In perfect weather we headed south of Broome to an interesting coastline with long stretches of wonderful beaches and interesting lagoons. We stopped at a small caravan park called Port Smith down the end of a 23 km long dirt road. Here it was like living in a bowl of red talcum powder...every footstep throws up a puff of red dust, cars drive in a cloud of crimson and the dust gets into every nook and cranny ...before long everything seemed to look pink. The reason we went off road was because we had heard that the fishing was marvellous at Pt Smith, and what a lovely place it was! We drove down to the edge of the large, azure lagoon which stretched several kms before going through a channel into the sea and gazed at the clear water lapping the edge of the mangroves. We thought..OK , looks pretty..but not so special for fishing. Next day we walked to the lagoon and could not believe our eyes! It was as if a bath plug had been pulled out of the bottom of the lagoon because there was NO WATER in the whole lagoon except odd pools and trickles where the rivers had run....just sand as far as the eye could see and islands of mangroves. The tides were 8 meters or more and one has to see it to believe it! The trick to fishing here was the fish that were caught in the pools that were left behind were generally easier to catch..and we proved that by catching about 6 fat Bream as the tide was running out one morning. We caught a variety of fish, but the most fun was had by catching the muddies (Mud Crabs). Another couple we befriended who knew the ropes offered to take me and show me how to catch a mud crab the way the locals did it..by hooking them out of their holes at low tide. This was not as easy as it sounds cos the tide comes rushing in faster than you can run, and there are so many little rivulets and islands one could easily get caught. Also the mangroves are full of twisted roots in knee deep foul smelling mud. Even one of the pros dallied a few minutes too long the day before and before he knew it he was up to his neck and going against the tide..scary!
Anyway, while Paul fished nearby, “Bruce” took me sloshing down a small stream between the mangroves brandishing a long piece of thick wire with a hook on the end. After slipping and sliding in the mud for a while, and climbing over and under tortured roots, he spied a hole in the bank and told me to put the hook in and jiggle it around until I heard a knocking sound...then to yank the large and angry crab out of his hole..which I did. He then said “now grab it by its back legs and hold it up,” I said “ERRR, he has huge claws which are thrashing around and look like they could easily bend backwards...” But I did what he said and moments later proudly staggered out of the undergrowth bearing my huge and frantically wriggling mud crab...you should have seen Paul’s face! I also said to Bruce...what about crocs and sharks here? He replied casually “No worries Mate... haven’t seen a croc in years and no sharks here!” Next day a fisherman hooked an 8 ft Hammerhead Shark which took his rod and reel out of that same lagoon.... Next day Paul and I set off early at low tide to catch our own muddy. We slipped and slithered up banks and streams of mud which sucked at our feet and tripped us up over the mangrove roots. We prodded countless holes until we found a MONSTER mud crab and caught him very professionally the way we had been taught..even getting him into the bag which is no mean feat as they grab the edges with their razor sharp, strong claws. He was delicious and worth every bit of muddy struggle. I must add that I was completely out of my comfort zone as normally I like to be able to see my feet at all times!
Reluctantly we left Pt Smith for a place further down the coast called 80 Mile Beach. Another red dusty road brought us to a lovely park right on this perfect beach which DOES stretch for 80 miles and as far as the eye can see is just perfect white sand and turquoise water. The beach is famous for its Salmon fishing at high tide, so we headed off to the beach at sunset to try our luck...together with what seem like hundreds of other fishermen all lined along the beach every 20 meters or so...as far as the eye could see. After a few casts Paul caught a lovely Salmon which was delicious, and to watch the magnificent sunset while we were doing this was just mind blowing. Next day we caught another Salmon and I caught an enormous Silver Cobbler...about 8 kg (Released).
By then our supplies were finished so we headed into Port Headland to restock. It is mainly a port for the huge Iron Ore mines of the Pilbara region, and there were always at least 10 Ore Carriers on the horizon and a few in the dock. It was really something to see the ore carrying trains coming into town as some were 2.70 kms long..3 locos in front and another 2 mid way!
The coastal road then went via Karratha and Dampier, which were two more port towns. We decided instead to veer inland to the Karijini National Park which is known for its awesome gorges. This is the Pilbara region which has red earth, unusual ridge and mountain formations, and wide open flat arid vegetation. It’s also the region which has rich mineral deposits and there are huge Iron Mining operations which have opened it up. But it is the National Park which people flock to from all over the world. We stayed at a nearby mining town called Tom Price and took a tour into the park. At first glance the NP looked unspectacular except for the red earth and mauve hills surrounding it. But what was hidden until we walked right up to them were the deep gorges cut into the valleys and waterfalls, pools and narrow chasms....the more spectacular because of the ruggedness and colours. From the lookouts we gazed at these sheer cliffs and the rivers a 100 meters down and wondered what they looked like in the Wet season. One of the gorges we took a walk down to the bottom to find a lovely fern pool and lush vegetation. But the highlight was another lookout where 4 gorges met and the narrow passages between them had waterfalls and rapids. Even with fenced lookouts the area is treacherous because of crumbling rock and there have been many deaths here. Last year a tourist fell down a slope and was injured and while being rescued a shower of rain further inland miles away caused a flash flood in the gorges and washed one of the rescuers many kms down the gorge. Sadly he lost his life, but the other two rescuers were able to hang on to the stretcher and save the tourist and themselves. After a well prepared buffet picnic lunch we all donned swimming gear and non slip shoes and were taken down one of the more spectacular gorges. It was breathtaking when we got to the bottom to see these high coloured walls of ancient rock rising on either side of us. But more was in store! We trudged along the sandy bottom as the chasm got narrower and narrower and then started to wade through waist high icy water. Eventually the cleft was so narrow we were holding both sides as we walked through slippery icy water gushing into a huge pool deep in the rocks. The final part was scary in that we had to hold tightly onto surrounding rocks as it started to slope downwards, then became a rushing torrent! As the water became a small waterfall over the steep, slippery rock there was a handrail on one side that we had to cling onto to save ourselves dropping many meters below...talk about canyoning! All this time the walls of the chasm rose steeply and ruggedly 100 meters blocking out most of the light..but what filtered through had an eerie blue look caused by the water onto the now blue/black ironstone! Once at the edge of the pool we only had time for a quick photo clinging precariously to the ledge before starting back UP the waterfall. We learned later that this part was a Grade 5 climb and at the next part of the chasm it became Grade 6 where you have to have a licence and training to do it! Definitely the best thing we have done for a while..very memorable!
Anyway, while Paul fished nearby, “Bruce” took me sloshing down a small stream between the mangroves brandishing a long piece of thick wire with a hook on the end. After slipping and sliding in the mud for a while, and climbing over and under tortured roots, he spied a hole in the bank and told me to put the hook in and jiggle it around until I heard a knocking sound...then to yank the large and angry crab out of his hole..which I did. He then said “now grab it by its back legs and hold it up,” I said “ERRR, he has huge claws which are thrashing around and look like they could easily bend backwards...” But I did what he said and moments later proudly staggered out of the undergrowth bearing my huge and frantically wriggling mud crab...you should have seen Paul’s face! I also said to Bruce...what about crocs and sharks here? He replied casually “No worries Mate... haven’t seen a croc in years and no sharks here!” Next day a fisherman hooked an 8 ft Hammerhead Shark which took his rod and reel out of that same lagoon.... Next day Paul and I set off early at low tide to catch our own muddy. We slipped and slithered up banks and streams of mud which sucked at our feet and tripped us up over the mangrove roots. We prodded countless holes until we found a MONSTER mud crab and caught him very professionally the way we had been taught..even getting him into the bag which is no mean feat as they grab the edges with their razor sharp, strong claws. He was delicious and worth every bit of muddy struggle. I must add that I was completely out of my comfort zone as normally I like to be able to see my feet at all times!
Reluctantly we left Pt Smith for a place further down the coast called 80 Mile Beach. Another red dusty road brought us to a lovely park right on this perfect beach which DOES stretch for 80 miles and as far as the eye can see is just perfect white sand and turquoise water. The beach is famous for its Salmon fishing at high tide, so we headed off to the beach at sunset to try our luck...together with what seem like hundreds of other fishermen all lined along the beach every 20 meters or so...as far as the eye could see. After a few casts Paul caught a lovely Salmon which was delicious, and to watch the magnificent sunset while we were doing this was just mind blowing. Next day we caught another Salmon and I caught an enormous Silver Cobbler...about 8 kg (Released).
By then our supplies were finished so we headed into Port Headland to restock. It is mainly a port for the huge Iron Ore mines of the Pilbara region, and there were always at least 10 Ore Carriers on the horizon and a few in the dock. It was really something to see the ore carrying trains coming into town as some were 2.70 kms long..3 locos in front and another 2 mid way!
The coastal road then went via Karratha and Dampier, which were two more port towns. We decided instead to veer inland to the Karijini National Park which is known for its awesome gorges. This is the Pilbara region which has red earth, unusual ridge and mountain formations, and wide open flat arid vegetation. It’s also the region which has rich mineral deposits and there are huge Iron Mining operations which have opened it up. But it is the National Park which people flock to from all over the world. We stayed at a nearby mining town called Tom Price and took a tour into the park. At first glance the NP looked unspectacular except for the red earth and mauve hills surrounding it. But what was hidden until we walked right up to them were the deep gorges cut into the valleys and waterfalls, pools and narrow chasms....the more spectacular because of the ruggedness and colours. From the lookouts we gazed at these sheer cliffs and the rivers a 100 meters down and wondered what they looked like in the Wet season. One of the gorges we took a walk down to the bottom to find a lovely fern pool and lush vegetation. But the highlight was another lookout where 4 gorges met and the narrow passages between them had waterfalls and rapids. Even with fenced lookouts the area is treacherous because of crumbling rock and there have been many deaths here. Last year a tourist fell down a slope and was injured and while being rescued a shower of rain further inland miles away caused a flash flood in the gorges and washed one of the rescuers many kms down the gorge. Sadly he lost his life, but the other two rescuers were able to hang on to the stretcher and save the tourist and themselves. After a well prepared buffet picnic lunch we all donned swimming gear and non slip shoes and were taken down one of the more spectacular gorges. It was breathtaking when we got to the bottom to see these high coloured walls of ancient rock rising on either side of us. But more was in store! We trudged along the sandy bottom as the chasm got narrower and narrower and then started to wade through waist high icy water. Eventually the cleft was so narrow we were holding both sides as we walked through slippery icy water gushing into a huge pool deep in the rocks. The final part was scary in that we had to hold tightly onto surrounding rocks as it started to slope downwards, then became a rushing torrent! As the water became a small waterfall over the steep, slippery rock there was a handrail on one side that we had to cling onto to save ourselves dropping many meters below...talk about canyoning! All this time the walls of the chasm rose steeply and ruggedly 100 meters blocking out most of the light..but what filtered through had an eerie blue look caused by the water onto the now blue/black ironstone! Once at the edge of the pool we only had time for a quick photo clinging precariously to the ledge before starting back UP the waterfall. We learned later that this part was a Grade 5 climb and at the next part of the chasm it became Grade 6 where you have to have a licence and training to do it! Definitely the best thing we have done for a while..very memorable!
Photos
Karinjini Nat Park hand rail pool
Karinini Nat park Weano Gorge
Red Dust on road! -Port Smith
Mud crab monster -Port Smith
Colleen's first Crab - Port Smith
Hunting crabs in Mangroves - Port Smith
80 Mile beach Salmon
80 Mile beach Magnificent Sunset
Fishing on 80 Mile Beach
4 comments:
Wow Paul and Colleen, spectacular. I also thought it was pretty dry, dusty, barren and BORING. Now I long to adventure through it as well, though I definitly don't know how brave I'd be with all the fishing of normal fish, let alone all the weird things you guys find to eat.
Looking forward to seeing you back home.
Love
Di.
We're enjoying your ride immensely. You seem to get younger by the day. What a great adventure.
Love
wow. Did you eat your mud crab? Did it taste muddy? Great photos, Love Cathy. Thanks for the birthday letter, mwah mwah.
Genial dispatch and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you as your information.
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