Day 67: Quobba Point

 The persistent wind has stayed with us again today, coming from the East, and quite cool in the mornings. By lunch time the temperatures are up to mid 20's.

Todays plan is to drive down to Quobba Point to see the blowholes, have a snorkel at the "aquarium" (if it is not too cold), and check out the Lighthouse.

It is 10 km back down the dirt to Quobba Point, backtracking the path we took to get to Quobba Station. We got down there at around 10 am and the air temp is still pretty cool, but we went to have a look at the lagoon they call "the aquarium" first to see if we could brace ourselves and have a snorkel. Others were there donning wetsuits, but a few old grey nomads were having a go in normal swimwear, so I decided to join them.

Well protected from the open sea by a reef

It is a very calm and shallow lagoon, a stark comparison to the open sea just a few hundred metres away. There is some live coral, and a variety of colourful fish with a few larger reef fish interspersed. The tide is going out but it is only a few hours from high tide which looks like an ideal time to swim here, as getting past half tide it would probably be too shallow to pass over the coral. There were probably more people watching than snorkelling, but it was worth the effort, if not a little cold.

Next it was time to see the blowholes in action. But first you need to get past the many signs that warns of the dangers of fishing on this stretch of coast.

A not so subtle message

A commemorative plaque for a fisherman who didn't survive

All along the coast line are these signs providing information on where you are to pass on to emergency services.

We are not fishing, just wandering out on the rock platform to see the blowhole, but the message is pretty clear, and the coastline is treacherous for risk takers.

With the tide still relatively high, the blowhole is not at its best, but impressive nevertheless.

Stunning coastline but I can understand why balloon fishing is so popular.

Whilst we went to see the blowhole, everyone there was immediately enthralled by a procession of whales passing very close to the shore.

The lighthouse was next on the agenda, placed high on a hill overlooking the coast and a 4WD track up to it.

The lighthouse was built in 1949, partly from bits and pieces acquired from other lighthouses that hasd been upgraded

Looking down over the lagoon

We can also see the salt stockpile at Cape Cuvier where salt produced from Lake Macleod is shipped

Lake Macleod operations are owned by Leichhardt Industrial Group, who acquired 100 % ownership of Lake Macleod assets and operations from Dampier Salt. A deepwater port was part of the deal. The company produces both salt and gypsum from Lake Macleod.

After the lighthouse visit we went back down near the lagoon to have our picnic lunch at a well placed picnic table where we continued to see whales pass by.

Nice little pool near our lunch spot

As we headed back up the dirt road  back to our campsite we saw many helium balloons floating in the air off the rock shelf along the roadside. There was no activity at the fish cleaning table when we got back.

We ended up just relaxing this afternoon as the breeze became onshore and in the immediate area, I need different gear for fishing, or be happy to contribute a lot of tackle to the ocean snags. 

Tomorrow we head to Carnarvon, only about 85 km from here. There is a carwash there tall enough for caravans, so we will give the rig a wash, as we are finally out of the red dirt zone, hopefully ?