Carnarvon and coast

Stopping at a roadhouse between Coral Bay and Carnarvon we came across this character -

Scott, the storm trooper

He's a lovely man, probably mid-30s, walking solo around Australia raising money along the way for the RCH.  We had a great chat as he was taking time out relaxing in the park.  He's been on the road since last Nov and should be back in Melb next July!  No support crew, just his own company. He was in the army, served in the Middle East and reckons that helps with his physical and mental stamina.  The helmet was for the photo, but he wears the rest of the outfit while walking as he posts on Facebook each day for the children in hospital.

Scott was about the only distraction en route to Carnarvon, which is in the Gascoyne region.  There's a lot of food production here, fruit and vegetables mainly.  We had a really good look around the area as there's a fair bit to see and learn, though 2 days in a town was plenty for us!  Our objective was the coast north of there - Pt Quobba and Red Bluff.

At Point Quobba

Pt Quobba - the calm lagoon, with the wild ocean beyond.  Photo
was taken from near the camping area.

This blowhole at Pt Quobba is incredible!  We have never seen
such force, from both the blowhole and the huge waves hitting
the rocks.  Spent a lot of time watching this over the 3 days.

We went snorkelling in the lagoon at Pt Quobba and it was so good - crystal clear water, really interesting coral, lots of giant clams and plenty of colourful fish.  We hardly had to swim out any distance at all and in fact the first afternoon we waded around the coral at low tide - hence the following photos, which were taken looking down into the water.

  

This was also a great place for seeing osprey and sea eagles, whales out in the far distance and heaps of other birds.  Not to mention the beautiful sunset and meeting some interesting people.  Oh and the fantastic view from the lighthouse ... we parked the troopy up there for an hour or two and had a great view of the distant whales splashing.  

Red Bluff, 70km further north, is a surf beach and a beautiful location where we were able to bush camp (at a cost of $30 per night for the privilege!).  It's hard not to be mesmerised by the ocean's power and beauty up here.

Dramatic coastline between Quobba and Red Bluff

Red Bluff

Red Bluff

This is all part of Quobba Station (sheep) which incorporates a large area of coastline.  We visited the station, saw the sheds, machinery and some of the unusual breed of sheep.  Looking more like a goat but with sheep's wool, we nicknamed them 'geep' for want of a better name (which I'm sure they have).