This blogpost is being written late and posted out of order. Sorry for any confusion caused to those who are following the story.
We stocked up on food and Trev went and got a link to find pictures taken on the whale tour.
Then we were on our way. Our first stop was a detour to Bundegi beach and jetty. Here the wind was very strong but the fishermen were still out on the jetty, which was built to step down into the water to cater for different tide levels. There was a fairly busy cafe at the beach, but we didn’t stop and try it.
The naval communications station Harold Holt is also out in this area. A joint project between US and Australia. There are 13 towers making up an array that delivers very low frequency communications capability (used for communication with subs). This uses 27000 litres of diesel a day!!! (nearly 10 million litres a year). It was this communications project that was the impetus for the formation of Exmouth town.
There is also a space junk photography and tracking station and a solar observation station in this part of the world.
Our next stop was the extremely windy coast around a little, where we were able to look out at the wreck of the Mildura.
Then back to Vlamingh Head to admire the old lighthouse once again and remember the time we were given a tour through it when we happened to be in the right place at the right time….
We looked down from the lighthouse to the deserted caravan below. Last time this was a thriving caravan park.. Word is that it has apparently been purchased with the aim to get a change in zoning and permission to build a fancy resort. it might cost 85 million dollars and house 500 guests…. At present it is sitting vacant with people screaming for accommodation in Exmouth and surrounds.
Our next stop was the turtle preservation zone, where the green turtles come in to lay their eggs each year and then the Tantabiddi Boat Ramp, where Trevor’s Whale watching tour left from yesterday. No boats out today due to the windy weather. It might have been better if they had decided not to go yesterday.
We stopped in at the beach where all the windsurfers go. We sat and watched them all out in the windy weather enjoying themselves, while we drank a warm cup of tea.
We stopped in to visit Al and Zita at the Mesa campground (sheltering in their van away from the gale) and ate our lunch there. Then we headed on from there to our own campsite (Kurrajong), another 24 or so km down the road. We couldn’t book three sites in the same campground when we booked 6 months before today because it was so heavily booked. We were encouraged by our camp host to head up to the lookout at sunset and have a happy hour drink with other campers. We did this and met a couple of the others in the campsite. There are whales out to sea a long way. We can just make them out when they jump out of the water and flap their tails.
Luvapuzzle 