WA Road Trip: Coral Bay to Canaervon

Our pal Raphael (image courtesy of our friend Bastiaan Terhorst)

Saturday 6^th June 2015

Leaving the national parks and pristine beaches of Exmouth in our wake it dawned on us that during the excitement we had totally forgotten that it had been an entire year since leaving the lush meadows of home. 365 days of adventure, cultural enlightenment and personal enrichment gained by experiences obtained across 27 countries. They say that time flies when you’re having fun and if that’s true we must have had a cracking good time as it only seemed like the blink of the eye. The celebrations would have to wait until the evening as this band of blokes had a busy day ahead.

The southern reaches of the stunning "Ningaloo Reef"

Around 150km South of Exmouth just off the “Minilya Exmouth Road” is the tiny holiday settlement of Coral Bay. Like Exmouth Coral Bay is famous around Australia for its close proximity to the vast Ningaloo Reef and as such offers is a great place to scuba, fishing and snorkelling. As we only had one day in town we focussed on the latter and grabbed some snorkels and masks from one of the tour provider outlets close to the beach. The beach was relatively busy and judging by the swathe of silver heads on beach towels it turned out the small hamlet is a popular holiday spot for Australians of an older demographic or those with families. A bit like the southern hemisphere equivalent of Skegness or Blackpool (If the malnourished donkeys were swapped for pelicans and the floating sewage replaced by abundant pristine marine life).

Another turtle! I think I will call you Donatello (image courtesy of our friend Dave Fowler).

It helps to act like floating drift wood i you want to get close to these chaps.

Keen to escape the overcrowding in the shallow bay we wandered south around the headland to a snorkelling spot the tourist information desk had suggested. Swimming a few meters out the first thing that’s immediately obvious is that this place definitely lives up to the name. The sections of reef we accessed from beaches in Exmouth were great but Coral Bay blows them out of the water. The sheer scale of the coral blooms is incredible. It almost feels like your swimming through an alien landscape from the movie “Avatar”. The healthy condition of the reef was backed up by the diversity of marine life. Tons of fish of multiple colours and sizes living in a complex habitat alongside a plethora of molluscs, bivalves and crustaceans. Like Exmouth the highlight of the day had to be the turtles which seemed to be all over the place. Dave and I stalked one of these incredible creatures for what seemed like hours. Hypnotised by its effortless motions and carefree demeanour. Coral Bay definitely tops our ever growing list of snorkelling spots and if you’re ever in the area it makes for a brilliant day trip.

If snorkelling or diving doesn’t interest you the talc like beach is a great spot to waste the day away and is pretty well sheltered by small row of dunes at the mouth of the bay. 

good camouflage

With a lack of free accommodation in town we all helped ourselves to a free hot shower in the adjacent holiday park before grabbing a few crates of Emu and a birthday cake from the local corner shop and trundled 100km south to the closest free camp site. The small patch of dusty land ran alongside some bush land making it easy to find enough dry wood for a campfire. The birthday bonanza meant that we finally had an excuse to dust off the “shit shirts” we bought each other in Yangshuo, China all those months ago. We even bought some sparklers to complement the highly flammable polyester and create some awesome shapes in a landscape devoid of artificial light.  

watch the sparks doof you'll go up like a Christmas tree 

Sunday 7^th June 2015

I suppose after a week of activities it was inevitable that we would have a day of boredom and Sunday 7^th June 2015 was such a day.  A day staring at the sun scorched tarmac isn't the most exciting thing in the world but at least it was comforting to know that just over the horizon sat the dolphin hot spot of Monkey Mia.

We stopped for lunch in the town of Carnarvon, which naturally lacks the historic importance of its Welsh counterpart but does share the same humble atmosphere as a safe refuge for leisure craft and those who live off the seas fruits. The town is a popular pit stop thanks to a decent sized supermarket and nice public parks with communal BBQ’s and washing facilities. If you’re stick of sitting in a smelly car, eating pot noodle all day just find such a spot, crack open the burgers and get your fill. It’s a luxury you can’t get in the UK thanks mostly to the damp climate and the fact that if there were public barbeques they would probably be used as disposal points for dog shit.

scenic spot. I just hope the mosquitoes bug off 

The evening campsite was nestled on the banks of the Wooramel River and offered a pretty luxurious base considering it was free. With plenty of dead driftwood to burn, an hours’ worth of Wi-Fi and clean toilets it’s no surprise the spot was extremely popular with the aged campervan and Winnebago dwellers. If anything we were something of an oddity for these retired ramblers and it probably explains that contrary to the last few weeks many of them seemed keen to chat. By far the weirdest and eventually most annoying was a rough bearded Australian who looked like someone you would expect to see on a documentary about Big Foot sightings. He appeared from the gloom whilst we were tucking into our dinner and just stood in front of us starring into the flames of the camp fire. Stunned and scared out of our skins we stared back in silence until Dave asked him what he wanted to which the wiry haired chap said “just wanted a quick talk as we haven’t seen many backpackers about” (not sure why he said we as he was on his own). I think the definition of quick chat is a bit different out here because he continued to stand by the fire a talk for two and a half hours. This wouldn't have bothered us too much if the topic of conversation was interesting but he continued to stick to his guns and talk car mechanics (which none of us gave two shits about); foreign policies, which mostly revolved around how there are too many immigrants (again another strange topic to grace a bunch of foreigners with) and how their prime minister Tony Abbott was in his words “a c**t” (which I happen to agree with. He wants to drill for oil beneath the Great Barrier Reef). Eventually the chap ran out of steam and wondered back through the gloom to his campervan. I don’t mean to sound unapproachable and we have had many occasions where starting a conversation with other travellers is a great way to break the tedium but he was the sort of bloke that left me wondering whether his campervan was full of the belongings of murdered backpackers. We are after all in a country that contains paces like Wolf Creek and people like Ivan Milat (If you don’t know what I’m on about just Google it). 

Penang: colonial town holds cultural crown

4th - 11th January 2015

     George Town the capital of Penang Island was our first destination in Malaysia. As the name suggests this bustling town was first founded in 1786 by a British naval captain called Francis Light and named after the then British monarch King George III (What better way to get prestige and quite possibly wealth and a title). Captain Light captured the region as he required a suitable base for the activities of the British East India Company as they attempted and ultimately succeeded in increasing Britannia's dominance over this profitable part of the world. Under the watchful eye of the British Empire the founders managed to turn a sleepy fishing village into a major commercial hub. Today the old town contains many of its original colonial buildings and structures. Most notable is the stronghold of  Fort Cornwallis which despite being a shell of its former self still highlights how highly prized the island was to the worlds largest superpower at the time.

New George Town

Its a jungle out there

Indiana Jones selfie

    The British weren't the only western powers to occupy the island with the Dutch, Portuguese and French claiming the territory beforehand although there is architectural evidence today.

   Jono and I stayed in a very nice hostel in the heart of the old town called "House of Journey". The young couple working there were incredibly helpful and interesting. They had both spent a number of years living in Manchester, England for studies and travelled Europe before returning home to run this great establishment. Check out the links for more details.


     Georgetown remains a prized possession for the Malay people and the International community. In 2008 the old town was officially granted UNESCO status which should ensure the historic hub remains preserved for many years to come. Since the change in status the town has become the gem of the Malaysian tourist trail. There are many sights to keep anyone preoccupied for a few days. The city is famous for its great array of street art both in the commonly used media of spray paint but also metal rods. Its a great way to get your bearings around the old town's narrow streets and also completely free.





Awesome Street Art

     Another great feature of Georgetown is its well preserved wharfs that have stood since the settlements birth. The same families still own and in some cases live on the same wooden structures that supported their ancestors.

George Town Wharf



Tucking into some grub at "Red Garden"

Penang Hill

Bruvs on a Bench (Penang Hill)

     Penang's capital is a great melting pot (or in this case cooking pot) for a range of great cuisine. The street food is famous all around Malaysia. Its inexpensive and there is great selection. George Towns population is made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians and over the years the town has developed its own versions of the best dishes these cultures have to offer and have even adapted dishes from neighboring countries. One good location is a food court called "Red Garden". It's a great place to eat with a group as every possible food option is available from Thai to Sushi or Korean to Western and at 9pm they normally have live entertainment to accompany the experience. It's a bit like an outdoor Working Men's Club with lady boys instead of bingo.


    

Monkey Beach

The sights continue outside George Town with the funicular railway up to Penang Hill or Penang National Park on the islands North East shore offering great views and the chance to see wildlife. We visited the National Park on two separate occasions for a bit of trekking. The first visit involved an easy one hour walk through the forest to Monkey Beach. Not the most stunning strip of sand in the world due to the litter but it did offer a nice place to swim and sunbathe after a sweaty hike.





What no Pelican or Zebra crossing

I think I'll name you Raphael

The second visit required a slightly longer but by no means difficult trek to the more isolated and stunning Turtle Beach. We were unable to swim when we visited as a red flag was raised due to toxic jellyfish but we were still able to see the small but impressive green turtle sanctuary. The workers collect some of the youngsters when they hatch and ensure their well fed in small tanks before releasing into the wild. This was our first sighting of a baby turtle and no doubt its more spectacular seeing them in the ocean but there's no denying the world would be a worse place if these critically endangered creatures die out.

turtle sanctuary

Penang National Park is also a great place to grab cheap accommodation if your willing to rough it as they have a number of free camping grounds. We may have considered it if it hadn't been raining heavily every evening but what can I say we wimped out.




metal rod artwork

some locals at Monkey Beach

Lots of island strays