Wooramel to Exmouth

The mature gums along the Wooramel River are a contrast to the scrub plains as we continue on our journey north. We spot a couple of emus on the side of the road as we drive.
We convoy up to Carnarvon where we plan on stocking up on groceries before the last leg to Exmouth , our base for the next week. We pass flood level indicator signs marked up to 2 m. The surrounding land is so flat, floods here would be like an inland sea. The floodway is little more than bare sand with a few clumps of grey grass.
As we come into the outskirts of Carnarvon we notice the fire risk indicator sign also has a cyclone risk indicator tacked onto the top. Today’s cyclone risk is listed as ‘all clear’. Good to know!
On the road into Carnarvon a 30 m satellite dish sits up on a hill. This is the site of the OTC Satellite Earth Station, now the Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum commemorating the OTC Station and nearby Carnarvon Tracking Station. The Tracking Station was commissioned in 1964 to support NASA’s Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs and operated until 1975. The OTC Station opened in 1966 as part of the global satellite communications system. While the Parkes dish transmitted tv footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, the Carnarvon dish transmitted radio communications and played an important role in the success of the mission. The OTC station has been decommissioned for radio communications but still operates as part of a global solar measurement network.
The museum experience starts with a simulation of the Apollo 11 launch. Michael gleefully climbed into a mock spacesuit, and persuaded the teenager to do the same, before we climbed into a scale replica of the space shuttle, lay on our backs and watched footage of the launch control room while the sound of rockets firing played and ‘flames’ lit up the ‘windows’ and the shuttle rattled and rocked.
The exhibits on morse code, shuttle handing simulation and space invaders console respectively held the attention of our family for way too long (not to mention Buzz the very contented rescue cat). As a result, our planned quick peek at the museum stretched into a much longer visit than we intended. We hurriedly restocked in Carnarvon town centre before resuming our journey to Exmouth, with Crowded House playing over the roar of the van. Only 300 km or so to go.
As we travel the landscape becomes more undulating. The soil is vivid red and sandy, and in parts looks like a low heat bushfire has passed through.
Around 180 km south of Exmouth we speed past a sign announcing the Tropic of Capricorn. Whoops, missed it!
Around 160 km south of Exmouth we start to see termite mounds, hundreds of them in every direction.
At 130 km south of Exmouth we pass a guy on a pushbike. He is pulled over in a parking lay by, looking intently at a phone or a map. There is a story there, but we don’t stop. We are pushing ahead, to write our own story!
A few kilometres further down the road we pass three skip bins. In yet another parking lay by. In the middle of nowhere. There’s another story there!
The Exmouth isthmus is hillier than much of the coastal plains we have been travelling, and as we top a rise we catch a glimpse of the Indian Ocean and – somewhere out there – Ningaloo Reef.
Thirty-five km south of Exmouth we pass Learmonth Airport. It has been 17 ½ years since Daniel and Helen touched down here, and took the hilly ride into Exmouth, with the Exmouth Gulf glittering turquoise blue on our right. We are excited to be back, and to share the experience with our children and friends.もっと詳しく