Heaven

By the beard of Zeus I have found an oasis in the desert.

Moon setting and the bombie starting to throw

Gday gang, no I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth, I have been residing in Gnaraloo, fishing, diving, snorkling and of course surfing my days away.

This place is absolutely insane, completely hostile baron land that meets a turquoise ocean teaming with life from fish and sharks to stunning reef and tasty crayfish. Peeling waves suck over dry reef either giving you the best tube of your life or scars to remind you of the ones you didn’t make.

This has to be my favourite place I have been to on my trip so far. My description and photos do not do this place justice, the only thing I can say is get over here if you are remotely interested in catching big fish and world class waves.

So anyway, I got stuck in Carnarvon, for around a week… fuel primer pump broke on the mighty lux, had to wait for a new one to get sent from Perth. Once it arrived and I installed it I was warned about a very large storm engulfing Exmouth south to Denham. I bunkered down amongst the banana palms and wild goats and waited out the storm. I punched up to the blowholes as soon as the storm subsided and was greeted with huge seas and more gale force winds.

I woke the next morning to an offshore breeze and clear skys. I barrelled the lux down the winding dirt tracks, through deep mud, raging water and popped out overlooking Red Bluff, and wow! What a sight! A huge headland jutting out into deep water, I could spot surf of the tip and a tiny dot ripping the face to shreds.

I checked in at the wicked little reception and was told to camp wherever I wanted. Hell Yeah! I parked the rig at the top of the beach and when I killed the motor I could feel the shore break shaking the ground. I trekked it out to the point, the little wave I could see was turning into an 8foot monster barrelling and spitting some shredder from impending doom on a urchin filled ledge. I decided that the surf was out of my league so I opted for a refreshing pound in the shorie, yeah well that turned into an absolute whaling on the exposed rock ledge and a fight to get myself back in.

Bluffs pet lamb

Deathly shorie

So after all this fun and games at the bluff I punched further north to 3mile camp and the infamous Tombstones. Well I thought the surf at bluff looked good. Tombies was peeling through at what looked to me like a nice solid 4-5 foot and the most perfect shape I had ever seen (unfortunately for me a left) anyway I suited up (water is warm here and so is air temp but everyone was in steamers, protection from the reef and chilly desert breezes) pulled out the ol fish and after a while of asking people where the hell you get down the cliffs I was steaming out into the line up, somehow I got out there during a lull and positioned myself in the channel waiting for the next set to loom. Well shit me a set came, 6foot+ easy, it threw itself over a boiling and angry looking tropical reef, a bloke airdropped into the tube and somehow held onto it, stood up straight and got the best barrel I have ever seen. The next two blokes were not so fortunate one going over the falls and the other disappearing into the black pit behind him. Well I stayed out there for 4 hours, sitting in the channel and watching blokes get the best waves I have seen and others get dragged across reef more brutally than I have ever seen also. I got whaled twice and that was enough for me I caught one in and watched from the cliffs for the rest of the day.

The swell, fortunately for me, dropped off a bit so I spend the next week surfing every hour I possibly could. One day I had the privlidge of surfing with a mother and calf whale who were frolicking in the channel 20m away from me.

I met 2 guys from JanJuc down in Vic who were up for a surf and fishing trip. They invited me to stay on their site as they had payed for 3 and had the best site in the campground. That started my fishing component of Gnaraloo, we went out in their boat and over the next few weeks caught loads of big Cobia, spangled emperors, cod, macks not to mention the hundreds of sharks. The first day in the boat we had a 10foot tiger come up to the boat, while I was filling a bucket of water and 8foot bronzie cruised 30cm under my hands.

Bloody sharks, this one was lucky, we actually got it to the boat.

Rankin Cod

Craig holding up one of my emps… haha

More highlights of this utopia was learning to scuba dive, snorkelling with a manta ray and whales, going spearfishing with some blokes from Perth and one shooting a 20kg Spanish Mack and the numerouse times being harassed by sharks.

Lachie and I learnt to scuba

Gnaraloo golf trophy

One on the thousands of whales.

Well im sure I have forgotten some epic things but the month has blurred into one amazing memory. Sorry for the lack of photos, I have been terribly slack, I will try get some photos from the people at camp.

3mile ding repairs, best in W.A.

Millie, 3miles pet goat.

I will be picking Isaac up in Exmouth on the 15^th and we will be going back to Gnaraloo, hopefully with a tinny on the roof to slay some more waves and fish. Yehaa!

Hope everyone reading this is having at least half as much fun as I am having.

Bye!!