Day 65: Coral Bay to Quobba Station

 Before we leave Coral Bay, we need to replenish our on board water supply, as we have not been connected to their bore water for the 3 days we have been there and have used up almost half of our supply. We are heading to Quobba Station, who also has no water. Fortunately Coral Bay Caravan Park have a bulk outlet for potable water from which they will allow you to fill your tanks. Guests get the first 20 litres free and then it costs 10 cents per litre. We needed 80 litres, so it only cost us $6.


It is a longer drive today to Quobba Station, 277 km, with the last 10km corrugated dirt. There is one roadhouse along the way at Minilya, where we stopped for a comfort and coffee break.


Minilya Roadhouse

It was not the most impressive roadhouse we have stopped at, but it was clean inside, and a few unusual pets patrolled the outside.



The last 10 km into tye Station Homestead was a bit on the bumpy side, but it was only 10 km. When we arrived you have to register at the office and get the usual instructions and site map.


Camping here is a fairly informal affair, as most sites are unpowered and not clearly defined. The instruction was simple, we could set up in any area marked with the diagonal lines. As is usual we cruised around for a while before settling on the area near the southern fence line. There is lots of space, and not a lot of campers. Lots marked with numbers are for those who booked powered sites.


Our chosen site

None of the sites are really level, so we had to spend a bit of time levelling up one side with a ramp.

We can hear the ocean as the beach is just over the sand hills, and after lunch we go for a walk along the beach to check it out. It is not a swimming beach as the reef comes right to the shore, and fishing on this beach is not allowed, but there are many other options along the 80 km coastline that borders Quobba Station. It is a working sheep station, raising sheep for meat, not wool.

It is also renowned as one of the best shoreline fishing spots in Australia, but it is not without it's challenges.


I will look into the fishing options tomorrow, many appear to be off rock ledges and require a 12 ft long gaff to land a fish.

Homestead Beach is basically a small strip of sand very close to a rocky reef, which is full of life.




Looking South

We walked to the Northern end of the beach, as we were told that fishing is allowed from the headland North. The beach is very steep and strewn with fragments of some very lasrge shells and lots of coral. They must get some pretty wild onshore swells here at times.


There is life in the water and some shellfish survive despite being prone to wave damage. We saw 2 large live cowrie shells.


And some colourful coral


We went up onto the rock ledge/ headland where the power of the sea was more apparent, as were potential fishing spots at the right tide.


We also had a chat with this gentleman who was well set up with his super telephoto lens and a drone, hoping to capture something he spotted yesterday, a pod of Orcas trying to separate a humpback calf from its mother. We have seen lots of whales passing by, so his quest may not be in vain.


We also noticed this uniquely shaped little dry rockpool on the rock ledge


Once back at the campground we had a bit of a look around to familiarise us with where things are. As it turned out, we are a fair distance from the amenities, but do have a long drop toilet quite close if needed.


Sunset is at 6pm and we will be down at the lookout on top of the dunes to take it all in. It is also great spot to get an overview of this campground.



It seems every man and his dog has turned up to see the sunset


The Homestead



A sunset view over the camping area


The Sun goes down


As the moon rises

Once the sun is gone the sky lights up.




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