A Fortescue Roadhouse Breakfast

I will leave you to imagine why we were on the North West Coastal Highway by 06.40am the next morning, leaving behind a snoring neighbour in the campsite; Karratha and Dampier on our right and the ancient dolerite and quartz Karratha Hills on the left; suffice it to say that such an early start deserved a hearty breakfast and we were not disappointed at the Fortescue Roadhouse as you can see. In fact Rob’s only frustration was he couldn’t finish his plateful.

At road works we chatted to the young lad out from Perth who was holding the Stop/Go Slow sign. He worked 12 hour shifts for 4 weeks out of 5 on this contract and spent the off week exploring the area he was in, so we told him about the Seamen’s Centre in Dampier and the rock drawings we had seen. This length of road was also used as an emergency runway for the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) but we were out of luck as far as that experience goes. Malcolm’s car is fitted with an LPG tank in the boot and we used a little on this section just to make sure we got to Exmouth ok.

We had been looking forward to some snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef thinking we’re in the tropics so it will be warm, just like in Fiji, but had a rude surprise of chilly wind blasting in from the North West over the whole area. In the big, but clean and accommodating campsite people were packing up to leave to find somewhere a little warmer and more sheltered. To make the most of our time and as soon as we were pitched, we drove northwards from Exmouth to beautiful Bundegi Beach to see the wreck of the SS Mildura which pitched up onto the corner of the reef in 1907 during a cyclone. You can read how that event was formative in the decision to build a lighthouse nearby. She was carrying nearly 500 head of cattle and although they were released and given the chance to make it ashore, sadly few survived.

The beach itself was a wonderful cornucopia of shells, living sea creatures and birds. See the massive sea snail in the shell Rob is holding; I remember seeing shells of this shape before but tiny by comparison. Funny how all the emphasis is about getting offshore and seeing the reef and the whales when there are items of wonder right at one’s feet.

We drove to an elevated position nearby and, along with a handful of other folk bracing against the wind, watched humpback whales outside the reef just as we had watched them a few weeks before off Middleton Beach in King George Sound near Zoonie on the opposite coast of the continent. Guess we’ll be watching them from Zoonie next.

Then it was to the Lighthouse at Vlamingh Head where we learned that the European history of this place started barely 150 years ago and its (once American until 1992) Naval Communication Base is gaining in strategic importance by the day. Ningaloo Reef and its inhabitants is now a global tourist selling point.

Back in camp we decided to try the American themed Country and Western Pub over the road for a country western concert, beer and a pizza before experiencing the windiest night in the tent yet. The opposing sides of the tent fabric didn’t quite meet, but they weren’t far off and we were sandwiched in between!