The Very Blowy Blowholes
Trip Start
Apr 14, 2012
1
20
55
Trip End
Dec 21, 2012
Carnarvon (near), Western Australia, Australia
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thanks for all the comments we are loving them. Hopefully we will get around to commenting back as soon as we can, but thank you! As we are now in the North West of WA we only have range for internet service as we approach, and are in largish towns … and they are getting fewer and further in between. Thanks for following our adventures and misadventures!
Today we finally left Denham. In my anticipation to leave and hit the road again I yelled, "Stromatalites! Here we come!" Running to the car Amon yells “Boring rocks, here we come!” Classic. The stomatatlites were actually “quite cool” (quote Amon). Ant was particularly looking forward to seeing these formations having seen them on a documentary with his class last year, and once again with all of us on the “Time Traveller's Guide To The Earth” which was on ABC recently. Although they are just rocky outcrops growing out of the sand in the shallow water, their geological significance is very interesting- and the setting was stunning- crystal clear shallow turquoise waters stretched out to the horizon lapping onto vivid white sand-we all wished we could take a dip, but the rules of this World Heritage listed area forbade us- rats! Stromatolites are a rock-like build-up created by cyanobacteria-tiny blue/green algae. This is the oldest life form on earth having evolved about 3.5 billion years ago- a mere 500 million years after the Earth was formed- it took another 3 billion years for any other life form to come along after them- mostly because the stomatolites were busy all that time converting the atmosphere to one far more hospitable-with its current oxygen levels of about 20%. Because blue/green algae are a much sought after food source, and as the stromatolites grow exceedingly slowly (about 5cm per century) not many places are available on Earth for them to grow these days. In fact there are only 2 places they exist in proliferation- in the deep ocean off the Bahamas, and here, on the shore of a lake that has been locked off from the ocean for a few thousand years and has had its salt levels increase to the point where no other organism can tolerate it. They have only existed in this little nook for the past 2000-3000 years, making it the youngest ecosystem in Australia (with the most ancient of earth’s life forms making their home there!)
Next we headed North seeking still warmer weather and beaches. We stopped in Carnavon for supplies and spoke to a local who told us to camp at the Blowholes or Redbluff. As the day was nearly done we decided to go to the Blowholes only 70 km’s away rather than 135 to Redbluff. How fitting that the first night at the Blowholes – it was blowing a gale! Lulu shook, the ocean roared and we eventually fell into restless sleeps.
May 11th
We started the morning with a walk on the beach – it was still very windy but calm compared to last night. After breakfast we headed off for a day trip to Red Bluff. The first stop was the blowholes though. We were joking about how the last blowholes we saw were “particularly unspectacular” and hoping these ones weren’t. Luckily these were quite the opposite and we were totally impressed by these - the kids remarking that these ones were “particularly spectacular”. The coast surrounding the blowholes is rugged and the sea wild and unrelenting. Massive swells smash into the lower platforms of rocks and the bottom of cliff faces. The waves create giant splashes and spray as they crash against the cliffs. The blow holes themselves are holes in the platforms of rocks where the sea surges into from underneath and then the water is sucked out with the undercurrent. Water and pressure build up and these massive jets of water shoot out of the holes 7-10 metres into the air. Astrid loved stand– tres cool! We all loved them, especially the sound they made. Woooooooooishhhhhssskkkk
Heading off to Redbluff I felt like we are in Tim Winton country -sweeping golden sandy beaches, deep azure blue oceans, reef breaks, aquamarine barrels, sand dunes, red dust and unrelenting sunshine. People fishing off cliff ledges and on giant rocks edging out into the burly sea, and little sea shacks that the fisherman (or fisher-people) use to gut their catch and wash up. Imagery and the feeling of some of our favourite Tim novels – Breathe, Open Swimmer and Dirt Music – everywhere.
A missed turn off to Red Bluff led us to the Gnaraloo Station and 3 Mile Camp – what a wonderful misjudgement. We chatted to the owners who encouraged us to go down to the lagoon to swim and snorkel – as this is the most southerly point of Ningaloo Reef. Wow! What an amazing day! We snorkelled out to the reef, only a few metres from shore and swam with garfish, rainbow parrot fish, moray eels, zebra fish and many more. We saw massive sea urchins, colourful corals and rock moving rasses. We swam, made sandcastles, relaxed and had fun. And how was Amon’s form? Ant taught him to snorkel, and he picked it up, like his sister, in no time and was swimming out 15 metres from shore in 3 metre deep water with no fear! This is a boy who only learnt to swim last year; we are very, very proud of him! An amazing day, we wanted to go back and camp there but it meant going back all that way over the corrugations and getting Lulu and then heading back – would have been well worth it though – what an amazing place. We left late in the afternoon and found our way to Red Bluff – another gorgeous spot – big surf and picturesque. We left just as the sun reached the horizon - so we didn’t have to tackle the corrugated road in the dark - dusty red drenched skies – ah another amazing sunset!
Comments
Love the "wonderful misjudgement!" - so often the best adventures are the ones you don't plan!
What a gorgeous place! Great pics and well done Asty and Amon, little sea monkeys :)
Wow guys, you are really out there. Such vivid detail in your descriptions. You ARE the Leylands. But far far cooler. Miss you! Where do you think you'll be in July? I might be able to get away from Melbourne, unless the hints from the teachers at King Khalid prove true and I've landed a job for terms 3 & 4. Then I may well have a lot of preparation to do. Fingers crossed they don't. I want to come join the caravan. xo