Exmouth
I caught the bus south from Broome at 8.00 p.m.
It is when you drive or take a bus that you really appreciate how big Western Australia is. Next stop was to be Exmouth at 1.00 p.m. next day. There are only two ‘major’ intervening stops – Port Headland and Karratha
The bus has two drivers that make the whole trip from Broome to Perth – leaving Thursday night and arriving Saturday morning. As one is driving, the other one tries to sleep.
We passed through Port Headland at 2.40 a.m. It would have been interesting to see the port operations. I am not sure if they cater for tourists.
Safari
Exmouth seemed to be very quiet. There weren’t many people in the hostel apart from myself and two Irish girls with whom I travelled from Broome.
The only activity on offer was the Ningaloo Safari. We booked into the tour.
A rather strange vehicle turned up and out popped a bloke who introduced himself as Dave. The banter with the Irish girls started almost immediately. We picked up four more customers and headed off.
Hills
The first bit of the tour was a bit lame. It involved driving up a hill. There we looked at a gorge. That was about it.
Dave made it a little more interesting when he told us about the use of the Exmouth area during WWII. At one time it was a US Submarine base and the Learmonth airport was used a as a RAAF airbase from 1942 to the end of the war.
On the way back into town, we passed the Marina. This is a new development which seems a bit old. Apparently it has been going to a few years, however it is only now that some houses are being built.
US Base
Next stop was the old US base established in 1963 to support the US Navy Radio Base. In fact, it was the establishment of the base that was the reason that the town of Exmouth was established.
The old US base is derelict. It was typical of the an American base overseas – a little American town down to the Ten Pin Bowling Alley, Base Ball Park and swimming pool. Apparently the cars used on the base were left hand drive and drove on the right hand side of the road in the town of Exmouth.
The Radio base has been taken over by the ADF. The towers are pretty impressive. Check the Wikipedia link.
Lighthouse
There is an old light near the Radio Base. Typical of many for the coast lighthouses along the Australian Coast (e.g. Byron Bay and Otway) the building of the tower was a major achievement. It involved building a tram line to haul the building materials and equipment for the tower and light. After the lighthouse was complete, the tram line continued to be used to transport supplies.
National Park
The main part of the tour was in the Cape Range National Park. This includes the Yardie Creek gorge. Check out the Flickr Link. It is pretty spectacular.
A really interest part of the boat trip on the creek was seeing the Rock Wallabies. These Wallabies are really small and incredibly agile. They are able to climb and descend the cliffs in the gorge with apparent ease.
Dive on the reef
In the last hour of the tours we went for a quick dive on the Ningaloo Reef.
Check out the Flickr Link GOPRO 0039 photo of reef shark.
Flickr Link
Wikipedia Link about the US Naval Base
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Communication_Station_Harold_E._Holt
billrider2013 