By Adam
LOCATION: Giralia Station Stay, Exmouth Gulf, WA
DATE: 15th-19th June 2021
A hidden gem located in the Exmouth Gulf Region of WA,Giralia Station Stay is a great stop once you head East from Exmouth. Initially established in 1888, the place was once a thriving sheep station up until the early 2000’s and encompasses 650,000 acres and 70km of untouched coastline. At the homestead you are able to explore their museum which shows what it was like for a Jackeroo living on the station and also the Blacksmiths workshop, an interesting piece of Giralia’s history.
We spent four nights camped out on the secluded beach of Giralia Bay fronting the Exmouth Gulf, a fisherman’s paradise, located approximately 32km North West of the Homestead. After checking into the homestead and being educated on the local area we ventured along the 32km stretch of dirt road across the Pilbara from the homestead to the beach, which at times corrugated and also muddy thanks to the recent rain! It’s an environment that I pictured and looked forward to immersing ourselves in prior to setting off on our travels, a place that oozes the outback feeling with untouched coastline and just a lot of space!
The camp sites are separated nicely along the beach frontso you don’t even know you have neighbours. The sunsets were some of the best we have seen on the west coast of Australia and the water was like a pond with not a ripple on. We spent time making campfires, cooking up a feast with the camp oven, and exploring tracks through to the mangroves in search of mudcrabs. Logan, Luke and I managed only a few small crabs not quite big enough for the cooking pot unfortunately, but we had some quality father and son time. They are both coming out with some of the best conversations lately and asking so many questions. Their growth in confidence and independence is something that both Carol and I are very proud of.
There are times during your travels when you should give yourself the opportunity to just slow down, stop, and appreciate the reasons why you have dropped everything, escaped the routine life we are expected to live, and chosen to live a travelling lifestyle to surround your family with new adventures, changes of scenery, and life experiences that we will not forget. Our time at Giralia Station provided us with that realisation that we are achieving what we set out to gain.
