BakersOnTour (2012): 2012, August 18 - 29 Tom Price via Barradale via Exmouth to Yardie Homestead (Ningaloo)

Luke having a snorkel at Turquoise Bay, Ningaloo Reef

Trip Meter Start – 1408 (Tom Price)

Trip Meter Finish – 1846 (Barradale)
Total Km Travelled – 438 km

Trip Meter Start – 1846 (Barradale)
Trip Meter Finish – 2133 (Yardie Homestead)
Total Km Travelled – 287 km

Trip Meter Start – 2133 (Yardie Homestead)

Trip Meter Finish – 2772 (Neds Camp – driving around over 10 days)

Total Km Travelled – 639 km

Filled Up Nanutarra Roadhouse
Unleaded Petrol $1.94 per litre; 65.16 litres; $127.00
Filled Up Exmouth
Unleaded Petrol $1.73.8 per litre; 17.84 litres; $31.00

Our campsite tucked in behind the dunes at Neds Camp.
Nic having hot solar water shower

Accommodation
Yardies Homestead $38 p/n 2 adults and 1 child (powered)
Ned’s Camp Cape Haven National Park, Ningallo $14 p/night per couple + $2 p/night per child for unpowered site ($160 for 10 nights) no power; excellent drop toilets (no smell and very clean); bore water available to fill up jerry cans.

Comments – Luke
Saturday – Tom Price to Barradale - Today we travelled to Parabadu witch is a small mining town for lunch. After that we camped next to a dryed river bed. We made a fire and watched the shooting stars.

Luke with the remainder of his fish after a big shark took
his share - deep sea fishing on the Osso Busso, Exmouth

Sunday – Barradale to Exmouth - Today a friend of mine named Tim came in the car with us. We met his family in Tom Price. When we got to Exmouth we met up with his family and did some shopping. After that we set up camp at the campground and went snorkaling I only saw one fish and one stingray. There where also heaps of seaslugs and they skwirted heaps of there sticky nets over me that they use to catch fish, it was very hard to get off.

Monday - Yardy Campground to Neds Camp – Today we camped behind a sandune right next to the beach. After that we did some shopping. Me and Jake flew his kite. At night we went ghost crab hunting there were heaps.

Luke caught this octopus
(without the head) 5 metres
off the beach with a hand
made spear

Tuesday – Neds Camp – Today we went snorkling at Turquioise Bay and the Oyster Stacks were we saw heaps of coral, fish and other creatures. My favourite one was the oyster stacks because you didn’t have to go out that far and the correl (coral - good try Luke) was prettier and there were more coulofal (colourful (good try luke) fish. At night I went ghost crabbing with my dad.

Wednesday 22 – Wednesday 29 August – Neds Camp – We went snorkling again saw heaps of other fish. I also met a boy and a girl named Hugh and Jessinter; we went ghost crab looking again. I also met some Italian kids and went fishing with them. We also caught a shark with a pomy man and he cooked it up for us. We also caught 2 big octopus with another man.

Comments – Mum and Dad

Snorkelling at Oyster Stacks

It was a 700 km plus trip from Tom Price out to Exmouth; so we decided to break it up and spend a night free camping at Barradale. Dropped into Parapardoo to stock up on drinkies; locals were holding a market and Luke got a couple of $2 DVD's for the car; Free camp was a nice private bush setting. We met up with the family of 7 from Nelson's Bay that we ran into at Karajini; Tim their only son travelled with us the next day for the final 300 km into Exmouth. We all camped at the Yardie Homestead that night which is about 6km from the Cape Haven (Ningaloo Reef) National Park and decided to try our luck at the gate first thing in the morning. Accommodation in the National Park is very popular in the winter months in WA. So at 5.30am I took my coffee and book, left the boys in bed and headed down to the rangers gate waiting for them to open at 8am. I was 3rd in line then by 7am there were 11 cars, campers and motorhomes behind me. After the ranger radioed all the camps down the coast, 19 places were available, and I got to pick our camp and of course I chose Neds which I was told was the better of the camps including Mesa. I paid the $11 entry and drove to meet our hosts Kerry and Steve who put us on site 15 (next door to.......yep, Al and Yap (can you believe it!!!!!). Driving back I woke the boys and we headed down to the park to set up besides our old friends from Coffs Harbour who couldn't believe we were there when they turned up after stocking up in town.

Scrim (the chef) and Luke catch a reef
shark off the beach (Neds Camp) mmm....

Happy hour is at 5.30 after a hard day of snorkelling and fishing...ahhhh

Parrot fish feeding at Oyster Stacks (Ningaloo)

We decided to spend 10 nights here; so much to see and do; fishing, snorkelling, relaxing and of course happy hour at 5.30 every afternoon on the sand dune. We had the fortune of having a 2 hat chef (backpacker dude) from England camping with little money, but was awesome at cooking the fish the boys were catching....first night we had fish in a white wine and fennel cream sauce with twice cooked fries with sea salt and rosemary....unbelievable. This place is the only place in Oz you can walk straight off the beach into the reef filled with fish and corals. No need to catch a boat here. Hope you like the photos...

New friends - Mark, Me, Scrim (2 hat chef from England), Rochelle, Andrew and Lianna

Mark filling up jerry cans with teenage emus in tow looking for any spillage and a drink

The Italian Family we spent the day fishing with. They were estatic they caught this Pike
off Lakeside. Sandro and Raeffa and their 3 lovely children are from Rome.

Gorge at Yardie Creek. Most southern end of Cape Range National Park. The waters are
filled with turtles, stingray and fish. This is also home to the black footed wallaby.