22 June – 31 July 2024

After leaving the west coast we officially turned the corner and made it onto the northern side of the WA coast. 40 Mile Beach (Gnoorea Point) sits 60km west of Karratha. It has over 130 campsites spread over 3 areas and all of the basic amenities needed. Last year we came here for a week and camped on the cliffs. We really enjoyed it, so decided to come back this year for 3 weeks and camp in an area with direct beach access. The advantage of this area is that it makes it easy to drive the car on the beach for a spot of fishing or even a quick stroll for a fish or swim. It is also a lot more protected from the northerly winds that come up each day.

Our 3 weeks went by very quickly. We fished just about every day at various spots with some days better than others. Pete got out into the water for a snorkel a few times and shot a good range of fish such as Coral Trout, Tuskfish, Queenfish and Parrot fish.

The weather was, for the most part, absolutely perfect. Warm sunny days were followed by still, balmy evenings. There was a bit (ok a lot) of rain one day which closed the road in and out. The dirt access road from the highway was reduced to a slippery, slimy mess of a road so the Shire closed access for obvious safety reasons. It didn’t affect us, except that we got some mud on the car driving around to the various camp areas. It’s going to need a good clean when we get home.

We met up with a few people while here too. Pete’s mum and dad (Lyn and Rowan) were on their annual getaway from the frosty southwest so it was good to see them after being away for a few months. Our intrepid traveling daughter Zoe also caught up with us again after spending a week hiking and exploring both Karrijini and Millstream National Parks. We had to hold a little surprise unicorn themed birthday party for her 20^th birthday, which would not be complete without copious amounts of sparklers on top of the cake and a unicorn pinata. Daily beach sessions, fishing, swimming, snorkeling, relaxing, warm days and balmy nights are what northern winters are all about and why so many people head this way each year. I think she is officially converted to this nomadic lifestyle (pity she’s too young to enjoy it!). After tenting behind the caravan for 2 weeks, it was time for her to make her way back to Perth and uni for another semester and for us to move on after our 3 weeks to another spot.

Our last official camp spot this WA winter was Cleaverville. It sits 30km east of Karratha and is a large expansive camping area with over 140 sites. There’s plenty to do here, particularly for those that like fishing. There is a good creek system and open ocean to fish in. No matter if you have a boat or not, you can generally catch something. Pete got a snorkel in several times and shot all sorts of fish including Queenfish, Parrot Fish, Coral Trout and a couple of Sweetlips. Beach fishing was very successful with plenty of garfish and whiting caught. We explored the rock pools at low tide in an effort to find a few octopus. We actually found it easy to spot them, the hardest part was grabbing them without getting inked before they hid in a crevice. One evening, with the help of Lyn, we managed to get 24! We also had a go at finding crayfish at low tide who apparently hang out in rock pools. A group of 7 of us (most of who were in their 70’s) headed out at low tide one night to try to find a few. Armed with head lamps, buckets and gloves we climbed over rocks and through rock pools. Despite being on the beach for about 2 hours, we came back empty handed. Even so, there is so much to look at in the rock pools and shallow waters. We saw a blue ring octopus (who we gave a wide berth to), star fish, coral of various bright colours, tiny fish and beautiful shells. The weather continued to put on a show with lovely days and nights just cool enough to sit around the fire. One of the best parts of camping here are the views. There are plenty of ocean front sites to watch the waves rolling in, the schools of fish and pods of dolphins jumping and splashing in the water and the setting sun every night. The burnt orange colours streaking across the sky never gets old. Looking in the other direction, the rich red of the ore clad hills is quite a sight to behold. You just don’t realise how beautiful the red dirt is until you sit awhile and just look and absorb its raw beauty.

Camping near Lyn & Rowan and several of their friends, along with a surprise visit from Raeleen and Kingsley (some friends we met more than 10 years ago) made for a very social time. It was great to sit around the fire catching up and chatting. Everyone compared catches each day to see who got the best / biggest fish or crab. Whether it was a mighty mangrove jack, a big green mud crab, or the humble garfish, there were always stories to tell. We tried some new experiences this trip including lure and creek fishing. We actually had some success with both of us catching our first fish on lures. This is definitely something we will try to get better at as we head to the east coast in the future.

So that wraps up our WA northern winter trip for 2024, but once we get home, it’s only a couple of weeks until we hop on a plane to explore more of the world. “Where are you going now?” I hear you ask. Well I’ll tell you a bit later so stay tuned for more Where2Next adventures. Just remember, in the words of historical explorer Ibn Battuta, “Traveling, it leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller” …so what will your story be?