Travel: Onslow, WA

By Tony and Denyse Allsop

Onslow is a great fishing town that is popular with southern West Australians. As soon as we had settled in to Ocean View Caravan Park we were offered fresh fish, as there was a surplus in the camp.

Two days later we were offered fresh Spanish mackerel, as once again someone had caught more than they could use. We thought, “Why go fishing?”

Our waterfront site was about 100m away from the old jetty, which was covered in large rock oysters – I could stand on the sand to pick them without having to bend down. There was a crabbing area up the inlet but we were not offered any of these!

Onslow had enough to keep us here for six days: long beach walks, visiting Old Onslow, the Ashburton River, termite mounds and more, but then came a gale warning with showers and it was time to move on.

Unseasonable rain had closed some of the roads and flooded two caravan parks further south. We passed two bridges whose approaches had been washed away earlier in the year, but we had no trouble getting to Exmouth.

We had phoned ahead to book into the Ningaloo Caravan Holiday Resort as all RV accommodation in town was taken. This is WA in the holiday season – we were there late July/early August – so it pays to book ahead, and be prepared for the inconvenience of changing sites if requested by the management.

Exmouth was also very windy and the rain had forced the closure of the roads into both Charles Knife Canyon and Shot Hole Canyon. These remained closed for the entire week we were there. On our last trip here we enjoyed the canyons and were sorry we hadn’t been able to spend more time.

One of our favourite camping areas in the country had to be Cape Range National Park. The Ningaloo Reef section has around 14 camping zones, some where generators are allowed. Most camping areas have a host who is based there for the season, controlling noise, etc. No fires are allowed, even for cooking.

There is a board at the entrance to the park where vacancies are shown and a supervisor radios through to the camp host, who then allocates a site to you.

There are sites suitable for campers, caravans and motorhomes. Most have beach frontage or are very close to it, and some have a boat launching area.

Toilets are provided but not much else, not even drinking water, although there is a limited supply of bore water available. The park stretches for about 50km, ending at Yardie Creek, which may be crossed in a 4WD.

Yardie Creek Gorge is rather remarkable, with high, red cliffs and clear, deep water running out towards the ocean (although it was blocked by the sand bar while we were there). Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) runs a boat trip up the gorge twice a day, but we preferred to do the walk, which takes about one hour return and travels via the clifftop. This is not a hard climb and we thought the views were even better than from the boat.

Fishing and snorkelling in the entire national park is excellent, with warm, tropical water and waves breaking on the outer reef only a few kilometres away.

We were in heaven: white sand, coral, good fishing and swimming, a good sheltered campsite – and all this in the middle of winter!

We chose a non-generator site at Ned’s Camp, one of the closer areas to Exmouth, enjoying Happy Hour every evening organised by our camp hosts, Norm and Gwen.

We were able to drive in to inspect all the other camping areas while we were there, snorkelling at Turquoise Bay and doing several of the walks. Emus, ‘roos and bustards run wild through Exmouth and Cape Range and were sighted frequently, necessitating careful driving. Traps have been laid for foxes, as they are a severe ecological problem here, even decimating turtle hatchlings and nests.

Time moved on, however, so it was goodbye to Exmouth and hello to Coral Bay. Once again we had to pre-book, getting the last site at Peoples Park Caravan Village.

The last time we were here in 1988, the road in was unsealed and the caravan park was the only place there, but now the road is clean, with more accommodation and shops built.

There is currently a development ban in place for Coral Bay, while suitable building regulations are being debated and sewerage has recently been installed.

We were glad we had made a booking, as 10 caravans were lined up waiting to get in – all were turned away. Both caravan parks were full, a common problem to confront the RVer in WA through the winter. 

Coral Bay is part of the Ningaloo Marine Park system, which runs from south of Coral Bay to just north of Exmouth. It protects Australia’s most accessible and largest fringing reef system. Whale sharks, huge manta rays, dugongs, turtles, humpback whales and dolphins are all found here.

A pure fishing and diving paradise, at Coral Bay you may snorkel on live coral a few metres from the water’s edge. In Qld, this idyllic situation is really available only on the islands, significantly increasing the access costs.

On the beach white sand extends for many kilometres to the north, while a dirt road continues south at the rear of the caravan park to several other beaches. A tropical current flows south through the marine park in autumn and winter, allowing coral to grow.

Ningaloo Marine Park, together with Cape Range National Park are my favourite spots in Australia and offer a full range of RV sites, from national park campsites to four-star caravan parks.

Onslow Fast Facts
Onslow is approx. 1450km north of Perth; Exmouth is approx. 1270km north of Perth; Coral Bay is 153km south of Exmouth.

Ocean View Caravan Park: Second Avenue, Onslow, (08) 9184 6053, fax (08) 9184 6274.

Ningaloo Caravan Holiday Resort (four-star, Member Top Tourist): Lot 1125 Murat Rd, Exmouth, (08) 9949 2377, fax (08) 9949 2577; email reception@exmouthresort.com

Peoples Park Caravan Village: Lot 5 Robinson Street, Coral Bay, (08) 9942 5933, fax (08) 9942 5866; email peoplesparkcoralbay@bigpond.com