Central West Western Oztralia

How can we not go to a place called 14 Mile Beach? And we are not disappointed although the amenities are pretty much only those offered by Mother Nature. To keep the area environmentally acceptable, all campers must have built-in or portable toilets, and there’s a sullage tip a few kms away. Also there’s a well with brackish water, too salty to drink but fine for dishes and bathing. We park and set up our shower tent right on the beach. We’re just in time for a big bocce tournament. Art nearly wins—and we forgot the camera! After a couple of nights, with the full moon approaching, we are surprised in the morning to find that the surf has come up, through, and beyond everyone’s campsite! Since most people have tent annexes, mats, and whatnot, there is a flurry of precautionary moat-digging, in case the horse tries to escape the barn again.

Carnarvon is a tropical haven for produce, especially bananas. At a farm we are shown around and educated in banana production. If you double-click on this photo you can see the purple blossom close-up. Baby bananas form under each petal (kind of marsupial!), which curls up and falls off when the offspring are big enough.

Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site because of its ecological significance. Other sites include the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a pretty exclusive club. Here the water is super-saline, having to do with shallow sandbars and the curious Leeuwin Current which flows in the opposite direction from most ocean currents (well, what else would you expect down under here?). Consequently there are surprising sea creatures here, huge prairies of sea grass (as opposed to seaweed which is not affixed to the sea floor), prehistoric strombolites which generated enough oxygen to permit higher forms of life, and a particular mollusk which has produced enough shells to fill entire beaches. The calcified shells were even quarried to cut into blocks for buildings. Once again we find an incredible camping spot. Do you see our little Troopy at the edge of the water?


Nearby is a place called Monkey Mia. Mia means ‘place,’ but what the ‘Monkey’ part means we can’t guess. It’s known for the wild bottlenose dolphins who visit daily for a hand-out. They’re only given a small percentage of their daily fish requirement so they remain self-sufficient. We must admit it’s quite a thrill to have such close contact.

As the sun sinks into the water, we offer a toast to the wonders of Shark Bay.





So much for the fine weather. As we travel down the coast to Kalbarri National Park, winds kick up into a frenzy, promising (and delivering) rain. It is definitely dramatic, with huge, crashing waves beating against the rocky shore.






We don’t have to travel far inland to find the peculiar limestone pinnacles of Nambung National Park. Aha, so THAT’s what inspired the termite architecture designs. Running through the sandy fields is a narrow track for small vehicles to actually drive around the pinnacles. Somehow this feels more than a little bizarre.





But no more bizarre than the latest natural offering: the grass tree. Peculiar to southwestern Oz, it appears to be a type of yucca. In any case, it was designed by Dr. Seuss.



And finally we arrive in Perth, the only Big Act in Western Australia. It’s said to be the most remote capital city in the world, and having traveled thousands of outback and bush kilometres we’re here to tell you we believe it. Nearby is coastal Fremantle where Art’s antics landed him in the local pillory for a while. Hey—put that rotten tomato down!