No further west than this

Steep Point
3 April 2013 

The nurse at Denham said to me we couldn't miss heading to Steep Point if we were on a trip around Australia. I had been looking into it and just thought it sounded like an impossible day trip...but luckily our Easter neighbours told us about Tamala Station...and we're so glad we got there.

Besides being the most westerly point on Australia's mainland it's a part of the Zuytdorp cliffs that start north of Kalbarri and continue along the western coastline of Dirk Hartog Island (just across South Passage from Steep Point).

We've been learning a lot about all the ship wrecks along this stretch of coastline so Simon and I were particularly keen to see the Zuytdorp Cliffs (named after one of the Dutch ships wrecked on the cliffs in 1712).  I love cliffs but I think these one really need to be seen from the air to get the best perspective.

We'd read an article about Steep Point in 'Action and Adventure' and I was left with the impression it was a great but terrifying place to fish and that it wasn't really very hospitable or family-friendly.  So we were stunned with the beauty of the place.  We'll be keeping on the beaches here one day - and I'd love to come back in 2016 to head over to Dirk Hartog Island to be a part of the 400th anniversary of Dirk's landing.  Dirk Hartog Island looks VERY impressive.

In a word, we loved it.  And we're looking forward to coming back and camping here one day!

* Photos with the bonnet in them were taken by the GoPro camera Simon has set up on our windscreen. A bit naff I know, but it's the only way we can show what the track into Steep Point was like. Couldn't believe the number of 4WDs pulling boats!

Country around the border between Tamala and Carrarang Stations. Beautiful. 

Dirk Hartog Island in the distance. (check out the cliffs there). You can camp on that beach in the foreground.

Part of the drive in to Steep Point

The beach on the Inside Passage (I think that's what's it's called, just the other side of Steep Point)

That the 4WD of some fisherman - couldn't see them anywhere!

Zuytdorp Cliffs

The kids stayed in the car while Simon and I trekked to see the cliffs.

They got out to read a memorial cairn to a prawn trawler that went down here in the 60s. Amazing story.

Looking south towards Kalbarri.

Looking north with Dirk Hartog Island in the background.

Our boys!

So beautiful we just had to go swimming at our lunch spot.

Home to Tamala in time to go fishing. Isobel caught a shovel-nosed ray which we released.

Sunset on our own little beach at Tamala.

Next morning at Tamala - it was so still there was not a ripple in sight.

The Long-tom Simon caught at Tamala. It was a fiesty one to catch!