wellbeing is the prime purpose. They do come in most days but their attendance is not guaranteed.
A beach close to Denham, Shark Bay – Western Australia
Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
The view from our Beach Room at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
Swallows at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
Swallow at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
The crowds gather to watch the local dolphins come to shore at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
Monkey Mia, Western Australia
Mia, Western Australia
Mia, Western Australia
Monkey Mia, Western Australia
Pelican at Monkey Mia, Western Australia
On the lookout for marine life aboard Longshot at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
We got a brief glimpse of the elusive Dugong (10,000 population in the area but we only saw one aboard Longshot) at Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
Monkey Mia, Shark Bay – Western Australia
Kalbarri
Kalbarri was our home for the next three nights. It is approximately 600km from Perth and when we visited was relatively quiet due to the end of the tourist season. The area has some spectacular scenery/coast line and is where the Murchison River meets the ocean. Again, this town relies heavily on tourism and fishing.
Attractions include the Kalbarri National Park, the Murchison River and daily pelican feeding.
Nature’s Window is spectacular and a very popular place for photographers. It overlooks hundreds of kilometres of the Murchison River.
Our three night stay at Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Man’s negative impact on wildlife is everywhere – Kalbarri, Western Australia
Pelican feeding at Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Pelican feeding at Kalbarri, Western Australia
A disagreement over a fish! – Kalbarri, Western Australia
Wildflowers at Kalbarri, Western Australia
Wildflowers at Kalbarri, Western Australia
Australian bush cockroach at Kalbarri, Western Australia
At Nature’s Window at Kalbarri, Western Australia
At Nature’s Window in Kalbarri, Western Australia – this spider had positioned his web over the walkway down to Nature’s Window
At Nature’s Window in Kalbarri, Western Australia
At Nature’s Window in Kalbarri, Western Australia
Nature’s Window in Kalbarri, Western Australia
At Nature’s Window in Kalbarri, Western Australia
Nature’s Window in Kalbarri, Western Australia
Nature’s Window in Kalbarri, Western Australia
Kalbarri, Western Australia
Wildflowers at Kalbarri, Western Australia
Wildflowers at Kalbarri, Western Australia
Wildflowers at Kalbarri, Western Australia
A local at the local pub in Kalbarri, Western Australia
Novel plant display at Sanford’s House nr Port Gregory, Kalbarri, Western Australia
Inside one of the rooms to be renovated at Sanford’s House nr Port Gregory, Kalbarri, Western Australia
Sanford’s House nr Port Gregory, Kalbarri, Western Australia
The old stables at Sanford’s House nr Port Gregory, Kalbarri, Western Australia
Ruins of a convict depot at Sanford’s House nr Port Gregory, Kalbarri, Western Australia (1853 – 1856)
Ruins of a convict depot at Sanford’s House nr Port Gregory, Kalbarri, Western Australia (1853 – 1856)
Hutt Lagoon nr Port Gregory, Western Australia
Hutt Lagoon nr Port Gregory, Western Australia
Our picnic spot on the Murchison River, Kalbarri, Western Australia
Our boat for the afternoon on the Murchison River, Kalbarri, Western Australia
Spot the mermaid! – Murchison River, Kalbarri, Western Australia
Murchison River, Kalbarri, Western Australia
Healthy bush – Kalbarri National Park
Burnt bush the other side of the road – Kalbarri National Park
A road of two halves – perhaps the road acted as a fire break – Kalbarri National Park
Cervantes and Lancelin
We reluctantly left Kalbarri knowing that our road trip was almost at an end. We travelled towards Cervantes stopping at Northampton on the way (a quaint town where we were sad to see many shops closing down due to lack of trade), before stopping at Okabella Homestead (a few kilometres outside Northampton) which was supposed to be haunted, for a cream tea in the tea shop. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to stay for a tour.
We then visited the Pinnacles Desert before reaching our last night’s stay location of Lancelin and then all too soon our wonderfully diverse and spectacular trip was over but the memories will last a lifetime!
Okabella Homestead, nr Northampton, Western Australia
Okabella Homestead, nr Northampton, Western Australia
Okabella Homestead, nr Northampton, Western Australia
Okabella Homestead, nr Northampton, Western Australia
The Pinnacles Desert, Cervantes, Western Australia
The Pinnacles Desert, Cervantes, Western Australia
The Pinnacles Desert, Cervantes, Western Australia
The Pinnacles Desert, Cervantes, Western Australia
The Pinnacles Desert, Cervantes, Western Australia
Banksia, The Pinnacles Desert, Western Australia
Wildflower, The Pinnacles, Western Australia
Snake under the stairs of a lookout at The Pinnacles Desert, Western Australia
The Endeavour Tavern, Lancelin, Western Australia
The Endeavour Tavern, Lancelin, Western Australia
The last photo of our Road Trip!
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Millie Moo Photography 