We continue our northwestern journey from Exmouth to Carnarvon.
We like Exmouth and the surrounding area a lot. From atop Vlamingh Head, we watch whales spouting offshore.
Exmouth’s most famous feature is its array of antennae, originally built to communicate with submarines and ships in the Indian Ocean.
Apparently this is done by satellites now, but this array is still in use by the Australian navy.
At the entrance to the Harold E. Holt base is the prow of a submarine with the hump on the front where the sonar equipment resides.
Virtually nothing existed here before the sixties. The United States built the town from scratch to support the base.
Exmouth is also famous for its whale sharks.
In the season – March to August – you can swim with them, if you’re so inclined. It’s gonna cost you, though.
Instead of defense folks, Exmouth is now a popular place for retired Aussies to move to.
In front of the impressive Ningaloo Visitors Centre are these interesting planters. In its military heyday, armour-piercing rounds are fired at centimeters-thick steel plate in nearby training grounds. These are now recycled into civic furniture.
Nearby are the stunning Ningaloo Coast and Cape Range National Park.
This is the kind of snorkeling we like: step off the beach into the bay and you are immediately surrounded by coral and thousands of insanely colourful fish.
There are shipwrecks galore along this coast.
You don’t have to go far to get away from it all.
We go to the end of Cape Range National Park and hike the Yardie Creek gorge.
It’s OK, but too crowded for us.
Driving down to Carnarvon, we come across a mamma emu and her young one crossing the highway.
We stop for lunch at the Overlander roadhouse.
Maria likes these flowers against the dusty red dirt.
Our first stop in Carnarvon is the Space and Technology Museum.
Carnarvon is a long-time space tracking station.
Sight ot Insight of the Day – Exmouth to Carnarvon
At the Yardie Creek gorge parking lot, we see this cool world-traveling van from Switzerland.
If we didn’t have Matilda, it would be the perfect size vehicle for us.
As they often are, an itinerary is displayed. These people take a very interesting route to get here.
There are a lot of places with heart-attack-inducing driving conditions on this map. Our hats go off to the travelers.