Carnarvon is a large and thriving town surrounded by banana plantations and set close to some of Western Australia's most beautiful and unusual coastline. It lies 3.3 m above sea level and experiences an annual average rainfall of only 229 mm. The Carnarvon Shire extends from Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay to Exmouth Station in the Pilbara.
Carnarvon makes an ideal stopover between Monkey Mia and Shark Bay and Coral Bay and Exmouth, the towns closest to the Ningaloo Reef.
Carnarvon is located at the only point on the Australian coastline where the desert reaches out into the sea. Wildflowers abound in season; mulla mullas, starflowers and the Ashburton Pea intermingle with fields of everlastings.
The mouth of the Gascoyne River, on which Carnarvon is built, is actually a 300 km tongue of sand which acts as a huge water storage system. Its flow is visible for around 120 days of the year. For the rest of the years the river flows upside down under the sand.
Things To See And Do
Carnarvon Heritage Precint
Carnarvon Heritage Precint is a walk down memory lane. Featured on the walk is the Lighthouse Keepers Cottage Museum; the Railway Museum, home of the fully restored Kimberley Steam train; The Shearing Hall of Fame and One Mile Jetty to Babbage Island.
Carnarvon OTC Tracking Station
Sights around Carnarvon Township include the sheep station that became a Carnarvon OTC Tracking Station in the 1960s. The disused tracking station, established by NASA, was part of its worldwide space tracking network between 1964 and 1974. Neil Armstrongs famous words upon landing on the moon in July of 1969 "One small step for man. One giant step for mankind" were made possible by this outback installation.
The Carnarvon space-tracking station played a vital role in the Apollo Space Missions and was the means through which the world first heard these historic worlds.
Surrounding Area
Point Quobba
Point Quobba Blowholes (70km north) make for an awesome display when powerful jets of water are pushed as high as 20m into the air through holes in the costal rocks. The area is popular with fishers and surfers and small fishing boats are usually moored off the beach. There is a righthand surf break that wraps around the point straight off the beach.
Cape Cuvier
Cape Cuvier (78km north) is a picturesque natural port close to the most westerly point of Australia. Driving along the spectacular rugged coastline you will be able to see the last remnants of the bulk carrier Korean Star that ran aground and broke up following a cyclone in the area in 1988. From high up on the sixty metre cliff, in the winter months, you can see whales and sharks pass by feeding on the schools of fish. Salt is stockpiled and a wharf provides mooring for bulk carriers, but this is all off limits to the public.
Steep Point
Steep Point, the most westerly point of mainland Australia, is reputed to be one of the finest land based game fishing locations on the planet. The narrow barred Spanish Mackerel is the most popular sought after species from the rocks. The Zuytdorp Cliffs, that begin at Kalbarri to the South and end at Steep Point, make for some of the most awesome scenery you will ever lay your eyes on. These cliffs range from sea level to 170 metre's high. It was on these cliffs that the Dutch trading vessel Zuytsorp came to grief in 1712.
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