Sun, 8th Dec, 2019 14 Mile Campground, Warroora Station to 9 Mile Campground, Cardabia Station, WA (exploring Coral Bay area)

7am 25.3 degrees, clear sky and strong wind which blew all night. Glad we had the lovely morning yesterday so we know how beautiful it can be here. Today it is just a choppy sea.

Decided to pack up and continue north. Back to the main bitumen road where Steve put the air back into the tyres – as there were 8 to do I put the kettle on for a cuppa.

Continued up the road and turned off into Coral Bay. History info in the brochure.

Nice entrance sign.

Only a small place with a hotel, resort, caravan parks and tourist activities – snorkelling, diving etc. We drove to the end. They are very definite about ‘no camping’ here.

Walked up the sand ridge to the lookout that the sand is claiming back.

View across to Ningaloo Reef then around into Bill’s Bay with a wide sand bank on the edge.

Walked down to the water, should have put our togs on. Wandered along the wide sandy edge looking out for fish. Saw a few stingrays, long-toms and little fish though the breeze has picked up which is rippling the water so we can’t see things as clearly as before.

Looking back to the lookout hill.

Chatted with a couple from Echuca who have been travelling for 5 years with their 3 sons. The boys were excitedly calling out about the fish they could see nearby with their goggles. Ningaloo is a fringing reef which is a bit different to our coral Great Barrier Reef but the fact you can walk off the beach here and swim over the coral covered in fish is certainly a big attraction rather than the expensive boat rides out to the reef from Cairns.

As we aren’t snorkelling I got the photos out of the brochure – a few different spots to check out the reef and fish around here.

It is still quite here as school holidays haven’t started yet but I imagine it will fill up over the Christmas-New Year break.

Had a cuppa and uploaded another day of my blog while we had good internet service. Rang Mum – all good there. There is a coastal track north but not for caravans so we decided to go on to where we will stay the night at 9 Mile Campground and then drive back to Coral Bay via the coastal track with just the truck.

Back out to the main road then north. Haven’t spotted any cattle on this station but noticed a couple of horses. Turned off onto a dirt track for 8km to the coast following the fence line. Very corrugated. Merv and Carele had been in here and had a good time fishing. Someone had told them that the track into 14 Mile was worse than this one – they got a bum steer on that as this one is much rougher. The camp is now called Bruboodjoo Point Campground as the Cardabia Station has been given back to the aborigines. Didn’t see any cattle – only hundreds of anthills.

Over a rise and we see the ocean again.

Pulled into the campground caretakers’ place, well back from the beach. At least they have an iron roofed shed to park their van under as it is going to be a hot day. Chatted with Judy and Richard and paid out $10 each for the night. They have been here since March (which they have been doing for a few years since they were originally from Exmouth) but the next caretakers didn’t arrive so they will stay on over the summer this time. Judy said the women elders of the Baiyungu Aboriginal Corporation have taken over the managing of the council so that if family members aren’t working or at school they don’t receive any of the royalties from this area. Well I suppose that’s something. She said the fences on this side of the main road were wrecked in a cyclone and haven’t been replaced. Another person has a sub-lease and runs his cattle on the east side of the road.

She suggested we park near some she-oaks by a sandridge to get some sun and wind protection. Not much shade but it has lessened the wind a bit.

We are a short walk from the beach. Certainly not as pretty as 14 Mile as there is more seagrass here.

Had lunch then headed off to explore the Coastal Access Track south to Coral Bay. Climbed up a ridge behind the caretakers’ place – looking back to our van.

Stopped at a look out on top of another sand ridge – not so pretty with the windy waves.

Up another track up a high dune, soft on top and down the other side to a sandbar marked as a good fishing spot. We need to let more air out of the tyres again to get down to these spots so just took a photo (zoomed in on the sandbar) and went back to the main track.

The anthills are pretty big here.

We are using Wikicamps to try and find the spots but it just shows the spot but no tracks. There is just the long coastal track shown on the Hema. We are trying to find The Lagoon and Oyster Bridge which is mentioned in the brochure. Turned off and over a couple of dunes. Not sure we were going the right way I climbed up the dune and took a photo of a nice view. According to Wiki this is Dog Rock and on Hema it is 5 Mile Bay. The average height of the sandridges here is 9 metres.

Lots of shells on top of the sand dune.

Obviously there are lots of tracks up and down the sand around here – it’s a bit confusing.

We continued along the main track and found a sign for Dog Rock and The Lagoon so turned into that one. Then a t-intersection said Oyster Bridge left and Dog Rock right – what happened to the Lagoon! The brochure doesn’t mention Dog Rock so we think what we saw before was actually the Lagoon.

Came to another intersection. Let air out of the tyres to get over the soft sand – much better. Followed the track to Dog Rock and it was what we looked at before. 

Not sure what is actually Dog Rock but the brochure said it was a unique snorkelling site. We walked around to the rocky point. Schools of little fish were in the shallows. Spotted a couple of turtles and cruising sharks in the shallows.

Out on the point looking south then north. The waves are crashing over the rocky point.

Back to the intersection and had a go at getting up this sand ridge but it was hot and we needed to let more air out so we gave up. I walked up to the top and there were more dunes to cross before we would get to the water. Looking back down on Steve and ‘Pat’.

Drove back to the intersection and followed the sign to Oyster Bridge but it went around and up a ridge then down into a valley then I realised that it was linked to the steep one we just tried to get up. I said to Steve to turn around so he sunk his boot in and wheeled us around in the very soft sand and zoomed back up the dune. Best bit of sand 4 wheel driving he has done and I didn’t have the video going – I was too busy holding on. 

We gave up trying to find Oyster Bridge – this is what we were trying to find.

Followed the coastal track back to the bitumen and headed back to Coral Bay. We turned off into a salt pan area where the airstrip is. The wind has whipped up the sand on the other side.

Drove out to Maud’s Landing which was once an important trading post for the wool producers of the remote North West Cape. There was remains of a wooden loading jetty but I did a quick run down to the beach and couldn’t see any remains.

Now we find a map showing Oyster Bridge and the Lagoon – we were in the right place just needed a light 4WD and lower tyre pressures to get there.

Back to Bills Bay for a late cuppa while Steve put some air back into the tyres. Very windy here – even the seagulls have decided the grass was a better place to hang out.

I found a memorial for the ‘Stefano’ and its crew of 14 Croatians and 1 Welsh lad who lost their lives in 1875 when the ship struck a reef during a cyclone. Two men survived, after a 3 month ordeal living in this desolate part of the country, after being rescued by an Aboriginal tribe.

Another memorial sign was on the wall of the toilet block for the schooner ‘Emma’.

Maybe we should have hired one of these to zoom up over the sand dunes.

Drove back out to the coastal track and headed back to 9 Mile Camp and our van.

Grabbed some drinks and nibbles and joined Richard and Judy for drinks. Their friends from Exmouth had arrived so we had a great time chatting. Guy drives machinery and had lots of stories about the big antennas there for the military. He had a bottle of Fiji Ratu Rum which he shared – delicious, it is a liqueur rum. The couple work at one of the hotels – she was French but is now an Australian citizen. She came to Australia 9 years ago and travelled around for 6 months ending up in Exmouth and that’s where she stayed. Her boyfriend is a chef and he is from Belgium.

Back to the van for a late dinner. The wind is still blowing but we are protected by the sand dune.