Day 173, Friday, 18 September, 2009 - Day 178, Wednesday, 23 September, 2009

Carnarvon

As we rode into Carnarvon last Thursday we remarked to each other about how it had a nice feel to it and our week of rest has confirmed that initial feeling. We have found Carnarvon to be the perfect place to rest up. The apartment we have stayed in near the Fascine (water front) was perfect as everything has been within walking distance.

One of the locals commented to us that if friends are thinking of taking a holiday in Carnarvon he recommends they only stay two days as you can see everything in that time. On the other hand if they are looking to have a restful break he is happy to suggest they stay longer. This is exactly what we have found.

Last Friday night we went to the launch of the Gascoyne Food Trail on the Bumbak plantation. It was a low key event with chefs cooking up treats made from the local produce and seafood. It was a good way to meet the locals and other travellers. The food trail promotes locally grown produce and is a self drive tour of the plantations and local cafes and restaurants.

On Saturday morning we visited the ‘Growers Markets’ and filled our fridge for the week with the all the inseason local fruit and vegatables. The strawberries were ever soooooooo sweet. The sweet corn wasn’t that bad either.

Saturday afternoon we walked along the old tram line to the Heritage Precinct and the One Mile Jetty. This was the original Port of Carnarvon and includes the Lighthouse Keeper’s house and museum, the lighthouse and the tramway station and museum. There is a small tourist train that runs out along the jetty called the Coffee Pot Train if you do not want to walk.

After 7 days we have tried all but one of the cafes in town and our favourite is the Harbourside Café Restaurant. It’s about a 2km walk from town along the Fascine and the cakes and coffee are very moresome.  It also has a good reputation for its cooked seafood but as we still have a fridge full of food from the growers market it does not look like we will get to try this out before we leave on Thursday morning.

Since we arrived the wind has not stopped blowing. Many of the trees in Carnarvon have a very distinctive lean away from the wind so we suspect that it blows here all the time. As we caught the bus to Bumbak and the launch of the Gascoyne Food Trail last Friday we saw some very impressive leaning trees near the Gascoyne River. All this seems to indicate that our ride south to Northampton and Geraldton is going to be very slow indeed and we do not anticipate setting any new distance records. We did consider a side trip into Shark Bay and Monkey Mia to see the dolphins but we have decided to leave this to another time. However, we are planning a night at Hutt River Province.

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

Local scallops wrapped in bacon being cooked at the launch of the Gascoyne Food Trail

The largest frying pan we have ever seen!

Dessert. Not sure what it is but it ws very nice!

Fire performance at the launch of the Gascoyne Food Trail

Fire performance at the launch of the Gascoyne Food Trail

Fire performance at the launch of the Gascoyne Food Trail

Stall at the Growers Market

Water tank as seen from the old tramway to the Heritage Precinct

Denise walking beside the old tramway

Lighthouse Keeper's House

One Mile Jetty

One Mile Jetty

Grass rosettes

Carnarvon Harbour

Fishing Fleet

We are staying in the unit at bottom left

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