by Hallu » Sun 16 Jun, 2013 10:25 pm
Last day of the trip, time to face the dirty nasty side of WA with Karratha, Dampier, and mining madness next to some incredibly valuable aboriginal rock art, coves and beaches. We cheated a bit at first, escaping all this by exploring Samson peninsula instead, but then we came back. Karratha ? Awful. Not a single restaurant, the pub is very well hidden, incredibly expensive even by desert standards, and the architecture is non existent. Dampier ? Not much better, just the sea on top of that, and the statue of Red Dog, ruined by a big info board. Luckily a couple gems are hidden on that peninsula : the rock art first, and hearson cove. We spent the afternoon at the cove, clearly praised by locals at sunset, who both fish for crabs at low tide and enjoy the views. A superb place.
All in all it was a very good trip. It was an expensive one though, I made some calculation, and 2 weeks in WA is about twice as expensive as 2 weeks in Tassie, if you count food, fuel, car rental, and accommodation. It's also three times the driving distances, and it's more touristy. Why this comparison ? Because I wondered if it was worth it, after hearing all of this stuff about the West coast. My conclusion is that it would probably be much more interesting in a 4WD with a camper trailer, being able to explore both the outback (we missed Mount Augustus) and the coast (we would have liked to explore more of François Péron, do the useless loop, cross Yardie Creek at Cape Range etc...). This would also mean being able to explore the Kimberley, which I fear I won't do any time soon for budget and leave days shortage reasons. Of course I was also frustrated from the lack of walking tracks, or the mining hegemony in the state, but all in all some great memories, great wildlife, and great photos. I switched from a compact to a bridge (Panasonic Lumix FZ200, with the added bonus of a polarizing filter) right before this trip and I'm glad I did.
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