Western Australia adventures – Bush ‘n Beach Fishing Magazine

As I mentioned last month, Bremer Bay on the south coast of Western Australia seriously impressed us with its all-encompassing beauty.

Unfortunately we had to move on after a few days – there were still many miles to cover and places to explore.

Now, on the southwest side of the state!

This magazine covers both the bush and the beach, so I’m going to pass on our travels through the more populated part of Western Australia.

Suffice it to say that we enjoyed all the famous sights and destinations such as Albany and the Margaret River region.

However, places further north gained.

Western Australian sunsets rarely disappoint. It was near Miaree Pool.

At Geraldton – a very pretty town with the usual spectacular coastline – we had our Land Rover Discovery serviced as it now had about 12,000 km.

Then we headed out to the famous Quobba Blowholes – they did not disappoint!

They were so much more than we expected – every now and then an extra big swell would come in and those blowholes would blow!

We also came very close to seeing an example of Darwin’s theory of natural selection in action – a man decided to climb down the rocks near the main wave action and completely ignore the ‘king waves’ danger sign.

Armed with an umbrella to ward off any spray, he sat out there for a few waves and returned to the top just in time.

The magnificent Carawine Gorge.

I say just in time because an all-out wave then hit the solid overhang he had just been in.

It would have absolutely broken him, and it was only by good luck – and not good planning – that he left when he did.

It is possible to camp for free along the magnificent coast here, but every available spot has been taken by various vehicles and vans.

So we headed north for about 6 km to camp at the actual Quobba station.

It was great – people could spread out across the flat or slightly behind the sand dunes.

The only downside was that the facilities seemed a bit limited for the number of people.

Otherwise Quobba Station is a great place!

The view from our campsite at the wonderful Miaree pool.

The roads in Western Australia seriously impressed – probably due to mining royalties, we thought.

It was around Karratha that the amount of mining trucks increased so it was just as well the roads were good.

We were then looking for a nice bush camp and WikiCamps suggested a place about 30 km south-west of Karratha called Miaree Pool on the Nullagine River.

This was one of a few places where our 12′ off-road vehicle really came into its own, as we were able to crawl down a rough trail to a beautiful grassy campsite right next to the water hole.

Here, the scenery and birdlife were truly fantastic!

Western Australia is big on gorges, so our next destination was Carawine Gorge – a hefty 160km from Marble Bar, which is another 204km from Port Hedland.

The gorge is next to a truly spectacular part of the Oakover River, where you can camp between shady trees in the first section or along a long gravel bank further upstream – you’ll need air if you tow into this area.

A stunning part of Carawine Gorge.

We were surprised to find the first part full of 4WDs and vans, but we managed to get a spot.

Then the next day, we moved a bit to a really premium campsite after someone moved out.

Apparently barramundi are often caught here, but I had no luck – most likely because it was August and the water was cold.

We spent a very relaxing couple of days at Carawine Gorge which was a nice change after all the driving.

Walking upstream and up the steep hills was also very worthwhile for the unforgettable views.

And as always in Western Australia, the sunsets rarely disappoint!

Prosecute.