Day 8 - Wednesday 11 July - From space to blowholes

Day 8

Wednesday

11 July 2018

Carnarvon – Point Quobba

I could hear people about early and wondered if Paul would stir. He had mentioned last night that he was intending on fishing early this morning, but he wasn’t making a move. I did eventually roll over at 7am and with that we were up and out and in the car. 

We drove to the end of the little boat harbour, parked above the mangroves and Paul wandered off with his gear in tow. Meanwhile I hung back in the car, checking in and completing a few computer bits. 

I did join Paul on the muddy flats being told he had something big on the line but it got off. Shortly after he pulled in the tiniest flathead. After throwing the line to the mangroves and sacrificing a sinker, he decided it was time to head back to the van for breakfast. 

While he went for a shower, I got busy sorting the cereal and when he returned we ate. I was off for my shower soon after and then Paul was off to the laundry with the washing. While it was running, we walked down the street again, stopping in at Morels fruit and vege stall. There was plenty of fresh produce to choose from, but we were after the black sepote fruit, supposedly it tastes like chocolate. We bought a couple of icy poles made from the fruit. Paul ate his on our return, but I was saving mine for dessert.

The washing wasn’t finished when we got back, it was super slow. I busied myself inside while Paul sorted his fishing gear. 20min later we were back hanging it out and then jumping in the car to head to the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum. You can’t miss the place, the giant satellite dishes are a marker for all traffic coming into Carnarvon. 

The place was quite busy when we arrived at 10.30am. We paid our $10 admission, were given a buzzer for the Apollo experience and then began with a wander through the NASA merchandise. We were then ushered into the Planetarium, an inflatable dome where a projection of the universe was displayed. We watched the 10min video before attempting to exit as elegantly as possible. It was like being born all over again. 

We made our way around the varying exhibits. There are two parts, the telecommunications and Carnarvon’s role in Australia’s TV broadcasts and the important role it had in NASA’s space exploration, in particular the Apollo missions. 

There was plenty of old machinery on show and a number of videos playing. They also had replica shuttle bits that you could climb into and the Apollo capsule was a simulation in which you were locked in and laying on your back. There was a recording of the actual Neil Armstrong lift off and plenty of buttons flashing and clicking about us. It was hard to believe they had to lay in the space for 8 days. Urgh.

We then made our way into a games play area, ideal for kids, with lots of hands on activities to ignite their imagination. We played with a few of the different activities before making our way back through the exhibits and out into the yard. 

We wandered around a NASA truck and checked out a rocket that marks the entrance before walking up to one of the satellite dishes. Paul remembers a larger one, but it since been dismantled. We walked up the stairs and around the ledge. The back of the satellite is like a giant mechanical dandelion. There was a great view to be had at the top and we could look over the banana plantations in the distance. 

Hungry, we returned to the van for 12.30pm for lunch, but we didn’t hang for long, getting back in the car and heading 75km on to Point Quobba and the blowholes. There was plenty of water to be seen on either side of the road and yet again it was incredibly green. 

We drove over the rise and the ocean was spread before us. We followed the signage down to the carpark and then carefully made our way over the knobbly rocks to the best spot to view the large flumes of water. There was plenty of noise, as the water was forced up between the rocks. Infact, this is probably the most spectacular blowhole I have seen. Waves crashed onto the flat rocks in front, many fountains of water sprung forth and the spray misted the onlookers. I just needed the whales to be dancing about and it would have been perfect. 

We returned to the car and drove the short distance on to Point Quobba. We again clambered over the scraggy rocks to a ledge where we could see the crystal waters below that were alive with fish. There were stripes, aquamarines and silvers all darting around below, we even spied a stingray. If it wasn’t blowing, we would have been in and snorkelling amongst it all. 

From our perch, we could see plenty of campers who had set up base just inside the line of sand dunes. We drove down to take a look, before parking again and walking onto the beach for a closer look. It was quite breezy, but still warm enough in the sun. 

We made our way to where some kids were fishing, only to be told by one tacker that they were catching fish to bring in the sharks and sure enough they were. We spied two decent sized ones and a small one. Someone said they were likely bull sharks, but I couldn’t tell. 

We stood for ages watching them dart around only metres from the beach, but never breaching the surface. 

We made our way back to the car and drove on, stopping under the King Waves Kill sign and then made our way to the lighthouse to check out the view over the coastline. Satisfied, we returned to Carnarvon. Paul followed the sign to Chinamans Pool, a spot on the Gascoyne River where the gum trees lined the banks. It was quite overgrown, but lovely all the same. 

Our touring done, we made our way back to the van, ready for a rest and a drink. We hung out for a couple of hours before we drove to the old jetty so we could take in the sunset. I set up my camera on the beach, while Paul sorted his fishing gear. Unfortunately it was still windy and the water was churned up, so the fishing wasn’t really ideal. 

We watched the sun slowly disappear and leave behind a golden orange glow, but I didn’t get any of the pinks that we saw last night. We packed up shortly after and returned to the park ready for dinner and to settle in for the evening.