We were expecting Exmouth to be incredibly scenic, friendly and engaging. We’d met a number of travellers who’d told us tales of doing the ‘Lap’, only to be drawn to Exmouth’s charms, determining it was the place for them to resettle…for good! Well, we’re both baffled by the invisible magnetism that seemingly attracts these people. Exmouth merely felt like a ‘pop-up’ town, developed to meet the needs of passing tourists and long-stay grey nomads. It even had a couple of tacky 'BIG' attractions thrown in for good measure. If you're a fan of visiting giant Aussie icons, be warned - the BIG PRAWN gets put into storage over cyclone season so you'll miss a photo opportunity if you visit in Summer. And, the BIG WHALE SHARK is actually a miniature version of the real thing. What the?? I know it would be rather difficult to create a giant version of something that's already giant, but the scale of this 'sculpture' was kind of pathetic.
The adjacent National Park looked very picturesque, with lovely beaches and walking trails, however, the town itself was devoid of character and warmth. Most of the houses were very new and very large – McMansion style. There was a rather expensive looking marina development, where blocks were clearly still being sold to people with aspirations of similarly large, showpiece homes.
With no free camp options other than the National Park (which, of course, wasn’t dog friendly), we stayed at one of the local caravan parks. Judging by the yellow lawns, it had been a busy school holiday season but when we arrived, it was less than half full. This didn’t stop the kooky staff from lining up four caravans right beside us. Why you wouldn’t spread us out and use the space available is beyond me. It felt like they crammed people together so we’d find it uncomfortable and leave – perhaps that was the intent; wanting it to be quiet after the holidays and before the hoards of nomads arrived for the Winter! It worked – we moved on after 2 days but not before helping boost their economy, spending up big in the supermarket and caravan supply store. Oh, and my really exciting purchase was a knife sharpener – rather sad but telling!
We made a brief visit to the wreck of the SS Mildura. It was a cattle steamer that sunk in poor weather after hitting the reef just north of the town (although it wasn't really a town back then). Apparently it was left intact, lying exposed for decades until WWII when it was used for bombing practice. Only a small section is now visible above the water, the remainder offering shelter and habitat to the ocean dwellers below. Jesse sliced his foot open on a rock while skipping down the beach from the lookout point. A bandage and a cuddle soon stopped the tears but it didn’t add to our appreciation of the town!
For those interested, the potted history of Exmouth goes something like this;
In a bygone era, Pastoralists and Pearlers came but didn’t stay
In WWII, the USA established a submarine base. It got bombed by the Japanese. When the war ended the Americans moved out
In the 1950’s, oil was discovered but that endeavor didn’t last
In the 1960’s, the USA returned to build a massive communications station – that led to the official opening of Exmouth in 1967 (the Yanks bailed on the communication station in 2002, leaving it to be contracted to private operators)
In the late 1970’s, U.S. Air Force personnel came to work at the Learmonth Solar Observatory, a defence science facility jointly operated with Australia, but they withdrew less than 20 years later
In 2016, the Americans are on their way back and they’re bringing their Space Surveillance Telescope with them
At some point in recent history, it apparently became a tourist destination
In 2016 the Hobbitts came…but didn’t stay!
Photos from left to right
As you can see by the photos...we were struggling to find anything interesting in Exmouth for the album!
The Big Prawn...that gets put into storage each year during the cyclone season!
The (not so) Big Whale Shark
the main Exmouth beach
Farewell from Exmouth
A goanna at the caravan park
A new car hire company, called Wicked, has these cars all over Australia - they're hilarious! They're hand painted in 'graffiti' style and have witty comments / slogans on them. They're obviously aimed at the backpacker market and seem to be doing a good job of monopolising that segment of travellers. Apparently some people find them so offensive they are lobbying their local councils to ban them. Talk about Nanny state gone mad. Exmouth was so boring we took to photographing the cars rather than the scenery!
another funny car