Exmouth is close to the tip of the North West Cape. The area was first used by Europeans during WW2 as a base for submarines. It was bombed by the Japanese but there were no casualties.
In the 1960s a very low frequency communications facility was constructed at the tip of the Cape to provide communications to US and Australian ships and submarines. It was named the Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt after the then PM presumably died. There are 13 metal towers the tallest of which is 357m. The pic shows only one third of this tower. There are two cars at the base of the tower. It is worth looking at this site on google earth to see the layout of the towers.
The main reason people come to Exmouth these days is to visit the Ningaloo World Heritage Area along the western side of the Cape. Dogs are not allowed so we left our two with the vet since there are no regular boarding kennels in town. We spent a couple of hours snorkelling at Turquoise Bay, which truly is turquoise. The coral reef is only metres out in shallow water. There is no need to take a boat out to see the reef but there are plenty of boat trips available to see the whale sharks. We just donned our snorkelling gear and swam around. Unfortunately I have not managed to get the gopro working yet so no underwater pics.
The beach in the pic is near the Lighthouse Caravan Park on the north west tip of the Cape. This is not within the World Heritage Area but there are sites in the WHA for camping and self sufficient caravans. There were no campsites available today and the school holidays have not started WA. This is definitely on our list for our next trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment