WA - Further North - Wooramel Station and Carnarvon

Wooramel Station River Retreat

27 – 29 September 2018

The drive north to Wooramel Station took us back along the road we had travelled the previous day towards the gorges, and the countryside kept changing. We continued to see lots of flowering plants. One thing we have noticed in Western Australia is the number of rest areas where 24 stays are permitted, perhaps even encouraged. These spacious areas with tracks leading into bushland away from the road, also have toilets and picnic tables. Some even have dump points.

Our campsite at Wooramel.

We arrived at Wooramel around lunch time and set up in yet another windy spot. That’s the other thing we have noticed about WA – it seems to be always windy! We chose a nice site with a view of the river – well, the river bed as it wasn’t flowing when we were there. It’s called an upside down river because it flows underground. The river itself only flows a couple of times a year when there has been heavy rain in the catchment. There is, however, an abundance of artesian water, and two spa pools have been built to allow visitors to soak their weary and sore bodies. The water is rich in magnesium which is supposed to be good for aches and pains. At around 33°C, it was relaxing but certainly not refreshing.

Afternoon drinks near the spar.

The riverbed.

River Red Gums in the sandy river bed.

Overflow from the spa pools attracts some wildlife.

Wooramel Station is a 356 000 acre working cattle, sheep goat and outback station stay. It has Indian Ocean frontage and backs onto Shark Bay World Heritage Area although the campground is a long way from the sea.

Long-nosed Dragon

Budgies were nesting in the gum trees above us.

Rufous Songlark

A whistling Kite nest in an ancient River Red Gum.

We went out in the morning for a walk down by the river, hoping to see some birds, but it was so hot, dry and windy, it was a fruitless exercise. We did enjoy the walk though. We soaked in the tub after our walk, and again in the afternoon. It was a bit of a novelty and a good opportunity to chat to fellow travellers.

One of hundreds of feral goats we've seen on this trip.

A Wedge-tailed Eagle and a Whistling Kite have a dogfight.

Red-backed Kingfisher

We had a leisurely start to our last day and enjoyed another walk before setting off for Carnarvon.

Carnarvon

29 September – 1 October 2018

Carnarvon was our next destination as we wanted to be in a reasonable sized town to stock up and get the washing done before our visit to the Cape Range National Park. Again it was windy, but not as bad as we had expected. We went for a short drive down to the small boat harbour where Mick explored the mangrove tracks – looking for birds of course.

When we reached the mangroves it was cold, windy and dull but I brightened up the moment I saw Yellow White-eyes flitting between low bushes around the car park. It was fairly easy to get a reasonable shot of one and that was another new bird added to my life list. Also in the same area was a Mangrove Grey Fantail. It hunted busily from bush to bush trying to scare up an insect or two. It totally ignored me, at times coming too close to focus on. Further down a dirt track toward the inlet, I saw and photographed a Dusky Gerygone just inside the edge of the mangroves. Another tick! Mick.

Dusky Gerygone

Yellow White-eye

Mangrove Grey Fantail

 On Sunday morning we again ventured to the mangroves, this time to the mangrove boardwalk at the heritage precinct. It’s only a short walk, but signage proudly states it was made entirely of recycled plastics by local TAFE students. It looks like it is a work in progress and may extend further sometime in the future. We also visited town beach then headed down to the Waste Treatment Plant where we drove along some of the dirt tracks, until the sandy track became a little too soft for comfort, so we went back the way we had come, which allowed a second look at the treatment ponds – what good fortune!

Lesser Sand-plover

A Banded Stilt at the WTP.

Hoary-headed Grebe

Lucky for the Nankeen Kestrel, not so for the dragon.

Later in the day we decided to drive the 55km out to Rocky Pool. This is an undeveloped spot with no facilities at all. This part of the Gascoyne River is really beautiful. It seems to be a popular camping spot even though signage says camping is not allowed.

Rocky Pool is supposedly a site for Black-tailed Treecreeper and therefore a must visit while in the area.  We passed lots of birds on the drive out, mainly woodswallows, but did not stop to have a close look. At the pool I was pleasantly surprised to find Spinifex Pigeons (race ferruginea) and get some good shots. We stopped to check out some roadside bird activity on the way back and saw Crimson Chat, Masked Woodswallow, Red-capped Robin, Chiming Wedgebill and Rufous Songlark but sadly, no Black-tailed Treecreeper. Mick. 

Mulla mulla

Spinifex Pigeon, race ferruginea.

A male Masked Woodswallow feeds its chick.

Juvenile Crimson Chat.

While in Carnarvon we stopped in at the Visitor Information Centre and picked up a Whale Watching tour brochure for a company in Exmouth. We had considered this as an option so made a decision to book. The brochure quoted $80 per person for a sunset tour of about 2½ hours, with champagne and nibbles, but had a sticker saying “bring this brochure for a special price”. I rang and happily booked us on at $55 per person. Quite a discount! After some last minute shopping and chores, we left Carnarvon for the long (for us) drive north to Cape Range National Park.