Mt Augustus to Red Bluff

1st May to 15th May

I always thought Uluru was Australia's largest rock, but it's actually Mt Augustus which rises 715M out of the desert landscape, and 1,105M above sea level. Its now a national park, and we set up camp on the cattle station adjacent. In 2010 the station was flooded in for several weeks, can't imagine it now.

Mt Augustus

Land Rover Maintenance

There is no fresh drinking water available, so we needed to bring our own, although there was bore water for showering... quite salty 

There are several walks at Mt Augustus and we chose the 8km Peak walk and 12km Summit walk, setting off each morning before 7am to beat the heat. Another National Park in the Gascoyne region is Kennedy Range and we spent a few days there bush camping in one of the water-less gorges. 

Kennedy Range NP

The region is red dust, red rocks and spinifex. There are very few trees in the area, with the exception of a few white barked river gums growing in the gully line, water holes or dry creek beds. Despite the sparseness, it's quite an impressive landscape,  

white barked river gums

 

After 6 weeks on the road, we fare-welled the arid centre and hit the West Australian coast at Carnarvon. The 'West' is such a contrast to the east coast of Australia, which has a fertile coastal strip. In WA the desert runs straight to the coast... desert beside white sand and blue ocean.

The Gascoyne river rarely flows, but provides abundant underground water to the township of 8,500 and they have a thriving fruit and vegetable industry. We spent a few days in Carnarvon dusting the red dirt out of the car and trailer, enjoying fresh water showers, and stocking up on wonderfully fresh 'lunch box banana's', tomatoes, rocket and plenty of other fresh foods. 

champagne red bluff

surf break red bluff

Leaving town, we headed to Quobba Station about 120k up the coast where we found the surfing retreat of Red Bluff to spend a few days. It's a well known surfing spot and whilst we don't surf, we've been enjoying watching the wipe outs and rides on the 2M waves.

From here on we have a few weeks on the coast.