Exmouth - Karijini

Paved and curbed roads, gravel lots filled with families and minimal grass is how I can describe the campground at Exmouth. The sky is clear and its 36 degrees so the two pools are a bonus. It's about 2kms to town so we pull out the scooters and hoon off to chill at Froth the local craft brewery. The strangest thing about Exmouth is the two small IGA supermarkets which sit on opposite sides to the small pedestrian street which is town, sometimes you need to shop at both just to get what you need. There's a cool vibe here and we enjoy chilling out.

Back at camp we check out pool number 1 which has large red rocks on the edge and they're perfect for jumping off which Alila does until a man tells us off. Soon enough there's a pair of young boys doing exactly the same but this time there's an angry mother not pleased he's telling off her boys so then there's angry words being thrown from lounger to poolside just as Ben arrives, poor guy thinks he's walked into some couples domestic, it's all a bit much for the camp pool.

There is an art class at the camp kitchen and the girls enjoy spending an hour using the fabric paints and pens to decorate various calico items and later in the day Alila finds her friends from Shark Bay on a site in the next row over. That night the four kids take their camp chairs over to bags themselves a good spot for tonights outdoor movie.

 

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We leave Exmouth before dawn today and are well on the way when the horizon starts to lighten, the 4 planets are a little off kilter but are still kind of stacked 4 in a row. We're counting down the minutes till our first stop which should be in another 2 hours. We cross another crocodile infested river and there  in the nothing is Nanunturra Roadhouse. We refuel, have breakfast and grab a coffee before we're back on the road. Driving days are slow, the air conditioning is cranked up but its still hot, like need to stick your head in a bucket of ice water hot. We flip from cranking up the Spotify, to silently watching the road disappear beneath us. I read and jot notes for the blog, but for Ben there is no distraction from the monotony of red dirt, white lines and tarseal. The odd vehicle passes and lots will give us a wave, we've noticed this since the Nullarbor (I've even checked there's not a large picture drawn somewhere above the windscreen, thought maybe everyone was pointing at something up there).

At Tom Price the only thing to see is a giant green mining truck so we stop to stretch our legs and Ben tries to explain to us just how big this truck is. We refuel and grab an ice block for the kids. 

 

Snake research

We put on our dorky fly nets and step out into the 37 degree heat. We’ve just bumped and juddered along a 12km unsealed road, so it’s good to stretch our legs. We’re heading to the trailhead of the canyon walk when a young English boy with his family warns us he saw a large Eastern brown slithering away under a rock. Ben is now on super high alert and Alila starts stamping her feet as we go. I’m pretty sure a snake will move away before we get a chance to even see it. 

Our shoes turn red from the dusty path and we're all positively melting in the heat especially me as I’m now carrying April along a treacherous part as we drop down into the canyon. There’s warnings here about blue asbestos which naturally occurs in seams in the canyon. There is a town near here which has literally just been deleted from the map as it was an asbestos mining town which has been condemned, its sole inhabitant finally forced off the land. Due to health concerns the government had to remove it in order to stop tourists seeking it out for a photo op. however if you call into the info centre up the road its right there on the map on the wall. The walk is slow going with Ben out the front stopping every two metres to check for snakes. Although we're in a canyon it is bone dry down here and we notice how different it is from our landscapes at home. No snakes here.

Back over the corrugated dust road to the Eco Lodge - a basic camp set up with some glamping tents, rustic tin shed toilets and a main building with an outdoor restaurant. We find our site way in the farback end of the camp, dinner is booked in an hour or two, so we shower, rest and walk over to dinner. Ben and I both have crocodile and prawn curry for tea and the crocodile is as chewy as ball of rubber bands but the prawns are good. It's way past bedtime and Alila is asleep on her hamburger so we head out into the dark for the long walk home. We only have the torches on our phones which seem like a 1000 suns when your husband is shining it around when you're asleep but in the outback the light seems to be absorbed somewhere, like the ground just drinks in all the light. April and I are leading the way when I spot something, it’s not moving and looks just like one of those long wavy seed pods, so I go real close to check what it is and April pulls back “Its a snake!!!” 

“No, no” I say, peering into the gloom from my iPhone light. "It's just a seed pod." She mishears this and upon retelling of this story is adamant I'm telling her it's a sea creature. 

Ben is soon behind us “Get back, its a snake” he calls. 

“No, no” I say. 

“Get back” he says and I step back a few paces thinking I can still be right from back there. 

“Look! its moving!” he says.

“No it isn't” I say.  Then I see a movement and realise the seed pod is moving its head 

"Oh my god it is a snake!” We shuffle our feet and it moves off the path reluctantly. This event is retold over and over the next couple of days and I'm glad to get my version of events out there first.

The mornings and the evenings here are what makes Western Australia unforgettable. Here at Karijini the sky is all reds and there is the scent of the dirt and scrub with wild dingoes howling nearby, the sunsets and sunrises are simply magic.  Ben is straight out to wait for the coffee lady this morning but is back half an hour later empty handed as he forgot his mask, so we walk out to the Joffre pool viewing area and I have to say its worth coming all this way, it is actually quite magical. You can imagine walking days and days through the dry red dust your mouth like sandpaper searching for shade and water then coming to the edge of this canyon and below is a true oasis. 

Back to the van for the drive north.