The track is always rough, but this time, for a change, it was muddy and in places, even slippery. Then we hit the first patch of water – a shallow stretch of red, thickish aqua that had taken on the colour of the surrounding rugged range country that lies a little to the east of the white dunes and long beaches that make up this spectacular section of the West Coast.
Underneath the water and the thin layer of mud was ancient limestone laid down when this whole area was under the sea and the range of today was, in fact, a coral reef. The limestone, though, makes the track rough and any rain takes a while to drain away, while the nearby dunes were showing little or any signs of the recent downpour we had been subjected to.
We were driving through the RAAF firing range, the track (officially known as the Ningaloo-Yardie Creek Road) being the only real link from our camp at Winderabandi Point on the northern edge of the old Ningaloo station property, north to Cape Range National Park and the bitumen road to the region’s major supply point at the town of Exmouth.
We entered the national park, passing a couple of small beachside camps (the best in the park?) before coming to the sandy crossing of Yardie Creek. For the first time in many years and only the second time that I’ve ever seen it, water was flowing out from the creek, cutting an ever deeper channel in the sandbar that normally cuts the freshwater off from the sea.
Luckily it was low tide and the flowing water shallow, but I checked the route before driving in and padded our way across the stream and quickly met up with the bitumen road.
The national park, here north of Yardie, was crowded to bursting with campers filling the many campgrounds and day trippers herding into the vehicle day-parking areas. At Tantabiddi, where the whale-watching trips depart from, there was a mass of buses and vehicles disgorging people for their day-long adventure.
The park and the coast with its close in-shore coral reef, are an absolute cracker and I can understand the immense attraction, but can’t help reminiscing rather fondly of our first visit here in 1978 when we were the only vehicle camped at Yardie Creek and designated campsites were unheard of. With this latest trip, we were glad to be camped farther south where the rough dirt roads and sandy tracks keep many at bay.
North of the national park, a strip of land between the road and coast is protected in the Jurabi Coastal Park, while the pleasant and rustic Yardie Creek Homestead offers the only camping spot in this area. The famous Lighthouse caravan park is now closed and being rejuvenated as a luxury resort under the auspices of ‘Twiggy’ Forrest.
Nearby, on the crest of a high hill is the Vlamingh Head lighthouse and the remains of a WW2 radar tower and emplacement. They are both worth a look, giving an insight in to the region’s history and offering an outstanding view of the surrounding coast and the reef just offshore.
From the lighthouse, it’s less than 20km to the township of Exmouth, the thriving tourist hub of the region. During WW2 the US Navy had a submarine base in nearby Exmouth Gulf and the area was bombed by Japanese aircraft a couple of times in 1943. From near here, the famous Australian commando raids on Singapore were launched, the first in September 1943 being a success while the second, launched sometime later, was a disaster with all the men being captured and executed.
Later in the 1960s, Exmouth became the site for a US submarine communication centre, now known as the Harold E. Holt Naval Communication Station and operated by the Australian Navy. In 2022, a Space Surveillance Telescope operated by the US Space Force is due to go in to operation, so you’ll understand the need for some of the tall antennas that dominate the area and the high security fences around them.
After our supply restock in the town, we backtracked to our camp arriving in time for happy hour with our long-time friends and a fine sunset to end the day. It was day 10 of our three-week stay on the Ningaloo Coast and we were enjoying the lazy days, even if the sun wasn’t shining too much and the weather was decidedly cool.
Most mornings, I’d wander up into the range country looking for wildlife and the like, although even the western grey kangaroos and shaggy coated euros were decidedly scarce this trip. Maybe the preceding drought had thinned them out or the recent rain had spread them far and wide, away from the life-giving waters often found in many of the gorges and defiles throughout the range country.
Still, we came across the odd one or two, along with a couple of solitary emus. In fact, we had more success with the area’s birdlife, spying osprey and falcons, a bustard and having butcher birds wake us each and every morning, their cries and antics keeping us amused for all but the hottest part of the day.
Of course, you can’t come to this coast and not go for a snorkel in the clear tropical waters. For land-based snorkelers you can’t get a much better spot to have a swim than at Turquoise Bay in the national park. The water is shallow and clear, while a drift dive, literally just a few metres from the shore, takes you across coral gardens alive with colourful reef fish and you’ll have a good chance of seeing a turtle or some harmless reef sharks or stingrays.
Another easy spot to enjoy a swim is out the front of the Coral Bay caravan park where near tame north-west snapper, or spangled emperor, will make you feel right at home.
With a boat, the whole reef opens up to your exploration adventures and it’s only a matter of how keen you are and how far you want to go. For those venturing outside the reef, there is always a chance to swim with a whale shark and while there are tours available from Exmouth and Coral Bay, there’s nothing quite like having a harmless giant of the ocean come up behind your boat and say ‘hello’ to you.
While we weren’t so lucky this trip, we’ve swum with them on previous trips to the Ningaloo Reef, while some young friends just up the beach and keener than us, going out each and every day, swam with a number of these harmless giants.
While you are allowed to fish off the beach in the bay directly on the north side of Winderabandi Point, fishing from a boat is not allowed which means, if you are a boatie, you’ve got to head farther afield. We did so a few times heading out behind the reef in fairly deep water to try our luck. We caught a few nice fish too, but had trouble with the big bull sharks, which often quickly came on the scene and took any hapless fish that was unlucky enough to take our hook. Do the sharks know what to listen for as far as fishing is concerned? Many think so!
Fishing off the beach can be productive, especially just before first light and even more so if the tide is high. Our good mate and top-notch fisherman, Neil, went out on numerous early morning forays and always came back with one or two nice north-west snapper.
Just being on the beach can bring unexpected delights as well. One day we had a group of dolphins chasing fish and coming within a couple of metres of the shore. Another time a feeding frenzy of big predator fish, again just metres from the sand we were standing on, had smaller bait fish leaping for their lives, some landing at our feet, while others lay scattered in a line along the extremity of the ripple washed beach. We saw rays too, cruising across the shallows, all indications of a rich and healthy marine environment.
With the weather remaining cool and the snorkelling or swimming attraction not so great, we headed off to check out the ruins of the Norwegian Bay Whaling Station. Located about 6km south of the South Lefroy Camping Area, the whaling station was operational, on and off, between 1915 and 1957. In the early years, the whale harvest was up to 2000 animals a year but in the later period was regulated to 500 a year.
Today, as you approach the site from the north, the first thing you come to, as if heralding the station’s presence, are decaying piles of white bones beside the track, the last remains of the great leviathans of the sea. The track soon comes to the most obvious ruins of the station, which are those of the huge metal digesters that lay scattered through the grass just behind the first low dune up from the beach.
The former jetties and slipways nearby can be recognised from the numerous semi-submerged metal and wooden piles extending from the beach out into the sea, while huge winches and heavy steel cables mark the position of the flensing deck.
Searching around these obvious ruins, one will find piles of beer bottles and other industrial jetsam, while just off the beach an assortment of material including bottles, fuel drums and other assorted debris, can be found. By all accounts, the remains of a sunken barge is also located close to the shoreline, but we never found it; maybe next time.
We explored around the old workings and then went looking for the lonely graves of three young Norwegians who had died here back in the early years of the station’s existence. We had been to this station site three times previously but had only recently heard of the graves, so we were pretty keen to find it. With a bit of searching on foot, the graves were found about 500m south of the main ruins and about 150m in from the beach. A cement cross, with the names of the three young men carved into the concrete, is nearly completely buried by the shifting sands; it is a poignant reminder of the dangers and isolation these people endured, back then, so far from home.
Returning the way we had come, we stopped at one of the man-made water points on a sandy, clear flat about 2.5km north of the whaling station. There are a couple of wells dug here, each supplying water of varying quality, but often better than the water from the main water point on the main Ningaloo-Yardie road.
Our time was coming to a close, so after packing up our camp we headed south, passing the Ningaloo Homestead, which at that point of time the Lefroy family was also packing up to leave, thereby ending the family’s involvement with the property they had first acquired in 1934. It was, sadly, the end of an era.
Nearby, and from top of the tallest sandhill in the area, the old Point Cloates lighthouse was overlooking the sad scene. Built from local stone in 1910 and superseded by a light on top of a steel frame, the original stone tower has somehow withstood the cyclones and ravages of nature but is wilting under the pressure. I wondered if it will still be standing when I again return to this fabulous coast.
Access and camping
The easiest access to the Ningaloo Coast is via the Ningaloo Homestead road which leaves the main Minilya-Exmouth road, 99km south of Exmouth. The Ningaloo-Yardie Road north of the homestead is narrow and passing can be ‘interesting’. The route can be rough and/or corrugated.
Access to the camping areas is through soft, deep sand, so a 4WD is essential as is lowering tyre pressures.
Camping on this section of the Ningaloo Coast is possible at any of the five campgrounds dotted along the coast: North Lefroy, Janes Bay, Point Billie, South Lefroy Bay and Winderabandi Point.
There are no toilets at any of the campgrounds and visitors must bring a portable chemical cassette toilet.
At present, you can camp for up to 28 nights. Dogs are allowed, with some restrictions.
Fires are not permitted on the open ground and must be contained within a portable fire pit. No firewood collection is permitted so you need to bring your own.
Bookings are essential. Go to: https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/ningaloo-coast
Five things to see and do
COASTAL CAMPING
The Ningaloo Marine Park protects the Ningaloo Reef, Australia’s longest fringing barrier reef. The best five campgrounds are at: North Lefroy, Janes Bay, Point Billie, South Lefroy Bay and Winderabandi Point.
TURQUOISE BAY
There’s top snorkelling from the white, sandy shores of Turquoise Bay in the Cape Range National Park. The water is shallow and clear, and you can drift dive the currents that take you across coral gardens alive with fish.
NORWEGIAN BAY WHALING STATION
Explore the site and ruins of the Norwegian Bay Whaling Station, 6km south of the South Lefroy Camping Area, the first shore-based whaling station in WA, operating on and off between 1915 until 1957.
VLAMINGH HEAD LIGHTHOUSE
The Vlamingh Head lighthouse is on the north-west tip of North West Cape and operated from 1912 until 1967. Nearby are remnants of a WW2 radar tower, plus magnificent views of the coast and the reef.
EXPLORING YARDIE CREEK
Yardie Creek is a must-see section of Cape Range National Park, with a permanent water source that flows between the sheer cliffs of Yardie Creek Gorge. Take the Yardie Nature Walk or for the more adventurous the Class 4 Yardie Gorge Trail.
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Keyword: Touring WA’s famous Ningaloo Coast