Shark Bay

I left Exmouth at 07.00 for an early start in the hope that the roads wouldn't be blocked after all the rain of the previous 36 hours. It was a sunny morning with showers in the afternoon and blowing a gale and raining by the time I reached Shark Bay, Denham, at 15.30. The temperature dropped from the low 20s to 17 degrees, the coldest so far on the trip except for the early mornings in the Red Centre.
I had breakfast and lunch at roadhouses.
Back on the North West Coastal Highway, it was almost a continuous straight road for 200km after Carnarvon before the turn-off up the peninsula to Denham. Carnarvon was like an oasis with banana plants and fruit trees. It must be irrigated, being surrounded by semi-desert.
I saw an emu and two herds of feral goats.
I crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, the 26th parallel, twice, the second time travelling north up the peninsula to Denham on a World Heritage Road and in a World Heritage Area, the road being flanked by vegetated sand dunes.
I checked into Shark Bay Apartments on the seafront with my cabin facing the "white horses" out to sea.
In the afternoon and the following day, I bought some cleaning materials with which to clean the boot. I also wrapped my holdall in a bin-liner and put it on the back seat so that it wouldn't be contaminated by the smell or stains on the back-shelf.
Having walked along the seafront to check what was available, I went to the Shark Bay Hotel which had a bar and a restaurant with TV screens showing sport. I had fresh fish for dinner.
Start:16528km. Finish: 17212km. Distance travelled: 684km, the longest so far.Read more