HIGHLIGHTS
from Quobba Station’ s big homestead campground where occupants of conventional rigs can base themselves.
THAR SHE BLOWS
This adventure begins at the Quobba Blowholes, 74km north-west of Carnarvon, where the bitumen ends and a long stretch of isolated beaches and reeffringed shorelines begin. When the blowholes are pumping, the spectacle stops travellers in their tracks: the surging ocean pummeling Quobba’ s rugged cliffs and shooting spray skywards through narrow rock holes for up to 20m.
In these big seas, when fishing is out of the question( it’ s impossible to avoid the‘ King Waves Kill’ warning signs as you approach the cliffs), snorkelling is the best way to explore. Just a kilometre south at Quobba Reserve, the steep sea cliffs drop suddenly away onto a pretty white-sand beach, and a shallow, cerulean lagoon nurtures a colourful coral garden and a thriving marine ecosystem.
Protected against the vigorous swell by an arcing rim of reef and rock, the lagoon is ideal for snorkelling and swimming, and new shade shelters installed along the beach provide a place to picnic.
If time is on your side, there’ s a
CLOCKWISE
FROM LEFT: Blowholes: one of Mother Nature ' s whimsies; no matter what you drive, there are campsites which won ' t break your vehicle, or the bank; sand, surf, sun, sea and spray – who needs shoes? camping area over the dunes with waterfront nooks along a kilometre of shoreline, tucked among a rambling sprawl of old beach shacks with awesome access to the beach and the sea.
The deep water that laps the clifffringed coastline and lures anglers also creates a pounding swell that can quickly transform into king waves, crashing unpredictably over the cliffs and sucking anglers into the sea. In good weather and calm seas, locals fish and dive south of the boat ramp, off the reef near Black Point.
Accessible to on-road rigs, this idyllic, bare-basics camp has a long history of facilitating great camping escapes
HIGHLIGHTS
Watching surfers ride the Bluff Barrel. Red Bluff’ s Indian Ocean sunset. A coffee by the sea at Red Bluff Store. Fishing off the rocks. Seeing the Quobba Blowholes explode.
ADVENTURES 45