The caravaners guide to
Exmouth and Ninnagloo Reef National Park
So we all know that
Exmouth is the base town for
Ningaloo Reef national park but if you are heading there towing a caravan, some other things it might be helpful to know. .
Exmouth seems to know where its bread is buttered and for this reason,
free camping there is as rare as a kangaroo on the moon. The camps book lists the closest spot as being 5 kilometers south of
Learmonth but this is little more than a pull in beside the road.
There are 4 caravan parks here. 2 are in town, the Big 4 and one other. The other two are on the way to
the entrance to the National Park. The lighthouse and Yardie
Homestead.
The town has an overflow area that is operated, very strictly by the council at the sports ground. It is $39 a night (same as the parks in town) and only opens when every single site is taken at ALL of the 4 caravan parks. That means if you are looking for a powered site but there are unpowered sites available in one of the parks, it is closed.
Heading toward the National Park, Lighthouse CP is the first one you will come across. This is about 15 kilometers out of town. It is a large park that was built when caravans were smaller so most sites are fairly small.
The final caravan park is Yardie
Homestead and is the closest to
the entrance of the national park. This is perhaps the least popular because it does not have cell phone coverage and is furthest from town. It is however perhaps the best if you want to join the line up for the park camping in the morning. You can get internet with a high mast antenna, say 30 feet.
The national park has 8
camp grounds that allow caravans. So here is a run down on them.
MESA..
The best in my opinion is Mesa. It is second from the NP
gate and 50 kilometers from
Exmouth. It has 12 sites that form a large square. On the northern side, there is shade for 6 vans but this almost certainly drops out solar receiving and sat TV. The southern 6 sites are also flat and although have good sat / solar still have a level of protection from the northern prevailing breeze. There are some park benches with picnic tables and it has access to the beach for launching a boat. There is also a smaller wading pool for children. There is no
views of the beach. It also has the best in/out road as
well. Graded smooth. Most other camps have very rocky entrance roads. Visitors do not drive through the
camp either as is the case in most other camps.
NEDS..
This is the closest to the NP
gate and comes off the same in road as Mesa. Smaller than Mesa with 8 sites. 4 of which have excellent shade and wind protection. The others line the road to the day area, which has traffic coming and going all day. It has a good
boat ramp. Solar is about half the receiving time of Mesa. Sites are level.
The only water point I saw in the park is next to these two camps. There is also limited water taking capacity at this water point as
well.
LAKESIDE..
Closest to the
Visitors centre, it has 8 sites and a nice wading pool for children. It has a
boat ramp and good protection from the northerly breeze. Some have limited sat TV and solar ability. There is a flushing
toilet at the visitor’s centre which is a short drive away. The only flushing toilets in the park.
TULKI BEACH..
This has 9 sites and a
boat ramp down a rocky track. 2 drop toilets and the sites form a ring road. The sites are good size but some are unlevel. No wind protection but solar and sat TV are excellent.
KURRAJONG..
This site is now 71 kilometers from
Exmouth and hidden in a
sand dune valley from both the road and ocean. So no
views. Sites and generally smaller. No trees or shade but sat TV and solar are good.
PILGRAMUNNA..
One of the smaller camps with just 8 sites but they are level and have excellent ocean
views. There is a
boat ramp over some soft sand. The sites and entrance road form a circle so passing visitors are right past your front door.
OSPREY..
Generators are allowed on all sites here except numbers 1-4. It has great ocean
views but this means open to the northern wind. Quite a
large camp, sites with something like 17 sites. No shade with all the things this brings.
YARDIE CREEK
This is the last
camp site and 86 kilometers from
Exmouth. Some people say 95 kilometers from
Exmouth. It has brand new hybrid (the handle type) unisex toilets. It has excellent walks along Yardie Creek as
well as
boat ramp and canoe access to the creek. More like a river than a creek. Visitors do not enter the
campground so traffic is small. Only a short walk from the
campground to the toilets. A long haul however to get water at the
visitors centre in
Exmouth. There are 8 sites about half have shade and the other half are good for solar/sat TV. All have some protection from the wind.
To book a site you line up at the
gate entrance. The
ranger gets there at 8am and the first in line, get whatever sites are available. If you in the park already however, you have the option of changing sites from 0730 hrs. So take a spot and the following day try and change to the one that you really want. (Currently Mid Aug 2010 about 12 people are leaving per day).
Fees are $11 per day entry or $40 for your holiday. Camping is $7 per person per day.