Coral Coast Tourist Information
Coral Coast Tourist Information
Carnarvon
Carnarvon is the commercial centre of the Gascoyne and is an ideal place to stock up on supplies for the rest of your trip. You will particularly be able to enjoy buying fresh fruit and vegetables direct from the many plantations dotted along the Gascoyne River. While bananas are the main crop, there is a wide range of tropical fruit and vegetables grown here as well as table grapes and citrus trees.
Carnarvon is situated on the mouth of the Gascoyne River and overlooks a picturesque inlet known as the Fascine. Fishing and shopping are just two of the activities that you will appreciate in Carnarvon and you may well find that this is the ideal place to serve as your base while you further explore the fascinating Gascoyne Region.
The humpback whale is widely distributed in all the world's oceans but makes extensive migrations between summer breeding grounds in the Tropics and winter feeding grounds in the Antarctic. Humpbacks regularly appear in Australian waters in June and over a period of about five months they can be seen off the Gascoyne Coast. They were once heavily exploited by whalers and for many years, Carnarvon was the site of a majoy whaling industry.
A good day's outing is a trip to the blowholes, just 73km north of Carnarvon where you can observe the ferocity of the Indian Ocean as it pounds the rugged coastline or enjoy swimming at a protected beach. A little further along the coast you will find some great surfing and fishing spots, see the cairn that records the Sydney disaster and view the wreck of the Korean Star. Another enjoyable outing is to Rocky Pool, a freshwater billabong 56km east of Carnarvon.
In addition to the plantation industry, fishing and salt mining play an important part in Carnarvon's economy and tours are available to both these sites. Dominating the Carnarvon skyline is a huge satellite tracking station which, although no longer used, stands as a reminder of days gone by when Carnarvon participated in the Space Race including the first manned lunar landing. It was from here that Australia received its first satellite television broadcast.
