Spangled Emperor

Sunset Over the Sand Dunes


The last three days have been great fishing for me. I seem to have figured out how to catch the much prized Spangled Emperor found here. Sunday I caught 3 (and a nice golden trevally), Monday 2 and Tuesday another two. Russ has caught quite a few 38/9 cm ones but they have to go back as the minimum size is 41cm. He's getting quite frustrated and has rigged up a bigger, better rod and reel for todays challenge.

We are very happy with our fishing success as no one gives you much info on where the fish are (naturally). We spotted some bottom that should suit the Spangled Emperors but were suprised to catch such big fish consistently in 1.8 metres of water, so close to shore.

Our neighbours have enjoyed the fish too as we've given two feeds of fish to each recently.

(738)

Coral Bay 2008

We had a lovely day today. I'm really enjoying it here this year.

At 9am, we headed out fishing and by 11am we'd caught our limit of Red Throat emperor. Not long after we headed for home and lunch. We gave two fish to a couple I'd met while Russ was getting the car and trailer. They were having no luck off the rocks and were thrilled to get two very alive fish for their lunch. Russ filleted the remaining 6 fish and we gave half to the Victorian couple parked behind us here.

For a change, we bought ourselves a couple of pies from the bakery over the road, then went swimming. There is a lovely little secluded beach where we've been fishing, so we let some more air out of the tyres and headed for that. It was great to have it to ourselves and the water was a pleasant 21c so very nice for swimming. Russ had a snorkel out over the reef, but my mask needs to be repaired beofre I can go out tomorrow.

When we got back, we went to the pool here for another swim before coming home to watch a bit of football (unusual for us) then we started dinner. I made a Greek fish dish with a rich tomato sauce, feta cheese, olives and fresh herbs. Yum.

Along the Coast Access Road

After a couple of fairly successful days fishing, we decided to take a break and go for a drive along the Coast Access Road which starts about 5 ks out of town. Our neighbours Todd and Melissa and two boys did some of it yesterday and recommended it to us.

We left around 10.30am and got home right on 4pm. It was 80ks of sand and 50 sealed. The sand had a good firm base, but was very, very corragated. Letting our tyres down made it pretty comfortable though.

We travelled through Cardabia Station (no stock) to Brudbooodjoo Point-it's a pretty popular camping spot and we counted 25 vans and tents. The fishing looked like it would be better than here (less fisherpeople), but we aren't set up to camp like that. It seems a bit late in our travels to be investing in generators, shower tents, satelite dishes etc. and the thought of how much water they need to carry puts me off too. I guess I like the soft option.



After leaving there, we pulled in to a very pretty spot in the sand dunes over looking the reef for some lunch. We stopped a lot actually for some beautiful views. It was really a worthwile drive.



We saw a few sheep on Ningaloo Station (and heaps of emus and kangaroos) but nothing as we went through Bullara Station. They probably de stocked in tougher times and can't afford to re stock now when there seems to be plenty of grass around.

Coral Bay 2008

Back for the third time. The park is full so lots of tents, caravans and motor homes. We set up, got the boat and trailer organised then went for a walk to the other park to visit our friends Ron and Irene. It was lovely to catch up with them and see them both looking so well.

Last night the power went out twice-once as we were cooking dinner and the second time as we were eating. Trouble was, the power didn't come back on until 7am this morning. I was starting to get anxious for all our meat and dairy foods we bought in Exmouth to come here and the freezer, but it was a chilly 6c over night so all was OK.

The New Boat Launching Facility!!!


Today we had an early lunch then headed out fishing. We used to launch the boat off the beach across the road from here, but now have to drive a few kilometres out of town to the new boat ramp. It's a very flash affair and makes getting out of the no fishing zone very fast.The fish were a bit scarce, but it was beautiful out there (as usual). We were fishing in 3 metres of water over sea grass when we spotted two dugongs sunning themselves really close to the boat. They hung around for quite a while.

The View from the Boat Trailer Parking Area

Yardie Creek-Last Day

It’s Saturday and our last full day at Yardie. Tomorrow we drive the 150ks or so back to Coral Bay where we’ll spend 2 weeks before heading to Perth via the inland route.

Thursday we headed out for what was our last day of fishing. It was a little rough with the biggest swell we’ve fished in while here. A little rough means better fishing though as the fish can’t see us in the boat. We caught a number of CCC, releasing any that were smaller until we had 4 good sized ones. I lost a MONSTER fish that I worked so hard to almost get to the boat before he broke off-we’ll never know what he was now. Not long after though and in the same place, I caught a size (41cm) spangled emperor (the most highly prized catch inside the reef) and just after that, Russ landed a 57cm one in the boat. That’s a big fish on the gear we use. We were able to return all the CCC back, alive to the water after that!

We gave the neighbours a feed and kept the rest for ourselves. I made a delicious Indian curry with coconut milk, tomatoes, whole green chillies and curry leaves (amongst other things) from it for dinner, with leftovers for lunch today.

Yesterday (Friday 18th) was a funny day. It drizzled on and off in between very sunny periods. Russ managed to get all the laundry done, out and dry though which was great. Otherwise we had a quiet day.

I did overhear two men talking outside the van about one of the boats in the park being overturned by a whale just outside the reef. It should be true, as there are lots about this year! I’d only commented to Russ the day before that I’d be scared of that happening if we took the tinny outside the reef on a good day. Obviously it happens!

We are seriously considering coming back for a month next year after we’ve been to Denham-if we come back to the west next year. The fishing here is so good and certainly outweighs the slight isolation of the park.

Manta Rays

Tuesday and today have been two of the best days out on the reef so far. We have a couple with three small children behind us and as the kids are early risers, so are we. It’s been good as we’ve been out on the water not long after 8 the last two mornings.

The wind has been really light, the water still and crystal clear. It’s amazing when we fish over the coral.

Yesterday as we headed out, we spotted what we at first thought were fish, then dolphins, then sharks, then as we got very close we finally realized they were giant manta rays. We counted 8 of them all over 3 metres across. They were either fishing, mating or just enjoying the warm sunny morning.

The flat water has made it much easier to spot a number of dolphins and scores of turtles cruising by checking us out. Some of them are huge too.

We’ve managed to catch good feeds of fish both days and on our way home today, I caught a very big squid on a hook using squid as bait. It was fortunate (for me, not the squid) as that piece of bait was our last squid from Denham.

Cape Range National Park 2008

Cape Range NP

Sunday 13th, we went out to the Cape Range NP. We didn’t go last year, so it was a good drive. We’d forgotten how spectacular its gullies and gorges are, and the stunning colour of the rocks. The higher points give beautiful views up and down the Gulf of Exmouth too. I drove as Russ did last time (2 years ago), and was really happy to see they’ve put up new rails in the very steepest, narrowest part of the road. It scared the crap out of Russ last time, so I figure I got off easy!


The road through the bottom of the park was closed due to rain damage (a few months ago!) so we couldn’t go there. Instead we drove back into town and checked out the new canal development. It’s looking very empty and very very expensive so far. I think that three houses are completed and about 2 started since last year. The money however seems to be being poured into it still.

Kailis Prawn Trawlers


On the way out to the park we stopped and bought fresh bread rolls, then at Kailis’s shop we bought fresh cooked king prawns. We peeled our prawns and put them through a mayo, sweet chilli, spring onion mix then piled them into the rolls and ate them for a yummy picnic lunch. We wonder what the rich people do sometimes!

The Soak Picnic Ground


Sunday night, we went over and had a roast dinner at the camp “restaurant”. It was done by the same people as last year and still no better but at $14 for the two course meal, I figure we got what we paid for. I enjoyed the two families we sat with-one from Mandurah and the other from Groote Island in NT. It was especially interesting talking to them about their life there.

Yardie Homestead CP 2008

Sand Dunes Across the Road From Yardie Creek Homestead

We arrived at Yardie Homestead on Thursday 3rd July after a couple of nights in Carnarvon. I’m not all that fond of Carnarvon, but it’s a great place to stock up with groceries at Woolies and IGA and to buy all the wonderful fruit and veg that’s produced in the area. We came away with tomatoes, bananas and avocados in various stages of ripeness. We bought zuccs, pumpkins, eggplant, red and green capsicums, herbs, corn, and pink grapefruit. The stuff is cheap at the farm gates and so fresh you can’t believe it.

Yardie has been a bit windy to do much. We got the boat off the car on Thursday night and put it in on Friday (4th) morning, but gave up after a couple of hours as it got too uncomfortable to fish. It’s a real shame as this is probably the best fishing spot we ever visit. Yesterday we sat around and did nothing. I get a bit bored, lonely and homesick if we can’t get out and fish or do something, soon Sunday (7th) we decided to get moving and go on the boat trip at Yardie Creek Gorge about 55ks from here. It was really good, not long, but very pretty and well worth the drive through the national park. On the way home, we stopped at a secluded beach and had a picnic-stras and leftover ratatouille-simple but so yummy. We’d taken our snorkels and masks along, but the wind was whipping up little waves and it just didn’t feel warm enough to swim.

Yardie Creek


I don’t know if it’s cooler this year, but we are still using our doona and I haven’t had a sleeveless shirt out in a long time. Maybe we are getting acclimatised!

Tuesday the 9th, we braved the wind and headed out fishing for the afternoon. It seems we weren’t the only ones suffering with cabin fever as the boat trailer car park was packed. It was rough out, but still better than just sitting at home for yet another day.

We caught heaps of fish-lots of my favourite, Charlie Court Cod, lots of various emperors and an amazing array of fish that should be in an aquarium. The most interesting of these were a triple tailed wrasse, a hinge jaw wrasse and a blue fish we have only ever caught at coral bay (he was about 4 times the size we usually see). We also caught bigger than normal rabbit fish and leather jackets.

Hinge Jaw Wrasse


We kept 4 Charlie Court Cod and two emperors (a sweet lip and some other variety!). That gave us dinner last night and two feeds in the freezer. Russ made us THE best home made fish and chips I’ve eaten in years last night with two of the CCC’s.

When we were in Perth, we bought two portable gas cookers (the ones that use the disposable cans of gas) to use here, and we have discovered they cook the best fish, chips and steaks! The park has very limited power supply and we can’t use our aircon, oven, hotplates, microwave, toaster, jug, sandwich maker or a hair dryer (not much of a worry to me with my hair). The van has a 4 burner stove, but after 2 ½ years of cooking outside, I can’t bring myself to start using it much. We sometimes boil our water and cook a bit of rice or our veg in here, but that’s about all.

Thursday and Friday mornings, we went out early and had a fantastic time. The water clarity was amazing and with the lack of wind (and waves) the reef was beautiful. I love it when we see all the tiny fish and the ones that steal our bait or we eventually hook. Thursday, we came home with a great feed of CCC and Red Throat Emperor-too much for us, so we gave one feed away to neighbours George and Margaret. They’ve been coming here for years and fish quite successfully off the beach but had never caught or tasted CCC as they live amongst the coral so you need a boat to get them. (Or maybe the neighbours tell everyone that and are kept in CCC ;-)!)

Fishing for Red Throat Emperor in 3 Metres of Water!


On Friday, we went fishing again, but just to go out on a beautiful morning. We released all we caught and took photos of any interesting reef fish we brought up. If anything, the water clarity was better than the day before. We headed in around 12.30 and after a quick shower headed to town to do some shopping (especially needed disposable butane to keep cooking!) We lunched in town at the Chinese and enjoyed it so much (both had delicious noodle dishes) that we’ve decided to do it again when we are in there. It’s almost 40ks to town, so it needs planning.

Dinner on Friday night was a recipe by my friend Jules in Queensland called Trinidadian Lime Thyme fish. We marinated our previous days catch (or part of it) in lime, thyme and dark rum, cooked off an onion and garlic then added two chopped, skinned tomatoes, cooked them down and added the fish, marinade, s&p and chopped coriander. It was amazing over rice and I wish I could eat it again tonight but I can’t as we have some steak about to slide past its use-by date.

After two near perfect days, the wind is up again and we can’t go fishing. So, today is a day of rest. Russ has done a load of laundry and now we are relaxing. Tomorrow looks like more of the same, with the weekly roast dinner put on by the park to look forward to, and then Monday is supposed to be a better day. That works well for us as we’ll be ready for more fresh fish by then.

It’s school holidays here in WA at the moment and the park is chock-a-block full of people. They’ve just started to develop some more sites out the back near the old shearing shed and we reckon there are 50 tents or vans over there without power. It’s making it hard to get a hot shower (actually even a coldish shower is a win) and the boat ramp and trailer park are so busy and full it’s amazing. Anyhow, the madness will be over in a week for another few months.

Carnarvon for a Couple of Nights

Yesterday was our last day in Denham. We headed out to Monkey Mia to go crabbing one last time and were happy to come home with 21 good sized ones-so were Beatty, John and Jan and Brice who all got a few each. North of Carnarvon the blue crabs stop and we won't be going to mud crab territory this year.

Russ packed up the boat and trailer while I cooked and picked crabs, then I made a potato salad for dinner. I used 3 of our beautiful smoked tailor filets in it and it was yummy. It was to share at a final BBQ with our neighbours Beatty and Charlie (Mutard), their friends Mary Jane and Alex, John and Jan, Ron, Carmel and Craig and Brice and Wendy. It was a really fun night.

It was sad saying goodbye to everyone this morning. I don't think we've ever had so many people turn out to see us off. We left around 10 and stopped once for our lunch (fresh bread and crab sandwiches) then arrived in Carnarvon around 2.30.

It was a lovely drive out of Denham to the highway then on to Carnarvon. It's the third time we've done it in two years and this time was the best. There has been lots and lots of rain recently, so lots of water around still, lots of new greenery and wild flowers already. We saw lots of varieties of everlasting daisies.

After quickly setting up, we headed to Woolworths for a much needed big shop. Tomorrow we'll do our usual trip around the North and South River Roads to pick up our fresh fruit, veg and herbs. We had an easy tea of sausages and leftover salad and were just settling down to watch a bit of TV when the lights went out for a couple of hours. It happened about 3 nights ago in Denham too.

Thursday we are going on to Exmouth, then out to Yardie Creek Station Caravan Park for a few weeks.