4 Stray Katz: Getting close (sometimes too close) to the wildlife at Quandong Point

Dampier Peninsula, WA

Quandong Point

Tuesday 19th - Thursday 21st September

Our first stop on the Dampier Peninsula was the free camp at Quandong Point. We had a magical time camping right on the edge of the beach where we enjoyed 180 degree views of the ocean as well as perfect sunsets. By far the most special thing about this beach was the hermit crabs- there were literally millions of them. They were all through the rocks, down in the many rock pools that were exposed at low tide and even up at camp. The kids spent hours playing with them, building them little homes and tunnels, and watching them scuttle in and out the rocks. We all enjoyed going out in the evening with head torches and watching them scurrying around, by the morning there were tracks all over the sand. The little ones were easy to pick up and their claws were not big enough to do any damage when they tried to nip you but Daniel learnt the hard way that the big ones hurt when they bite. He laid down on the sand and asked Jackson to put one on his back, thinking it would feel funny as it crawled around- however as soon as Jackson put it on his back it clamped onto his skin and he yelped in pain. ‘Get it off, get it off’ he yelled, but we could not dislodge it, it had fixed itself onto his back so tightly. We put sand on his back hoping that would help, then he went into the water but still it held fast. He ended up having to just yank it off after about 5 minutes of frantically trying to remove it. He was left with a chunk out of his skin and a bruise was already beginning to show. I tried hard not to laugh but the visual of him walking along with a hermit crab stuck on the middle of his back is one that continues to make me chuckle.

The place was teeming with wildlife and over the 3 days we saw:

Clams, crabs, octopuses and small fish in rock pools
Whales breaching and spurting water in the distance
The resident dingo who frightened Jackson twice (once when he was looking in the rock pools and he looked up to see the dingo only a few metres from him, then once when he was using the ‘bush toilet (aka hole)’ and the dingo wandered through the bushes nearby).
So many small finches around camp- we put some fresh water out for them and they loved splashing around and drinking from it. It was such a joy to watch them.
A large snake who poor Emilia stumbled on when she went off into the bushes with the shovel – she’s the one most scared of snakes yet she seems to always be the one who finds them. Daniel saw the snake track on the road the next morning and said it was a big one.

We had a great time at Quandong and can see why so many people recommended it to us- it was a great way to start our time up the Dampier Peninsula.

Exploring the rock pools at sunset- the bright green sea grass made the rocks look so pretty

Jackson's time looking under the rocks was rewarded when he found a big conch shell.

Taking the shovel for a walk in the bushes - a few minutes later they came running back after Emilia nearly stood on a snake.

The resident dingo that gave Jackson a fright twice - once on the beach and once in the bushes.

On our early morning exploration of the nearby rock pools - there was so much to see.

We lost count of how many large purple clams we saw- you have to be careful not to go too close or they spit water on you!

Emilia found this octopus sitting on a rock - when we approached he swam away and found somewhere to hide- it was great to watch.

The blue-ringed octopus Jackson found - it was the biggest one we've ever seen and we were lucky enough to get to see the rings brighten up as it swam away.