CARNARVON WA

  Carnarvon was our next destination, a medium sized seaside town of about 7000 residents with an inviting feel to it. The town is situated at the only point in Australia where the desert meats the sea.  For a change we have booked into the Norwesta Caravan Park to rest up and use the facilities. The Norwesta managers turned out to be friendly and helpful so we decided to stay for a few nights looking around the area during the day.
  The main industry around Carnarvon is growing of vegetables and fruit. In fact the area supplies around 70% of the needs of WA producing around 30,000 tonnes per year. Other industries important to the district are wool production, prawn and scallop processing and salt extraction.
  A look around the seaside was a pleasant change from the relative barrenness of the country that we had travelled through recently. Visit to nearby Babbage Island with the One Mile Jetty built in 1897 and the adjacent Lighthouse Museum afforded an opportunity to take in some of the local history. In the past the Jetty hosted an unusual animal race along it's length when sheep and cattle were driven from holding yards. A diesel loco is used today to transport tourists to the end of the jetty was until 1966 used to transport passengers to passing ships.

Lighthouse Museum and One Mile Jetty