Next Stop: Cape Range Nationalpark

Our next stop after Karijini National Park was Cape Range Nationalpark, which is close to Exmouth.

The days before we were in Port Hedland again for a few errands. We also made a stopover in Karratha. Even though everyone told us that Karratha isn’t pretty, we were pleasantly surprised by this town. We didn’t stay in Karratha but 30 kilometers further at the Miaree Pool Rest Area. This was a free campsite right on a small river. We camped there for two nights because we liked it so much there by the water, where you could set up camp. We spent a whole afternoon there just by the river and made a campfire in the evening.

Exploring Cape Range Nationalpark

From the Miaree Pool Rest Area we continued to Exmouth where we only spent one night. The next morning we drove straight to Cape Range Nationalpark. Our first stop was a lighthouse in the far north. From up there we had an incredible view over the nationalpark as well as over the coast. Due to the fact that it was very windy in the Cape Range Nationalpark, the temperatures were very pleasant at lunchtime.

From the lighthouse we went on to an old shipwreck, which lay in the water and could be seen well from the beach.

From the shipwreck we then continued to Turquise Bay. This was the first beach we visited in Cape Range National Park. We were so impressed by the turquoise water that we wanted to jump into the water immediately.

At Turquise Bay we stayed for a while. We saw turtles in the water and even a few crabs on land. The nice thing was that we were all alone there again.

The perfect camping spot for the night

From Turquise Bay we drove to the Osprey campsite. We had planned to spend the night there. But before we wanted to book the campsite online, we wanted to take a look at it first. We really liked the campsite, which is why we were immediately convinced that we wanted to spend the coming night here. The campsites were right by the sea. We didn’t have more than one toilet and no shower again, but that’s normal at the campsites in the national parks.

Since it wasn’t that late, we drove to Yardiee Creek again. This was a crevice in the rock through which a river flowed inland from the sea. Here we hiked a little and were totally impressed by the nature. We even saw some wallabies.

After our hike we drove back to the campsite where we set everything up. Due to the wind it was very fresh after sunset, which is why we had to wear long pants again after a long time.

On this campsite, it happened to us for the first time that a lot of mouses were all around us in the evening. At first we found it a bit annoying. But when we took a closer look at the mouses, we noticed how small and cute they are.

Snorkeling day

The next morning we had the plan to spend the whole day snorkeling in the sea at our campsite. Since it was still very fresh in the morning due to the wind, we first drove to the visitor center and extended our stay there for another night.

Then we drove straight back to the campsite, changed our clothes and then went straight to the sea with our diving goggles and snorkels. The expectations of the reef were very high. We had heard so many impressive things and seen so many beautiful pictures that we had been full of anticipation for the last few weeks.

As soon as we dived under water, however, we were very disappointed. What we could see wasn’t really spectacular and impressive. We saw some plants and also some nice fish but no coral reef. Very quickly we were convinced that we don’t want to snorkel here all day. In addition, it was very cold on land and in the water due to the strong wind.

Disappointed, we sat on the beach and could only laugh about this little flop. Since neither of us felt like going into the water that day, we had to make other plans.

Coffee by the sea

First we wanted to sit on the benches on the beach with the Lego and my new coloring book. But the strong wind blew everything away again and again. Since the roof tent on our car wasn’t unpacked yet, we decided to drive a little through the Cape Range Nationalpark.

First we drove to Yardiee Creek again, where we actually wanted to sit down and be sheltered from the wind. But the wind was still too strong behind the trees and the benches were too dirty.

So we just drove around aimlessly. We spontaneously stopped at a beach. There we parked the car so that we had the perfect view of the turquoise water from the sea. With our somewhat makeshift camping equipment, we then made a coffee there, which didn’t even taste that bad.

Enjoing the calmness of nature

Shortly afterwards we drove on from this beach and spontaneously stopped at another beach. This was a small cove where we had to park our car on the sand. Apart from us, nobody was on this beach.

We stayed there for a bit, walked barefoot through the water and we also walked over the rocks and could see some animals.

It was already late afternoon, but we didn’t want to drive straight back to the camp yet. So we decided to drive to Turquise Bay again. From there we drove back to the camp later.

In the evening it was very cool again because of the wind. A lot of mouses also visited us at dinner. That evening we even had a spider sitting at the table for the first time. The spider wasn’t particularly big, but it was still disgusting.

Leaving the Nationalpark

The next morning we had to leave the campsite by 10 am. But before we wanted to go back to Exmouth, we wanted to stay a bit longer in the Cape Range Nationalpark.

First we drove to the visitor center to use the bathroom there. Afterwards we drove back to Mandu Mandu Gorge. The hike through the gorge should be 3 kilometers long. But with the warm temperatures at 11 am we didn’t feel like doing a hike. So we just walked a little into the gorge and then went back to the car.

Before we finally left for Exmouth, we were once again at the deserted bay where we were the day before. From there we drove back to Exmouth at noon. We stayed there one more night before we drove on to Coral Bay the next morning.

If you would like to know what we experienced during our time in Coral Bay. Please read my next blog post Exploring the Ningaloo Reef in Coral Bay – Australia Travel Diary.