Sax and the fruit loop

At a caravan park we overheard two young ‘lap of the map’ families discussing a visit to Carnarvon. ‘It’s the worst town in Australia’ is one guy’s bold accusation. ‘I heard it was bad – but that bad?’ his mate asked. ‘Yep- worse than you could imagine’. This did not spark joy as we had pre booked two nights in Carnarvon. Surely Carnarvon couldn’t be as bad as suggested. We hoped that this rich agricultural district which produces almost all of WA’s bananas, 62% of its capsicums, almost half of its tomatoes and avocadoes and 25% of its melon’s would be like an oasis in the desert. Not to mention the zucchinis, grapes, avocados, sweet corn, mangos, citrus  and stone fruits. This small district of only 1500 hectares which produces 44,000t of fruit and veggies a year can’t be that bad.

Carnarvon, truth be told could not be described as ‘a looker’. It’s a tad down at heel. The Woolies, while well stocked, is possibly the ugliest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Sadly, the glorious Gascoyne River, is a big disappointment as it is completely devoid of water- absolutely bone dry. But beauty is only skin deep and with a little digging Carnarvon begins to shine.

The Saturday Farmers’ Markets are a hit. As well as wonderful fresh fruit and veg, there are hot food stalls, leather products made from goat hide and the highlight, ‘Sax and the Single Girl’; a mature but spritely woman belting out on a tenor sax almost as big as herself.

The food production district is easily explored around a 10km circular drive affectionately known as The Fruit Loop. The whole area is efficiently irrigated by drip irrigation from underground aquifers. The river only flows a couple of times a year refreshing this underground liquid lifeblood. The plantations are abundant and diverse with produce. Many of the farms practice crop rotation and some follow organic and biodynamic principals.

75 kms north of Carnarvon are the Quobba Blowholes. Australia has many coastal blowholes, and on most days, they promise, but don’t deliver. Today the seas are calm, but this blowhole delivers with abundance. A low rocky coastline hides a series of underground caves which fill with water and then as each wave arrives water is propelled into the air with great force, considerable height and an earth-shaking roar.

Finally, the town boasts a beautiful palm fringed waterfront walkway, originally built as a flood levy, The Fascine. As the sun is setting, we admire the low sandstone wall which houses a Walk of Remembrance where 645 A5 size brass plaques line the wall for hundreds of metres - each one commemorating an Australian officer or sailor who perished at sea in the mighty cruiser HMAS Sydney II, west of Carnarvon on 19 November 1941.

Great fresh produce, quirky locals, stunning natural scenery, fitting memorials and sax and the single woman. ‘A lap of the map’ certainly wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Carnarvon.