Horrocks Beach

We left Murchison House Station at 8am on the 16th of October & stopped in at Kalbarri for a loaf of bread & continued South. There were a few options but we decided to have a look at Horrocks Beach on the coast west of Northampton. It is a quiet little fishing village that only really has a caravan park, general store & a mixture of really old fishing shacks & really new flash houses, seemingly divided halfway along the beach from old to new. Built right on the water it has the classic white beach & blue waters we have been seeing, but lots of seaweed. 

The caravan park was just back from the water & was old, but old isn't always bad as it had amazing established trees for shade. The toilet blocks were old, but clean & the park looked pretty quiet. We decided to give it a go. We stayed for 2 nights, the cost was $33 a night, but for some reason after we had left we discovered they had only charged us for 1 night on our card, so it was a pretty cheap stay. 

We set up camp in a block of 6 campsites with no other neighbours, by the afternoon another 2 camps had come in, but they spread us out & it was really nice & quiet. We spent the afternoon exploring the beach & the jetty. The jetty looked like it would be good for a night fish so we decided to go back down that night. We watched the sunset over the water & headed down towards the jetty only to find it packed full of people, there was no way we could fit as well, so we chucked the fishing lines in on the beach, but there was just to much seaweed, so we gave up & headed back to camp. 

The next day was spent at the beach, exploring & having a look around, which didn't take long as it is really a tiny place. If you are after a quiet fishing village then this is the place for you. It has one of the best foreshore developments we have seen, with great picnic tables, BBQs, playgrounds, toilets & the jetty itself. Great for a couple of days. 

That afternoon as we came back to camp we hads been surrounded by a couple of families in tents with loads of young kids, a young couple in camper trailer & a huge caravan. Let's just say that night wasn't as enjoyable as the one before. We had great pleasure in saying how we were going to get up early the next day & pack up very loudly!! But the next day we were up at 5.30am but so were the kids & they were using their new walkie talkies one of them had got for their birthday. I am all for kids working out how to use things themselves, but some parental instruction would of been helpful, as it seems the only way the walkie talkies would work is if you stand close enough to the other person & yell as loud as you can so they can hear you! 

We are glad we hadn't decided to stay for the weekend, so it was with pleasure as we drove out of that park waving happily to the kiddies & giving our commiserations to the other campers staying. Horrocks beach was a lovely little find. Great for a night or two. 

Cottage Pie

Well sadly fire restrictions are putting an end to a lot of our camp oven cooking but luckily while at Murchison House Station we got a few more days in. So here is a very yummy cottage pie. Great on a cold night. 

Cottage Pie

Serves 4

Ingredients

- 1 tablespoon of oil 

- 800g of beef mince

- 1 onion chopped

- 1 carrot chopped

- 1/2 a zucchini chopped

- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

- 1 teaspoon of curry powder

- 1 teaspoon of all purpose seasoning

- 3 tablespoons of gravy powder

- 1 beef stock cube

- 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce 

- water

- 3/4 cup of frozen peas & corn

- dehydrated potato, prepared according to packet directions

- 1 cup of grated cheese

- salt & pepper to taste

Directions

- preheat a pot or frying pan over the campfire

- heat a tablespoon of oil & add the vegetables to fry off

- once softened l, add in the beef mince & fry until browned

- add the spices & stock cube & fry off for 2 minutes stirring well

- add the sauce & gravy powder & enough water to almost cover the meat

- bring to the boil & simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring often. 

- when almost ready add the frozen peas & corn to the mince mixture & also prepare your dehydrated potato according to packet directions, you need enough to cover the top of the pie 

- also preheat your camp oven & dig a hole to put it in if you are somewhere that is windy. 

- remove your meat mix from the heat & carefully pour into a baking dish (I used a cake tin, you could also use a disposable foil tray)

- spread the meat mix until it is in an even layer 

- top with spoons of the potato mixture

- finally top with the grated cheese

- place into the preheated camp oven

- use 2 shovels of coals on the bottom, place the oven on top & a further 2 shovels of coals on the top of the camp oven

- bake for about 30 minutes until cheese is browned & everything heated through

- remove from camp oven & serve

Of course you can use real mashed potatoes for the topping, we had none left & the dehydrated potato is a good camping option. You can also add in any other veggies you like, sweet potato or pumpkin would work as well. We had ours just as it is, but you could serve it with extra veggies, a bread roll or slice of bread & a squirt of tomato sauce. 

I can also say the left overs were delicious made into savoury mince & cheese toasties!! 

Murchison House Station & Kalbarri

We had to head back to the east to get out of Denham & back onto the North West Coastal highway & we started to head south towards Kalbarri. We had heard of a station stay on the Murchison River called Murchison House Station just out of Kalbarri. When we arrived we were greeted by the owner & given 2 options. We could either stay near the homestead on the river with full access to showers & toilets for $11 per person per night or we could pay an extra $50 vehicle access fee & pretty much have access to the whole property with camping options both upstream or downstream on the river or a beach camp. As we planned on staying a few days we decided to spend the extra money & try & find a quiet camp out on the property. We were given a great set of written map instructions & a topo map to find our way. 

So off we went, we decided to try for an upstream camp. Just near the homestead you cross the river causeway & turn right up the river. Straight away we had to negotiate a pretty decent jump up section of rough rocks. Slow & steady in 1st gear low range & Ruby walked up it, with the trailer tracking nicely behind. We had about 6km of tracks ranging from jump ups, to sand, to tracks right along the river edge. There were heaps of awesome campsites all the way along, but we decided to stop at a place called Booli Pool East that had a permanent waterhole & let us camp right on the river. 

A great spot. We found a suitable place amongst the trees that allowed us to have some shade but also a clear patch so the solar panels would work. After we were set up Mat collected & cut some firewood, as we were allowed a fire which was a surprise as we thought we had hit the fire season, but it didn't start until November here. Yes!!!! More camp oven cooking & a fire to stare into at night, we were happy. 

That night we slept as well as we have since the Kimberley, as it was so quiet & peaceful. We reckon there wasn't another camp near us for at least 6km back to the homestead the whole time we were camped. Heaven!

The next day we decided to do the drive downstream & out to the coast at Kalbarri. It was a fantastic drive & we stopped off at Castle Rock for spectacular views of the Murchison River, Kalbarri & the ocean. The drive is about 20km long from the homestead & well worth it. I would suggest you would struggle to find anything similar anywhere else in the area. The $50 access fee is worth it. We had a fish on the way home in the river but couldn't hook up despite lots of bites. By the time we got back to camp that afternoon it was getting late. It was a great day out. 

View from Castle Rock

The next day we stayed in camp & had a quiet day. I even baked myself a chocolate mud cake in the camp oven for my birthday, yum!

Birthday cake, a little burnt, but cut the top off & cover with more chocolate delish!

The next day being my 30th birthday there was much to celebrate ha ha! We ventured into Kalbarri for a look around & walked to the top of the magnificent Red Bluff for amazing views. We also ventured to the pub for a birthday lunch overlooking the water. A few takeaway drinks from the bottlo & it was back to camp for a quiet afternoon. 

The next day we went to the Kalbarri National Park. There is no camping here so being based at Murchison House Station which is right next door is very convienent. We walked to the part of the river called the Z Bend, for spectacular views. 

Z Bend

We then went to the famous Natures Window which is a hole in the stone formation with a view over the river. It was really busy with people but we did manage to get a couple of photos. 

Natures Window

On the way out we had a look at the West Loop Lookout. Overall the national park was lovely & there were some wild flowers out which was nice, definitely worth a look. On the way back into the station we went up to their lookout above the hay paddock with amazing views back over the station & towards Kalbarri, another great experience. 

The next day we stayed at camp again & explored the river in front of our campsite. We walked upstream towards a huge flock of ducks, black swans & Pelicans. As we got closer an island formed in the river & as we walked along this a kangaroo came flying back past us, we had obviously scared it. We kept walking but soon discovered there was another kangaroo, this one wasn't game to go past us & got spooked & bounded towards the water itself. The water was covered in weed & we think it thought it could hop across, but in seconds it was completely submerged in the water, we held our breath as it scrambled & swam across & finally made it to the other side. The poor thing won't need a bath for a while that is for sure. I did have my camera & managed to snap a few photos even though it was on the wrong settings, it makes a pretty good sequence I think!

Birds on the river

What's that in the water?????

Is it gone????

Nope still swimming!!

Getting closer 

Almost there

Safety!!

That ended up being our last day at Murchison House Station. We stayed for a total of 6 nights. We loved our stay & would definitely recommend it. If you are after a quiet all to yourselves camp it is definitely worth a look. Their camping on the river at the homestead was pretty good to if you just want to use it as a base for a trip to Kalbarri. But the best bits are definitely in that extra $50 vehicle access fee. 

Denham

We finally made it into Denham after getting stuck behind the bogged car & trailer in front of us for an hour on the way out of Francois Peron national park & the had to inflate our tyres at the park border so it was almost lunch time. We called the Monkey Mia resort to see if they had any camps available but they were booked out. We had seen a special deal at one of the caravan parks in Denham on our way through the other day so decided to stay there. It was called the Blue Dolphin & had a special stay for 3 pay for 2 nights so that took it to $28 per night, much cheaper than anywhere else is town. It was old, but the amenities clean & we got a large campsite right under a big tree with views over the ocean so we were pretty happy. 

After a quick set up it was straight to the showers for a long scrub & then we walked down to the pub for lunch, a great pub, the most westerly pub in Australia, so of course we had to check it out. They did a good feed & the beers were good, after a few we thought we had better leave or we would end up there all afternoon. 

We walked back along town & checked out the Jetty, plenty of people were fishing. 

Denham is a really lovely town, very tourist orientated with just enough to do & it has most things you need. It was still school holidays but it was really quiet which suprised us, may be the wind keeps people away at this time of year? We have definitely realised that this isn't the best time of year to visit the coast in this area. Ever since we left ningaloo it has blown non stop nearly. Most of the locals say April to July is best. 

Denham

Still feeling lazy we walked back down the street to get a wood fired pizza for dinner. Got to support the town right? The next day we were up early to drive over to a Monkey Mia to see the dolphin feeding. The cost is $8.50 per person to get in. It was packed, hundreds of people. It was still worth doing but we didn't get any close ups of the dolphins as there were to many people. 

Just a smal crowd......

We could of waited for the next feeding, but decided to go as it was school holidays & they expected them to be busy as well. The talk the rangers give is very good & it's worth a look, hopefully you get less people on the day you go, the day before us 350 people attended, not sure how many on our day but it felt like that many, the record is 750 people. Considering they only feed 5 dolphins, you have to be lucky to be in the line near one feeding. 

We then headed just out of town to the aquarium. They have an amazing restaurant overlooking the ocean, so we had breakfast first, with 2 great coffees each, heaven. 

Aquarium view for breakfast

We then started our aquarium tour. It was really great, lots of amazing sea life in tanks of glass & open pools, the guides were great & really knowledgable. The only thing again for us was it was school holidays so heaps of families & they had too many people on each tour. But I bet if you went there outside of school holidays you would almost get the place to yourselves. They did a shark feeding in a huge big pool of water that was great too. A good morning out & at $22 for adults & $16 for kids we thought it was good value, we would definitely recommend it. 

After that we went & had a look at Shell Beach at beach made entirely of tiny shells. Very pretty views.

Shell beach

 We then had a look at some of the other lookouts on the way back to town. A lot of these have overnight camping only for $10 but you have to get a permit from the visitor centre. Great spots, a pity it's only overnight camping. 

Eagle Bluff

Fowlers Bay

Back to town for a quiet couple of hours before dinner. We had booked at table at The Old Pearl Luggers restaurant in town. A very famous place, made out of shell blocks with only about 10 tables & you must book. 

We dug out a few of our better clothes & got spruced up & picked up some wine & beer on the way as it's BYO. We had a lovely night & enjoyed their famous seafood platter & even had dessert. We got talking to an older couple beside us & they were telling us about their travels they have a 5th wheeler that is pretty much a house on wheels, it just shows you how differently people travel this great country & how it is doable for everyone if you have the courage. It was a really nice night. 

Seafood platter for 2 -YUM

The next day we spent the day in town checking out the shops & getting fuel & a few groceries & trying the second pub for lunch. 

Pub lunch, it's a hard life!

The wind was still blowing a gale. Our 3 days in Denham were really enjoyable. It was nice to not have to cook much & to have showers twice a day. We felt nice & refreshed when we left. 

Denham has 2 small supermarkets, 2 servos, a bakery, 2 pubs, pharmacy, post office, newsagent & a few restaurants. There are about 3-4 caravan parks (mostly $40 or so a night but look out for special offers), lots of resort style rooms & apartments. A nice little town with lots to do for families. 

It was time to head further south again. As sadly we couldn't get into Steep Point we headed down towards the Kalbarri area, see where we stayed in our next post, it's a beauty!!

Denham beach