Quobba Blowholes

At Point Quobba the Indian Ocean swell drives into undercut limestone and is forced up through holes in the rock platform, sending jets of water as high as twenty metres on a good swell, with a roar and a fine mist that drifts over the whole area. The coast here takes the full force of the ocean with no continental shelf to soften it, and the sign at the car park, reading King Waves Kill, records a real history: people have been swept from the rocks and drowned here, and the platform is unpredictable. A kilometre south, the Aquarium is a sheltered lagoon behind a reef with calm water and snorkelling, an entirely different proposition.

What you actually see

• The blowholes - jets of water forced up to twenty metres through the rock.
• The King Waves sign - the warning that marks the coast's real danger.
• The Aquarium - a reef-protected lagoon for snorkelling south of the point.
• The exposed coast - the ocean breaking directly onto the platform.

When to go

April to October for comfortable weather; the blowholes work best on a big swell, which comes most reliably in winter. Calm days produce very little. Wind is strong on the point year-round.

Honest expectations

Rogue waves sweep the platform without warning and have killed people; the warning signs are not decorative. On flat days the blowholes barely perform. Facilities are basic, with a campground and no shops, and Carnarvon is an hour away.

Nearby

Carnarvon lies south; the Ningaloo coast and Coral Bay are north.