Quobba / Red Bluff / Gnaraloo
All topped up with groceries, fuel & water from Carnarvon, we headed up to Quobba. First stop was to the famous ‘blowholes’. We stood and watched them shoot water up into the air for a good 15 minutes. Getting slightly wet when we stood in the wrong spots. There was plenty of salt around, so if you need some salt, take your shaker and fill it up.
We popped our heads into the Aquarium for a quick squizz, but as it was low tide, it was no good for snorkeling. Jumping back in the car and heading north to Quobba Station! We pulled into the homestead where we got some information and maps on the station, then headed up to ‘Red Bluff’. Our expectations of Red Bluff were quite high, as alot of people had recommended it to us.
Well we’re here to say... we LOVED it! Arriving at reception, we asked the caretaker what could he offer us. As we knew it was off peak and could see alot of empty sites. He offered us a beach shack for only an extra $5 per head a night. As apposed to $15 per head for pure bush/beach camping, we had a nice lovely shack.
Of course we inspected it before agreeing but it was quite cosy and he assured us, it was the only shack which had lights. Oh la la fancy. We settled into our shack for 3 nights. It had 2 double beds plus a bunk bed, communal picnic table, some shelves, fire pit and its own private access to the beach. Oh plus lights of course. There were 4 windows which opened up on the shack, which made it very breezy during the day, and provided great views out onto the ocean. We admired the view from our outside bench seat, where we ate alot of our meals from. Plus when the wind blew up, we could all sit around inside and play some cards.
So whats here to do you may ask? Red Bluff is known for a popular surfing break. It has some really cool caves to explore. A large ridge to climb up, and if your lucky you might get a few bars of telstra. We saw countless goats, a handful of whales, plenty of fish etc. You can literally walk both directions for miles .
Red Bluff even has a small store, which sells smoothies, toasties and surfboards. Just have to check the times on the blackboard. As we were off-peak, it was only open for 1 hour during the day, which was fair enough. Why stay open with such little crowds. There was also plenty of drop toilets around, so you don’t have to be self contained. Tip - Make sure you stock up on drinking water in Carnarvon, there is none in Quobba.
Well after three glorious nights in our shack, we sadly packed everything back into the van and headed north to Gnaraloo. We pulled into the 3 mile camp, where we chose to set up at the site called ‘The Lagoon’. It was a nice semi sheltered spot and you could swim / snorkel straight out front. We walked down to the famous Tombstones surf break and watched all the kite and wind surfers having a play around.
It was surprising to see how busy the camp was! A very popular spot for surfers, thats for sure. Cost wise, its $40 a night for 2 people, which seems a tad pricey for what was there, but they did have great toilet blocks with hot showers. We felt there wasn’t really much there for us, so the next day we continued north to check out Gnaraloo bay.
We arrived nice and early at 7:30am, towing our van behind us. The track was fine and no real difficult bits. Amz jumped in for a snorkel while Kurt & Rusty watched from the shore. It definitely had some bright corals and abundance of fish whizzing around. On the way back south, we pulled in to see the shipwreck of the ‘Korean Star’. Not much left of the wreck, but a pile of rust. What was cool was, as you see the wreck, walk down to the left and you’ll see a cave. Inside the cave is the old boiler, which looks pretty cool!
The boys did a spot of fishing off the rocks, while Amz and Shenaid explored the rugged cliffs. No fish were caught, but we saw a massive pod of 20 Dolphins swimming along the coast. We eventually made it back down to Quobba, where we perched ourselves right next to the lighthouse to soak up some phone reception for a while. We camped at Point Quobba for a couple of nights, reminiscing on our weeks adventure.
#Another great spot along the WA coast, which has given us great memories with great company.#