Exmouth and Cape Range NP, WA.

We booked into Exmouth Cape Caravan Park for two nights to enable us to tour the town highlights and also to prepare for our 3 night stop-over in the Osprey Campground of Cape Range National Park. Exmouth is the gateway to this NP and it's several camp grounds. Osprey is the newest of these campgrounds but we didn't know that fact until we arrived there. Osprey campground has only been in operation for a little over 3 weeks. Every aspect is sparkling new!

Ningaloo Reef is visible from inside our caravan and also from under our awning, as it is from every site in the campground. The Indian Ocean Breakers and the Reef are an amazing sight as are the nightly sunsets. This is paradise, it can't get any better than this.

I have been a little remiss in not reporting some significant information in my last few blog posts. We had reached the most Westerly point of the Continent accessible by sealed road. Point Quobba is that point at Longitude 113 - 24 - 56. Other points of note and just short of Point Quobba are Carnarvon Jetty at 113 - 37 - 47, Coral Bay Boat Ramp at 113 - 46 - 02 and Osprey Campground, Cape Range NP at 113 - 50 - 17.

We returned to Exmouth Cape CP for one night to catch up with the clothes washing chores, restock the larder and the fuel supply. Tomorrow morning will see us travelling inland to Tom Price and Karijini National Park.

The Vlamingh Head Lighthouse was constructed in 1911 following the the grounding of SS Mildura on this Head prior to 1907. Remnants of this vessel are still visible today. The steel structure is the base of a WW11 Radar Tower, the sand bags around the base have been in position since the 1940's.

Looking from the Lighthouse back towards the Harold Holt Communications Base. The centre mast of the 13 in the array is taller than the Sydney Tower.

The bay at Osprey Campground.

Not at all sure what this plant is, but they are prevalent in the area and about the only thing with any colour.

Looking back over Osprey Campground.

Following a cloudy sunset the sky took on this red glow.

....and then finished of with a golden cloud display.

We took a Boat Cruise in the Yardie Creek Gorge. One of the sights was this braided root system. It never reaches the salty water of the gorge but captures the humidity from the water.

Yardie Creek Gorge is home to the Rock Wallaby and this terrain is there home.

This huge boulder has been assessed by Engineers as being safe for the next Century!

Because of the two cyclones in this area during the previous 8 weeks Yardie Creek has been running to the sea. The Sand Bar is just beginning to reform and may close off the creek for up to 3 years.

Following our Boat Cruise we took to the trails and walked the edge of Yardie Gorge.

Since crossing The Tropic of Capricorn just South of Coral Bay we have been seeing many Termite Mounds. The mounds of this 'cluster' are not the largest we have seen but the mound in the foreground is near 180 cm in height.