offroad from Canarvon to Exmouth

we would like to show you all the details from our offroad trip between Carnarvon and Exmouth, its possible now to drive the whole way since 40 years

**Above:**King Waves Kill north of Canarvon will be our Start into the offroad adventure

Our trip started at 7 am on 11th September 2021 with the patriot off-road camper trailer. Since our last adventure in April, we fell in love with wooramel river retreat and booked it again for our first overnight stay. The drive during the spring season is beautiful, full of wildflowers in vibrant colours from bright yellow to vivid purple. After 800km from Perth, sitting at 100km/h, because towing vehicles can’t go faster in Western Australia, we arrived hungry at the Station around 5 pm. Quickly warmed up Chilli con Carne for dinner on the 2 burner stove and the well deserved cold beer in the hot springs tub was like the icing on the cake and a nice relaxing time during the end of the day.

Early in the morning we packed up, had a quick shower and off we went to Carnarvon, where we wanted to stop for some last food shopping and to fill up the diesel tanks, our next service station would be in Exmouth so we needed to cover roughly 450 offroad-kms plus the day trips. We left the blacktop at the “King Waves Kill” Junction close to The Blowholes – 75km north of town and finally aired down to 25 psi. The next kilometres will be gravel and corrugations, passing the Quobba Station on the Gnaraloo Road, sweet spot speed is around 70 km/h – everything less shakes the car to pieces and more was a bit risky 🙂 after roughly 65kms we arrived at Red Bluff where we wanted to stay for the next two nights. It’s first come first serve so it was important not to rock up too late, after checking the whole area we found a nice little spot close to the ocean, next to the little pizza place. that will do 🙂 After quickly setting up the trailer we relaxed by the fire, had a great sunset with some laughers and beers. After dark, our friend heated up a pre-made stir fry in an Iron Cast Dutch oven on the coals – delicious! the nights can be cold up there so we turned on the “webasto diesel heater” before going to bed and that system works pretty good, it’s not cozy warm but it takes the chill out of the tent and it’s all that matters for us, the fuel economy is fabulous!

The beach is beautiful but due to the huge shore break, it is almost impossible to swim. We jumped in anyways and were very careful – not suitable for kids though. Since there was not much to do, besides surfing, we decided to go for a drive to Gnaraloo Station (about 30 min away) Wow, the protected lagoon looked amazing even from far. The turquoise colour of the ocean surrounded by reefs was perfect for snorkelling and swimming. We all agreed straight away to stay here for our next night. The friendly lady at the reception offered us a campsite on top of the hill “The Ridge”, close to the lagoon and gave us heaps of information about the area and three different snorkelling spots. the booking was done and we went for a snorkel at midgies, 10min drive south of 3 mile camp. There was a variety of big and small fish, a blue spotted stingray and colourful corals. After a relaxing afternoon, we headed back to Red Bluff and enjoyed a nice hot shower off the trailer. It was time to watch the sun setting over the ocean, lighting a bonfire and Ringo cooked bbq for dinner on the provided Baby Q Weber.

14th September: today was all about relaxing by the beach. We arrived at the 3 mile camp around 11.30 am and went straight to the lagoon with our snorkelling gear. The water was calm and perfect for stand up paddleboarding, swimming and of course snorkelling. The reef seemed very healthy with big fish like trevally, sweet lips and parrotfish. A turtle, stingray and an octopus crossed our path as well and we even saw humpback Whales breaching offshore behind the reef. We returned very hungry to our camp and prepared burgers for late lunch. After filling our bellies with yummy food it was time to finally set up the camp trailer. Another beautiful day ended with a few drinks, delicious veggie soup and a colourful fire to keep us warm during the chilled evening.

after packing up again on a cloudy morning we stopped at the 3rd snorkelling spot Gnaraloo bay another great beach with colourful corals. We wished we had more time to explore the magical area, but now we arrived at the part of the track why we came here. The government just opened the offroad connection bit between Gnaraloo and the Warroora Area. It was closed for over 40 years, so everything is pretty much untouched. there are many tracks down to the ocean and you have to cross some little rivers. One really steep hill in between which could be a problem with a big 3t offroad caravan, but no worries for us with the good old 80 Series and a 1t patriot camper trailer 🙂 otherwise, it’s really easy and at the end, you will find the lagoon campground at Waroora which seemed to be just a beautiful place to stay, we put that right on the top of our list for next time we will be there. It’s a protected area behind the dunes, with soft sand and awesome water. After a long drive offroad with stunning scenery and beautiful little bays we finally arrived at our camp 14 mile beach which we had booked for 2 nights.

All the spots were awesome. Our site was right on the beach. We set up the trailer and of course our double tent for shower and portaloo as there were no facilities. The evening was very windy again and we tried to hide behind the trailer with a warm fire and hot sausages for dinner plus an early good night’s sleep.

What a wonderful day to spend the time on the beach. Luckily we didn’t have to walk very far ? The sun was hot, the ocean breeze chilled and the water refreshing – it felt like summer already.

The wind picked up in the afternoon and we went for a drive to Sandy Point, another great campsite recommended by our friend. After getting back to the camp we all had a nice hot shower. It amazed us that such a small trailer can hold 150 Liter of water, it was more than enough for our trip with four persons. Since we love the Weber we prepared a feast for dinner: Steaks, lamb chops and foil vegetables with feta. It can’t get better than this.

Ningaloo station is calling! Our next destination on the list, time to pack up and go. On the way to the booked campsite Winderabandi, we stopped at Coral Bay (only 30 min drive) to get coffee and food from the bakery. Our adventure continues off-road to Ningaloo station. It was very corrugated but we took it slow and had the tire pressure still right on 25 psi. The drive was awesome, full of wildflowers and blue water in the background. While driving into the site we’ve seen all the soft sand patches so we went straight down to 15psi in the front and 18 in the back plus the trailer, so hopefully, we would not get bogged while trying to find our camp. We arrived at 2.30 pm, the ocean was breathtaking and completely wind-protected – inviting to jump in. After a quick set up we just enjoyed the beauty and relaxed on the beach until sunset. we went for a drive and a walk to the other site and holy heck it was blasting around the corner. A huge turtle greeted us by lifting its head a couple of times from the distance. We got spoiled for dinner with a delicious chicken parmi prepared on the Weber and served with pasta in tomato sauce. It was the perfect afternoon on the beach, we just love this camp!

we woke up all very tired as it was crazy windy, that’s the problem when you have a canvas tent and the wind is hauling all night long, we could barely sleep 🙁 at this point, we decided to go for a non-canvas trailer in the future, so we could do a hybrid or something similar. Of course, the morning was beautiful again with almost no wind at all and the ocean was glass off. A perfect way to wake up is to jump in the cold water and have a hot coffee or tea afterwards. We were very sad to leave this magical spot but excited to see our friends in Exmouth again where we would stay for the next 3 nights. We made it to Cape Range National Park through the bumpy road and crossed Yardie Creek with ease. Please check the condition before crossing. Since we have an annual Park pass we didn’t had to pay the fee to enter the NP. After pumping up all tires, we drove to the Turquoise Bay for a drift snorkel and also stopped at the Lighthouse, before driving into Exmouth where we were greeted by our amazing friends, who spoiled us with a mouth-watering pork roast and vegetables for dinner.

it was quite nice for a change to wake up in the house on a comfy bed without the noise of the canvas moving from the wind. After Ringo’s favourite breakfast (avocado, bacon and egg on sourdough bread) we caught up with our other friends at Town Beach. The kids were very excited to see uncle Ringo and aunty Katie who received chocolate as a little treat. We spent the whole day by the ocean before heading to Mantarays Hotel for delicious cocktails. As a big surprise, we even got a round on the house, thanks to Katie’s former boss. As most restaurants are closed on Sunday evening, Katrin decided to amaze us with her super tasty pasta bake. Make sure you have dinner sorted before 7 pm. That’s when IGA is closing daily if you need to get last supplies.

On the way to Cape Range NP, we stopped at Bundegi Beach Shack, a great little restaurant/ Cafe with ocean views. After yummy breakfast, we decided to go snorkelling at Oysters Stacks which you can only access during high tide. The rocks made it a bit difficult to get in but it was worth it. Please be careful and don’t touch or step on corals to keep the beauty alive. After saying Hi to all the colourful fishes we headed to Sandy Bay and relaxed on the beach. Katrin and Norbert loved Turquoise Bay so much, that we drove there for a last snorkel before leaving back into town. Since it was our last night in Exmouth our friends booked a table at BBQ Father, a nice Italian restaurant which is owned by one of our friends. The food was as always fantastic and the company even better.

time to say goodbye to our lovely friends and Exmouth. We usually stop at the galena bridge rest area for an overnight stay as it’s about half way from Exmouth to Perth. This time we decided to spend the night at Nerren Nerren rest area instead. We always use the wiki camps app to check out all campsites and where we would like to stay. The reviews from other users are very useful too. We arrived at our last destination around 5.30pm. It’s a great place to stop for the night after a long drive.

It was truly one of our best adventures. Patriot Campers are building an awesome off road trailer with high-quality products! It has so much storage for such a compact little camper and even a 150 Liter water capacity, which is perfect for longer off-grid holidays. It is lightweight and performed very well on soft sand. We loved the inbuilt hot water shower and the comfortable bed. Unfortunately, as with all canvas build campers, it can get quite loud in windy weather. The only thing that puts us off from buying one is the price, 70000 dollars straight-up cost for a soft-floor camper trailer is in our opinion too (damn) high.